Copyrighted by Laura Pfalz. This sample chapter may not be used or reproduced without permission.


Chapter 1
Theresa

BRRRING! BRRRING! The telephone rang loudly.

Theresa tried to unlock the front door to her apartment as quickly as she could. Fumbling with her keys, she finally got the door open. She ran in and grabbed the phone off the hook. “Hello.” It was difficult to mask the irritability in her tone.

“May I speak to Theresa?” the voice asked.

“This is she.”

“Hi, Theresa. This is David,” the voice said.

Theresa was astonished to hear that name. “Oh my God! Where are you? Why did you call? It’s been ten years since we’ve even talked!” she exclaimed. Her irritability was now sincere amazement.

“I’m right here in town. God, I can’t believe I would ever return to Moonridge. I was living in California with my girlfriend, when she kicked me out of the house. I didn’t know where else to go, so I decided to come back and visit my mom. Wil and Paul came back too. We wanted to meet with you guys,” David explained, sounding very casual.

“That would be great. I’ll call Beth and Donna. Where do you want to meet?” Theresa asked.

“How about Carla’s Diner?” David suggested.

“Sounds good. Is tomorrow at six all right?”

“Sure. See you guys then,” David said.

Theresa smiled. “I can’t wait,” she said, and hung up the phone.

Theresa walked over to her living room sofa and lay down. She was exhausted from working all day and just needed to rest. She closed her eyes and started flashing back to fifteen years ago, the summer of ‘83…

* * *

Theresa was twelve that summer. Her long, thick, curly black hair and big dark eyes made her stand out from her eight siblings. Theresa was tough and was never afraid to stand up to anyone. She had a solid build, which every-so-often earned her “fat” comments by her peers and siblings. She always felt like the black sheep of the family because she was wilder than her other siblings, and she didn’t look like either one of her parents, John and Joanne Jefferson.

Joanne had teased, curly blonde hair and blue eyes. She was pretty, but she also had a somewhat hard and sleazy look about her from being raised in the not-so-pleasant part of Moonridge. Truth be told, most of Moonridge was unpleasant, but a few parts were downright repulsive and looked like they were run by the devil himself.

John had brown hair which was starting to gray, brown eyes, and a mustache. He was somewhat attractive, but appeared to be aging before his years. He had the hard look about him from being raised in the same part of town as Joanne, though he didn’t look sleazy like his wife did. There was a kindness in his eyes, which seemed to be lacking in Joanne.

All of Theresa’s siblings resembled their parents with the exception of Michael. He was adopted from a poor couple soon after he was born. Theresa’s other siblings looked like John and Joanne in one way or another though.

Whitney, Theresa’s eldest sibling, was sixteen. Her full, light brown hair hung in loose curls just above her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled with a devilish glint. She was very pale, unlike Theresa who had a natural tan complexion. Whitney was very popular and snobby, so she treated Theresa like dirt. Barbara, Theresa’s next eldest sister, was fifteen. Her long hair was crimped in blonde ripples, and her blue eyes were like crystals. She closely resembled her mother, however as she grew older,Barbara was surpassing her mother’s beauty. Though she wasn’t quite as cruel as Whitney was to Theresa, she still acted far superior.

Michelle was fourteen and the last of the teenage Jefferson kids that summer. She had long brown, poker straight hair and small, shy brown eyes. Michelle rarely had the nerve to insult someone to their face, but she didn’t mind following her older sisters’ lead. She did whatever Whitney and Barbara told her to do and always took their side. She wasn’t quite as popular as they were, but she fit in a lot better than Theresa ever did.

Michael was eleven and biracial. His biological father was black, and his biological mother was white. He had short, dark brown hair and small brown eyes which seemed to show a wisdom and sweetness that didn’t quite mesh with the rest of the Jeffersons. John and Joanne adopted him because they thought that Theresa would be their last child, and John still wanted a son. Little did they know that they would go on to have four more children.

