#dysews

            To say that Dwight was deeply disturbed would be an understatement.  He left Stacie a note, telling her that he needed to step out and that Cowboy was in his crib… but when he got outside, he immediately panicked…  What if that call was a set up to get him out of the house and he left Stacie and Cowboy alone to be subjected to attack?  He picked up the phone and called the police, to inform them of what had just happened, “I’m not saying that she’s missing, I’m saying that I don’t know WHAT happened to her, but she sounded like she was being attacked!”  He fussed at the person on the other line who was asking if it had been 24 hours, etc.  “Ma’am, my family has been targeted by a sophisticated hate group several times in the past years and this is not something to just brush off!  IF something has happened to my daughter-in-law, you’re head’s gonna roll, Ilene or Irene, or whatever you said your name is!”

Stacie appeared in the doorway, holding Cowboy and asked, “What’s wrong, Daddy?”

He frowned and just said, “I think something happened to Cheri.”  Stacie nearly crumbled to the floor, but had to remind herself that she was holding a baby.  “Try not to worry, Stacie.  We’ll… we’ll do everything that we can…”

***

            Mercedes sighed and reached out for Sam.  He took her hand and kissed it and pulled her close to himself.  She could sense how tense he was, but he wanted to enjoy their new relationship.  She found herself regularly tracing her fingers over his wedding ring, wanting to know every detail of it, to know exactly what she had been given to give to him.  She kissed his hand too and asked, “Is he going to be alright?”

“They have him on suicide watch, but he promises that he’s not going to do anything that will keep him from Cowboy any longer,” Sam said, stressed out.

“I know that devil woman had something to do with this.  She threatens Emma and Dwight to Cheri, then suddenly, on a night where she knew exactly where Cheri would be and was in the position to follow her, Cheri runs off of the road and just vanishes?  God, I just hope… Jesus, I don’t even want to think about it, but…”  She shivered at the thought of Cheri being killed or tortured or… attacked in any way.  If she had been… it probably had already happened.

            After everyone left them cozily in their cabin, after their wedding, Sam could finally see again and helped Mercedes into an extravagant lovers’ bath that he’d prepared, feeding her assorted fruits dipped in assorted chocolates and honestly combining a collage of over romantic gestures, since they weren’t sure when they might have an actual honeymoon, considering she never answered the question and the wedding had only been planned for a few days, now.  It was quite a spirit lifter for her, though.  She seemed like his Babydoll again.  She was glowing with joy and just radiant with love and happiness. 

            They spent hours making love again, and it became even sweeter as husband and wife, for whatever reason… like… it was officially all his, with signed documents and witnesses and all of that.  He smiled into her skin and decided to let her get some sleep.  He would pay someone to clean up the cabin when they were done with it, so he settled on the couch and turned on some music while he wrote in his most current journal.  He still did this all of the time.  He wanted to forever keep record of everything in his life, especially her and their love, for his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren… he wanted them all to know where they came from.  He wanted to share the journey of unconditional love with them.  After a while, he fell asleep and didn’t wake up until he felt her shaking him.

            Once, there was a time when it was difficult to come close to him when he was asleep, but she had seemingly cured him of that, because even though he would always have certain nightmares, he was able to get peaceful rest and to wake up appropriately, without swinging or attacking in some way.  “Hey, Babydoll… what’s up?”

“Cheerio went missing,” she said.  Sam jumped up and reached out for the phone that she was holding in her and looked at it.  It was Dwight.

“Dad?”  Sam spoke.

Dwight sighed, shivering in his voice, “Sam, I didn’t wanna bother y’all…”

“Don’t be ridiculous.  What’s going on with Cheerio?”

“Well, I got a call from her and it sounded really shady, so I called the cops and they weren’t all that helpful, so I loaded up Stacie and Cowboy, so they wouldn’t be left alone and we went to drive to the school to check and see if she was there or around and the truck was in a ditch on the side of one of the roads.  It looks like it was hit from the back and skid and went divin’…  And she ain’t nowhere around.  It wasn’t long enough ago that she could’ve made it far, especially with how sore she’s been and add to that getting knocked off the road.”

“You think somebody took her?”  Sam asked.

“I know that somebody did.  She screamed and then went silent and afterwards, the phone hung up.  Police have been asking me questions about her, like if she’d disappeared before and stuff and no matter what I’m telling them, they ain’t takin’ it serious,” Dwight said.

“We’re heading back home,” Sam said.

“Be careful.  I can’t tell what’s happening.  I don’t know if somebody’s setting us up, watching us, just trying to scare us or out to do some actual damage,” Dwight said.

