The Loneliest Caster

Chapter 3

“Stacey! Stacey wake up! You’re scaring the kids!” Amanda whispers in Stacey’s ear as she shakes her awake.

“What?! O, Amanda I’m sorry,” Stacey sits straight up and looks around to the smaller children staring wide, eyed at her. “Come on kids everything’s ok, Stacey just had a bad dream. Come on, let's go back to bed,” Stacey says to them, hopping down from the top bunk with a weak smile.

“Look Stacey, that is the third time this week. You need to go back to the doctor and tell him about the dreams,” Amanda says as they see the younger kids back to their room.

“NO. I will not go back. That medicine makes the dreams stop. I WANT to have the dreams,” Stacey says, rubbing her temples.

“Look, that’s great and all, but you sound like you’re dying. The way you scream makes me remember how you were when you first got here,” Amanda says, shaking her head as she climbs back into bed.

“Well I’m sorry,” that’s all Stacey can say to that. Stacey was such a mess when she first got to this home. This foster house, with so many kids, has been her home for so many years she forgets sometimes how she was when she first got here.

Ga, the neon numbers from the clock are screaming four am. Stacey’s tired but can’t help thinking about what Amanda said. She doesn’t really remember the first couple of weeks, but Amanda told her that she just laid in bed. Stacey did nothing: eat, drink, or even speak. Amanda watched from down the hall as their foster mother, Miss Betty, took care of Stacey. Then one night Amanda heard Stacey crying in her sleep and crawled into bed wrapping her arms around her tight. Amanda sang and hummed all night long. Stacey remembers that, remembers finally feeling Amanda’s arms around her and waking up. That love Amanda was giving made Stacey realize that she could keep going, that she had to. Stacey had to find those monsters and make them pay for her parent’s death. Ever since then, Amanda and Stacey haven’t spent a single day without each other. At nineteen, Stacey has lived a loved life with her adoptive sister and mother, but she is still plagued by her parent’s deaths. One day I will find those monsters and will put a stop to these nightmares.

Stacey tosses and turns for an hour trying to go back to sleep, until Amanda quietly rolls out of the bottom bunk. Stacey slides down from the top bunk and follows her to the kitchen. Stacey makes herself some toast while Amanda works to make coffee. Stacey takes the quiet moment to look over Amanda. Her dirty blonde hair is messy, but her soft curls still hold their shape after a night of tossing and turning. Her skin always seems to keep a slight tan even in the winter months, and never a single blemish to be seen. Stacey smiles at the cluster of freckles across her nose, those to will darken in the summer sun. And her blue eyes already seem to alter and awake before the coffee is even done brewing. Stacey has a few inches on her standing at 5’5 and Amanda at 5’2. Her body is soft compared to Stacey’s lean athletic build.

“Why are you staring at me?” Amanda says with her back to Stacey as she pulls cups from the cabinet.

“Just thinking about how you’re pretty even just rolling out of bed,” Stacey says taking her cup from Amanda and filling it with creamer.

“Well sure, but I’ve never been told how beautiful I look after a workout from James, now have I?” Amanda says lifting her eyebrow and pouring coffee into Stacey’s cup.

“Yeah… well, he’s a guy. Something to do with pheromones after a workout making men go crazy. I don’t know what he was on that day, he never talks like that. I mean did he really mean it, was he just playing, who really knows! Plus did you… did you want him to call you beautiful. Because I mean I’ll go kick his ass right now and make him say it,” Stacey rambles as her cheeks go red.

“No silly. I was just teasing. I have no interest in James what so ever. But I know you do, and you should tell him. We aren’t in high school anymore, we are adults. If you don’t make a move soon he’s going to find another sweaty girl to call beautiful,” Amanda says pulling out another cup and filling it with coffee.

“She’s right Stacey,” a woman calls as she enters the kitchen and takes the coffee from Amanda’s outstretched hand.

“Miss Betty I don’t know what to DO,” Stacey whines as she falls into a chair. Miss Betty and Amanda laugh at her as they join the table.

“What do you two have planned for the day?” Miss Betty calls running her fingers through Stacey’s hair.

“Nothing exciting I’m going to Mark’s, he finished adding another obstacle to the run through for me. By the time I graduate college I should be able to zoom through the course at the police academy,” Stacey says before gulping down her coffee burning her throat.

“Coffee is meant to be sipped you crazy girl!” Miss Betty says ripping the empty cup from her hands.

“I’ll be finishing up my edits so I can turn in my research paper to the newspaper crew at the school,” Amanda says with a small smile.