Brenda had just turned ten that summer. She had very short straight brown hair and hazel-colored eyes. She was a tomboy, and was often mistaken for a boy which would make her very upset. When she was younger, she didn’t mind too much when someone made the mistake, but as she was growing into a young woman, her mother would occasionally make comments about her lack of femininity. It wasn’t so much the comments that bothered Brenda, but the sound of shame in her mother’s voice when she said them. Secretly, and to a certain degree subconsciously, Brenda had a slight desire to be like her mother and eldest sisters.

Kevin was six, and John and Joanne’s first “real” son, as Joanne liked to put it. He had light brown hair and sad blue eyes. Joanne paid little attention to her last three children, so Kevin saw Theresa as a mother figure, after being rejected by Whitney, Barbara, and Michelle. He rarely said a word to Joanne, but she never complained.

Leslie was five and a living terror. She had dark brown, curly hair and mischievous brown eyes. She was very cruel, even for being so young, from always being around Whitney. Well, actually, Leslie had a somewhat violent nature even as a toddler, which Whitney encouraged because it amused her. She was always incredibly mean to Kevin and Lindsay.

Lindsay was four. She had wavy, light brown hair and light brown eyes. She was “mentally underdeveloped” as the doctors would say, and her mind improved slowly as years went by. They told Joanne that if she gave Lindsay special attention and dedicated enough time to improving her mental development, Lindsay could possibly grow up to be a productive part of society. Instead, Joanne decided to ignore Lindsay and act like she wasn’t even her child. As with Kevin, Theresa took Lindsay under her wing and tried her best to teach her things.

The Jeffersons were a relatively violent family. When an argument or fight was going on at their house, the whole neighborhood knew it. There wasn’t a day that passed without at least one quarrel occurring in their house.

One hot summer day, Theresa was sitting on her front stoop withher two best friends, Beth Williams and Donna Morrison. They were discussing the coming school year, when all of a sudden a unicorn figurine flew out of Whitney, Barbara, and Michelle’s open bedroom window. A scream was heard as the three friends stared at the figurine shattering before their eyes. Barbara came running out of the house, practically tripping over Theresa and her friends, and knelt down next to the broken unicorn. Tears streamed down her face, as she began picking up the pieces. Brenda came running out of the house with her mother following close behind. Brenda leapt over the small space between Theresa and Beth. Joanne squeezed by where Donna was sitting, trying to keep up with Brenda. They stopped next to Barbara, who looked like a depressed figure out of some somber painting. Brenda stared down at Barbara angrily.

“That’s what you deserve!” Brenda yelled, placing her hands on her hips. “You had no right throwing my entire stamp collection in the toilet! I’ve been collecting stamps for five years!”

Barbara looked up at Brenda, with absolute hatred. She shrieked, “You rotten little brat! Those stamps were stupid and worthless! This beautiful unicorn had sentimental value! You had no right to go and destroy it! I despise you!”

“Because of that? That cheap piece of junk was given to you by that good-for-nothing boyfriend you had!” Brenda shouted back. “That was the ugliest thing that I’ve ever seen! And I despise you more!”

Brenda ran back inside.

Joanne leaned down and put her arm around Barbara’s shoulders. She pulled her daughter to her feet and walked her back inside. Barbara sobbed all the way in, her hands cupped holding the broken shards.

“Theresa, can I say something right now?” Donna asked, glancing over her shoulder. “Your family scares the hell out of me.”

Beth looked at Donna, wide-eyed. “Donna, that’s not a very nice thing to say.”

“It’s okay, Beth,” Theresa said, kind of laughing. “My family scares me too. We’ll all probably be in therapy for the rest of our lives.” Donna and Beth laughed, even though Theresa wasn’t exactly kidding. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go check on Brenda,” Theresa said, going into her house. She went upstairs to her room, which she shared with Brenda and Michael. She found Brenda lying on her bed. She asked, “Are you alright?”

“Mom grounded me for the rest of the summer,” Brenda replied, angrily. “I know it’s only a couple of weeks, but it’s the end of summer. I’m going to be a prisoner for the rest of our vacation. My stamps are ruined, and Barbara gets no punishment. Where’s the justice in that?”

“I know. It sucks,” Theresa said, a little unfazed as this sort of thing happened often.

“Plus, I’m scared about the new school year,” Brenda said, sitting up so she was looking at Theresa. “I mean, I’m going into junior high. I won’t have any friends, and I won’t fit in.”

