Absolution(109)

“Did you ever tell her about that? The ring, the plans – any of it?”

“Didn’t seem much point afterwards.”

Callum found himself thinking back to the accident for the second time that night. Apparently, Jack was doing the same.

“She really can’t remember anything about that day?” Jack glanced over at him from the couch.

“Nope. I actually think it might be better this way. The doc said it was like some sort of protective amnesia – her brain blocked it out because she probably couldn’t handle it. He might be onto something there.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“She has nightmares about it – the accident,” Callum said, feeling as if he was breaking a confidence. “But they’re not about what actually happened. Apparently her brain has seen fit to fill in all these bizarre details of what might’ve happened, but didn’t. Seems like each nightmare has about five percent truth and ninety five percent weird shit.”

Jack winced. “Jesus. She told me she dreams about running and walking, but she never said anything about that.”

“Well, keep it to yourself, okay? She doesn’t really like talking about it, and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t want you to know.”

“Probably because she still thinks I’m gonna take off the first chance I get,” Jack murmured. “Guess I can’t blame her there.”

Callum took another sip of his beer, wondering if he had said too much. “Just give her time. You’ve been gone four years, remember. You’ve only been back a couple of weeks – it’s gonna take a while.”

“You believe me, though, don’t you?” Jack asked, glancing over at him.

Callum regarded him silently across the coffee table. Surprising even himself, he nodded. “Yeah. I believe you.”

Jack took another swig of his beer, then set the bottle down to rest on his stomach. “Well that’s something, I guess.”



Two days had stretched into four and Jack was climbing the walls. He paced the house again, peering out of the windows more from habit than anything else. The street was quiet, as usual.

His packed bag waited by the door. Callum had been checking on his Dad’s place a couple of times a day and had even had Tom’s neighbour, Mrs Watson, on the lookout. He had told her that there had been a couple of breakins in the area and described the car he had seen, advising her that she should keep an eye out. Knowing how nosey she was, he figured she would be the ideal neighborhood watch.

Callum had called her just that morning, and she admitted – after twenty minutes of chit-chat – that she hadn’t seen or heard anything suspicious. As far as Jack was concerned, that meant the coast was clear. Without any leads, he doubted Ben’s men would still be hanging around.

After being able to pick up and take off whenever he felt like it over the past four years, the feeling of being trapped only increased with every passing hour. To make things worse, he could feel Ally’s confusion every time they spoke on the phone. He hated lying to her, but he could tell she was starting to wonder why he was keeping her at arm’s length. He could feel her starting to drift again. He had to do something – soon.

He heard Callum’s car pull up and made his way back to the living room. The one good thing about this whole situation was that it had given him time with Callum. They had talked quite a bit over the past few days, tentatively getting to know each other again. It was a luxury he was never sure he deserved, but was grateful for just the same.

The front door closed and Callum appeared, tossing his keys onto the coffee table. He noticed Jack’s bag immediately. “What’s all this? You shipping out?”

“I just want to thank you again,” he said honestly. “For everything – you didn’t have to do any of this but I appreciate it.”

Callum eyeballed him from across the room, his expression neutral. “You’re welcome.”

Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “The coast looks to be clear, so there’s no reason I need to impose on you any longer.”

“It’s completely up to you. If you think it’s all blown over, go for it.”

“I do,” Jack said. “But I need to do some damage control. Am I right in thinking that tonight is your night at the pool, with Ally? Can I tag along? When I talked to her earlier, she was kinda weird – distant. I need for her to know that everything’s okay.”