The Lonely Widow (Completed) (Editing)

Chapter 19

        Every second that Lee was in his car driving away from Daisy was more torturous than the last. He felt guilty for leaving like that in the middle of the night – especially after the shower incident - and knew that if she woke to find him gone, leaving her in a strange house alone with Jay, she’d never forgive him.

        He hadn’t wanted to leave her and had tried his hardest to resist the need to, but tonight was the only chance he had to speak with Joel. The only night this month he knew exactly where he would be. Once a month, Joel paid his mum a fleeting visit. Every month since the day he’d left home, on the last day of the month whether it be the 28th, the 29th, the 30th or the 31st, he’d arrive at his mum’s house at 9pm and leave at 9am the next morning. In between those times, finding Joel Turner was like finding a needle in a haystack.

        Going to Joel’s mum’s house wasn’t ideal, but he also knew that she wouldn’t be there tonight. While he went to see her, she spent the night out at her friend’s house, unable to stand being in the same house as her son. She knew all about his ‘lavish’ lifestyle and the means he went through to fund the said lifestyle and she certainly wasn’t happy about it. However, she missed her son and once she knew that he was still alive and well, she offered him a room and some food and left for the night. By the time she’d return in the morning, he’d be long gone.

        Lee looked at the digital clock in his car and sighed. 00:56. It had been fifteen minutes since he had left Daisy alone in his bed and hoped that this wouldn’t take long. He wanted to get back to her and make sure she was okay. He debated with himself, fighting to not turn straight around and drive home to her, completely forgetting about Joel this month.

        His fingers drummed on the steering wheel as he breathed deeply; trying to bring his thoughts away from Daisy for just a few moments so he could remember the route to Joel. It had been a long time since he’d been in this area of town and he wanted to get in and out as quickly as he could. Too many memories ran through his mind as he drove through the all familiar streets, remembering the last time he’d been there and cringed when he remembered that it hadn’t ended well.

        He turned onto his old street and slowed the car down to a suitable pace, eyeing up the changes since he’d been here last. The whole street seemed to have gone downhill; knocked over garbage bins, graffiti covered walls, rubbish all over the roads and pathways, countless amounts of boarded up windows. He wondered how one person could cause such mayhem, such anarchy.

        The car came to a halt outside Ethel Turner’s house, the engine was cut and Lee stared at the house before him; the only house and garden in the street to have maintained some sort of decency. The pristine garden contrasted the run-down mazes of the rest of the street. It was surprising that anyone managed to find their front doors through the long grasses and junkyard driveways.

        Deciding to bite the bullet, so he could get home to Daisy, he took a deep breath and opened the car door, climbed out and closed and locked it behind him. His heart beat ten to the dozen as he walked up the path and stood in front of the door. Wiping his hands on his trousers to dry them from the sweat pouring from him, he clenched his fists nervously and knocked.

        Silence greeted him from the other side for an agonizing moment and the as the adrenaline began to wear off, Lee wondered whether he’d done the right thing in going there. It was pretty obvious that Cody didn’t want help, or he wouldn’t have gone straight back to Joel after being released from the clinic. He’d had all the love and help he needed to beat the addiction, yet had ignored it all and started using again.

        A loud thump sounded through the door and a string of curses before a light was switched on, the keys were turned in the lock and the door swung open revealing Joel in nothing but his boxers and a pair of black socks.