Brenda picked up a nearby lamp and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and broke into several pieces. Seconds later, John came running into the room.

“What happened? Who threw the lamp?” John asked, having the same serious, exhausted expression on his face that he always had.

“I did!” Brenda admitted, without hesitation. “I’m upset, Dad! Barbara ruined my stamp collection, and she isn’t being punished!”

“Brenda, clean up the glass and try to make the best of it. Theresa, go outside. Beth and Donna are waiting. Brenda needs some time alone anyway,” John said sternly, but there was an ounce of gentleness in his voice.

“Okay,” Theresa obeyed, leaving the room.

Theresa went downstairs. She walked out the front door and sat down next to Beth and Donna again. She sighed.

“Is Brenda alright? We heard something break,” Beth asked, concerned.

“She’s fine. She’s just upset about being grounded for the rest of the summer. She broke a lamp, but it’s no big deal,” Theresa said, feeling a little embarrassed by her family’s behavior.

“Oh,” Beth said, looking sympathetic.

“So, what do you guys want to do?” Theresa asked, changing the subject.

“We could go to the movies,” Donna suggested.

“That sounds like fun. Let’s go,” Theresa said.

Theresa, Beth, and Donna stood up and started walking down the street toward the theater. Beth and Donna had been Theresa’s best friends since the fourth grade. On the first day of school, they randomly chose seats next to each other. They didn’t have all that much in common, but when they met, something clicked. Their strengths were so varied, that together they formed a rather powerful force to be reckoned with.

Beth had blonde hair and kind blue eyes. She was rather skinny and generally wore dowdy clothing, due to her mother’s lack of wealth. She was very sweet and always tried to do good things. To some, she seemed flighty but actually did pretty well in school. She was rather innocent, naive, and optimistic, which typically led people to assume she was simple or dumb.

Donna had blonde hair and light sparkling brown eyes. Her trim figure was just beginning to show curves, and she had a more mature look about her in comparison to her friends. She was kind of snobby, and if she didn’t like someone she treated them as an inferior being. Her parents were wealthy, unlike Beth’s. She was smart, but she hardly ever showed it off. Donna’s mother was a lawyer, and Donna learned at a young age the fine art of talking herself out of situations, rather than resorting to any sort of emotional outburst, whether it be tears or anger.

They got to the movie theater just as Twilight Zone: The Movie was starting. The girls paid for their tickets and went into the dark movie theater. The theater was somewhat crowded, mostly with kids from the neighborhood, so they had to sit behind three boys, the Jordan brothers, who had been in their math class the previous year. The youngest was their age, the middle was thirteen, and the eldest was fourteen. The two eldest were held back so they were all in the same class. A lot of people thought they did that on purpose, since the brothers were hardly ever seen without each other. Theresa and her friends didn’t care for them, because they were mean-spirited bullies.

After the movie was over, the brothers followed the girls out of the theater. They stayed a few feet behind and didn’t say a word. As Theresa, Beth, and Donna started heading home, the boys still followed them.

Theresa turned around and yelled, “Stop following us!”

“Why should we, freak?” the eldest brother, Patrick, asked cruelly.

“Because if you don’t, I’ll kick your ass,” Theresa threatened, taking a step towards Patrick.

“Yeah, right. You wouldn’t dare,” Patrick said, unconvinced.

Theresa took another step towards him. “Try me.”

Patrick pushed Theresa, and she fell to the ground. The boys started cracking up, like a pack of wild hyenas. Theresa just sat on the ground staring up at the brothers with fire burning in her eyes. Beth and Donna leaned down to help Theresa up, but she nudged their hands away. She slowly got to her feet on her own and charged at the boys, letting out a yell as she did. Her right shoulder slammed against Patrick’s chest with great force, which made him fall against his brothers. The three boys fell down like bowling pins. Theresa grabbed her friends’ hands and yelled, “Run!”

The three girls started running as fast as they could. The brothers wasted no time to get up and chase after them. Patrick was yelling some string of obscenities, but his guttural, growling words weren’t very coherent. They were gaining ground, and the girls could hear the brothers’ footsteps close behind them.

