Love Me

Chapter 4
A Move Set Into Motion
I was sitting at work trying to figure out how I was going to make my move happen. I needed to finish my last doll, but I wasn’t truly certain that I was ready to leave Caroline at home alone. She was unstable and on top of that, an addict. I was deep in thought when a voice broke my concentration. It was Officer Tate; plain old Jacob in my eyes. He was the father of Rachel’s little boy Jacob Jr., but we all called him JJ. He was a nice guy who I could tell wasn’t happy at all in his current situation. He was married to Stacy, who was Caroline’s best friend. If I cared anything for her, I would have told her that her husband had a baby by another woman, but I never did. I always blamed Stacy for what happened to Caroline, and knowing that her husband was happy with someone else other than her was the type of retribution I was comfortable with. It was uncertain when Jacob and Rachel hooked up; it just happened. One day Rachel went off to college and the next thing I knew she was back home with a newborn baby and a cop for a boyfriend. Karma!
“Hey. Is Rachel around?” Jacob asked, as he was making his usual rounds which enabled him to spend some time with Rachel and JJ. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn’t paid any attention to anyone or anything that was going on around me. I didn’t have a clue as to where Rachel was but I was good at stalling.
“I’m not sure. Let me check.”
I went into the back of the store to see if I could find her. The fact that Rachel was messing around with a cop should have stopped me a long time ago from selling my dolls but it didn’t. I never really considered Jacob as a threat, because he was always fascinated with Rachel and JJ whenever he came around. The truth of the matter was he never really paid any attention to me or what I was doing. I could’ve been selling drugs right in front of his face and he wouldn’t have noticed. I looked around and I discovered a note Rachel had left, stating that she was going to the daycare to pick up JJ, and that she would return back shortly. I headed back towards the front of the store to show Jacob the note Rachel had left, but before I could speak I noticed him checking out the dolls in the store. At first I tried to dismiss the incident, until I noticed how much attention Jacob was giving to each doll. He was examining them as if he was looking for something in particular. Maybe I was wrong. Was I so arrogant to consider that maybe Jacob had figured out what was really going on in the shop? It seems as though I had quit my doll making scheme at just the right time. Whatever Jacob thought he was going to find was going to lead him on a path to nowhere.
“You know, I don’t think that JJ would like any of those considering he’s a boy.”
I walked in from the back of the store with the note in my hand. I smiled, trying my best to play it cool.
“Oh I was just looking. It’s amazing how you guys are able to make them look so life like.” Jacob put the doll back on the shelf and turned his attention back towards me.
“Well I found this in the back.” I showed Jacob the note hoping that it would be enough to get him to leave. “Rachel went to the daycare to pick up JJ.”
“Alright. Well just let her know I stopped by.” Good, he was leaving, and I could get back to my thoughts.
“I will. See you later.” As I was about to turn my thoughts to something else, Jacob stopped. What did he want now?
“By the way, how is your sister Caroline? I saw her in lockup a couple weeks ago. Did rehab do her any good?”
First it was the dolls and now it’s Caroline. Where was Rachel when I needed her? She needed to hurry back because I wasn’t in the mood for all the questions.
“She’s…well what can I say. It’s Caroline. She’s trying in her own way.” Which I knew was a bunch of bull. Caroline wasn’t trying to do anything but get high. I wish she had someone in her life who would help her get back on the right track but who would that be? Caroline had no one but me and now I was considering leaving her. I was starting to lose my train of thought again. Jacob. Come on Rhonda…back to Jacob.
“Well, let her know that I wish her well.” Jacob put his hat on as he headed towards the door.
“I will and I’ll be sure to let Rachel know that you stopped by.”
Jacob left out and I let out a sigh of relief. What was I going to do with the extra drugs? Even if I was capable of completing the last doll, how was I going to sell it? If they were watching the shop, then there was no way I could sell a doll out of it. One thing that was dancing around in my head all day was how was I going to tell Caroline that I was moving out. She pretended like she wanted the house to herself, but in reality I knew that was a lie. As much as me and Caroline would go back and forward at each other one thing had never changed, and that was the fact that we loved each other. Caroline was in a world that I couldn’t touch and if I was going to move out then I needed someone else to move in with her. But who? Stacy was married and Rachel had a kid, which made it impossible for her to live in a house with a drug addict. I was going to have to dig deep and pray that I could find someone who didn’t mind being roommates with Caroline. As far as my last client went, I was going to have to find a way to deliver the doll or it was game over; especially if Jacob decided he wanted to come by the house one day and start snooping around.
Time passed and I finally got up the nerves to go home. Sooner or later I was going to have to face Caroline with the truth. As I approached the house, I noticed that it was quiet. Usually when I returned home, Caroline had something blaring off in the background, but today was different. I didn’t hear anything. Something was definitely wrong. All kinds of thoughts ran through my head and then it clicked. The drugs! She couldn’t have! I knew I hid them well, but I was gone all night. Caroline would have had plenty of time to snoop if she felt like it. I raced to my room and it was ransacked. No! This couldn’t be happening. There was over one hundred thousand dollars worth of drugs in my room alone. I went to our parent’s room and I let out a sigh of relief. It hadn’t been touched. I went into the closet and the rest of the drugs were safe. I headed back to my room trying to figure out just how much of the drugs did Caroline actually find. She was off God knows where with a lot of uncut cocaine. If she didn’t know what she’s doing, she could kill herself. The dangers of what I did were coming full circle. If Caroline was to die then it would be my fault. I kept the one demon that she couldn’t fight concealed in our home. My mind was going on a rampaged while I sorted through my things and then I heard the door slam. Caroline? I raced downstairs and there she stood with my stash in her hand.
“Caroline.”
“The one and only.”
“Where have you been?”
I kept an eye on Caroline, but most importantly my stash.
“You want to know where I’ve been. Now that’s funny. You know what. I’ll tell you. I’ve been walking around all day trying to sell this but no one would take it. No one seems to know how to break it down.” I looked at Caroline and I couldn’t tell if she was high or not. I tried to reach for the sash but she pulled it back.
“Where did you get that?” I tried to make my move again but she wouldn’t let me get close.
“Oh, you know exactly