DOWN
DR. GREEN
The condo smelled like fried vegetables as he entered, but it was heavy with cleaning solution as well. The heated oil and soap combination was a little off-putting.
Sean entered quickly, throwing down the jacket and his shoes in a lump near the door. He took out his wallet and keys and dropped them into the pile as well. He undid the tie and let it slip to the floor.
His mother would find it, but at the moment, he didn’t really care.
Everything was wrong. The heavy emotion leaving the Sorenson house followed him all the way back.
He had pushed himself on Carol and hadn’t been careful with what he’d said. He replayed the evening in his head, but was there anything he could have done differently? Any moment where he could have said something better?
Lied about who his parents were? Who would have thought she’d have an issue?
Maybe he should have said he was an actual doctor. He should have been honest about being a teacher, perhaps. He’d taken a huge risk, given that Jimmy could have gone to the school and might have found out the truth. Or Marie, who did know he was a teacher, could have ratted him out. Danielle or Derrick might have caught on eventually and could have said something to Jimmy.
He was taking that risk even now if he took Marie out. It only took one of them to say something, and he’d mess things up ever going back.
However, now it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t about taking Marie out. He would have helped her if Sang wanted it.
To Carol, he wasn’t good enough for Sang. That just ticked him off.
The condo was dark except for an odd glow of light in the kitchen. It wasn’t an overhead light, which he thought was the only light in the kitchen. It was a little late for his mother to be up, as she often went to bed very early.
Sean slipped quietly over the floor in his socks. The kitchen door was stuck open wide enough for a hand to slip through. He angled himself to look in without opening it further.
Owen sat at the counter of the kitchen island, a laptop in front of him. His glasses were sitting on the counter next to the laptop. Nearby was one of the small bowls Sean’s mother had purchased, filled with a few almonds.
If Owen had almonds in a bowl, he planned to stay up all night. It was how he kept himself awake, crunching on a few here and there.
Sean also knew Owen hadn’t slept.
Owen stared at the screen, squinting, frowning.
He held the edge of the kitchen counter, leaning in and staring at the screen.
Sean frowned. He figured he’d witnessed the entire catastrophe. These last couple of days had been a disaster.
The last week…
The last few months…
One after another. Always Sang. Always mistakes they made. Things they’d never anticipated. Her stepmother. McCoy. Volto. Carol.
Falling in love with her. That wasn’t so bad, but it was never like what any of them had pictured, he was sure.
Sending her back felt like another mistake. Twelve steps backward.
With the way Owen squinted at the screen, Sean could see it. Frustration etched on his face. Disapproval.
Was he finally understanding?
Sean opened the door enough to be able to pass through, and just so they weren’t disturbed, he closed and locked the door behind him.
Owen’s eyes never fell away from the screen. Sean stood in front of him across the counter, leaning his stomach against the cool of the granite countertop. He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Go ahead and say it,” he said, his voice low. “I messed up.”
Owen glanced up at him, squinting, but said nothing, continuing to frown.
“You’re going to ruin your eyes like that,” Sean said.
“You were never going to convince her,” Owen said in a low voice. “I doubt any of us could have.” He redirected his attention to the screen. “I warned you about pushing it.”
“I was too honest,” Sean continued. He rolled his eyes. “Carol… I should have figured. She was already trying to get her to quit her job. She wanted to redo her schedule, and from the last anyone looked at it, she crossed out most of her activities.” He shook his head. “If she had to stay there, I hoped…”
Owen made a guttural noise. He stood up sharply, leaning over the screen. He grasped the monitor of the laptop. He put his glasses back on, and held the laptop closer.
Sean untightened his arms around his chest, leaning against the island, palms down on the surface. “What? What happened?”
Owen motioned for him to come over and watch for himself. “She’s down. She fainted.”
Sean moved quickly, knocking over the small bowl that had been holding a couple of almonds.
The bowl fell to the floor, shattering into a few pieces.
Sean ignored it, staring at the screen.
Sang was on the floor of the kitchen, near the dishwasher. Jimmy dropped what he was doing, kneeling beside her. He took her hand, saying things Sean couldn’t hear.
Carol came in soon after, paused shortly at the doorway and then came inside. Jimmy tried talking to Sang, patting her face.
Sang was already getting up when Carol knelt beside her. Sang shook her head, motioning for them to back away.
Shaking. Badly.
“My God,” Sean said. His breath caught and his heart seemed to stop at the same time.
Owen reached for his keys on the table and the jacket beside him on the next stool over. “Let’s go. Transfer the feed to your phone.”