“Faster!” Theresa yelled at her friends.

The girls tried to run faster, but none of them were exactly athletic. They rarely ran around or played sports now that they were getting older. They rarely even participated in gym activities, unless the coach absolutely made them. The brothers, on the other hand, were strong and quick.

“Theresa, I’ve got to stop!” Beth yelled.

Theresa grabbed Beth’s hand. “We’re almost to my house! Keep running!”

The girls ran up the path to Theresa’s house and rushed through the front door. They slammed it shut and tried to catch their breath.

“That was a close one,” Theresa said, turning around. She saw her family sitting at the dining room table, staring at her. Theresa suddenly got a sick feeling in her stomach knowing that she was in trouble.

“Where on Earth were you?” Joanne asked, angrily.

“The movies,” Theresa replied, simply.

“We sat down to dinner ten minutes ago!” Joanne yelled, losing her temper.

“I lost track of time,” Theresa said, walking towards her mother. She whispered, “Mom, please don’t yell at me in front of Beth and Donna.”

“I don’t care what you want! You know what, Theresa? I’m sick and tired of you pulling this stuff! You know that we have dinner at the same time every evening, but you act like this is something new! I don’t even want to know what goes on it that twisted head of yours!” Joanne shouted.

“Like you really care about me anyway! You don’t know a single thing about me! You don’t even listen to my side! You just want an excuse to yell at me!” Theresa screamed.

Joanne stood up quickly and slapped Theresa across her face. Theresa stared at her mother in shock.

“I hate you!” Theresa yelled, running upstairs.

“I hate you too!” Joanne yelled back.

Theresa ran into her room and slammed the door shut. She sat down on her bed and thought about what had happened. Not only did Patrick push her down, humiliating her in front of her friends, but her own mother slapped her in front of everyone. Theresa lay back on her bed and rubbed her cheek to make the sting go away…

* * *

Theresa awoke from her flashback by a knock at the door. Theresa got up and walked over to her front door. She opened it, keeping one hand on the doorknob and resting the other against the door frame. A tall dark-haired man stood in front of her.

“Jack, what are you doing here? I already told you that we are not getting back together,” Theresa said, annoyed.

“You know what, Theresa? You have the biggest ego. I wouldn’t waste another minute of my life on you,” Jack remarked.

“Good. Then why are you here?”

“I’ve come for my sunglasses.”

“They’re not here.”

“Let me look around,” Jack said, barging into Theresa’s apartment.

“You have a lot of nerve! Get out of my apartment now!” Theresa yelled.

Jack started to walk slowly towards the door.

“You know, you could’ve kept me, but you are too much of a loser,” he said, smugly.

Theresa slammed the door in his face. She walked back over to her couch and sat down. She closed her eyes and continued her flashback…

* * *

Theresa took out a suitcase and started packing. She packed some clothes and the money she had. She grabbed her front door key off her dresser and put it in the suitcase. She went into the bathroom to get her brush, and as she was about to leave, Theresa saw Brenda’s stamps still floating around in the toilet. She lifted the toilet seat and started scooping the stamps out. When she was done, she used a hairdryer to dry them off. She laid them in rows on the counter. After washing her hands, Theresa left the bathroom and went downstairs. Donna and Beth were gone, which she expected. Her family turned and stared at her. The sick feeling in her stomach returned.

“May I make a phone call?” Theresa asked, trying to sound polite.

“One phone call,” John replied.

Joanne slammed her hand down on the table. “John! I’m her mother! I get to decide what she can and cannot do!”

“Come on, Joanne. She deserves one phone call,” John said, motioning to Theresa to make her call.

She walked into the kitchen. She picked up the receiver and dialed Beth’s phone number. After two rings Beth answered and said, “Hello.”

“Hi, Beth. It’s Theresa. I’ve decided to run away, and I want you and Donna to come with me,” Theresa whispered.

“Are you out of your mind?” Beth said practically yelling.

“Listen, Beth. All this time I’ve been blaming myself, but it’s not my fault. I might play a small role, but basically it comes down to the fact that my family is insane,” Theresa said, and Beth heard a tone in Theresa’s voice that she’d never heard. It was filled with excited desperation.