“Okay…”  Sam sighed and shut his eyes tightly, “Has anybody talked to Stevie?”

“I want us to know a little bit more before we do that to him,” Dwight said, “But the police are asking about it, like they think HE had something to do with it…  I swear Sam, I’m gonna haul off and break my entire foot off in one of these asses ‘round here…”

“Don’t… Babydoll and I are gonna be around, okay, Dad?  Just, keep cool.  Wanna talk to her while I drive us there?  She could sing for you…”  Sam offered.  He heard Dwight let out a soft sob.  “Dad, it isn’t your fault, okay?”  Dwight didn’t respond.  “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”  Sam and Mercedes simply got dressed and took off.  Anything left behind, Sam could come back for.  Their family needed them, at that moment.

            Sam was sunken into the couch with Mercedes snuggled closely to him, while Stacie just stared out into space, sniffling, here and there.  She couldn’t take losing anybody else.  She just hated that feeling and she knew that losing Cheri meant losing Stevie… and this time, she didn’t know if she’d ever get her twin back.  It was obvious to her the first time that she saw Stevie around Cheerio that there was something different about the way he responded to her than any other girl, ever…

And the more she saw them together, the more obvious it became.  They would visit him and she would be lurking, but she didn’t interrupt.  Sometimes she might start talking to someone else in the room and if it was a male, Stacie noticed Stevie check to see what was going on over there.  She smiled to herself, sadly, thinking about that look that she saw about her brother after a while, and if Cheerio just so happened to interrupt their family time, despite what he would be saying to her, there would be this glow that shined over him.  Then of course, there was that time that they caught her kissing him bye right before they came into the common room to visit.  Stacie never saw Stevie happier, even though he always wore his broody face and furrowed eyebrows, she could see past it to that complete boy that Cheri somehow helped to piece back together…  Stacie exploded into tears into her hands and Sam rushed to check on her.  “Where could she be, if she isn’t dead?”  She asked out loud.  “She’s probably dead, isn’t she?”

“We’ve just gotta hold on to some faith, okay?”  Sam asked.  She sobbed and nodded her head.

******

            Stevie was shocked when he saw his father walking into the visit, holding Cowboy.  Not only had Cheerio obviously been in touch with him, but where was she?  He took a swallow when he noticed that police officers were also present.  He hurried to Cowboy and took him from Dwight, “Why do you have him?  Where’s Cheerio?”  He looked at Cowboy, inspecting him for harm and asked, “Where’s Captain?”

Dwight explained, “I wanted to be the one to tell you that we don’t know where Cheri is and these officers have some questions for you.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know where she is?  Has she been around y’all?”  Stevie asked, cuffing Cowboy closer to himself with shaky hands and arms.

Dwight slowly spoke, calmly, “Yes, she has.  Saturday, she went to cheerleader camp and didn’t make it back home…  I got a call from her phone and…”

The officer cut in with, “Stevie, when was the last time that you talked to Cheri?”

Stevie fought off tears, “Um… a few days ago.  She told me that she had been busy with practices and apologized for not having the right amount of time for me, but she said she’d call me Saturday, but she didn’t.  I ended up talking to Stacie, instead…”  He took a seat and cradled his son to him, “What kind of phone call did you get?”  He asked Dwight, already fearful of the answer; but he needed to know.

The officer asked back, “Could you return the infant to his grandfather, please?”

“He’s MINE,” Stevie said, indignantly, glaring at the woman.  “What kind of call was it?”  An orderly stepped up and the officer explained that they wanted to get the baby from Stevie.  Stevie turned red as he gave Cowboy to Dwight, angry that he had to be treated like an untrustworthy child with his own baby, but more worried about the information that might make them all worry so much about him having Cowboy within his possession.  “Dad…”  His voice pleaded.

Dwight looked down and said, “She screamed on the other line, like she was being attacked, then she went silent and I heard a few other noises, then someone hung the phone up…”  Stevie’s face and composure had been breaking down with each word and when Dwight got to the end of the description, he fell apart, making the orderly have to subdue him. 

He calmed down, but couldn’t stop groaning in pain.  Not physical, but somewhere deep inside of him that always carried a torch for the girl that gave him comfort and friendship in his darkest time, the girl that gave him Cowboy… Oh God… Somebody had gotten to her.  Something had happened to her, and it was his fault.  He knew that whoever hurt her was doing it to hurt him.  How would he ever look his son in the face someday and explain that?  How would he ever look in the mirror again?