“How exciting your very first research project being published!” Miss Betty says squeezing Amanda in a big hug. Stacey once again takes the moment to look over Miss Betty: a short curvy woman, built just right for the role of mother. With her strawberry blonde hair and green eyes she stands out in a crowd. Stacey and Amanda could always see her at every one of their school functions, something about her called their attention.

“It’s not a big deal Miss Betty, it’s just a small newspaper in the local community college. No one’s going to read it past my professor,” Amanda says trying to convince herself it wasn’t a big deal.

“It’s an extremely high achievement to have a research paper published as a freshman in college. Even at a community college. One day all of your papers are going to be published and I’m going to remind you of this moment,” Miss Betty says cupping Amanda’s face in her hands and looking deep into her eyes.

“You’re going to make her cry,” Stacey says standing up and stretching.

“Ok well you two better get a shower in before the other kids wake up or you’re never going to get out of here,” Miss Betty says waving her hand at the girls as she leaves the kitchen. Miss Betty has so much love in her heart that she filled her tiny home with children. All foster children adopted by Miss Betty. Six children total: Donovan and Amberly, 11 year old twins, parents passed away in a car accident; Christian 9 abandoned at a fire station; Jennifer 7 mother passed away during birth no other family, Jessie 6 and Barbara 5 both parents killed while in the military, no other family able to keep them. Stacey and Amanda take being big sisters seriously, but sometimes you got to sneak out the house. They race as quietly as possible to the single bathroom in the house. Stacey makes it to the tub first sticking her tongue out at Amanda. Amanda rolls her eyes and moves to the vanity to brush her teeth. The girls quickly ready themselves for the day and as they close the front door the first sounds of children waking reach them.

“Miss Betty said we can take the car today, she and the kids are going to walk to the park for a little bit before cleaning the house. Would you like me to drop you off at Marks, or would you like to drop me off at the Library?” Amanda asks holding the keys out.

“You can drop me off at Mark’s. It will give me motivation to keep doing the course until you pick me up,” Stacey says thinking it over. The girls have fun turning the radio up and the windows down as they make their way out of town and toward Mark’s large property. Mark is waiting outside and Stacey quickly jumps out waving Amanda a fair well. Amanda yells a quick hello and good bye while driving off to her paper.

“You know it would benefit you to go to a larger town and become a cop. I mean we have to send the recruits out of town to complete the police academy because we don’t have one. Plus your resources will be significantly better for a detective,” Mark says walking with Stacey behind his house towards a homemade obstacle course.

“No I need to be in a small town. This way I can still be on the force but have plenty of time to investigate my parents murder,” Stacey says walking up to the massive course.

“Stacey I’ve told you before, they aren’t just going to hand you over the file. You would be out of jurisdiction. Cops are moody and would find it an insult to their own detective work if some young hot headed girl comes barging in demanding the file,” Mark says as Stacey begins a warm up.

“Mark I am taking this seriously. I want to become a police officer and eventually a detective. Hell I’m even getting a college degree in criminology to help ensure I have a full understanding of what I’m getting into. I would never disrespect another station, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to do another police officer a solid and let me look at the file,” Stacey says as she stretches out her limbs.

“Stacey… I don’t think your parents would have wanted you to obsess over their deaths. For you to throw away your talents just to avenge them. You are smart and strong. You could apply those to any other field of work! Or trade if you wanted. But this life style is hard, the messed up things you see as a police officer will affect you for the rest of your life. And what will you do if you can’t make any headway on their case? It will consume you, they would never had wanted that,” Mark tries to reason with her.

“We have no IDEA what they would have wanted because they are gone! How did we go from you encouraging me to find a bigger city station to not becoming a cop at all? I’m not like Amanda I don’t have the smarts to just pick out any job I want. But I’m athletic, quick, and dedicated to anything I set my mind to. I can’t think of any other career that would benefit from those things more than a cop,” Stacey says as her anger starts to build. The wind picks up, but Mark and Stacey don’t notice.

“Engineer, construction, mechanic, electrician, hell even a firefighter would be better!” Mark says throwing his hands in the air.

“Ew a firefighter really?” Stacey says scrunching her nose. Mark also scrunches his nose after thinking it over.

“Look please just think about it. PLEASE,” Mark says walking to her and hugging her tight.

“I’ve thought about it, I have wanted to be a cop for a very long time. This is it, it’s the only thing I will ever want to do,” Stacey says hugging him back. The wind levels out and they pull apart, Mark gives her a quick peck on the top of her head before heading back to the house.

“Please don’t break anything this is getting expensive to keep up with,” Mark calls over his shoulder.