Color of Forgiveness

by Madeleine Beckett

  He starts sifting through his clothes to find something to wear, and he gets more and more pissed when he can’t find what he’s looking for. He searches everywhere for his black T, but he can’t find it. He looks in his hamper for one of his flannel shirts that he knows he put in there and can’t find it. “Fucking shit,” he growls under his breath as he starts flinging clothes everywhere. He finally just gives up and throws on the first shirt he finds and concludes that he must be losing his goddamn mind.

  Walking into the kitchen, he throws open the fridge and stares at the two beers on the shelf. That’s another little problem he’s gonna have to fix. Grabbing both of them, he walks into the living room and sits down next to his dad on the couch, who’s quietly talking on his phone. He holds a beer up to him, but Dennis shakes his head no. As Dylan goes to set the spare beer on the coffee table, he freezes. His chest tightens and his heart starts pounding.

  He swallows hard before slowly setting the beer down on the empty coffee table. When he left his house, there was a picture album sitting on that table. Who the hell would steal a photo album? He gulps, his stomach twisting into a knot as an answer hits him. Sabrina.

  Could she be the one that did all of this shit? Who else would steal a photo album? He could see Sabrina taking the album, but what about the tire slashing and break-ins and fucking up Myra’s car? Is Sabrina capable of doing something that despicable? Why the hell would she do it? Is she so desperate to get him back that she’d go to any length to destroy his relationship with Myra? Would she ever hurt Myra?

  He feels like he can’t breathe. What if Myra decides to go to Boise with his parents and is that close to her? His stomach lurches as he jumps off the couch and rushes back to his bedroom, quickly grabbing some clothes. He doesn’t know what Myra’s plans are, but whatever they are, he’s going to be there. He won’t be letting her out of his sight.

  * * *

  It’s been half an hour since Dylan left, and Porter and his men just left a few minutes ago. Sherri’s been trying to convince Myra the entire time to come back to Boise with them. Even though their offer touches her, Myra really doesn’t want to. It’ll probably be awkward with how questionable things are between her and Dylan right now, and she doesn’t want to come between him and his family. He needs them now, and she doesn’t want to hinder that.

  Myra doesn’t want to stay with Susie either. Even though she knows Dylan would probably rather have her as far away from him as possible, she can’t stand the thought of being away from him. She has no idea what she’s going to do.

  She sighs when her phone rings. Mumbling a quick apology to Sherri, she pulls it out of her pocket.

  “It’s my next door neighbor,” she explains.

  “Oh. Do you want me to give you some privacy?” Sherri asks.

  “Oh, no,” Myra says with a wave of her hand. She flips open her phone. “Hello?”

  “Myra? What the hell is going on? I just got home from work, and I saw a bunch of cop cars leaving your driveway. Are you okay? I’m on my way over. What happened?”

  “Someone tried to break in.”

  “What? Oh my god. Okay. I’m at the front door. Let me in.”

  Myra hangs up and looks at Sherri. “My neighbor’s here.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  As soon as Myra opens the front door, she’s tackled by an agitated Jackie.

  “I can’t believe someone broke in. Did they take anything?”

  “No. They just vandalized my car again. This is Sherri, Dylan’s mother. Sherri, this is Jackie, my friend and next door neighbor.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Sherri says warmly as they shake hands.

  “It’s great to meet you too. Dylan looks just like you,” Jackie says with a sweet smile. She doesn’t give Sherri a chance to respond; she immediately turns back to Myra and starts talking rapidly. “I’ve been trying to keep my eyes open for anything unusual, but I swear I didn’t see or hear anything. And oh my god, I saw all the glass outside. How could I have not heard that glass breaking?”

  “I don’t know. They broke out several of the small basement windows, so it would’ve been too low for you to see from your house. Then they popped the lock on the garage door, but pulled the door shut so it didn’t look like anything was wrong. Unless you would’ve actually come over here, you probably wouldn’t have seen it from your house.”

  “Oh my god,” Jackie says with a shudder. “This is just scary.”

