The Reluctant Assistant - Book One

Forsaken Part 34

It was twilight when Layla got out of the cab, seeing a lone figure sit on the jetty, head bowed. When she'd got the call from Jackson asking where he was and if he's contacted her, she immediately cut the call and rushed to the airport to get the first flight out. She didn't need to speak to Jackson, she knew her brother better than anybody else in this world, and if he disappeared, then there is only one place he'd go to.

She quietly walked out to where he was, his feet in the water. Sitting down, she sat with him in silence, until the stars started littering the sky with their lights. Finally Raymond looked over at her, "Thank you." he said quietly, getting up. She gave him a tight hug, a tear slipping down her cheek, knowing that for Raymond to come here, he was hurting to the point of breaking.

They were laying quietly on the bed together, when Raymond finally started talking. The first half of the story sounded like it could be from a fairy tale, she thought. The second half was excruciatingly painful to hear. Her own heart broke for Raymond and what he'd gone through all these years to take care of everybody around him and the situation he was in. Hatred for Jackson and his family sat like a burning stone in her chest.

"S-she called me the Help." he said quietly. Raymond felt as if the wind had been knocked out of his sails. He'd so much wanted to believe that things with Jackson would work out, but maybe that wasn't part of their grand plan, his heart wasn't part of their great plan.

"If I see that bitch, I'll slap the shit right out her." Layla threatened. "And that moron son of hers!" she was angry again. "Don't let their shit and words dictate your life Ray. You're worth more than that, and you know it, don't you?"

"You're going to be a terrible psychiatrist. We should have put you in a gang instead." he chuckled against her shoulder. 

"But you know what I mean, right?" she asked, hoping to make sure  that Raymond would not be crippled by their words and opinions.

"But isn't that what I'll always be? The Help. Someone to fix and make things better for other people, selling my soul for their approval, because I need their money to live." Raymond had come this this realization as Jackson's mother's words rang through his head. He'll never be more than the Help, but that was okay, he knew where he stood now. At least now he can face them head on and fight on their own ground. 

"Don't let them break you big brother." She said quietly. "You've faced bigger monsters than this, remember? That's why you'll always be my hero." She gave him a tight hug. 

--

Jackson was going out of his mind with worry. He still didn't know where Raymond was, but at least he knew he was safe. Tilly had confirmed this begrudgingly and then slammed the door in his face. But knowing that Raymond was safe, wasn't enough for him. He needed to have him by his side, in their home. He hated his mother for what she'd done. The misery she had brought him and Raymond. 

But there was nothing to be done. His best hope was to find Raymond and make him understand. Their relationship was important to him, how could it not be? He had met his perfect match. 

Now he was sitting in Raymond's empty office trying to find some peace, but that was nearly impossible. He couldn't sleep, because he would smell Raymond's scent on the pillows, when he sat in the living room, he remembered when they'd signed the house rules and the beer and wings night and the kitchen... He couldn't find any peace, his heart feeling constricted, and yet, he couldn't leave their home.

He nearly ran to his office on Monday, impatient to see Raymond. He was very early, but he couldn't let Raymond escape. Pacing up and down, he watched as Glenn came in. After and hour, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Junior, where's Cook?" he was standing in front of Glenn's desk, his hands in his pockets.

"Eh-he has finished his term, sir." Glenn looked confused. He thought that the two were dating. Must be trouble in paradise.

"What do you mean he's finished his term?" he suddenly snapped at Glenn. "When is he coming in?!"

"He's not sir." Glenn again felt like a child caught up in a messy divorce. "He-he has already signed in his cards and everything." Glenn thought that if he was going to last in this job without Raymond, then he better grow a backbone.

"What?! When?" Jackson looked in shock at Glenn. How did this happen? When did Cook do all of this, he asked himself.

"I can check with security?" he reached for the phone.

"You think?" Jackson retorted sarcastically, crossing his arms waiting for Glenn to get off the phone.

"He came in at four this morning, sir." Even though he was cool on the inside, Glenn prepared himself for an explosion.

"Then find him." When Glenn just looked at him, he barked, "Now!" and turned around heading to his office.

Jackson knew that Glenn would never be able to find Raymond. He just wasn't Raymond, not even close. By mid-morning he'd had enough and left for home. What was the point of even trying to work when all he could think about was Raymond and where he could be. Once he stepped inside, he shrugged off his jacket, loosened his tie and headed toward the fridge.

Peering inside, he saw a bucket of uneaten wings and bottles of beer. On a whim he took them out, and set them on the table in the livingroom and sat down on the floor. This is what Raymond would have done, he smiled to himself, his chest constricting at the thought of him. Taking his first swig of beer, Jackson sputtered as it fizzed down his throat. After the second bottle, it didn't taste as bad, so he kept on drinking. After the seventh beer, he stumbled back to the kitchen to grab another pack of beer, guzzling them down. But the more he drank, the more he missed Raymond.

Jackson's eyes burned with tears, he didn't care about anything at that moment, the alcohol was numbing his body, but when he closed his eyes, all he could see was Raymond. He didn't want to feel anymore and at some point he passed out, spilling beer all over himself.