Part 22 (1/2)

The sun was midway in the sky and caused a stream of light to enter the room through the slits in the window blind. Tiny specs of dust floated effortlessly in the air, and then settled on Serenity's h.e.l.lo Kitty hat lying on the floor beneath the window.

Tia stood there watching her sleep. The peaceful name she'd given her daughter at birth had not transferred over into her life as she'd hoped it would. Something was not serene with her daughter. But how could it be when she had a father hooked on painkillers and a mother . . .? Tia leaned her head against the doorway.

At one point everything had been peaceful and calm with Serenity. But that had been a long time ago, when she'd been a child and her whole world had revolved around Tia and Lorenzo . . . when they'd both been decent parents. Now, Serenity was a teenager trying to deal with all the things that came with being a teenager. And just when she needed them most, neither of them had paid much attention to her. They were both guilty of being distracted by their own issues.

Tia inhaled deeply. What kind of mother was she being to Serenity? Had she been so consumed with her own problems that she'd put her daughter at the bottom of her list of priorities? She closed the door softly and went downstairs.

While she was in the kitchen making a cup of coffee, she heard the front door open. She walked out of the kitchen and was surprised to see Lorenzo coming in. He still wore the green hospital identification band around his wrist and a small Band-Aid covered the top of his hand where the IV needle had been.

”Why didn't you call me?” she said. ”I would have come and picked you up.”

”I didn't know you were staying home,” he said in his usual dull voice.

Tia glared at him. He was still the same. Not even a near overdose had changed that cold demeanor he insisted on holding to. ”We had a little bit of a scare yesterday with Serenity,” she said as she stirred her coffee.

”What do you mean a scare? What happened?”

”Well, not only did she go off to meet some boy she met online, but one of the neighbors pulled her into his house and locked her in his bas.e.m.e.nt.”

”What?” Lorenzo's emotional state was awakened. ”What neighbor?”

Tia looked down into her cup of coffee. ”The man next door to Shari and her husband,” she said.

Lorenzo waved his hands in the air. ”Is she all right?”

”She's all right physically. She said he didn't do anything to her except tie her to a chair. And thank G.o.d he didn't tie it tight enough, so she was able to get out of it.”

Tia took a sip of coffee from the cup she was holding.

The frown on Lorenzo's forehead deepened. ”Are you going to tell me what happened?”

”I just did,” Tia said.

He balanced himself against the kitchen counter with one hand. ”Tell me the circ.u.mstances, Tia.”

Tia took in a deep breath before she began. ”When Serenity came home yesterday and found you on the floor,” she paused to let her words sink in, ”she called me at work. I called 9-1-1, and then I told Serenity to go to Shari's house. She said n.o.body was there so she went next door to the neighbors, and that's how he ended up pulling her into his house.”

”Continue,” Lorenzo said.

Tia saw the fury in his eyes. That was the one emotion he had no problem displaying.

”I called the police,” she said, ”and while they were over there talking to him, Serenity managed to untie herself and crawl out the bas.e.m.e.nt window.”

Lorenzo stormed to the hall closet. ”Where's my bat?”

”He's not there,” she told him.

”They arrested him?”

”Yes. One of the police officers called to tell me he tried to run away after Serenity escaped, but they caught him.”

The awkward silence between them returned.

”I'm sure she's still a little shook up,” Tia said as she carried her cup of coffee upstairs to her room. ”You might want to check on her . . .” she hesitated, ”if you have time.”

”If I have time?” he said walking toward the stairs. ”What is that supposed to mean?”

”Just what I said.” She stopped and turned midway around. ”What part of that don't you understand?”

”Oh, I understand,” he said standing at the foot of the stairs. ”But what are you trying to say?”

”I'm not trying to say anything.” She turned her full body around to face him. ”I thought I said it. Make time for your daughter. Maybe if you paid more attention to her, she might not be on the computer looking for boys to meet!”

Serenity flung her bedroom door open. ”I wasn't looking for boys!” she cried out, and then slammed her door shut.

Lorenzo ignored her outburst. ”You're one to talk,” he said pointing his finger toward her. ”How much time do you spend with her? Yeah, you take her to visit your mother and grandmother once a month, but what else do you do with her? All you do is go to work and church.”

”There was a time when you went to church too,” Tia replied. She turned and continued upstairs. ”Maybe it's time you remembered that.”

Lorenzo remained standing at the bottom of the stairs as he watched Tia storm away. He heard the bedroom door slam shut, and his mind began to pull him toward his old familiar escape route. He turned toward the front door.

Thirty minutes and two pills later, and he would not have to deal with what was going on in this house. Then he remembered the shame he'd felt lying in the hospital bed being told that his daughter had found him sprawled out in a drug-induced unconsciousness. He shook his head. Why hadn't G.o.d just let me die?

He put one hand on the stair banister while he kept staring at the door. He thought about the pamphlet and the referral for treatment he'd accepted at the hospital before he'd been discharged. He walked back to the hallway and picked up the pamphlet.

It was a faith-based treatment center that offered a one-year recovery and deliverance program for men and women. Several testimonies were printed on the cover from those who, through the power of Jesus Christ, had been set free from their addiction.

Lorenzo knew something needed to change-he knew he needed to change. That's why he had accepted the information, and an appointment had already been scheduled for him.

”Lord, give me strength,” he whispered as he turned around and slowly headed upstairs to Serenity's bedroom. He knocked softly on her door, and then opened it slowly. She was lying on her bed with her earplugs in her ears. ”Hey,” he said.

She looked at him and did not speak.

He wiped his moist hands on the side of his blue jeans, then signaled with his fingers for her to remove the earplugs.

She reluctantly took one of them out of her ear.

”I want to talk to you,” he said.

”I already told you,” she said defiantly, ”I wasn't looking for boys.”

”That's not what I want to talk to you about,” Lorenzo said as he sat down on the edge of her bed. ”At least not now. Right now, I want to know how you're feeling about everything.”

Serenity hunched her shoulders, and then let them relax.

Lorenzo stared at the pink h.e.l.lo Kitty poster on her wall. The mouthless feline stared back at him. ”What does that mean, Serenity?”