  “I know,” Myra says. “Come on into the kitchen.”

  Jackie talks as they make their way down the hallway. “I can’t believe all of this stuff is happening to you. I’m so glad I’m moving back to Boise, but I’m really frightened for you, Myra. You might need to move in with Dylan. I definitely don’t want you staying out here by yourself.”

  Move in with Dylan. Myra’s heart aches when she hears those words. Jackie knows nothing about the pregnancy, and everything else that’s happened. Myra has no plans of telling her anything either. That’ll have to wait for another day.

  “I’ll figure something out,” Myra quickly mumbles.

  “Jackie?” Sherri says. “Dylan’s not feeling too well so Myra can’t stay with him right now.”

  “Oh, no,” Jackie says, her eyes widening. “Is he okay?”

  “He will be,” Sherri says, glancing quickly at Myra. “I’ve been trying to talk Myra into coming to Boise to stay with us for a little while or fly out to Philly to be with Susie, but I’m not having any luck.”

  “Myra, you need to listen to her. Why don’t you want to go to?”

  “I don’t know.” Myra doesn’t feel like explaining herself and no matter what she says, Jackie isn’t going to understand because she doesn’t know the whole story.

  “Wait, I have a great idea. How about you come and stay with me for a few days?”

  “That would work,” Myra tells her. She turns to Sherri. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know. The whole point is getting you away from here, but it’s your decision. At least you wouldn’t be alone in this house.”

  Myra looks at Jackie. “I’ll stay with you.”

  “Great!” Jackie shouts in glee.

  “Do you want some coffee?” Myra asks her.

  “Certainly,” Jackie responds.

  “So, you’re moving to Boise?” Sherri asks Jackie.

  “Yeah, I’m originally from there, but I moved here when my grandpa died just like Myra did. I took over running his bookstore. But I’m selling it and moving back.”

  Jackie and Sherri chat about where their families live in Boise. They’re surprised to find Sherri lives just a few miles from Jackie’s parents.

  “What are your parent’s names?” Sherri asks.

  “John and Barbara George… dad’s an architect and mom teaches third grade.”

  “George… that name sounds so familiar. What school does your mom teach at?”

  Jackie tells her and it happens to be the same school that Chad’s boys go to, and they figure out that Jackie’s mom is Jackson’s teacher.

  “Wow. It’s a really small world, isn’t it?” Jackie asks, beaming with happiness at Sherri.

  “It sure is,” Sherri agrees with a twinkle in her eyes. “I’ll have to introduce you to my son, Nick, sometime. He’s going to be a doctor someday.”

  “A doctor? Yes, you must,” Jackie squeals as she claps her hands together and vibrates with excitement.

  * * *

  “You said the photo album was missing. Is there anything else?” Porter asks Dylan.

  Dylan frowns when he thinks back to his shirts. He knows he put them in the dirty clothes because he’s been trying to keep the house picked up since having Myra over. He gets a flashback of that day Myra showed up on his doorstep and Sabrina was wearing one of his dirty flannel shirts. He feels nauseous.

  “I think a couple of my shirts are missing. Or they could be somewhere else, I don’t know.”

  “All right,
give me a description of them.” Dylan gives Porter the information.

  “Okay,” Porter says. “We’re going to need to dust for prints.”

  Dylan nods. “Can you lock up when you guys get done? I need to get back to Myra’s.”

  “Sure,” Porter agrees with a nod. “We’ll take care of everything here.”

  Dennis steps back into the living room from the kitchen, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “That was your mom. She said Myra is going to stay with Jackie for a few days. She can’t convince her to go to Boise or Philly.” He looks at Porter. “You’ll make sure they’re watched after, right?”

  “Absolutely…”

  Dennis looks at Dylan. “Let’s go outside for a minute.”

  They walk outside and sit down on the porch. Dennis clears his throat. “Your mom and I talked, and we feel that you shouldn’t be left alone right now.”

  “Jesus Christ, I don’t—” Dylan snarls before Dennis holds his hand up.

