I checked the endpoint on MapQuest several times before letting the car come to a complete stop. It was a mildly warm day in California, and I stared at the woman sitting on the front porch, enjoying the light breeze. I sighed and proceeded to approach her, holding Emmanuel's files tightly in my hand.
"Good morning son, are you selling cookies today?" She asked, about to hand me the money she had in her hand; she was assuming that I was boy scout. I chuckled lightly and rejected her hand. She patted the seat beside her, offering me to sit down.
"Well I wanted to talk about your son." I asked slowly, trying to see how she would react. I'm sure she hasn't heard from Jacob in years and his "disappearance" may still be weighing heavy on her heart.
"Oh Jaione, he's in the house, I'll get him if you like."
"No Ms. Perez, I'm referring to Jacob." Her face turned pale, and I noticed tears welling up against her eyes. She stood and began to race towards the front door.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." She pushed her words out, knowing she didn't mean any of them. She knew exactly what I was talking about, and she pretended not to, attempting to hide her emotions. I followed quickly behind her, grabbing the door before she could slam it closed.
"Please Ms. Perez, I have information on him.. he's... he's alive." I told her. Her eyes softened, and she widened the door, allowing me to squeeze through.
Their house was large, large enough for more than two people to live here. The living room was decorated in Hispanic artwork and family portraits, accented with deep mahogany colored couches and tables. I took a seat in the couch across from her, letting her regain her composure. A heavy silence fell on us, as her eyes darted from the door to me.
"My baby boy's alive." She whispered. "Tell me, where is he? Is he living fine? Does he wish to see me again? He probably would never want to do that.." She mumbled the last part, but I still managed to catch onto it. "He's in Atlanta, Ms. Perez. I'm not sure of his living arrangements, but he has.. come to visit me sometimes. He ran away from home, I'm not clear on why," I started. "He's after me... he's blaming me for the death of his friend, he's threatening to kill my wife! I don't want to turn him in, but there's no other way.. I need to save her Ms. Perez. Please help me."
"Jacob has a tendency to hold grudges. He's held one against me since he was in tenth grade, he heard me talking on the phone with his father and... I said some harsh things that day. Jacob wasn't like the other children, ever. He was quiet and kept to himself quite often. The first friend he ever made was Rayan, and when he died it truly took a toll on him. He ran away the following week and that was the last I saw of my baby boy. I've missed him so, his brother.. I'm not sure the feeling is quite mutal. Jacob tried to kill Jaione." My eyes bulged out of my head, and the breath I was about to release got caught in my throat. That part of Jacob's file wasn't a lie, so that possibly meant the court statement wasn't either.
"It was true.." I said barely above a whisper, still registering the fact that Jacob was truly mentally ill. The reason on how this all came to be, still weighed heavily on my mind.
"Jacob was jealous, ever so jealous of him. He liked the idea of being the only child a little too much, when he heard about the arrival of Jaione... he threw tantrum.. after tantrum. When Jaione was only two, Jacob tried to smother him with a mattress, and since his lungs were still so small he nearly stopped breathing. We had to perform CPR and send him to the hospital. Jacob was infuriated," she choked out. "We sent him away, to a mental hospital. The doctors concluded that he had severe anxiety and anger issues. I was so worried about what others thought of us having a mentally ill child, I hardly mentioned him... His father wanted no trace of him, we burned his clothes, turned his bedroom into a office, family pictures, everything." Ms. Perez had broken down in tears at this point, sniffling with snot and tears streaming down her face. For some reason, the sympathy never entered me. I looked at her in pure disgust, she was a monster.
"A year later, Jacob's father had began drinking heavy, and was hardly home. That's when I went back for Jacob, brought him home and allowed him back in our lives. Jaione barely had any recognition of him, he was still so young. We moved on from the incident, almost as if it never happened, but I had noticed Jacob was more isolated than before. He only talked to one person, Rayan, he didn't even associate with Jaione or I. His father, came home drunk one night.. and tried to rape Jacob.. but I, didn't do anything. Jacob hated me ever since then.. and when his friend died, he got even worse. One morning when I came to wake him up for school.. he was gone." My mouth gaped open, but before I could reply, my phone began to ring.
"It's him."
