Chapter 153 – In Need of Repair – Ellie Daniels

Years ago, back when I was in middle school, my friends and I decided that we’d build a tree house together out in the woods. We didn’t have the money for such an undertaking and didn’t understand anything about building such things. We just shared a vision and wanted to see it through.

We started by selecting an area not far from our neighborhood. It was close enough that we could walk home if something went wrong. It was far away enough to still feel like a proper ‘camp’ setting. The green space we chose was part of the city’s efforts to avoid paving the city in urban sprawl.

Holly, Opal, and I started our project by collecting fallen branches. We cobbled them together around a large tree, forming something like a teepee tent structure. We brought old, unused blankets from home to finish the tent design. That pitiful looking thing was our very first clubhouse.

We were so proud of it that we wanted to show our parents. Opal brought her parents, I brought mine, and Holly brought her mom and her mom’s fiancé. Naturally they were all a little concerned about us playing forest-survival in a dirty tent made out of muddy branches and dusty old blankets.

That’s why Opal’s father decided to lead the charge on building us a proper tree house. All of our parents pitched in, with other kids from our neighborhood also coming in to participate. Ms. Hayfield was pregnant at the time and couldn’t participate much, but her fiancé did. He helped Opal’s father gather the material, make the measurements, and cut the boards.

My parents were both involved in the assembly process. Our family was no stranger to outdoor activities and we often went camping several times a year back then. This wasn’t just a community project for me. This was valuable family time. It came at a time when I was having trouble with my school grades. Being surrounded by my friends and family meant a lot to me back then.

That’s how we came to have a real tree house built into the branches of a strong tree. It wasn’t just a square box like a mundane backyard tree house. It was a magazine-worthy club house with multiple rooms and a pulley-system beside the climbing ladder for hoisting up supplies.

It had insulation, heating, lighting, and a socket for portable battery packs to plug into. Everyone came together to make something special. It was the highlight of my middle school life. Eventually this place became a home away from home for me.

Especially now that many of those old memories were turning sour for me.

Now that I was sitting inside the tree house by myself I was forced to wonder about the past. Did my parents stop loving each other even back then? Were they putting up with the entire thing for my sake alone? Or perhaps the current predicament was because we weren’t as close as a family as we used to be?

It was hard to say. I spent so long trying to select a point in time where things fell apart and I kept coming up short. Recently I was angry because they were separating seemingly out of nowhere. Today I was upset for a different reason. They were finally beginning to show their true feelings.

My mother planned to move out of the state to be with a man that she was in communication with and she wanted me to come with her. My father wanted me to stay with him so that I could graduate high school in the same community that I grew up in. The two of them started a passionate shouting match, the likes of which I had never heard before.

The thing that hurt me the most was when they both came to me and asked me to choose between them. How could I? Even after everything I still loved them both dearly. I still stubbornly wanted us to be a family together, wishing that we could go back to the way things were. That was a delusion. There was no going back.

While my parents were still arguing I went up to my bedroom and snuck out the window in the middle of the night. I turned off my cell phone and decided that I wasn’t going to attend school the next day. I wasn’t going back home, either. Instead, I went to our tree house where I could have some alone time.

It was approaching two days now and no one had come for me. My parents both knew where this place was and still hadn’t thought to check here. Maybe they were just giving me my space? Or maybe they were turning on each other.

I didn’t know, and at this moment I didn’t really care. I was lying down on one of our roll-up camping mattresses when I heard someone climbing up the ladder. The wooden ladder rungs were rickety these days and so it was easy to hear when someone was approaching. Holly opened the floor hatch and looked around.

“I thought you might be here.” She said. “Your parents are worried about you.”

“Let them worry.” I said, not getting up to greet Holly. “I’m not leaving.”

Holly smiled at me and came into the tree house fully.

“I didn’t come here to drag you back. In fact, I thought you might say that.” She said, pulling the floor hatch open all the way. “That’s why I brought something special.”

She reached for the pulley system’s crank and started pulling up the supply bucket. The steel bucket only came up to the base of the opening hatch, so she had to reach down to pull its contents inside. She pulled up two plastic bags containing Styrofoam food boxes.

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My mouth watered at the smell. I didn’t eat anything other than crackers and canned fruit since leaving home. Our tree house was short on supplies and I didn’t think to bring anything with me when I left home. Holly probably knew that and brought food from my favorite barbecue place as a result.

“That smells delicious!” I said, finally sitting up out of bed.

“First, how about a little payback?” She asked.

“I don’t have any money on me, but next time we go out I could…”

“No, not like that! Like this!”

Holly playfully tackled me into a hug and pushed me back onto the camping mattress. She put her hands on my face and started kissing me all over. I couldn’t even kiss her back because I was laughing so hard. She brought her hands down to my waist and tickled me there. This was something she loved to do.

“Stop! Stop!” I said, trying to contain my laughter. “I’m not in the mood!”

“Oh, you’re not?” She asked, trying to kiss even more.

This time she was serious. She stopped tickling me playfully and held my hands in her own. Before, she was pecking only teasingly, but now she was getting passionate. I couldn’t help but to return her kiss. This type of thing was my weakness and she knew it. She pulled away and rested her forehead against mine.

