Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“How are we on time, by the way?” Gray asked.
“There’s no rush,” Darius promised. “Warren’s not due for at least five hours. I’m gonna see if I can get some more information outta Buck.”
Gray nodded and headed for Jackie.
He was careful not to scare him, or touch him right away, so he merely sat down next to him and hugged his knees loosely to his chest.
“Are you hungry, Jackie?”
Jackie shook his head, then shrugged. He wiped at his cheeks, tears falling continuously. “I eat once a day.”
That would be the microwave dinner Buck gave him at night, then.
“I can’t believe I’m going home.” Jackie became emotional again and cried into his hands. “Literally, Gray—I don’t—I can’t. I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“I know.” Gray’s instinct was always to reach out and comfort, but he refrained unless Jackie could see the touch coming. “It’ll take time. It did for me too.”
Jackie sniffled and wiped his cheeks. “Is there food?”
“Absolutely.” Gray didn’t hesitate. If anything, it felt good to have something to do. “I’ll make you something. You wanna stay here?”
“Yeah, I like the air.”
Made sense.
In the kitchen, Gray dug through the stacks of microwave dinners and ended up with three items from different boxes. Meatballs from one, mashed potatoes from one, and vegetables from another. If there was one thing he knew, it was nutrition. Jackie needed bland foods in small portions so his stomach wouldn’t get upset, all while building up his hunger again.
Darius came out while Gray waited for the microwave to ding.
“I don’t think we’ll run into any problems,” Darius said. “The brothers don’t call each other before Warren comes out. I checked Buck’s phone. He rarely has any calls registered at all. Or messages, for that matter. Last time he texted Warren was to tell him to buy frozen pizza—which also confirms our suspicion about Warren having another phone.”
“That’s something.” Gray leaned back against the counter and stuck his hands down into his pockets. “Jackie’s gonna need the shortest cover-up story in history to give to the authorities.”
Darius inclined his head. “I figured. Is he still disoriented?”
“Maybe a little, but more overwhelmed.”
“Understandable.”
The microwave dinged, and Gray took out the plate to make sure it was done. “Do you think our theory about an abusive mother still stands?” Because Gray sure did. He opened the fridge and grabbed the butter. The door was packed with condiments, but other than that… Some fruit and vegetables were going bad at the bottom, to the point where he definitely wouldn’t serve them to Jackie. Two shelves were empty. There was an open container of eggs, of which only one was left, and it had a crack in its shell. Oh, and a jar of strawberry jam without a lid.
“Definitely,” Darius replied. “Buck’s hinted a bit. Warren feels guilty about their mother giving Buck away. Warren’s off his rocker. He’s trying to give Buck the childhood he missed out on, and it appears to involve a twisted version of affection. I’m not sure who’s being punished and loved in this story.”
“Jackie,” Gray answered quietly. “He mentioned something. Downstairs—Warren would make them pretend and play different roles. And then outside, after his shower, he said he was done being their stand-in.” At Darius’s confused expression, Gray elaborated and tried to keep his nausea at bay. “He’s been forced to pretend to be Buck at a young age. Warren is either himself or their mother. I don’t know—maybe Buck doesn’t wanna take part in the games, or Warren feels a younger man has to play the role. Doesn’t matter. In the end, Jackie’s the one who gets punished. Regardless of what Warren wants to call it.”
Darius nodded with a dip of his chin.
“It’s… I don’t even have words for it,” Gray went on with a shake of his head. “And Buck just allows it to happen? Fuck that. Jackie’s been so abused by Warren that he calls Buck nice. Because apparently he never raped Jackie. He just watched and jerked off.”
He shuddered in disgust.
Darius’s jaw ticked with tension. “Don’t worry, we’ll deal with him.”
Good.
At a little past three, Darius got word from Willow that Warren was leaving work.
Then Darius spent a couple minutes going through the plan with Gray, because it was time to clue Jackie in on some details.
They estimated they had about three hours until Warren showed up, give or take, depending on traffic and how long it took him to grocery shop.
Three hours for Jackie to learn and rehearse what he could tell the police.
He had ventured out farther onto the porch at this point, but he stayed close to the doors. And while Gray sat down next to him on the floorboards, Darius passed them to go check out the trailer in the backyard. It would be Jackie’s hiding spot, if it wasn’t completely rusted up.