CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 57: CHILDHOOD

"Okay. We may be here awhile." She let out a nervous chuckle and then sighed. "My dad... Well, I loved my dad. When I was little, he would play with me and take me to fun places. He was a lot of fun to be around and I looked up to him, but my mom, she was kinda an emotional wreck. It didn't help that we were poor. She would argue with my dad all the time. She was just always complaining and nothing was ever her fault. It was always someone else's. Most of the time, she would blame my dad for anything and everything that went wrong because he was the only one else around, besides me. Over the years, the fighting got worse and worse, to the point where momma would hit my dad. She physically assaulted him, and then she would lose her mind if he ever tried to defend himself and accuse him of being abusive." Birdie sighed. "Eventually, they got a divorce. I was twelve. It was the worst day of my life because I found out I had to stay with my mom instead of going with dad. It just didn't seem fair. She was the one who was abusive, not him. Oh, and as you would expect, things got worse for me with him gone. She didn't have anyone to blame but me or herself, but she certainly wasn't going to blame herself for anything. So everything was my fault. Anyway, I got out of that place as soon as I got my driver's license. I never looked back."

"Wow. That's awful," I said. "I can't imagine being in a situation like that. That must have been hard."

"Yeah, but it is what it is. My life is pretty good now. I probably wouldn't have come all the way here if it weren't for my mom driving me out of the house. Thanks, momma."

"Where did you live before?"

"Oklahoma."

"That's kinda far. Did you have to live in your car?"

"I probably shouldn't be telling a cop this, but it wasn't my car. I stole it from my mom."

"Don't worry. I won't tell."

"It was a long time ago anyway. I don't have the car anymore."

"How long did you live in your mom's car for?"

"Oh, I don't know. A couple years."

"Years? You were homeless for that long?"

"Well, yeah. I didn't have any money. I had to save up. It took a couple years to be able to afford an apartment with roommates."

"How old were you when you left your mom?"

"Sixteen."

"Birdie! You were just a kid? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is to be homeless in a city like this?"

"Oh, I have an idea. Believe me. I do," she said. "I actually started the roadtrip with my best friend since we were on summer break at the time. She thought it would be fun, and it was, for her. She got to go home before she ran out of money, but I wasn't going back. It wasn't worth it to me. I'd rather be homeless."

"Why didn't you find your dad and live with him?"

"He, uh... I found out he went to jail for stalking my mom and threatening her with a knife. That's what the police report said. I don't believe it. My mom is a liar. My dad would never do something like that."

"Where do you think he is now?"

"I don't know. I have no way of contacting him, but I would like to see him again... just not if he's in prison."

"I bet I could find out where he is. What's his name and date of birth? I can look him up next time I'm at work."

"Really? That means a lot! His name is Murphy Graham. His birthday is... December 2nd. I'm not sure what year."

"How old is he?"

"I don't know... Fifty?"

"Was he born in Oklahoma?"

"I'm not sure."

"Do you know what day he was arrested?"

"It was some time in spring of 2383."

I took note of the information she gave me on my phone. "Well, it's not much, but I'll see if I can find him on our record. He was pure cougar, right?"

"Yeah. Thank you so much for doing this. You're a great friend."

I didn't like being called just a friend, but I didn't really expect her to see me as much more than that. After all, she was living with her boyfriend, and they seemed happy. I still didn't like it though.

"So I told you some personal things about my past," Birdie said. "Let's hear yours."

"There's not much to say. I had a pretty average life," I told her.

"But I didn't have that. I don't know what an average life looks like."

"Well, I had two loving parents. I suppose they were a little on the older side. They wanted to make sure they were financially stable before they had any kids. We lived in a two story house with a yard."

"Did you have any siblings?"

"No. It was just us."

"And you lived in a two story house?"

"Yeah. The bedrooms were upstairs and everything else was on the first story. It shouldn't be too hard to picture. You and Rockie live in a similar house and it's just the two of you."

"Yeah. I think it's a bit excessive, not that I'm complaining, but I think it would be nice to have some kids to fill the space, you know?"

"Yeah. I-" My phone rang so I checked the caller ID. "It's Rockie." I walked a few feet away from Birdie and answered his call. I hoped he hadn't seen me and Birdie together and was calling about it.

I put the phone up to my ear. "Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Are you off work?" Rockie asked.

"Yeah. I was, uh, just on my way home."

"Good. I'll meet you there."

"Okay."

Rockie hung up.

I turned to Birdie. "I gotta go. Rockie wants to meet me at my place."

"Is it about work stuff?" she asked.

"Probably."

"I guess we'll continue our conversation next week?"

"Sure."

We walked to the door and I opened it for Birdie.

She stopped and kissed me on the cheek. "I hope your day gets better."

I smiled. "It already has."