Whispers of Home Read Free Page A

trying to quit. Since she had Bobby anyway. She loved him. She even quit the whole time she was pregnant with him, but then she went right back to using.”
    “Must have been hard to watch her go through that.”
    Jaron shrugged. “After a while I just got tired of it. You know what I mean.” Wasn’t that the understatement of the year? He had been beyond tired of the whole thing. It consumed her entire being until she just didn’t make sense without the drugs. On more than one occasion she stole from him. It got so bad that he couldn’t even leave Bobby with her most of the time, unless he absolutely had no choice, like today. They fought like they were going to war with each other.
    “My father was an alcoholic. So, I know what you mean.” Jaron looked up at the other man then, not expecting a cop to share something so personal with him. From their sitting position it was hard to tell but Jaron didn’t think Martinez was that much taller than him. Maybe a couple inches at best. He spoke with a slight accent. Jaron thought Spanish was probably the first language Martinez ever learned, given his last name and dark good looks. His eyes said more than he ever could verbalize though. As a cop, Martinez probably saw many painful things. But unlike the rest of the cops swarming around, Martinez cared and he probably carried around baggage because of it. “You got a place to stay?”
    “No. I was just going to get a hotel room somewhere. I can leave town right?”
    “Yeah. Just leave your number with me. I may have more questions later.”
    Jaron got the detective’s number, as well. “Call whenever. And let me know where you end up.”
    “Why? I’m not a suspect, am I?”
    “No, they already verified where you were. You’re all clear.” Martinez looked down at Bobby. “Believe it or not, most cops care what happens to people.”
    It took Jaron all of five seconds to decide he really liked the guy, deciding to trust him. “I’m going back home. I think.”
    “You think?”
    “No. I am. It’s just...I haven’t been home since I left and haven’t stayed in touch with anyone, including my mom. Not sure how well that’s going to go.”
    “How long has it been?”
    “A little over seven years.”
    “Wow. So, why didn’t you call?”
    “My mom never gave a crap while I was living there. Why would she care now that I’m gone? No one else in that town gave a crap whether I lived or died either.” As much as he loathed the thought of going home, he had to start over somewhere. He was going to need help. He would ask Brian for it and see how that went. He had no one else to ask.
    Jaron didn’t make friends very easily. If there was anything his childhood years had taught him it was not to trust anyone until they’ve earned it. Jaron fully admitted he had some abandonment issues thanks to his absent father, which probably contributed to his distrusting nature. He would let people in just far enough to make a connection and then pull back again. At least that was his pattern with most people, Bobby, Tracy, and Brian not included.
    It turned out that Brian was the easiest person to call, given that he did exactly what he said he was going to do and that was work for his father, so his business phone number was easy to find, getting patched through to Brian’s office was even easier. “Jaron! Oh my God, is that really you?”
    “Yes.”
    “Oh my God, we thought you were dead,” Brian yelled through the phone. Jaron could hear the tears in his voice.
    “Why would you think I was dead?”
    “You never called anyone or came home to visit. We tried to get someone to look for you once. But we didn’t know where to start looking. Where the hell did you go?”
    “Doesn’t matter now. I need to come home. Will you help me?”
    “When are you coming?”
    “Tomorrow.”
    “Let’s meet at the diner.”
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    Jaron looked through the window of the diner from across the street. His