“Stevie,” Dwight said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Son, it ain’t over, okay?  We aren’t gonna rest until we find out what happened to her.  And no matter what, you got him to think about,” he said, hoisting Cowboy.  Stevie leaned forward and the orderly allowed Dwight to take him into an embrace as he cried on his father for the first time… possibly since he was a little boy.

“Daddy, I’m never going to forgive myself if they killed her because of me.  I’m never gonna forgive myself no matter how they hurt her.  I know it’s because of me!”  Cowboy reached out and began to pat his father’s head and Stevie looked up, gently and saw the little boy that might be the only thing he had left of her and new tears began to fall as he backed up and shook his head, “Keep him away from me.  I can’t have them coming for him too.  Just, everybody stay the fuck away from me!”  He roared and stormed out, heading for his room.  Dwight comforted Cowboy, who was frightened by the yelling into a crying spell and when Stevie heard it, he froze and turned around.  He was trembling, but he came back and he reached for the baby, who quickly moved to come to him and stopped crying moments later. 

Unbelievable, Stevie thought.  He was never really around him that much, but it was like he knew who he was.  Stevie held him closely to himself and whispered, “I’m sorry, Boy.  I’m really sorry about everything’s that happened and maybe gonna happen.”  He looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m no good for you.”  But, Cowboy didn’t know what he was saying.  He just knew hugs and cuddles came with this person and he moved closer for some, pulling more shaking and crying out of Stevie as he found a seat to try to pull himself together.  Cowboy patted him on the head again and he kissed his little fingers.  He was silent.  Everyone was.  Nobody knew what to say, or if he was alright, if the baby was going to be alright in his hold.  Stevie didn’t even notice any of them.  He needed this time with his son.  This was likely to be the only good thing left in his life.  He didn’t want to throw that away, too – as selfish as he felt for feeling that way.

***

            Stevie had been much more melancholy, even than usual.  He totally wanted to self-destruct and lose control, but he found that he had learned more control than he’d given himself credit for and this was very important right now.  He knew that he was being watched hard and silently evaluated.  They had to know that he was ready to be released into the world before ever letting him go, and now he had to go.  He wanted to help search for Cheri, even if all they would find would be remains.  He shuddered and cringed and held himself, trying not to let that thought kill him.  They say that if they don’t find them within the 1st 48 hours… he shook his head and let it fall onto his knees, as he sat on the grass.  His phone rang and he rushed to answer, in case it was his family.  He saw Cheri’s number and didn’t know what to feel…  “Hello?”

A familiar voice was on the other line, but it wasn’t hers.  “Hi, Stevie.  It’s been a while!”  Stevie felt all of the hairs on his entire body stand up.  “How’s life treating you?  I heard you might be getting out soon.  That’s great news!”

Stevie stammered over words before saying, “Look… you obviously know my weakness… Just… whatever you need to do to me, I welcome it, but please...  Not her.  My son needs her.”

“Your son is pretty cute for a half breed.  Then again, his mama is one hot little nigger, isn’t she?  That doesn’t make what you’ve done less gross, but at least she’s not like that gorilla that your brother has,” he said. 

“What do you want from me?”  Stevie asked.

“I want you to suffer.  My brother and I thought about it and it’s the only thing that will bring us any kind of peace.”

“I HAVE suffered.  I watched my mom die, JUST like you watched your brother die!”  Stevie snapped.

“Not just like.  You have a twin – so I think you know how I feel about my other triplets, and now I’ve got one brother that you killed after a gross betrayal of brotherhood and whiteness as a whole and I have another who is sitting on death row.  You only lost your mom.  You owe me one more.  I’ll let you choose,” the man said.  “You get two choices, too.  I was gonna say that awesomely hot little sister of yours, who you’ve always been crazy about, but you just don’t care about her like you used to.  No, not now that you have this “family.”  PATHETIC and traitorous.  I never would have chosen anything over my trio.  So, that leaves that abomination that you actually allowed to come into this world.  You should have pushed that bitch out of an asylum window when you realized what she had inside of her, but you wouldn’t have.  You couldn’t have.  You wouldn’t be able to stand losing her, would you?  I bet you’d pick the poor kid… just offer him up, huh?”

“That’s heinous.  He’s just a baby…  My family is not gonna let you get anywhere near him, now!”  He snapped.

“Oh, that’s right.  They will have tightened security.  Well, I guess it’s the girlfriend that you’re gonna have to say bye to.”

“Please…  Anything… anything at all… whatever you ask me, just don’t hurt her!”  Stevie begged.

