Crystal Lies - Melody Carlson [79]
I shook my head no, holding back new tears. It seemed unbelievable, but at that very moment all I wanted was for him to take me into his arms, to tell me he loved me and that he was sorry and that we’d start over, to stroke my hair, and then to assure me that everything was going to be okay.
“You heard the news?” he asked.
I swallowed hard, then nodded. “I heard.”
He sighed. “It’s just unbelievable.”
“Poor Sherry and Rod…and Mark. I feel so sad for them.”
“I was trying to call you on your cell phone, Glennis,” he said,“but all I got was your messaging.”
I glanced back to the counter in the kitchen where my cell phone was still sitting. “I think I turned it off,” I told him.
“Well, I called Sarah and told her the sad news, and she wanted you to call her.”
“Yes, she and Matthew used to be good friends.”
“She was very upset, Glennis. She’s coming home tomorrow.” Home? I considered this concept. Of course, Sarah still considered her father’s house as her home. Lucky girl. “Where’s Jacob?” asked Geoffrey.
I studied him for a moment. Was it possible that he, like me, had been concerned, maybe even worried, about the unidentified young man on the news this morning?“I haven’t seen him lately.”
He frowned. “I thought he was staying with you.” He was.
“Well, then where is he?” Geoffrey’s voice grew sharp. “How long has it been since you saw him.”
“Not quite a week,” I said.
“And you don’t know where he went?”
I ran my hand through my messy hair and closed my eyes.
“Glennis?” demanded Geoffrey. “What’s going on here?”
I opened my eyes and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“This!” He waved his arm and made a face. “This place is a mess. You’re a mess. You have no idea where Jacob is. Your best friend just lost her son, and you’re shut up in this little pigsty with your phone turned off. What on earth is the matter with you anyway?”
I felt invaded then. Okay, maybe it was a little pigsty, but it was my little pigsty, and I didn’t need my cheating husband to come in here and lecture me on how to live. “What is the matter with me?” I repeated in a quiet but seething voice. “You want to know what is the matter with me? Well, for starters my husband of twenty-five years is having an affair—”
“Don’t start up about that affair business again, Glennis.”
“Call it what you want, Geoffrey. I’ve seen you two together. Half the town has seen you two together. Do us all a favor and quit denying it. Okay?”
To my relief, he said nothing.
“Besides that,” I continued,“I have a son who is certain his father hates him. But if that’s not enough, this same son is using some very dangerous drugs—”
“Dangerous?” His brow creased. “What do you mean?”
“I mean he’s been shooting up crystal meth.” I waited for him to react.
“Methamphetamines?” He looked truly stunned now.
“Yes.”
“You know this for a fact.”
“I do.”
Geoffrey slowly walked over and seemed to deflate onto my couch, which was still covered with dirty laundry I’d attempted to sort by color but had abandoned. He leaned over with his head in his hands and groaned.
I sat down in the rocker across from him. And, although I don’t usually rejoice over other people’s pain, I got a strange sense of satisfaction in seeing him suffer like that. Maybe it was my mother-bear instinct, but I guess I hoped that if Geoffrey could really hurt for his son, really suffer a little, then maybe he did love him after all. And despite my mixed-up feelings for this man, I desperately wanted him to love Jacob.
“I can’t believe it has gone this far,” Geoffrey finally said.
I nodded. “It has. I’m guessing it has been going on for some time. I went to a meeting—”
“You went to a meeting?” He frowned. “Why isn’t Jacob going to a meeting?”
“I had scheduled a meeting for him with a counselor at Hope’s Wings—”
“Hope’s Wings?” echoed Geoffrey. “You mean that cruddy little rehab joint on the west side of town?”
“It may not look so great on the outside, but it has a good reputation. My therapist recommended—”
“You have a therapist?”
I tried to smile. “Oh, there’s so much you