  “Hear me out on this. You won’t go see a doctor, you’ve refused to come back to Boise with us and we’re worried about you. So I’m going to stay here a few days whether you like it or not. Your mom and Chad need to get back to Natalie and the boys. The boys are at a neighbor’s house, and Natalie’s best friend is staying with her right now. Chad can take care of things at work for me until I get back. We’re not giving you a choice in this. What happened this morning scared us, and we need to make sure you’re okay.”

  Dylan takes in a deep breath and nods. “I need to go to Jackie’s. I can’t leave Myra alone… in case something happens to her or…” He swallows hard. “You know.”

  Dennis smiles and nods at him. “That sounds like a good idea.”

  Since Dylan and Dennis are about the same size, Dylan pulls out some clothes for him and shoves them in a bag. Dennis insists on driving to Myra’s, which pisses Dylan off. On the way, he makes his dad stop at Marshall’s. He stocks up on smokes and grabs a six pack of beer in case of an emergency.

  As soon as he gets outside of Marshall’s, he pulls out a pack of cigarettes and his hands shake as he tries to get one of out of the pack. When the smoke from that first cigarette hits his lungs, he feels almost fucking euphoric. He closes his eyes and his anxiety calms slightly for just a moment.

  * * *

  “I’m a little embarrassed to say this,” Jackie says, “but I don’t really have much food in the house. You know I’m not much of a cook.” Myra smiles as she remembers the inedible dinner Jackie prepared for her.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got food,” she says as she grabs a bag and puts items in it she’ll need for breakfast and a few snacks as well as her Saltines. She figures she can come back over tomorrow and get anything else she might need.

  “This should do for now,” Myra says, handing Jackie the bag.

  “Are you sure you don’t need me to help you pack?” Jackie asks.

  “No, I’m done. I just want to stay here with Sherri for a little bit longer. Chad’s going to go pick up Dennis and bring him back here.”

  “Um…” Sherri says interrupting. “Those plans have changed slightly.”

  “What do you mean?” Myra asks.

  “I’ll tell you about it later,” Sherri says, quirking an eyebrow at Myra like she doesn’t want Jackie to know.

  “Oh, okay,” Myra says, nodding. She turns to Jackie. “I’ll be over there in just a little while.”

  “Okay,” Jackie says with a nod.

  Jackie smiles at Sherri. “It was so wonderful to meet you. I had such a great time talking,” she gushes.

  “Me too,” Sherri says. “Call me when you get to Boise. We’ll have to do lunch some time with your mom.”

  “That sounds terrific,” Jackie says, bubbling with excitement. “Bye.”

  “Make sure to lock all your deadbolts,” Sherri tells her.

  “I will,” Jackie promises. She looks at Myra. “Make sure to bring a gun or two. I sleep with a baseball bat nearby so I think we should be fine.”

  Myra watches from the porch to make sure Jackie gets into her house safely. Just as she turns to go back inside, Dylan’s truck pulls into the driveway. Her brows pull together in confusion. Both doors open, and her heart starts hammering when she sees Dylan get out of the passenger side.

  Stepping out onto the porch, she frowns as she stares at him. Her frown gets deeper when she sees a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

  He never looks up. He dumps what looks like the same bag he had earlier into the bed of his truck. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he keeps his head down and makes a beeline towards the garage.

  Dennis walks towards her, frowning. “Everything all right?” he asks.

  “Yeah…” Myra says hesitantly.

  Sherri steps out onto the porch and Dennis looks at her. “I think you and Chad should get back on the road. It’s getting late.”

  “What?” Myra asks, her eyes darting between the two of them. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m going to stay a few days with Dylan,” Dennis tells her. “To make sure he’s doing okay.”

  “Oh.” Myra’s thrilled to hear that; maybe she won’t worry so much about him now that his dad will be around. She hopes Dennis can talk to him. Dylan must have gone to the garage to tell Chad goodbye.

