Afterboom – Chapter 53

"Mom! Connor's beating on my head!" Caitlin called out to Alison.

"If you two don't quit it right now, before I get your father in here," Alison threatened, but she knew better than that, there was no way that Owen's scolding would hold any weight. Owen was a big kid in his own right.

"Okay, c'mon now you two. Break it up. You're meant to be making things easier on Mom," she said walking over to her children and prying them apart just as the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" she wondered aloud making her way to the door. Owen got there before she did and was surprised to find Hannah Daniels at the door when he answered it. "Hey Hannah. What goes on?"

"Hey O. Uh, I know it's late and I don't mean to bother you guys but, um," she laughed nervously, "Have you seen Eddie around?"

"What?" Alison asked stepping forward towards the door.

"Um, Eddie. We haven't seen him in a while, and Janet's getting pretty freaked. They kind of got into it a couple of days ago and he's been AWOL ever since," she briefed them.

"You don't say," Owen replied weakly.

"Yeah, that's the thing. We wouldn't care about bugging him if we knew where he was. Thing is, we don't know where he's off to and well, you're the only possibility. Nick was with me until this morning, and –" she began talking to Owen.

"Hey it's freezing, would you like to come in? I baked some cookies," Alison offered.

"Thanks, but I really can't stay that long. Janet's a bit of a wreck," she said coming in and taking a seat at their dining table.

"What makes you think I know where he is?" Owen challenged.

"Well because you're the only person he could have been with. But since your here, and Eddie obviously isn't, I guess I can rule you out too," Hannah said getting up and making her way to the door. She turned around and faced Owen, "If you do hear from him, please tell him that Janet's worried and to check in," she finished.

"Yeah, sure. If I hear from him, I'll tell him," Owen replied.

"Thanks. Thanks Alison, those cookies look amazing by the way. I hope I can actually get to taste them sometime," she offered with a smile. And with that, she was gone.

When Owen turned around, he was looking right into his wife's piercing blue eyes. They were scrutinizing him and her arms were folded across her chest.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Where's Eddie?" she asked calmly.

"What do you mean 'where's Eddie'? Did you not hear me just tell her I didn't know where he was?" He asked laughing nervously.

"Oh I heard you, but that's not to say I actually believe you. Where's Eddie, Owen?" she demanded.

"I don't know. Exactly," he insisted.

"Yes you do. And if you don't tell me where he is right now, I will wake up every morning and burn the sports section of the paper before you get to it," she warned.

"I don't—"

"Owen...," she warned.

"He doesn't want to be found, Alison. And he swore me to secrecy. It's the whole Brother Code. He has a lot of figuring out to do. And I figured I could at least give him that," Owen confessed.

"Wait, I'm missing something here. Why did he leave in the first place?" she asked confused.

"He's not over Janet's infidelity yet," Owen said quietly, "He stormed over here a few nights ago and told me he was going somewhere and he would be out of range for a few days. We shouldn't try to contact him."

"So why didn't you tell Hannah that?"

"Because then she'd want to know the details of his whereabouts and that's classified information," Owen was beginning to sweat in eight degree weather.

"And do you know where exactly Eddie is?" she demanded.

"Yeah," Owen admitted.

"Well you need to tell Janet that, Owen! She's worried sick about him! Did you not hear what Hannah said?"

"Good!" he spat, "She deserves it. Eddie is the nicest guy I know he did not deserve to be treated the way she treated him. And he deserves that time to figure out where he's at with things. He needed alone time and that's exactly what he's going to get," Owen continued stubbornly.

"And you're not at all worried that something could have happened to him already and no one knows where he is?" she asked narrowing her eyes at her husband who was putting out his back trying to avoid them.

"I do know where he is, remember? Its Janet, Eddie wants to keep in the dark," Owen reminded her.

"Well I'm going to call her," Alison said walking over to the phone that was anchored to the kitchen wall.

"No! Don't. This is none of our business. Stay out of it. Please? He'll come home when he comes home," Owen insisted taking the receiver from her and hanging it back on the cradle.

"Owen, Janet's a new friend. You know women have a code too. It says you don't leave a friend worried sick about someone she loves if you have information that can put her mind at ease," she said picking up the receiver again.

"Alison this is not our problem," Owen repeated aggravated, "And how do we know she loves him anyway? I mean they're not even married. So why does he have to call her?"

"Look, if she asks just tell her that Eddie doesn't want her to know where he is. You know some women appreciate honesty, Owen," she said planting her hands on her hips.

"Fine. I'll tell her. But if she comes after me, I'm holding you personally responsible," Owen said picking up the phone and dialling in Janet's number.

"You're a stand up guy, Owen Rowan," Alison said contentedly smiling as she kissed him on his cheek.

Owen was lost for words when he heard Janet's voice on the other end of the line. What do you say to your best friend's girlfriend when you're specifically instructed not have anything to do with her? He felt like a total nark.

"Hello?" Janet's voice asked eagerly on the other end.

She probably thought it was Eddie, Owen thought to himself.

"Uh, yeah Janet its Owen," he said finally.

"Owen? What's up? Have you heard from Eddie?" her voice was so hopeful and pleading, Owen's heart went out to her despite himself.

"Yeah, I know where he is. But he doesn't want to be contacted by anyone. He wants to be left alone, Janet," Owen said quickly.

There was a long silence on the other end. "Oh, I see," she said, "Did he say when he was coming back?" she inquired.

"Yeah, he said he'd be back in a few days. So I'm guessing Sunday night?" Owen suggested. "If you want me to give him a message, I could do that," Owen offered sympathetically.

"Uh, no. No, that's okay. As long as he's alright, I suppose that's all I can ask for," she said lost in thought.

"Well I better get going. But my offer still stands," he reminded.

"Yeah, thanks. I know where to find you," she replied softly. She sounded so sad, like she was about to cry.

"Just give it time Janet. At least he'll come back with perspective. Everyone knows that an Eddie without perspective is as painful to deal with as a broken limb. Especially if he causes it," Owen joked.

"Yeah, I guess. Well I better get going too. I'll see you 'round alright?" Janet said before she hung up.

Man, if only he could see how miserable she was...I mean you can't fake something like that, he thought, his heart beginning to ache. Maybe it's time someone showed him.