Rot & Romance (Rewriting)

Chapter 12

"Benjamin Crawford," Lainey echoed.

The boy nodded.

"Again. Th-Thanks," she said.

Lainey turned to exit the room again but soon after found herself unable to move. Or unwilling to rather. She had no idea where she was--where was she going to go?

"What's wrong?" Benjamin asked.

"Where are we?" Lainey asked, turning to face Benjamin again.

"Uh . . . the cul de sac on Willowstone Lane."

"Willowstone . . . you mean Deadman's Lane?"

"Is that what you call it?"

Lainey made her way toward the second window in the bedroom and opened the curtains. It was a street she was all too familiar with. A cul de sac of abandoned houses that was known as Deadman's Lane by the community.

"I thought these houses were abandoned." She closed the curtains and faced Benjamin. "You live here?"

"For about a month," Benjamin said. "I'm . . . always moving."

Lainey nodded.

"Okay, well . . . I can make it home from here. Thanks again."

Lainey made her way to the bedroom door again and finally stepped out. She took one final look at Benjamin before making her way downstairs and out of the old house.

A little over half an hour later, Lainey walked through the front door of her home. Mom sat in the living room, staring at the blank TV and sipping something that was probably cold. Lainey wasn't sure how to begin explaining what had happened let alone where to begin. How will she explain to her mother details she still wasn't sure had transpired? Details too absurd to take as fact. Do she tell Mom about the dead walkers? About Rita being dead, yet somehow alive? About the man called Joseph who wanted her dead?

About Benjamin Crawford?

"Welcome back," Mom said in an eerily calm tone, still facing the TV. If she was going to yell, Lainey would rather she do it right then and there to get it over with.

"M-Mom . . ." Lainey started. But she had no idea how to continue.

"Have a seat," Mom said, patting the space on the sofa next to her.

Lainey cautiously made her way to the sofa and took a seat. Mom took another sip of her tea or coffee and gently placed it on the table before them. Lainey noticed the home phone on the table as well. Did she stay awake all night? Lainey had answered her own question as soon as she glanced at her pale-faced and puffy-eyed mother.

"How was your night?" she croaked, placing her elbow on the back of the sofa and resting her head against the back of her hand. Lainey had never been more creeped out by Mom in her seventeen years of life. What was going on? Was she not going to yell? Was she just grateful that she finally came home?

"Mom, yesterday was . . . " Lainey fished around for the right way to explain the events of the day before. But after several seconds she came to the conclusion that there was no right way to explain what had happened. Mostly because the day before shouldn't have happened at all.

"I . . . spent the night at Rita's," Lainey lied. "You know Rita. Nicki's friend. She's still really broken up about Nicki's death. So I stayed over to, you know . . . help her through this hard time. And as always I forgot to call. I'm so sorry, Mom. I suck, I know. Please forgive me."

Mom merely nodded at Lainey's explanation. And soon after, did the one thing that Lainey wouldn't have expected in a million years: she opened her arms for a hug. Lainey slowly and cautiously leaned in to hug Mom as if she thought Mom was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike her.