Chapter 54

10:15 p.m. Friday

"Let's just go back to my house and hang out," Regan offered. "We can all just stay there tonight."

Regan found herself enjoying the evening – almost in spite of herself. She was particularly happy that she had beaten Andy at miniature golf – although, to be fair, he was the least skilled person on the course and a seven-year-old with a plastic putter stood a good chance at besting him.

As the group had moved away from the main building, they had joined up. As Paul had predicted, there was no one else behind them – perhaps verifying that playing miniature golf on a Friday night was for losers.

"My parents will never let me stay there," Elizabeth said, shaking her head sadly. "Well, I mean, if Paul is going to be there. They still think I'm 12."

Elizabeth had been the only person who hadn't joined in with the laughter and joking. She was concerned that she had unwittingly invited a person who might want to harm Regan closer to her.

"So don't tell them," Joy proposed. "I mean, you told us last week that they had no idea he was at the suite with you."

Paul looked embarrassed.

"Uh, I'm in the same boat as Elizabeth," he admitted.

"You're 19 years old!" Ruth pointed out.

"And I'm living – rent free – in their house," Paul noted. "That means that I still have rules to follow. It's no different than the dorms are going to be next fall. There are rules and they are enforced. I've agreed that I still need to set a good example for John. My parents included Noel in that statement but there's a good bet that she's a lost cause."

"She can't be thatbad," Regan said. "Christ, I was spoiled at her age."

"What's your point?" Andy asked, keeping a straight face. "You're still spoiled."

Regan punched Andy on the shoulder. He knew it was probably coming and went with the shot, tumbling onto the hood of Chris' car. He had been holding Regan's hand and she came with him.

"If you dent it, you buy it!" Chris said. His car was five years old and it had seen better days. "You bought it! Look at the scratches on the hood."

The scratches had been courtesy of the former owner, who had lowered his garage door on it just before he sold it to Chris' family. He had pocketed the insurance money rather than fix it.

Andy pushed them off the car and reached into his back pocket. He fished a $10 bill out and handed it across.

"Can I just take it home now?" he asked.

"Prick," Chris muttered with a laugh.

"So do we want to go to Regan's?" Joy asked. Robert and Rita had told them they were going across the bay for the evening and would stay there if they drank too much. Even if they came home, Joy had the distinct impression that there was a glaring lack of supervision at the Riley household.

"We can come out for a while," Elizabeth told them after a glance at Paul. "I've got a lot to do in the morning. Mom wants to find Lupe something that she can wear to the dinner tomorrow night. I mean, unless you think she should stay home, Andy."

"No, I don't think that," Andy answered. "I'm not worried about Regan in public venues with a lot of people around. My concern is when she is alone."

Joy shot Regan a questioningly look but Regan shook her head. She would fill the others in about Andy's unwarranted fears later.

"You know, when Andy said that, I thought he was crazy," Paul said. "I took a sociology course last year. The more I think about it, the more I'm not sure. It's a lifestyle thing. It's how she was raised to behave. The time around ... civilized people, I guess ... will show her the error of her thinking but, right now, she's still stuck with that mindset."

"I don't want to talk about it," Regan insisted. "Let's not put more of a damper on the evening than I already have. We can head to my house, hang out for a while and have fun. Chris, do you want to just plan to stay? It's no trouble."

"I'll have to call my parents and ask," Chris answered, just as embarrassed with his admission as Paul had been with his.

"You can just tell them you're staying with Andy," Regan mentioned.

"I can't stay," Andy cut in. "I haven't talked to Mom about this. She's probably already in bed but she'll ask me in the morning what time I got home. She'll know if I'm lying."

Regan crossed her arms and frowned.

"What time does everyone need to be home?" Ruth interrupted.

"I don't really have a curfew but the usual rule is no later than one unless I call," Chris answered.

"That's pretty much our rule, too," Andy said with a nod.

"Yeah," Paul replied.

"Is it too late to call them?" Ruth wondered.

"Not for me," Chris answered. "My parents are rarely in bed before midnight."