Sean pulled his phone out, smashing his finger against Sang’s heart app to open the video feed. He only grabbed his wallet and a pair of sneakers, walking out the door in his socks.
Owen was on the phone on the way out. Sean hadn’t heard it ring, but it might have been Owen dialing someone. “Stay put. She’s up. Only go in if she faints again. She was moving up and down, so it’s most likely her blood pressure.”
They got into Sean’s car, with Owen driving. Sean dropped his shoes into the floor. The phone he put in his lap.
Jimmy and Carol were helping Sang up, talking to her.
Her father stood off to the side, observing but not doing much.
Owen passed his phone to Sean. “Hold this.”
Sean turned it on speaker. It was Kota on the phone. He was relaying the audio. “They’re talking about sending her to the doctor.” Pause. “Her father is arguing against it. Passing it off as too much sugar at dinner and then bending over so much.”
Sean grunted. “He’d let her die before taking her somewhere risky like a doctor. More chance of exposure.”
Kota continued, “Sang’s saying she’s fine. That she was tired.”
The video feed showed Jimmy helping her up, and then putting his arm around her shoulder to help her out of the kitchen.
“Get Victor out of the attic,” Owen said. “Keep him on the roof outside just in case, but get him out of discovery risk.”
There was typing on Kota’s end, and then another voice, deeper, possibly North. Kota repeated it. “Repositioning Silas and Luke. They’re fetching the ambulance to bring to the diner in case they decide to call or we need it.”
“Everyone else, get to the trailer. Is it set up?”
“All but plumbing.”
Sean had to adjust the video on the phone. Jimmy was helping Sang up the stairs, with Carol following.
“What is she saying?” he asked.
“Put her in her old bed,” Kota said. “Sang is saying she’s fine, but Carol’s put her foot down now. She won’t let her sleep in there. Jimmy offered to sleep on the cot instead.”
Good thing they had gotten Victor out early. Sean rolled his head back on the headrest. “I want to give her credit for being a decent human being, but I wish she wouldn’t.”
Suddenly there was a gasp from Kota. Sean redirected his attention to the screen.
Sang was being navigated by Jimmy, but was a bit unbalanced and leaned against the wall for a minute after a sudden stop.
Something caught Carol’s attention, and she stooped.
She came back with an iPhone.
“Shit,” Sean said. “Carol’s got the phone.”
“Get that wiped!” Owen bellowed at the phone. “Right now.”
“Doing it now,” Kota said. “Replacing it with a backup.”
“I’ll bet you a dollar she won’t let her keep it,” Sean said in a low tone. “We’re losing communication.”
The engine revved. Owen leaned closer to the steering wheel. The speedometer inched just over the limit speed.
“I can’t hear what they’re saying anymore,” Kota said. Pause. “Victor is out. He’s waiting just outside. Gabriel is getting on the roof with him. Phone is wiped.”
The phone fell silent. Sean waited, unable to do anything sitting in the car.
Helpless to do anything for her, even if they got there.
The video feed showed Sang getting into the bed. Carol sent Jimmy to get water.
Carol spoke to Sang while she got into bed.
It was still silent, even after a few minutes.
Sean’s heart pounded. He glared at the feed, studying Sang’s expressions in the hopes of understanding what might be happening.
If Kota was silent, it was too much to miss. It meant it was important.
Sang nodded absently but stared at her feet.
She wasn’t able to hide her disappointment.
It wasn’t good news.
Cursing erupted from the other phone. North. Kota barked at him to shut up, but there was more cursing, more uproar.
“What’s going on?” Owen snapped.
Kota spoke. “Carol’s keeping her homebound. Quitting the job now. Calling the school to inform them she won’t be returning because she is ill. No going out. She’ll be in bed studying, possibly homeschooled. She wasn’t surprised by the phone, but doesn’t believe in teenagers having them.”
An eruption of additional curses flooded out of Sean’s mouth without prompting, matching North’s from the speakerphone.
Sang was being cut off. Completely.
The thing she hated. Being kept in a bubble away from everyone. Playing to Carol’s favor had left Sang subject to whatever she wanted to do.
A prisoner in a house that didn’t want her.
No one spoke for a long time. Jimmy eventually returned with water. He pulled the cot from the attic to put near Sang.
That wasn’t bad at the moment. At least he was nearby if she fainted again. They needed that if Carol wasn’t going to take her to the doctor.
Sean kept the phone line open, and the feed up, but there was nothing else to say at the moment.
They’d lost her.