Page 51 of Redemption
But he’s a murderer, a monster. Why would he care?
My poor,brave, heroine of a friend is exhausted when we roll up outside her cousin’s place, late afternoon on the third day, in a sleepy suburb outside Chicago. Seeing her, my feeling of guilt has grown exponentially, by forcing her here.
Despite having showered in the morning, I feel dirty, covered in road dust. The sun shines relentlessly and there’s not a cloud in sight. The car was warm and stifling, but outside the air is crisp and some snow has fallen during the night.
“It’s really winter,” I say, a bit taken aback.
“Yeah,” says Chloe as she presses the doorbell, “we got the sea back home. We have a weird climate.”
A pale, slightly overweight man in his thirties opens. “Cuz!” He peers at Chloe from behind thick coke-bottle glasses.
“Jonathan!”
They give each other a slightly awkward hug.
“Kerry.” Chloe extends her arm toward me and I take a step forward, offering my hand.
Jonathan’s grip is damp and dead fish-like. “I’ve heard all about you!”
I throw Chloe a short glance. Somehow I doubt that, and she confirms my suspicions with a short shake of her head.
We enter a run-down little two-bedroom house, things strewn everywhere, and Jonathan doesn’t even make excuses for it. I doubt he sees it.
“You can have my room. It’s the largest.”
He pushes open a door and shows us a hopelessly messy room with an unmade bed. Chloe gives me a look and mouths ‘sorry’. I shake my head. I won’t stay more than a night, or two. A couch would have sufficed.
“What do you do, Jonathan?”
His face lights up. “I’m a software engineer. I design computer games.”
“And play them too, right?” adds Chloe.
“Oh yes! Wanna see?” His voice is suddenly filled with enthusiasm.
Both Chloe and I shake our heads vigorously.
“Maybe later,” I say. “I’m pretty beat.”
The three of us carry my stuff into the little bedroom. I get a set of new sheets and a towel, which I sniff suspiciously when no one is watching. I don’t wanna be ungrateful, but this is the dirtiest house I’ve ever set foot in.
Chloe and I say our goodbyes, hugging tightly. My chest clenches and I wonder if we’ll ever see each other again.
“Stay in touch,” she mumbles against my shoulder.
“I will!”
I’m close to crying when I watch the taillights of the car disappear around the corner, then I turn and walk with heavy steps back into my little temporary sanctuary. Today I’ll recover. Tomorrow I’ll find somewhere to live.
Christian
I stay off the radar. I get call after call. First from Salvatore, then Nathan and Eric. I answer none of them, and finally I turn off the phone. I need to think.
Parking the car, I find a spot on the top of a steep slope. From here I have a view of the whole city, the bay and the bridge. The breeze is warm and brings with it scents of flowers and dry earth. I close my eyes against the sun and relive yesterday’s disastrous meeting. Her too-thin frame and her frightened eyes haunt me. What did I expect?
Well, I did expect a scared Kerry, but I also expected at least one minute with her, maybe hold her while I explained. Something…
Fuck.