Even Now

Chapter 56: Quid-Pro-Quo - Part I

*hehe, turns out this chapter is part 69 of the story xD*

Hello again! It's been awhile :')

I do apologize for my absence 😞

I hope you guys like this chapter! Not a lot happens, per se, but... I mean, stuff gets revealed 😅 you'll see ;) and just so you know, most of this is dramatized and made up by me, going off of real events (or events I mentioned earlier in this story)

So, without further ado...

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For this chapter, we go right back to the events of chapters 53 and 54...

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August 10, 1994: Seattle, WA, USA

"I only know the general stuff about you," Layne continues on. "And everything from '87-now; but that's it. You always clam up or over exaggerate when it comes to your past."

"I guess I just... think that some things aren't worth telling."

Layne nods. "I'm sorry, man, I don't mean to-"

"It's okay. I'd..." Jerry takes a deep breath. "I'd open up to you about that stuff. Why not? And I think I should, anyway."

"You sure? You don't have to talk about anything that's painful for you. It was just a suggestion, it wasn't meant to... drag anything up."

"Really, it's fine," Jerry smiles sincerely at him. "So: what d'you want to know?"

For Layne, that question felt... weighted.

He'd known Jerry for his entire adult life, and yet, there was still so much about him that Layne just didn't know. Things that Jerry never talked about, never wanted brought up...

When they'd first met in the summer of '87, it had taken until the Christmas season of that year for Jerry to reveal that the reason he had been homeless in Seattle was that after he'd just lost both his mom and grandma all in the span of six months, he had been 'at odds' with his relatives and was forced to leave his family home in Tacoma.
And that had come up so casually in conversation, too... just very off-handed, after Layne had asked Jerry where he would be spending the holidays.
In shock upon hearing that nonchalant answer, Layne had countered Jerry's aloof behaviour by not digging in with questions, permitting Jerry his silence. And, because Layne has such a kind, considerate, selfless nature, he hadn't hesitated to invite Jerry to his family home for Christmas.

The closest Jerry had been to opening up to him about that time in his life was after Andy Wood had died. In his efforts to provide Layne with some comfort, Jerry had shared some small, heavy details about the death of his mother.

Much like with Andy, he had never gotten the chance to say goodbye to her. And even though the lack of closure was devastating for so, so long, he was eventually able to take some solace in his cherished memories of her. He chose to remember her for everything she was, instead of dwelling on the things she wasn't and now never could be.
She may have been ripped from his life, but she would forever live on in his heart and mind.

Probably not a single day went by that Jerry didn't think of his mother. It was awful that he'd never been able to say goodbye to her... if Layne could, he'd sock whoever was responsible for that right in the face.