Read Online Never Go Home by L.T. Ryan - Free Book Online Page B

to each other since Mom’s funeral. I knew the day
would come, but I always avoided thinking about it.
    “Jack, I—”
    I threw up my
hands, palms facing her. “Let me go first. I said something awful six years
ago, and I’ve wished I could take it back almost every day since. I know Sean
and I have had our issues, but that never had anything to do with you. You
stuck up for him, and I lashed out at you for it. I’ve thought about this over
and over, Deb. In that moment, I think I was pissed more about the fact that it
was you who said it, not the words you said. We were friends way before there
was something between you and Sean. You did what was right. I was in the
wrong.”
    She shook her
head as she reached out for my hand. “I knew it would piss you off. That’s why
I said it, Jack. I would have been surprised if you had reacted any other way.
Now, I was shocked that Sean acted the way he did.”
    “I’m not.
He’s my brother. We’re wired the same. You just never saw that side of him.”
    “But I saw
plenty of it from you.”
    Little feet
pounded on the floor behind me.
    “Hi Mommy. Hi
Daddy.”
    I turned
around. The little girl froze.
    “Kelly,”
Debby said. “This is your Uncle Jack. He’s your Daddy’s brother. You remember
the pictures, right?”
    She nodded.
Her eyes were wide and her stare never left me. I knelt down in front of her
with my arm stretched out. She tepidly reached for my hand. The tension left
her face. She let go, raced around the island and asked for a bowl of cereal.
    Deb fixed the
girl’s breakfast. The little girl hummed a song I wasn’t familiar with.
Probably the jingle to some kid’s show. Her mother handed her the bowl on a
tray and sent Kelly into the living room to watch TV while she ate.
    Deb put the
milk in the fridge and the cereal in the pantry. She returned to the island,
looked at me and sighed.
    “Were you and
Jess still close?” I said.
    She nodded.
“We didn’t talk as much as in the old days, but we spoke frequently.”
    “So those
things Sean said, about her husband, he got some of that info from you. He
pieced it together with what he had witnessed personally?”
    “Yeah, and
please don’t mention that to her parents, or anyone else. I mean, maybe some of
them already suspect it. But if they don’t, I don’t want to go around hurting
feelings any more than they already are. Know what I mean?”
    I pulled a
stool out from under the island’s ledge and took a seat. Steam rose from my
coffee mug. I took a searing sip.
    “You think
she killed herself?” I said.
    “That’s what
the police say, right?”
    I knew enough
to never trust an opinion until I had all the facts. “Did she ever say anything
that made you think that she was in need of help or counseling?”
    Deb shook her
head. “She had her moments, Jack, but who doesn’t? We all get depressed at
times. Look at me, I live in this big, gorgeous house, but there are times I
wish I did more than I do. That upsets me a bit. So, I don’t know about any
signs. She seemed normal. Frustrated at times. Her marriage was coming to an
end and I think she knew that and I think she was ready to let Glenn know that
she planned on leaving.”
    “Did she?”
    “Leave?”
    “Tell him.”
    Deb shrugged.
“If she did, she didn’t let me know.”
    I figured she
might not have had time to. Glenn could have flipped out on her.
    “Maybe she
told him the night she died.” I didn’t need to see the tears welling in Deb’s
eyes to understand the impact of the words. “Don’t dwell on that, Deb.”
    She bit her
bottom lip, then said, “I’ve already gone there, Jack. Part of me can’t see him
doing it, but another part…”
    I rose and
walked around the island and placed my hands on her shoulder.
    “I just want
to hear her voice again,” Deb said, crying.
    I pulled her
into an embrace and stroked her hair. Her tears soaked the sleeve of my shirt.
I wished there was more I could do for her. For all