Marilyn by J.D. Lawrence Read Free Book Online

before himself,' she answered, happily, a smile curling in the corners of her mouth like a gentle wave washing over the shore.
         'Do you have a picture of him?'
    'I... I don't. Not on me. It's in my purse, in the car.' She took her first sip. It tasted damn good. 'He's handsome, takes after his father. That's the only thing, thank God.'
         'Hey, he sounds like a wonderful boy, and lucky, too. To have a mother like you.'
    Marilyn lifted her head from the hypnotic aroma of her coffee mug.
    'Thanks, but I wouldn't be so sure of that.'
    'Don't sell yourself short. I can tell a good person when I see one. We'll get him back, don't you worry about that.'
    He sipped his coffee, his brain ticking over.
    'There are only two ways out of here, Marilyn. Back the way you came or to head to the freeway. But to do that you have to pass through the next town. It's a couple of hours' drive. My guess is that they're heading toward the freeway, to avoid the local authorities.' He took a long sip of the piping hot coffee. 'The phone lines are down here, and they may be out in town, too. There's no way of telling.'
    Marilyn was nodding, hanging on his every word.
    'We have to get to town, I mean.' She got to her feet, her drink almost spilling. 'Jack could be there right now. We have to leave now, Elwood. I have to go.'
    'Marilyn, I know this is probably going to sound stupid to you, but you need to rest. When was the last time that you slept?' Elwood replied, keeping himself firmly planted to his chair.
    'Sleep? You think I can sleep?' she spat furiously, raising her arms and tipping coffee over the side of the mug. 'My son is missing and you want me to rest? Jesus, he could be anywhere, anything could have happened to him, he's out there all alone, Jack, my eight-year-old son, with some fucking maniac in this fucking storm. I don't know if he is alive or hurt or even…'
    She ran out of breath and broke down into a fit of tears. Her body convulsed and buckled as she fought back her breathless cries. Elwood rushed over to her, threw his arms around her and held her close, one hand holding the back of her head, he whispered into her ear.
    'Shhh… shhh. It's OK, It's OK. We'll find him. OK? We'll find Jack.'
    He continued to hold her close.
    'The storm sounds like it's passing, but right now, it is hell out there. We won’t get ten feet.'
    Her body stiffened around Elwood's heartening nuzzle. She knew he was right, but didn't want to accept it.
    'We can leave within the hour. It'll give us time to pack a few things and then we'll drive to town, but we will take my Jeep and I'll drive. And you have to promise me you'll at least try and rest. Do we have a deal?'
    Marilyn gently pushed herself away from the warm embrace, her tears had stopped. She sniffed hard and wiped the watery sadness from her face.
    'Deal.'
    'Let’s go and get Jack back.'

TWELVE
     
    Jack tried to keep his mind as busy as possible, to take it anywhere but inside the car. Thinking of all of his mom, his dad, his friends, his favourite T.V shows, anything and everything. Jack leaned in close to the window, seeing his warm breath hit and dissipate against the streaky glass. The rain maintained its steady downpour but it was weakening, losing its barbaric lustre. It pounded against the roof of the car like hammers on a steel drum in an opera, charged by a blind conductor. He peered out at the venomous sky, what he could see of it, at least. It was becoming less deadly with each passing mile. He had just about caught a glimpse of a broken signpost a few miles back. They were closing in on a town.
    He turned his head to look at O'Sullivan, he was in an unblinking trance, staring at the road, his mouth twitching with the occasional squeak of the wipers. Jack carefully folded his arms across his stomach, slowly tucked one arm under the other and grappled quietly for the door handle. He found it. He slid two fingers underneath and tugged. Nothing. The door didn't budge.