“How could you not say anything before you left?” Holly asked. “If you wanted to get away you could’ve just come to my place. My mom wouldn’t mind. In fact, I think she’d appreciate the extra company. This is nearing the anniversary of… You know… It’s hard on her.”

“I know.” I said. “I wouldn’t want to burden her with my troubles.”

Holly frowned at me and sat up straight.

“You were there for the two of us when we needed a shoulder to lean on.” Holly said. “You should let us return the favor. Talk to us about what’s going on. I know I haven’t been as attentive as I should be lately, but don’t go off on your own without telling anyone where you went.”

“I know… I know… I just wanted some time away from people.”

“Even away from me…?” Holly asked. “You thought I couldn’t relate to your parents splitting up? I could probably relate more than anyone else.”

She was right. Holly’s mom almost remarried but things were called off after Ms. Hayfield and her fiancé had a falling out. Holly’s mom had a miscarriage due to uterus complications. The doctors weren’t sure that she’d ever be able to have children again. Her fiancé called off the marriage in light of that revelation.

Holly and her mother were broken by his decision to leave their family. Their home never felt the same to me after that. Holly always said that it was thanks to my help that she recovered from that so quickly. I felt otherwise. She probably didn’t need my help as much as she thought she did. She was naturally resilient.

“You’re right… I should’ve said something. Sorry… It’s just that my parents were asking me to choose between them.” I said. “Let me back up and start from the beginning. We can eat while I explain everything.”

We talked about my home life as I finally got something substantial to eat. I was so hungry that I ended up making a bit of a mess and getting sauce all over myself. Holly pointed it out to me and laughed. I laughed too after getting a good look at myself in the nearby mirror.

Holly did a lot to improve my depressed mood. I knew it wouldn’t last forever since I had a choice to make, but it felt nice to have some escape from my troubles. Maybe this was why she said she needed my help to recover quickly? It was wrong of me to dismiss her and go out into the woods by myself.

We changed topics when we finished eating. Holly told me about some things I missed at school and I told her about my time off. Eventually the conversation drifted to the condition of the tree house itself. The tree house wasn’t as pristine as it used to be all those summer vacations ago. It was in need of repair.

The roof had damage from hail storms. The paint was chipping away all over the place. Some of the boards were coming up or slipping out of place. Some of the insulation was torn. Time was harsh on this tree house. Even harsher, there wouldn’t be anyone to help us repair it with Opal’s parents too busy with work recently.

It felt like my community was slipping apart bit-by-bit. My father wanted me to stay here and graduate in this community but I also felt like a fresh start could be nice. That would mean leaving Holly and Opal, which I didn’t want to do, especially Holly. Holly was the main reason that I was leaning towards staying with my dad.

The ladder rungs creaked as someone approached from below. Opal stuck her head up through the floor hatch.

“She’s here!” Opal said to someone over the phone. “Yes, she’s okay. Holly’s here with her. They look alright. I’ll see you soon.”

Opal hung up her cell phone.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked.

“Your dad.” Opal said. “We’ve been looking all over for you. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I…”

I didn’t have an excuse to offer her. I was purposely ignoring any attempts at contacting me. That probably wasn’t something that Opal would be satisfied with hearing. Holly could probably understand and sympathize, even if she didn’t agree. Opal was so stern that she’d never accept a reason like that.

“Never mind,” Opal said, shaking her head, “And what about you, Holly?”

“Me…? What about me?” Holly asked.

“Why didn’t you call us the moment that you found her?” Opal asked.

Holly shrugged.

“I suspected that she was here ever since her parents said she ran off. Where else would she go? This should’ve been the first place that they checked.”

“You shouldn’t assume something like that.” Opal said. “What if she was lost or kidnapped? It’s wrong of you to be so laid back about this.”

“It’s not her fault.” I said in Holly’s defense. “It’s mine. I know I’m being difficult…”

“That’s an understatement. Your mom went to the police for help just a few hours ago. If you want to run off then fine, but at least tell someone where you’re going.”

I shared a look with Holly and she seemed to be more or less in agreement with what Opal was saying.

“Next time I run off I’ll tell the two of you.”

“Or better yet, don’t run off at all.” Opal said, starting to descend the ladder. “Now come on, let’s go. Your dad said he’s driving straight over.”

“I don’t want to go.” I said.

Opal stopped climbing to stare at me. Holly put one hand on mine.

“As much as I wish I could disagree with Opal here, I can’t. You can’t run from this forever.” Holly said. “Let’s go talk to your dad together. Do you want to go with your mother? Or do you want to stay here with us?”

“You already know what I’m going to say.” I said. “How could I ever move away and leave you two behind?”

“Then why did you run?” Opal asked.

I frowned at her.

“Because I don’t want my mom to leave either.” I said.

Saying it out loud made me realize how foolish I sounded. Opal and Holly both gave me a funny look, then shared one between each other. I was being childish again, I knew, but I didn’t have any other real coping mechanism. Everyone in my life wanted me to act like an adult and embrace the shitty situation with robotic stoicism.

I sighed.

“Fine.” I said blandly. “Let’s go.”

“We’ll both go with you to talk to your dad.” Holly said. “Then you’re coming to my place. You can stay for as long as you need to recover from all this. My mother will be more than happy to have you around.”

I gave her a hopeful look.

“I think I’ll take you up on that offer. Let’s settle this.”