3Sleep Watching
Sleep Watching
Chapter 9
"Ya know," Lee spoke up as she watched us from the couch she was lying on, "I tried to get all of them to stop drinking caffeine when Jane and I were in collage. It didn't work then, what makes you think it'll work now Amy?"
I nod in agreement, remembering several of those conversations that happened while I was finishing high school. Amy fumed, hating that she was losing the argument.
"It isn't healthy!" My girlfriend said again, having already said it numerous times. "They want to complain that they're tired and moody, and then they drink enough caffeine laden beverages to kill several small animals!"
I've known Lee since I was a freshman in high school. She might look complacent and bored at the moment, but there is a smirk in her eyes. If she had wanted to, the smirk would have been on her face as well as her eyes. Lee enjoyed these conversations, and I use the term lightly. She and Caroline were infamous for their 'conversations' in high school.
"I never said it was healthy," Lee replied and I turned back to watching them. "I just said that I gave up trying to get them off of their addictions to caffeine. I figured that there are worse things they could be addicted to."
"So you just let it continue? It doesn't worry you at all that your three best friends are addicted to caffeine and two of them smoke?" Amy was on a rant now. I'm glad that Caroline had already left or we would have two people ranting.
"Yea, I did let it continue. All I did was make sure that they ate right so that they weren't living off just their caffeine hits and energy junk." Lee sat up and shook her head. Mama Lynn had just cut it back to Lee's normal length, which is just slightly longer than the shaved cut that sported throughout high school and most of collage. "I am not a god and I cannot control what my friends do to themselves. I suggest that if you want to be happy in life that you learn the lesson that I did in kindergarten."
"And what the hell lesson would that be?" Amy crossed her arms and glared at my big sister.
Lee just stared back and the smirk that danced in her eyes finally took over her entire face as her lips quirked into a half smirk, half smile. "That you can't control what other people do no matter how hard you try, particularly your friends. You can influence them, but you can not control them and truly cal yourself a friend."
Amy huffed and marched up stairs to my room. I started to go after her but Lee grabbed my arm and stopped me. I looked at her, confused. She would have gone after Cassie and more then likely hit whoever had tried to stop her. I may be taller than she is, but Lee is two years older, heavier, and can easily pick me up and toss me over her shoulder.
"Why'd you stop me? You'd go after Cassie," I try to glare at her but Lee is as immune to glares as she is to horror movies.
"I know that I would go after Cassie, but Amy is a lot like Caroline. She needs to cool down before someone tries to talk to her. You have tried to please her by cutting back on caffeine and you smoke about as much as I do." Lee and I don't smoke. "Let her calm down and then go and talk to her."
I yank my arm out of her hold and go to my room. Amy is sitting on my bed, glaring at nothing. "Hey, you ok?" It's a stupid question, but what else am I supposed to ask?
"Lee has no right to dictate like that." I winch. That was similar to almost exactly what Caroline has said many times. Lee doesn't dictate, she only states fact. She isn't a people person; she doesn't interact with people very well. As a teacher she's great, but then, she's always done well in the role of a teacher.
"She's not dictating, just telling it how she sees it."
"Why are you defending her?" Amy is glaring at me now. "I'm your girlfriend; you should be siding with me. She isn't even really your sister."
Now I'm mad. "I'm not siding with anyone. Lee has always done things like that. And she is my sister, in all the ways that matter. You haven't known her as long as I have, so you can't judge her like that."
"So now you're dictating to me? Did General Lee tell you to come up here and talk to me? Calm me down so that I'll act like nothing happened?" Amy's standing now and stalking toward me. "It's bad enough that she won't try and stop the bad habits that you and everyone you live with has. Now she's trying to control me to!"
"Enough," Lee is standing at the doorway. "Amy, I didn't tell Elaine to come up here. The opposite in fact, but she wanted to make sure you were ok." Lee shook her head. "The only people I control are the characters in my books. El made her decisions herself; I just supported her in the ones I agreed with."
"See what I mean?" Amy points at Lee like she's some bit of slime on the carpet. "She thinks she can get into anyone's business that she wants to. Yet you don't believe me!"
I see Lee stand up straight. I'm pissed, but I swore to myself long ago that I would never hit someone unless they hit me first, no matter how angry they made me. Lee helped with that, she's the one who taught it to me.
"Ok Ms. Amy," now Lee sounds like she does in the classroom, "you've made your point. Now cool off before you both end up doing something stupid. El doesn't need you trying to run her life."
"But she needs you to, is that it?" Amy snaps out.
"That's it!" I yell, both Lee's and Amy's attentions turn to me. "Lee does not run my life, she just helps and vice versa. Lee, please leave."
"Of course El," Lee nods, face serious, "you know where to find me if you need me."
Once Lee is gone, Amy turns to me. We continue to fight. Amy thinks she won when I sent Lee away, but she didn't. I didn't win either. By the time Amy left, we were no longer together.
Maria and Ricky are at the table drinking coffee when I come downstairs the next morning. I grab myself a cup.
"Where's Jane?" I sit down across from the couple.
"Don't know, she wasn't in her room when I went to wake her up." Maria replied. "Was Lee here yesterday?"
"Yea, but she left before we got a chance to talk about whatever it was that she was here for." I reply, still tired from my rather sleepless night.
"Elaine, you don't mind if Ricky moves in, do you?" Maria asks me. She has her 'Ricky is the perfect boyfriend' look on.
"I don't care." Truly, I don't care what they do. Maria and Ricky have been together since just before my sophomore year of high school started. We all know more about their sex life than we ever wanted to know. More then likely they'll end up sharing Maria's bed and Ricky will have his own room.
