The Ruins of Our Lives Chapter 7

The Ruins of Our Lives Chapter 7

Next I call Wilson.

'Heidi ho unidentified user of the typically tacky toned, tongue-twisting telephone' Wilson answers. Wow, imagine having to say that every time you answer the phone.

'Hi Wilson' I greet, just waiting for the same rush of emotions that overcame Lauren to overcome him.

But, nothing. Absolute silence.

'I can't talk now. Call me back in 10 minutes' Wilson says shortly.

'Uh, no one. Just a wrong number' I can hear him holler to someone before he hangs up.

I wonder what could be going on. Surely mom doesn't care enough about where I am to be worrying over me being gone, right? I mean, she hasn't been sober for more than two or three days at a time in a year and a half. I guess maybe this is what it takes for her to give a damn about something other than alcohol.

Well, too bad. She's too late with this. I needed her to give a damn throughout the past two years, but after the funeral, she never did. I'm not going back now. I've completely left that life behind, which includes her.

I wait for about 10 minutes, then dial Wilson's number again.

'Heidi ho unidentified user of the typically tacky toned, tongue-twisting telephone' Wilson greets again.

'Hey Wilson. What was the matter before?' I ask right off the bat.

'Nothing. I just had to get something out of the oven' he says. I can tell he's lying to me.

'The truth' I command.

'The truth is, your mom was here. She's worried to death over you and Mark being gone. She thought that I might know where you all were at. Of course I don't, so I didn't really have to lie' Wilson explains.

'Well, you know where Mark is' I point out.

'No, I entrusted him with a friend of mine, and that friend is some place on the West coast' Wilson says.

'Good. He needs to be far away from the alcohol induced hell of the Taylor house too' I say.

'You know, Jill hasn't even touched a drink since you left' says Wilson.

'I don't care. If I came back, she'd start drinking again. I can't take it anymore' I say, hoping this conversation doesn't take the same turns the one on the way to the emergency room did.

'So where are you, anyways?' Wilson inquires.

'All I can say is I'm in California. I told Lauren where, but she is sworn to secrecy' I answer.

'Well do you have a place to stay?' asks Wilson, concerned.

'Yeah. Well, I'm at a motel right now, but I just signed some papers on a rather cheap, nice looking apartment. I'm going to begin looking for work here tomorrow' I reply.

'Good. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to call me. Even if it's just someone to talk to, call me. Even if it's 3 in the morning, I won't mind. Anything for one of Tim Taylor's offspring' Wilson says.

'Okay, I will. I'm going to hang up now, alright? I'm going to try to get some sleep. It's been a long, hard two days' I say.

'Alright. It's been nice talking to you Randy. Please do call again' Wilson says, then hangs up.

I sit there for a moment. I can't bear to hang up the phone. Eventually I do, whether or not I want to.

I move the duffel bag to the floor, and pull back the covers of the bed. I then head to the bathroom, and realize I have no toothbrush with me. Oh well, I guess one night won't of not brushing won't hurt.

So I strip down to a pair of underwear, turn off the lights, close the curtains (since it is only a quarter after 7), and get into bed, and fall asleep surprisingly fast.

Earlier That Day

Jill's POV

'Wilson, I just can't believe that they would do this' I say through the pain of a hangover.

'Well Jill, I can kind of understand why they might. After all, you haven't been too terribly supportive since Tim died' Wilson replies.

Damn. He's right. For nearly two years now, I've been using alcohol to cope with Tim's death. And I've been letting Brad cope that way too. The worst part is I've left Randy and Mark in the dust. I just let the booze take over my life.

'Have they ever mentioned doing anything like this to you? Did they say where they might go?' I ask Wilson.

Just by the look on his face, I can tell that they have mentioned it, and I can tell that he's debating whether or not he should tell the truth.

Wilson's POV

'Have they ever mentioned doing anything like this to you? Did they say where they might go?' I ask Wilson.

I wish she hadn't asked that. I know I should tell her the truth, but not only would it break the deal Randy and I had, but it would make Jill feel even worse to know that this was premeditated.

Luckily, the phone rings, and saves me from having to answer her, at least for the mean time.

'Heidi ho unidentified user of the typically tacky toned, tongue-twisting telephone' I answer using my usual greeting that doesn't make much sense, but is fun to say and sounds really neat.

'Hi Wilson' young Randy greets.

I can't talk to him with Jill here.

'Call back in 10 minutes' I instruct. I'll just have to get Jill out of here by then.

'Who is it?' Jill hollers nosily.

'No one, just a wrong number' I shout back.

Again, I'm forced to lie.

'Jill, you need to get serious about this. You've already lost Marcus and Randy to alcohol. Do you want to lose yourself or Brad any further to alcohol?' I ask as I re-enter the den.

Jill's POV

I wonder if it was Randy or maybe Mark on the phone.

Jill, you need to get serious about this. You've already lost Marcus and Randy to alcohol. Do you want to lose yourself or Brad any further to alcohol?' he asks as he re-enters the den.

'Drinking has not taken over my life' I lie, knowing damn good and well that it in fact has taken over my life, and Brad's as well.

'I'm reminded of the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He said "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you"' quotes Wilson.

'So what you're saying is that my drinking killed my relationship with two of my sons, and changed my relationship with the other one from mother to drinking buddy' I suggest.

'I believe that Thomas Fuller put it best when he said "Wine hath drowned more Men than the sea"' Wilson states.

'Yeah. Well thanks Wilson. Let me know if you hear anything m-out of them' I catch myself. I almost said if he heard anything more out of the boys.

I leave now, and head back around the fence.

Once home I find every ounce of liquor in the household and dump it down the drain.

Wilson's POV

It's such a shame that Jill had to go through this.

I wonder if anything I said will get through to her. I wonder if this is what it will take for her to get her act together. I can only hope.

Now I just sit here and wait for Randy to call back.

A/N: So will Jill stay sober? Where's Mark? Will Randy find a job? Will Brad give up drinking? Will Wilson continue to play counselor to the family? Keep reading to find out.

Oh, and by the way, I know this line: 'Heidi ho unidentified user of the typically tacky toned, tongue-twisting telephone' makes absolutely no sense, but I just needed something that sounded cool and started with the same letters.

As always, please read and review.

BTW, the reason I'm doing a mass update of my stories is today I have to have surgery performed on my nose, so I won't feel like writing or updating for at least a week, probably closer to two.

-Yours truly, Randy Taylor