Crystal Lies - Melody Carlson [109]
“Move on,” I told myself as I went over to the window to look out on the street below I peered up and down the street and knew I was, once again, searching for my son, hoping I’d see him walking this way, ready to come home, ready to get help. “Get a life!” I yelled at myself, forcing my eyes away from the window.
And that’s when I finally took Dr. Abrams’s advice and began journaling my thoughts about Jacob and my upcoming divorce and all the other elements of my life that had unraveled during the past six months. It was hard putting these painful thoughts into written words at first, but the more I pressed on, the easier it became. After three days I discovered an entire spiral notebook was filled with sentences and paragraphs describing my recent ordeal. There was a significant amount of venting and self-pity, but it was becoming clearer that I was progressing, too. I was just about to go out for a cup of Starbucks coffee, to celebrate, when the phone rang.
As usual, I thought it might be Jacob. That was always my first assumption. And I hadn’t heard from him for more than a week now. Instead it was Geoffrey, and he sounded very agitated.
“Where’s Jacob?” he demanded without even saying hello.
“How was your cruise?” I asked without answering.
“None of your business,” he snapped. “Now, tell me, Glennis, where is Jacob?”
“Why?” I countered. “Why are you suddenly so concerned about your son?”
“Because I am going to kill him!”
“Geoffrey!” I gasped. “What on earth is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with me?” he yelled so loudly that I had to hold the phone away from my ear. “My son has broken into my house and stolen and vandalized and…” He sputtered and swore and then continued,“and I’m about to call the police and have him arrested, and I want to know where the—”
“How do you know it was Jacob?”
“I know, Glennis! Believe me, I know! Now where the—”
“But how can you be so sure? You were gone for more than a week, Geoffrey. Anyone could’ve broken—”
“Where is he, Glennis? And don’t cover for him! Ira warning you, if you—”
“I haven’t seen Jacob since Thanksgiving. And only barely then. I have absolutely no idea where he is.”
“Well, he was here. He must’ve been flipped out on his psycho drugs. This place is a disaster area.” And then he began swearing again.
“Calm down, Geoffrey,” I told him.
“Calm down? You should see the place, Glennis. You should see what your dear little boy has done. Why don’t you come over here and look around? See for yourself that it was Jacob’s work.”
“Fine,” I told him. “Maybe I’ll do that.” Then I hung up and hurried over there, hoping that Geoffrey was wrong, hoping that this was the work of someone else. Not Jacob.
But when I arrived, it seemed obvious that Jacob had been the culprit after all. Apparently he had no concern about being caught either since he’d left several incriminating notes to his dad, as if he was proud of his senseless destruction. The navy blue leather couches had been slashed, several windows were broken, furniture was overturned and moved, debris from food and drink was everywhere. And some of Geoffrey’s valuables were missing. He pointed out where various pieces of expensive electronics used to be. And despite my negative feelings toward Geoffrey, I did feel sorry for what had happened during his absence. It wasn’t anything that anyone should have to come home to. I’d already noticed his luggage dumped in a heap by the back door and suspected that he’d just gotten home.
“Have you called the police yet?” I asked.
He slumped down into a club chair in the living room, and putting his head in his hands, he moaned. “No…”
I sat down on a sofa across from him. “Why not?”
He looked up at me, and despite the unseasonable golden tan on his face, he looked worn out and tired and old. “What am I going to tell them, Glennis?” He shook his head. “That my son has robbed and vandalized my home? And how’s that going to go over down at city