Just a Little Lost

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

virtualbatgirl:

It pained her to say it but he had to hear it. “You know, police officers aren’t perfect. Sometimes, no matter how hard they try, they goof up. It’s easy to misread some situations. You didn’t wind up in jail, so they must’ve figured it out, right?”

“No, I ran. I couldn’t go to the hospital, because I would get arrested.” He set his head on the table. “They thought I died…”

That she would check into. If he’d been identified, Barbara would find a way to give the kid another shot. Make the evidence disappear. The files. Everything but the notes, if the cop on the case was old school like Bullock and preferred to keep hard copies of everything.

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

virtualbatgirl:

“Maybe you just didn’t know, before, how much people cared. People do care what happens to you, and anytime someone your age gets hurt? The adults wonder how we could’ve stopped it. And get mad at ourselves a lot for letting you be in danger.”

He frowned, looking down. “No… I’ve been shot before… no one cared, they tried to arrest me. It was really really scary, and I feel really bad for making you guys worry.”

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

“Maybe you just didn’t know, before, how much people cared. People do care what happens to you, and anytime someone your age gets hurt? The adults wonder how we could’ve stopped it. And get mad at ourselves a lot for letting you be in danger.”

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

little-todd:

virtualbatgirl:

Shushing him, she told him, “Just be you. That’s all I ask for. And if you like coming to visit, you’ll still be welcome even if you weren’t before.”

Barbara leaned in conspiratorially. “I wasn’t the same after I got shot, either, but the important people take me as I am. Legs that don’t work and all. You don’t have to worry about making everyone happy. Just make you happy. The ones who love you will get on board that wagon in a heartbeat. Even if sometimes the wagon’s got a little bit bumpier ride than we’re used to.”

He looked down at her legs, frowning softly. “You’re paralyzed…. the old me might as well be dead, ‘cause I can’t remember anything… Chase is trying, but I think he’s a little mad that I’m here instead of old Jason… I’m not right.”

“Don’t say that. He’s maybe just feeling hurt because it’s him you don’t remember, because even if you know how the brain works? It’s hard to process. And he’s probably more upset that you got hurt in the first place. Maybe even feels guilty.” Shaking her head, she added, “I have friends who think that if they’d been there, they could’ve saved me. This is just…it’s not ideal, but we need to move forward when you’re able to. That’s the way to heal.”

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

Shushing him, she told him, “Just be you. That’s all I ask for. And if you like coming to visit, you’ll still be welcome even if you weren’t before.”

Barbara leaned in conspiratorially. “I wasn’t the same after I got shot, either, but the important people take me as I am. Legs that don’t work and all. You don’t have to worry about making everyone happy. Just make you happy. The ones who love you will get on board that wagon in a heartbeat. Even if sometimes the wagon’s got a little bit bumpier ride than we’re used to.”

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

little-todd:

virtualbatgirl:

Shaking her head, she indicated that she was not his aunt. “No. Just a friend you used to visit sometimes when you were bored. Your brother recently took a job working for me. It was you who introduced us.”

“Oh. Is he a good worker? I hope he is. That would be nice.” He kicked his feet under the table, pretending he didn’t just give up details about his family. Can he undo that? That would be nice. “He said I’m here a lot… after school and stuff.” 

Chase had just started with Barbara. As yet, she’d had little opportunity to assess him, but he seemed eager and pleased to have a halfway decent job that allowed him to keep his clothes on.

While Jason was in hospital, she’d kept her distance to allow him to forge new bonds with his family. The last thing she’d wanted to do was interfere. At least not as long as it seemed that the boys were being kept reasonably safe.

“You come by sometimes. Mostly you just drop by. We’ll watch a movie here and there, or pig out on pizza or some kind of treat.” If nothing else, having him around was a way to indulge her more maternal impulses. Charlie was already far too grown up for all that, and with each passing year Barbara became more sure that motherhood was not in the cards for her.

The electronic locks could be heard opening. Long before he’d reached the penthouse, Barbara knew Jason was in the building. She was busy in the kitchen just beyond the entry hall. Her goal? A banana split to beat the last of the summer heat.

little-todd:

virtualbatgirl:

For a long time she’d known the little boy. Clearly the injuries he’d sustained were every bit as severe as she’d heard. Logical or not, she’d hoped that his arrival might trigger something like a memory of snuggling on the couch to watch a Disney movie with a huge bucket of popcorn, or of sharing a chili dog on the Amusement Mile.

Smiling sweetly, she beckoned him into the kitchen and took a place on the opposite end of the table from the doorway. That way if Jason needed some space, he would be more likely to take it and hopefully less uneasy.

“You can just call me Barbara,” she told him. “How’s your head feeling? You took a pretty good knock in the noggin, didn’t you?”

Jason’s heart ached a bit. He’d always been a perceptive kid, and today he regretted it. He could see she was hurt and upset that he didn’t remember. He wanted to, really, he just couldn’t.

He sat in front of her, smiling softly. “I like your home… It’s super fancy.” He looked around. “You look like Mom…. Are you the Aunt I never got to meet?”

Shaking her head, she indicated that she was not his aunt. “No. Just a friend you used to visit sometimes when you were bored. Your brother recently took a job working for me. It was you who introduced us.”