“I don’t know what to do,” Beth said, getting worried.

“Call Donna and ask her if she’ll come. Don’t call me back. If she agrees, we’ll meet in front of the movie theater at three tonight. If you guys don’t show up, I’ll leave by myself. Do you understand?” Theresa asked, determinedly.

“Yes, I’m afraid I do,” Beth replied, concerned.

“Don’t worry, Beth. Everything will be fine,” Theresa said, looking into the dining room. Her mother was staring right at her. “I have to go now. Hopefully, I’ll see you tonight. Bye.”

Theresa hung up the phone before Beth had a chance to say anything else. She left the kitchen and walked past her family again. She almost got to the stairs when Joanne started speaking to her.

“Theresa, you’re grounded for three days. You do understand that I could’ve made it longer?” Joanne asked, self-righteously.

“Yes,” Theresa replied, trying to hide her contempt.

“I think it should be much longer,” Whitney said, with an wicked little smirk.

“Shut up, Whitney!” Theresa yelled.

“Theresa, get upstairs now!” Joanne screamed, and Theresa did so.

She ran into her room and slammed the door shut. She picked up her suitcase and hid it under her bed. Then, she sat down on her bed and began to cry tears of anger. She always knew her mother favored Whitney, Barbara, Michelle, and Leslie; she overheard her say it before. The rest of them were just there to be there. John tried to make up for Joanne’s behavior, but it just never seemed to be enough. Theresa knew she wasn’t accomplishing anything by crying, so she got up and left her room. She went into the bathroom and picked up her white toothbrush and the tube of toothpaste. She squeezed the toothpaste onto her toothbrush and began to brush her teeth. Theresa glanced into the wastebasket and saw the broken pieces of Barbara’s figurine. She quickly spit out her toothpaste and rinsed off her toothbrush. She picked up the wastebasket and brought it into her bedroom.

Theresa sat down in the middle of her room and dumped the broken pieces on to the floor. She grabbed a container of Elmer’s glue off her desk. She began gluing the pieces together, thinking of it as a fun challenge for her. She was always good at putting things back together no matter how many pieces there were, probably because something was always getting broken at the Jefferson house.

It took about an hour and a half to complete. There were many blemishes, but it still looked okay. Her hands had scratches and cuts because Theresa wasn’t as careful as she should’ve been with the glass pieces. She just wanted to get it put back together as fast as she could.

Theresa hid the figurine under a pile of clothes and lay down on her bed. She was exhausted, and she was beginning to feel the pain in her hands. She closed her eyes, but almost immediately after she did, Michael and Brenda came into the room.

“Theresa, why are you lying down so early?” Brenda asked.

“I’m tired,” Theresa replied, her eyes still closed.

“Alright. I’m going to go brush my teeth,” Brenda said.

Theresa’s eyes shot open.

“No, wait! I need to get something first!” Theresa yelled running out of the room.

Brenda looked at Michael and remarked, “She must not be very tired. How else could she run so fast?”

Michael laughed.

Theresa had grabbed the wastebasket as she left her room, which Michael and Brenda didn’t even notice. She put it back in its place, and then she grabbed a little box out of the cabinet which was usually used for bobby pins. Presently, it was empty however, so Theresa began throwing the stamps into it as quickly as she could. When she was finished, she carried the box back to her room. She slid it under her bed and lay back down even more exhausted than before. She closed her eyes again.

“Can I go brush my teeth now?” Brenda asked, smart-allecky.

“Yes.”

Brenda left the room, and Michael sat down on his bed. He picked up a Batman comic book and began reading it. For some reason he began reading it aloud.

“Michael,” Theresa said opening her eyes, “is it necessary to read that out loud? I’m trying to go to sleep.”

“Sorry, Theresa. I need to practice because I’ve been looking like a fool in front of my class when I read out loud,” Michael said, sounding a little embarrassed.

“How come?”

“I don’t read as well as the other kids,” Michael replied, sadly.

“Go ahead and read then. I don’t mind,” Theresa said.

Michael began reading out loud, and it turned out not to be as annoying as Theresa thought. She soon fell into a deep sleep and dreamt about Batman coming to her rescue.

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