Marilyn
Page 19
'Are you hurt, Jack?' asked Elwood. 'Jack, can you hear me, are you hurt?'
'No.' He shook his head and dropped it to his muddy feet. 'Just my arm, but... My mom...'
'Come on, son, what do you say, let's get up?'
Jack used Elwood like a climbing frame, lifting himself to his feet.
'Do you know my mom?'
'Well, I guess you could say that,' laughed Elwood. 'I've been helping her look for you.' He coughed to clear his throat. 'I'm Elwood, Elwood Bailey. It's really nice to meet you, Jack. I've heard a lot about you.'
Jack smiled, sincerely. 'Nice to meet you, too, Mr Bailey.' He watched as Elwood picked up and nurtured Marilyn against his shoulder, rubbing her back with a loving touch.
'Marilyn, can you hear me?'
Jack crossed the fingers on his good arm and whatever toes he could. He didn't want to cry anymore, he stopped his tears, saving them for when she woke up. They could cry it all out, together.
Marilyn's face sent shivers down his spine, it was coated in cuts, bruises, dry and fresh blood. It was not how he wanted to see his mother. He couldn't even tell it was her.
'Come on, mom. Wake up. It's me. It's Jack. Please,' he demanded, sweetly.
Her eyes were black circles, sunken, misshaped, garnished with the trials of a lost battle, but they twitched.
'mom. mom. It's Jack, please, open your eyes,' repeated Jack.
'Jack, honey. Are you OK?' she gargled. 'It's so good to hear your voice.'
SIXTY-NINE
'Come give your mother a hug,' she said, forgetting every cross word they had ever spoken to one another, every fight they'd ever had, every misunderstanding.
They had been dragged through hell and back, ripped apart, but still managing to find each other in the dark, they were the light that the other needed, and it burned brighter than it ever had. They had fought so hard for this moment, and it meant everything.
Marilyn outstretched her wounded arm, waiting for the touch of her son. When it came, she didn't want it to end, ever, neither of them did.
'I love you, Jack.'
'I love you, too, mom.'
Jack let his tears fall, they landed in his smile and he licked them away.
They cried in each other's arms.
'Can we go home, mom?'
Marilyn pulled him closer, tighter, kissing his wet eyelids.
'I'm sure we can work something out, but I'm going to need some help getting up. I feel about a hundred years old,' she laughed painfully, not letting her smile break, she had earned it. 'Hell, maybe we'll even get that dog. What you say, huh?’
'Can we call him Elwood?' asked Jack.
'If Mr Bailey has no objections,' she smiled
Elwood held them both up, his arms wrapped around them both, he had no way of drying his eyes.
'Only if you come and visit once in a while.'
They chuckled, huddled in a bloody mess on a wet, broken track in the middle of nowhere, where the love almost made the forest glow.
'Elwood, the sheriff? I, I don't know if he...'
Elwood just closed his eyes.
'Thank you for everything, Elwood,' she sniffed. 'I'll never forget everything you've done.'
Marilyn coughed, swallowing the blood in time not to get any on Jack. Her grip went limp.
Elwood slipped his arm down to the bottom of her back to keep her upright.
'Marilyn, can you walk?' questioned Elwood. 'We need to get you out of here, both of you. Jack, can you give me a hand?'
Together they heaved Marilyn off the ground, facing away from where the mutilated body of Walter O'Sullivan lay, with no one to miss him.
Marilyn, Jack and Elwood made their way down the path for the last time.
'Jack..' gleamed Elwood. 'A little birdie told me that you like cars, is that true?'
'Uh huh, you should see my collection back at home. It's huge,' he answered with a shortness of breath that made his chest pound.
'Well,' he started. 'I made a good friend of mine a promise. I promised that when I met you, I would take you out in the police cruiser, your mom, too. How does that sound?'
'Only if it's OK with my mom.' He winked.
The sirens came, filtering through the trees, filling the forest, and the lightless melody fell upon them like soft snow.
Help was coming.
They were going home.
***
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-THREE
FORTY-FOUR
FORTY-FIVE
FORTY-SIX
FORTY-SEVEN
FORTY-EIGHT
FORTY-NINE
FIFTY
FIFTY-ONE
FIFTY-TWO
FIFTY-THREE
FIFTY-FOUR
FIFTY-FIVE
FIFTY-SIX
FIFTY-SEVEN
FIFTY-EIGHT
FIFTY-NINE
SIXTY
SIXTY-ONE
SIXTY-TWO
SIXTY-THREE
SIXTY-FOUR
SIXTY-FIVE
SIXTY-FIVE
SIXTY-SIX
SIXTY-SEVEN
SIXTY-EIGHT
SIXTY-NINE