What Nobody Saw: Day 11

Word Count: 66,052

Summary of Events:

Walker went with a coworker to do a quick bathroom renovation for, as it turned out, his mom's dad and stepmom; as he was under the sink detaching some things their chihuahua bit him, causing him to startle and cut his cheek open deeply enough to need stitches. Although the wound was relatively minor, Walker was given the rest of the week off, so he invited Dr. Schissler's niece — who had also become his girlfriend since they'd met at the Jets game — over to hang out because he was bored . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“So’ve you heard back from Uncle Jonas yet?” she asked.

“No,” Walker replied.

“Oh,” Zelene said. sounding disappointed. “What would be taking him so long?”

“I don’t know,” Walker replied. “But it’s kind of driving me nuts.”
“Really?” Zelene asked. “Why?”

“Because I want to know all the answers,” Walker replied.

“Me too,” Zelene said.

Walker leaned his head against the pillowy back of the couch and sighed.

“Are you hoping that they’ll take the papers or what?” Zelene asked.

“I don’t know,” Walker replied. “Kind of, I guess, but I would like it if they’d tell me why the papers were in the attic and stuff.”

“That would always be nice,” Zelene said.

“I also want to know if the mom’s still alive,” Walker said. “Like, Jonas’ mom.”

“Why?” Zelene asked.

“Well, she got the shortest end of the stick, and I want to know that she’s been able to enjoy a few years of freedom,” Walker replied. “Besides, I don’t think she knew that a lot of those papers existed, and it might make her happy to know they did.”

Zelene was silent, taking up her drink and sipping it.

“Why are you so interested in seeing her happy?” Zelene asked.

“I don’t know,” Walker replied. “I just am.”

“You do realise she’s an old lady by now, right?” Zelene asked.

“Yeah,” Walker replied. “But, to be honest, it’s kind of like my grandma. Grandma Milla, that is. She’s such a sweet, nice old lady, and I’ve seen a picture of, of Jolene, Jonas’ mom, and she looked really pretty and she’s sounded so nice and wonderful, and yet she was treated so badly, I want to know that she’s getting the good treatment she deserves; even to let her know that there are nice people out here who feel bad about what happened to her and want to . . . make amends, in a way.”

“How do you mean?” Zelene asked.

“I mean, I know abuse can go unnoticed sometimes,” Walker replied. “A lot of times, really, usually because the abuser can convince people that they’re awesome and nice and would never be mean to anyone, and so the abused people are kept in bondage because they’d look like lunatics if they tried to speak out, based on the image their abuser’s cultivated. Yet, honestly, I’m sure that there were people who had to have suspected that something was amiss, but yet, for their own reasons — right or wrong — they didn’t have the guts to act.”

“But you weren’t born back then,” Zelene said.

“No,” Walker admitted. “My parents were hardly born. But I found the papers, so I found out more of the truth than anyone else has known, and I feel like it’s my duty to . . . to . . . show her that people care.”