  She turns to Sherri. “You guys didn’t get any supper. Do you want to take some sandwiches on the road with you?”

  “No. That’s awfully sweet of you, but we’ll just pick up some fast food on the way home. We’ll be fine.”

  Sherri pulls her into a hug and whispers in her ear. “Remember, don’t worry and give him some time, and if you need me, call me. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” Sherri pulls back, her eyes teary. She gives Myra a soft smile.

  “Thanks.”

  “Move outta the way,” Chad bellows as he barrels up the steps. “I gotta say bye to baby girl before I go.” He smiles widely, grabbing Myra up in a big hug.

  “I got all of your windows sealed and boarded up nice and tight until they can be replaced. And just so ya know, I gave Dylan a little talkin’ to,” he says. “I told him to pull that stupid head out of his ass. If he doesn’t, you let me know and I’ll yank it out for him, all right?”

  Myra can’t help but grin at him.

  Sherri and Chad both wave as they walk down the steps and disappear around the corner of the house.

  Dennis follows Myra back into the house. “Sherri told me you’re going to stay a few days with your neighbor?” he says.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you have some things packed? I could help you with it.”

  Myra motions towards the bag she placed by the door.

  Dennis picks it up. “You ready?”

  She nods. She stops and glances quickly around the house before she sighs and locks the door behind her.

  * * *

  “So what are you going to do, son?” Dennis says. “Spend the night out here on the porch in the cold?”

  Dylan shrugs as he brings his cigarette to his lips. He has no idea what the hell he’s doing. He just knows he needs to watch out for Myra, and right now this seems to be a good place to do it.

  “It’d be a whole lot better if you just went inside and talked to her. It’d be at least warmer.”

  Dylan shrugs again. He could care less what the damn temperature is.

  Dennis sighs. “Natalie told me you were seeing a therapist. I think you need to talk to that person again and try to get some things worked out.”

  Dylan doesn’t answer and just continues smoking. Dennis zips his coat and pulls his collar up. He takes in a deep breath. “Well, move over then,” he says. Dylan moves over and Dennis sits down on Jackie’s steps beside him.

  * * *

  Myra looks at Jackie. “I’m really tired,” she says. “I’m going to bed.” She’s completely drained and mentally exhausted. Jackie hasn’t stopped asking her questions about Dylan and she just keeps putting her off. She doesn’t have the en
ergy to tell her. Plus she just doesn’t want to talk about it at all.

  “Okay,” Jackie says in a disappointed voice. “Well, everything’s in the spare bedroom. Let me know if you need anything.”

  Myra wastes no time making her way upstairs. She sits down on the bed and her phone rings. It’s Natalie.

  “Hello?”

  “Myra? How are you?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “I’ve been so worried about you. You’ve been through so much today. I can’t believe someone broke into your house.”

  “I know.”

  “How’s Dylan?”

  Myra takes in a deep breath. “I honestly don’t know. We’ve barely talked since this morning, and I don’t know when I’m going to see him again.”

  “What do you mean? Chad told me that Dylan was going to stay at Jackie’s house tonight.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, he said Dylan told him that he was going to stay there. He’s not there?”

  Myra’s heart begins to pound as she races out of the bedroom and back down the steps towards the front door. “I don’t know. I thought he and Dennis went back to his house. Hang on,” she says as she peeks out Jackie’s window. Her heart skips a beat when she sees his truck still sitting in her driveway. Just as she goes to close the curtain, she catches sight of Dylan and Dennis illuminated by the glow of the porch light sitting on Jackie’s front steps.

  “Oh my god,” she mumbles. “He is still here. I had no idea. He’s sitting on the porch.”

  “On the porch? That man is so stubborn and hard-headed. Where’s Dennis?”

  “Sitting next to him.”

  “Well, maybe Dennis can talk some sense into him. I’m really worried about him, Myra. He’s kept things bottled up for too long, and that’s why he had that breakdown this morning. Sherri told me that he refused to see a doctor, but he really needs to see someone. We’ve got to somehow talk him into it.”