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L A U R E N
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XXXXXXXXLauren had gone to bed with more restless dreams; sweat-inducing, feverish ones, the ones about the past that felt so real it was like the events were happening again. She could feel his hand around her throat, the coppery taste of blood in her mouth, the pressure of his weight and anger upon her. And how weak she was, powerless to stop it, like trying to douse an inferno with a bucket of water. She fought in her dreams all night until morning, so that when she woke up the next day she felt no more rested than when she had gone to bed.
None the less, she set aside her mental and physical fatigue for work that morning, dutifully arising and getting ready as she normally would. She decided rather than trying to amend things right away with her son, that she would give him some space. The bag of food she left sitting outside his bedroom door still sat there untouched. Unusual since nothing seemed to spoil the boy’s appetite but last night had been exceptionally stressful, so she dismissed it.
However when she returned from work that afternoon and found the bag still there, she knew something was amiss. She knocked on his door lightly.
"Jackson?" There was no reply.
She opened the door and went inside the bedroom where the air was cool from the window that had been open all night and morning. The room was in a state of complete disarray, not that he had ever been very tidy but this was different and there were obvious signs that something was not right. His drawers were open haphazardly with most of his clothes missing, his cellphone charger was unplugged from the wall, his school books were scattered on the floor with his backpack gone. Panic set in instantly.
Immediately she rushed out of the house and used her heightened senses to try and search for him around the property. There was not a trace left of his scent though anywhere, long gone in the autumnal breeze. She hopped into her car once again, not bothering to go back inside to change from her work uniform nor lock the front door. She drove around, stopping at every teen hang out in town, at the local school, searching through abandoned rural barns and buildings, and even going to neighbors on the off chance they might have seen him; She called his phone a minimum of 15 times in the span of three hours. All her effort was for nothing.
At nightfall she forced herself to stop, knowing that it was hopeless to search any further, at least within the local vicinity, and that he wasn’t going to answer her calls either. At this point, she knew in her heart of hearts where he had gone, and there was no way without putting herself in danger that she could go there: Seattle.
She thought back to the night before. How badly she had handled everything. How wrongly she had treated her son... Not just last night, but all the times he had inquired into the past. She redirected, dodged, and outright manipulated him so that he would never push her into saying more than she wanted to. Yes, some of this had been to protect him, but in retrospect of last night it was just as much to protect herself. He had now learned the truth in the most horrible fashion possible and this had unleashed an anger in her son she didn't know existed. It was not the kind his father had that would sadistically hurt, but similarly unbridled, uncontrollable, that left scorched Earth in its wake. He was ready to put his past into flames and leave her behind.
Lauren was so distraught she did not know that she could return back to her empty house. So she drove to her place of work instead which was not far from the park she last looked for Jackson, knowing that Debbie had the night shift.
When she arrived at the diner it was empty of customers. The only sound was the jingle of the Christmas bells perpetually tied to the door all four seasons when she entered and the background music playing some slow ambient rock song.
She slumped down onto one of the pedestal stools at the counter, finally resting her head in her hands. When she heard the kitchen doors swing open from the back, she looked up, meeting Debbie’s eyes and in an unforeseen display of emotion felt hot tears streak down her face.
"Debbie, he left. Jackson ran away." Her lower lip quivered, trying to keep herself together somewhat. She hadn't expected this, she felt so embarrassed, she hadn’t come here to cry. But something inside her cracked when she saw Debbie, the closest person to a friend she had in the past 18 years.
None the less, she set aside her mental and physical fatigue for work that morning, dutifully arising and getting ready as she normally would. She decided rather than trying to amend things right away with her son, that she would give him some space. The bag of food she left sitting outside his bedroom door still sat there untouched. Unusual since nothing seemed to spoil the boy’s appetite but last night had been exceptionally stressful, so she dismissed it.
However when she returned from work that afternoon and found the bag still there, she knew something was amiss. She knocked on his door lightly.
"Jackson?" There was no reply.
She opened the door and went inside the bedroom where the air was cool from the window that had been open all night and morning. The room was in a state of complete disarray, not that he had ever been very tidy but this was different and there were obvious signs that something was not right. His drawers were open haphazardly with most of his clothes missing, his cellphone charger was unplugged from the wall, his school books were scattered on the floor with his backpack gone. Panic set in instantly.
Immediately she rushed out of the house and used her heightened senses to try and search for him around the property. There was not a trace left of his scent though anywhere, long gone in the autumnal breeze. She hopped into her car once again, not bothering to go back inside to change from her work uniform nor lock the front door. She drove around, stopping at every teen hang out in town, at the local school, searching through abandoned rural barns and buildings, and even going to neighbors on the off chance they might have seen him; She called his phone a minimum of 15 times in the span of three hours. All her effort was for nothing.
At nightfall she forced herself to stop, knowing that it was hopeless to search any further, at least within the local vicinity, and that he wasn’t going to answer her calls either. At this point, she knew in her heart of hearts where he had gone, and there was no way without putting herself in danger that she could go there: Seattle.
She thought back to the night before. How badly she had handled everything. How wrongly she had treated her son... Not just last night, but all the times he had inquired into the past. She redirected, dodged, and outright manipulated him so that he would never push her into saying more than she wanted to. Yes, some of this had been to protect him, but in retrospect of last night it was just as much to protect herself. He had now learned the truth in the most horrible fashion possible and this had unleashed an anger in her son she didn't know existed. It was not the kind his father had that would sadistically hurt, but similarly unbridled, uncontrollable, that left scorched Earth in its wake. He was ready to put his past into flames and leave her behind.
Lauren was so distraught she did not know that she could return back to her empty house. So she drove to her place of work instead which was not far from the park she last looked for Jackson, knowing that Debbie had the night shift.
When she arrived at the diner it was empty of customers. The only sound was the jingle of the Christmas bells perpetually tied to the door all four seasons when she entered and the background music playing some slow ambient rock song.
She slumped down onto one of the pedestal stools at the counter, finally resting her head in her hands. When she heard the kitchen doors swing open from the back, she looked up, meeting Debbie’s eyes and in an unforeseen display of emotion felt hot tears streak down her face.
"Debbie, he left. Jackson ran away." Her lower lip quivered, trying to keep herself together somewhat. She hadn't expected this, she felt so embarrassed, she hadn’t come here to cry. But something inside her cracked when she saw Debbie, the closest person to a friend she had in the past 18 years.