"Mine either," Paul agreed. "Particularly since Noel is on a date tonight. They'll wait up for her. She has to be in the house by midnight."

All eyes turned to Andy.

"I can try," he said. "She worked this morning."

"Could you just let Evan know?" Joy asked.

Andy looked uncomfortable at the question.

"That's not a good idea," Regan said. "Evan and Camille are still working out the roles each will play going forward. Right now, Camille is the one who makes decisions like that. I don't it would be right if it looked like Andy was trying to step around her."

"That's the value of having two parents," Joy said, chuckling. "If Dad says no, you go to Mom. It was a stupid question. Sorry, Andy."

"Let's get on the way so the guy behind the counter can go home," Paul proposed. "He's looked out the window four times in the last five minutes."

The groups moved to their respective vehicles and started the drive to Regan's house. Elizabeth immediately fished out her phone and called her mother.

"I have a serious question to ask," Elizabeth said as soon as Mariel answered.

"I would rather you didn't spend the night with Paul tonight," her mother answered immediately. "We agreed to let you stay at the hotel tomorrow night and that is enough for now."

"No, that's not it," Elizabeth replied. "It's about Lupe. Is she nearby where she can hear you?"

"Yes," Mariel answered. Indeed, the girl was about 10 feet away, eating a bowl of strawberries and watching television with Miguel – both firsts for the teenager. "Give me a minute."

Elizabeth listened as her mother moved to a different room.

"Do you think that she poses some sort of danger to Regan?" Elizabeth asked when Mariel was in the den.

"No," Mariel said, instantly dismissing the possibility as the rest of the group had.

"You said today that she had a huge crush on Andy," Elizabeth pointed out. "Andy has a better grasp on her former life than we ever will. He said if she views Regan as a potential rival then Regan might be in danger. Paul says his sociology professor mentioned the same thing in class discussions; that there is a difference between a competitor and a rival."

She knew her mother sometimes put a higher degree of faith in academic degrees than in real-life experience.

"Hmm," Mariel said, trying to give the question consideration. "No. I just don't see it. She's a sweet kid. Right now, she's sitting on the couch watching television with your father, eating a bowl of fruit and enjoying life. I don't think that girl has a mean bone in her body."

"You're wrong about that," Elizabeth cut in. "She might not be mean but she is tough. She put up with some stuff in her life that would have killed you or me. She is tough enough to stand up to Tomas on things. She's ... almost fearless about some things. I've been thinking about this since Andy mentioned it. She's learned that death is inevitable and she doesn't fear it. To her, there are worse things than death, I think. And she knows some pretty awful people."

"I suppose," Mariel said, looking at the den's closed door. She wondered if she might have invited a monster into her home.

"She's not a sociopath," Paul said. He had heard only Elizabeth's portion but it was enough. "She's not a danger to your family or to anyone else. But if she thinks she can get Andy by removing Regan from the equation, she will, at the very least, give the idea serious consideration. It will be her first reaction: Regan poses a problem so Regan has to be eliminated. I'm sure she's already given the situation some thought. She might have dismissed it already but I am almost positive that the thought has crossed her mind."

"It crossed my mind when you were dating Katy Raymond my freshman year," Elizabeth said, frowning. "I don't mean killing her but I thought about ways that, you know, might cause you to realize that she wasn't the girl for you and I am."

Mariel thought for a moment and knew that she had done the same thing.

"So it's normal," she concluded. "Almost all girls that age think that way."

"It's not normal to act on those thoughts," Elizabeth said.

"No," Paul put in. He didn't hear Mariel's reply but Elizabeth's answer had given him the gist. "It's normal to think things like that. But Lupe has been trained to believe that it is acceptable behavior to act that way. Look at what happened to the gang that threatened her. Rico had the power to put them out of play – and he did it without a second thought."

"That's entirely different," Mariel said. Elizabeth had put the phone on speaker so Paul heard her this time.