“Just know this…whatever I do to her, you’ll have to be there to see it.  Until then, she’s being kept pretty safe in a special place… and I’ll never tell…”  He hung up. 

“Hello?  HELLO???”  Stevie got up and rushed to the desk and told them, “The person that took my son’s mom just called me from her phone!  I need to tell the police…”

***

            Tina and Sam both looked excited when Matt and Aphasia stepped out of their car.  Mercedes was simply waiting.  Aphasia rushed to hug Tina tightly, then Sam, then Mercedes and Matt gave Tina and Mercedes a hug and nodded once at Sam.  “If it was anybody else who called me, but you, Mercedes; I might have hung up on them.”  His eyes looked Sam up and down before he smiled at Tina and corrected himself, “Or Miss Chang, or have we become Mrs. Chang, yet?”

“Still Miss Chang, but somebody else has become Mrs. Evans,” Tina commented.

Aphasia gasped and clapped her hands once, “Congratulations!  Thanks for inviting us!”  She added, sarcastically.

Mercedes told them, “It was a surprise wedding.  I didn’t even know that I was invited, until I got there.  But…  Matt… you said that you came up with some information?”  She said, trying to get down to business.  She really wanted to catch up and all, but this was about Cheri’s disappearance.

Matt opened his bag, “That I did.  You all remember a fellow by the name of Phil Giardi, right?”  Sam cringed and held tightly to Mercedes.  “I know one of you does.  But, you might also remember that he didn’t die childless.”  Matt began to pull out files.  He still kept both computer and paper files.

“The Giardi triplets?”  Tina said.  “I thought that they got taken down?”

“Stevie Evans killed one on the night that Mary Evans died, another one was taken into custody and is now on death row.  The third is at large,” Matt said, and gave Sam a photograph.

Sam shook his head, “Why is she with him?”

Matt explained, “I’m pretty sure she has no idea who he is.  But, your brother spoke with the police and said that he called from her phone and claimed that he was responsible for her disappearance.  The towers that they checked for the phone call directed the police to an upscale neighborhood in which this guy couldn’t POSSIBLY live.  He doesn’t have the means, nor the smarts to do it.  BUT, guess who does live in that neighborhood?”  Matt answered his own question, “Rhadja Robinson.  You might know her as the nameless mother of Cheri Robinson.  I sent someone to speak with her, she’s claiming that her daughter is sick and has been for a long time and that she’s “currently being helped.”

Sam clenched his fists, “Cheerio’s mom is in the pocket of these guys?  Does she know how they operate?  Does she not understand the depth of danger her daughter is in?”

Matt tilted his head and went to take a seat and get his laptop set up, “Rhadja Robinson was never really on my radar for anything.  Biracial beauty queen and fashion powerhouse who initially came to Lima for her professional expertise for beauty pageants and etiquette school for pageant queens.  Her husband, Charleton “Champion” Robinson in recent years bought out most of the Schuester property and businesses that they lost after the scandal…”

“So…?”  Sam wondered as he sat down next to Matt and Matt shifted over to put a little space between them.

“So, it can easily be said that if something is found that ties the Robinsons in with the Whiteys, that whatever it is must be something that was overlooked during crossovers,” Aphasia said, folding her arms and shaking her head, “That Robinson woman –  I don’t know that I would straight up peg her as a Nazzi sympathizer or unlikely ally, but I CAN say that whatever is going on with her daughter, she does not give a shit.  She seemed more concerned about having ‘militants’ on her property than the fact that we were searching for her daughter.”

Matt interjected, “Well, of course.  She didn’t want us to know where her daughter was.”

Sam chuckled angrily, “So… wait… she DOES know where Cheri is?  She wasn’t just saying something since she hasn’t been around a single day of Cheri’s life for the past year or so?”

Mercedes quickly urged, “Well, where is Cheri?”

Matt sighed, “I’ve got someone working on it, but it’s difficult, because even though Cheri hasn’t been with her legal guardians for this time, her parents still are.”  Mercedes now sat next to Sam and Matt reached out to take her hand, “Hopefully, I can successfully get her brought home, before one of the real bad guys get to her mainly Max Giardi.”  He went back to his laptop, “Who, we know has reason to come after Stevie; but we haven’t learned of any connection between he and Robinson.  We don’t know her angle unless she honestly think that what she’s done is best.”

“You haven’t told us what she’s done.  Where the hell is Cheerio?”  Sam wondered.

Matt glanced at Aphasia.  He was never good at bad news and always came across as too blunt or mean.  So, he had to fall back on her controllable gentleness for such things…

***