Unravel // Van McCann

5. What's Your Reason?

Warning: This chapter mentions sexual abuse but I'm only defining what it means and its impact on victims.

September 2021

I wish my job was exciting everyday but sadly, that's not the case. It's not unusual to have days or weeks where nothing new happens and that's fine. That's to be expected.

Georgia goes back to California this week so I have that to look forward to. I realize it's horrible that I'm eager for her to leave, but I'm curious if this person will come back. My case was at a standstill; it drove me mad that there was fuck all I could do about it. I had to be patient but my patience was wearing thin.

To pass the time, I went to Theo's cubicle to listen to him drone on about his case. His case was flourishing. Something new came up, changing the direction of the case, and I admit I was jealous.

It was a little after 4 PM and I should be using this time to organize my notes but I didn't feel like it. I just wanted it to be time to go home so I was sat in Theo's cubicle, fiddling with a paper clip, waiting for it to be 5 PM. My feet were propped up on his table and I knew he hated it but I pretended to not notice.

Theo is a clean freak. It was the first thing I noticed when I met him. His desk is spotless; there isn't a single speck of dust as he's sanitizing his desk every few hours. Everything must be in a certain place. If it's not, it drives him mad and he must fix it. At first I felt sorry for him but now I like to have my fun with him. I like to think I'm helping him by pushing him out of his comfort zone, hence my boots on his desk.

It was obvious I was overstaying my welcome. The paper clip finally broke, a fragment falling to the ground, which caused me to sit up with my feet on the ground and I swear I heard Theo sigh in relief, that bastard. Once I located the broken piece, I tossed the paper clip in the bin.

"Don't you have some work to do?" Theo asked casually, stretching his arms over his head. He turned around to check his email but there were no new emails.

"No," I replied in a bored tone. "I'm done for the day. Can I ask you summat?"

"What is it?"

"Imagine you're a person who doesn't want to be found. What's your reason for hiding?"

Theo gave me a look asking where I was going with this but he quickly understood as it was something our cases had in common. Theo leaned forward in his chair to rest his face in his hand as he thought about his answer. He was trying so hard, I honestly thought he was going to have a brain aneurysm.

"That's a good question," he replied, dragging his words out to buy more time. "There are many reasons why people hide. They could be running from the law or running from abuse. They could owe money or they did something they're ashamed of. Or they just want to start a new life."

Theo looked at me expectantly, waiting for my response but I was deep in thought, in my own little world.

"Do you think she's homeless?"

"No, she's not homeless. She's hiding or running away from someone."

"What makes you think that?"

"She's easily frightened. The homeless aren't like that, not even the drug addicts. I've never come across someone like that before."

She's running away from someone.

"...The only thing is that this girl is a closed book. She refuses to talk about her past, which makes me think she had a traumatic childhood. Perhaps she's been abused because the simple act of my hand brushing against hers terrifies her."