"It's not," he countered. "The gang was a threat; Regan could be considered a threat. Rico destroyed that group. I heard today at work from some of the day laborers that the Kings are in a bad way. One of their enforcers is still in a coma – and the little shits from the school have just disappeared. That's the sort of reaction Lupe is used to – over-reaction to any perceived enemy. You take the fight to them before they take the fight to you. It will be worse if Lupe thinks Regan has plans to harm her – in any way."

"We'll need to watch that," Mariel said, worried more now than when two gangbangers had shown up at her house hours earlier. "I'm going to call Rico and get his impression."

"Rico?" Elizabeth asked. "You can't just ask Lupe for his number! She might think you're planning to send her back."

"I have his number," Mariel stated. "He and Tomas stopped by this evening to let us know that Lupe's mother will be contributing to her upkeep. Whether she is contributing willingly, I don't know, but she is contributing. I'm taking Lupe on a shopping trip tomorrow while you're getting your hair done. Don't forget, we're heading to the mall at 11."

"I'll be home by two," Elizabeth promised. "Maybe tomorrow, we can figure out how to handle this problem."

"Maybe," Mariel said dubiously. Still, if Andy was right, she knew it wasn't going to be easy to unlearn 14 years of upbringing.

One vehicle behind Paul and Elizabeth, Joy and Ruth didn't seem the least bothered to be riding in a dirty, beat up car. Joy had ridden in the front on the way from the hotel so now Ruth claimed the spot. She immediately changed the radio station from the classical station Chris preferred to one that played urban hip-hop.

Chris rolled his eyes but didn't protest. He did, however, turn the volume down. His car didn't have a speaker system that could support heavy bass.

"Andy didn't mention what we did on Sunday, did he?" Ruth asked. Chris glanced over and shrugged. He wasn't sure if Andy had mentioned anything. If he had, it had been only in passing.

"No," he replied.

"We didn't think so," Joy said. "We figured you'd be giving us crap if you knew."

"In a joking way," Ruth clarified.

"What did you do?" he wondered.

"We totally lezzed out in front of Regan," Joy said, leaning forward and putting her elbows on the front seats.

"What!?" Chris exclaimed. "And she told Andy about it?"

"She asked him if he would mind if she watched," Ruth told him with a certain amount of relish.

"Regan seemed to think that we ... posed ... the photos on Saturday," Joy said. "So, in order to dispel that notion, we proved it on Sunday night. It was hot!"

"I'll bet," Chris mumbled as he surreptitiously tried to adjust the erection that sprang up at the images that had entered his head unbidden. His motions weren't hidden enough that Ruth didn't recognize them for what they were. "I still can't believe she told Andy. What did he say?"

"He said if he had the chance to watch us, he'd take it," Ruth replied.

"He's totally cool," Joy said, shaking her head. "Regan needs to unwind a little bit or he's going to drop her like a hot rock."

"Maybe," Ruth agreed with a frown.

"Wait!" Chris cut in. "I don't give a crap about Andy and Regan. Tell me more about Sunday!"

"Oh, there isn't much to say," Ruth replied.

"But there is a lot to show," Joy added. "We'll show you the pictures when we get to Regan's."

"Damn," Chris said. "Why did I have to meet you two just when it's time to leave?"

"Did you do what we asked you to do?" Joy asked.

Chris blushed again but told them he had.

"Well?" Ruth asked.

"In the console," Chris answered, gesturing to a spot between the bucket seats. They had sent him a text earlier in the week asking him to go to the health clinic to be checked for sexually transmitted diseases. His first reaction had been anger, thinking they believed him to have passed something to them. His second thought had been distress, worrying that one of them had passed something to him. He had texted them back and they had explained it was just a precaution and that no one had reason to be concerned. So, he'd gone – despite the embarrassment of explaining to the cute receptionist why he was there.

Ruth took the paper out of the center and perused it for a moment before passing it to Joy. Joy looked at it for a second, dug around in her handbag and pulled out two things that she passed forward to Ruth's waiting hand.

Ruth pulled identical objects out of her purse: a similar health report and a package of six condoms.

"You'll need these," Ruth said, putting the medical reports into Chris' center console. "But you won't need these."

She opened his glove box and put the condoms inside.