"Goodie, will you help us move his stuff?" Maria is grinning widely.
"No, I've got a project due for class. Lee's helping me work on it." I get up and leave.
Upstairs, I pack a bag with most of my clothing. My school things are still in my backpack. My laptop is in its case. I grab them and leave the house. I shove it all in my truck and go back inside to grab my blankets and pillows along with some of my books. Soon enough, I'm on the road headed toward anywhere that isn't the house.
"Come inside," Lee is standing next to my truck with the door open. "It does happen to be December, and it's cold out here."
I didn't even remember parking my truck, much less driving up Lee's driveway. I shiver as the cold wind blows past us. Lee helps me gather up my things and take them inside.
Inside there's hot chocolate and warmth. Sarah is happy to see her 'Aunt Elli' and nobody asks me any questions about why I'm here. Lee knows, but she doesn't say anything.
"Aunt Elli," Sarah has a book in her hand. "Would you read to me?"
I look at Lee, knowing that she's the one who usually does this. Cassie smiles at me and nods, Lee just nods. She knows something, but she isn't saying anything.
"Alright Sarah," I pick the little girl up, "Lead the way to your room and I'll read to you."
Once Sarah is asleep, I gently close her door and make my way back to the living room. Lee and Cassie have done amazing things with this place. Most of the furniture is second hand, probably from yard sales and Goodwill. Some of it is new, like Sarah's bedroom furniture and the bookshelves. Yet nothing here feels new except for the surroundings.
"When did you find time to get all of this stuff?" I ask them as I join them in the living room.
"Some of its stuff that Mama had in storage after my dad died," Lee tells me, "the rest was gathered and moved between working and being a family."
"Some of it's from my parents," Cassie spoke up, "although they were rather . . . snobby . . . about it." She elbowed Lee, who was making comments under her breath about Cassie's parents.
"Thanks for letting me stay," I'm not sure what else to say.
"You're my sister El," Lee shrugs, "just as much as my own sisters are. Are you going to tell us what happened?"
"Amy and I broke up;" I admit, "and then this morning Maria asked me if Ricky could move in."
"Then asked if you would help them move his stuff," Cassie adds on. For only knowing Maria for such a short time compared to the rest of us, she has the woman pegged well.
"Yea," I admit that to, "I made up the excuse that I had a project that you were helping me with Lee."
Lee laughs, "Where was Jane when all this was happening?"
"She wasn't home when I left, probably with Keith."
"Ah," Lee grins, "then let me guess, Maria had her 'Ricky is the perfect boyfriend' face on?"
I nod and both of the women across from me laugh. I weakly join in their laughter. We all calm down and go quiet for a while.
"Elaine, you can stay as long as you need to." Lee tells me. "Cassie and I don't mind." Cassie nods in agreement with what Lee said.
"Lee's right, and don't think we're only being nice." Cassie had said what was lurking in the back of my head. "You're part of the family and family sticks together."
Three days later, Jane and Keith drove up the driveway. Sara was dressed for bed and Lee was helping her pick out a book. It was nearing winter break, thus Lee and I were both preparing for finals. Lee to give them and me to take them, but it was nice to have someone to work with.
"Hey," I hugged Jane. Her orange-red hair was braided down her back and she was wearing her work clothes still. Keith was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt underneath his jacket. A new ring sparkled on Jane's right ring finger.
"Oh my God," I hugged Keith as well. "It's about time you made an honest woman out of her!" I joked, wondering when he had asked her.
"Hey," Jane feigned insult, "I'm always honest, except when I'm not." She and I both giggled over that as we headed inside. Keith only shook his head, recognizing an inside joke when he heard one.
"What are ya'll gigglin' over?" Lee stuck her had out of Sarah's doorway. The girl had already run out and hugged Jane and Keith.
Jane held out her hand. Lee took it and examined the ring. She grinned before turning to Keith.
"You actually did it. Congratulations boy, you got yourself the homicidal wife of your dreams."
All of us laughed at that. It was one of the few inside jokes Keith had been let in on. When Jane was younger, she had been classified as insane by the majority of people. Lee was amazed that she hadn't killed her family. Lee and Jane both came up with multiple ways to dispose of them, though Jane's were far more graphic. Luckily, they never went thru with them. Both Jane's mother and grandmother died in a car crash three years ago, leaving Jane in peace.
"Well," Keith said when we had all finished laughing, "you know that I wouldn't be able to get along with any one else."
"What I want to know is who helped you pick out the ring," Cassie leaned on Lee, who wrapped her arms around her. Sarah was hanging off of Lee's back.
"Yes," Jane looked at her fiancé, "you did promise to tell me." Her ring was silver with a small diamond set between two glimmering rubies the same size.
"I did," Lee replied, "about two months ago." She grinned. "After of course I had threatened him with removing certain parts if he hurt you."
Again we laughed, although Sarah didn't understand it and Keith looked a bit scared.
"Oh, you will all have to help me plan the wedding." Jane said, enthused. A great difference from the teenager I first met when we were in high school.
"Of course," Lee and Cassie looked at each other. There was a secret there. "I'll look up chapels and the like in Pennsylvania."
Talk continued on this way for a while. Lee put Sara to bed before it got too much later. We couldn't talk long. We all had work and school in the morning. We did make plans to meet over the weekend to work on planning it further.
"Well," Lee watched as Keith's car disappeared into the night, "I guess things don't always change for the worse."
She didn't expand on her thought. We parted ways and went to bed. The look that had passed between Cassie and Lee however was bothering me. What had they done, or what did they know, that none of us knew yet?