Who: Grady & Jared Where: Phone call from Texas to Maine, after this When: Mid-May Status: Complete
Four months and Jared wasn't sure he'd ever be happy again. He had moments where he was okay but as soon as he thought about rejoining society and getting a job something cracked inside him. He'd been getting by mentally by being completely and utterly alone; hiking, hunting, staying away from people as much as possible. Sometimes he wondered if that's what he should do with his life now, simply give up on people all together and become a ranger somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Whenever he thought about his life as it had been it just reminded him that he couldn't survive without love while he was also sure he could never love again. There was too much hurt there, too much trauma all at once. He had already divorced Sadie when she died but he had still loved her and now Ty was gone and with him all the hopes and ideas Jared had for his future. On some level he knew he just needed time but after everything that had happened in Point Pleasant it felt like the time he needed was a damn eternity.
His one tether to the world currently was his mother who insisted he call on the regular or at least update his facebook with pictures of the places he went to and the things he was doing. There wasn't always a good reception in the places he most enjoyed going to so he made sure to drive back to civilization every couple of weeks, get a nice motel room, have a shower and a semi-human experience where he could upload pictures and reply to comments from his cousins with likes or hearts at the very least. Calling his mom was always hardest. Was he okay? Not really, but he was eating well and he wasn't suicidal so she didn't really have to worry about him. He just needed time. She still did though, of course. Worry. Physically and materialistically he was doing just fine. He didn't need a lot of money since he was mostly living off the land, his old house that he'd shared with Sadie was finally off the market and after sharing a hefty sum with her family he still had a little left over for himself. His Seaview place was still for sale but it was in good hands so he didn't bother with checking on it for the most part. It was hard to care about stuff like that these days.
He'd just gotten to a motel in a small town he had never been in before. It was rural and a little rough but there was running water and wifi so that was all he really needed. He charged his phone and the spare battery he kept with him in case of emergency and took a long, cool shower, enjoying proper soap and shampoo for the first time in a couple of weeks. It was around dinner time when he came back out and flopped down on the bed in only a towel, wondering if this hodunk town had food delivery and idly checking his phone. There were two missed calls from Grady and while that wasn't really unusual - his old boss sometimes checked in on him - something about it made his heart skip a beat. Maybe it was the fact that it was two missed calls and not just one, maybe there was no damn reason, but his hands were shaking a bit as he called him back.
Rather than call Ty's mother, Grady had driven over to the woman's house to speak with her in person. There had been confusion and elation and tears and after Mrs. Solomon had rushed off to the hospital, Grady tried Jared's cell. It went to voicemail first so he hung up and gave it a few minutes. He didn't want to leave a message, not with the way he knew his voice would sound. So he called again, but again... voicemail. Assuming, and hoping, that Jared would call him back, Grady drove back to the station to start a report on Ty's reappearance. He wasn't sure if he would make the report public or not. There were some things too wild to put in an official record. He had grown used to edging around the bizarre and keeping a separate file of Point Pleasant's incidents for himself. And... whoever might end up taking his job someday.
He was in his office on his computer when his phone began to buzz. Jared. Taking a breath, Grady answered, greeting Jared with what he hoped was a neutral tone. "How are you doing?" he asked, not wanting to jump right in with the news and overwhelm the guy. "How's your mother?"
"I'm alright," Jared replied because that was the standard answer when he didn't really want to get into it all. "Everyone down here is good. How are you?" It was more than just niceties of course, Jared was suffering and Grady still lived in Point Pleasant which was apparently a magnet for horrible things. Yet despite how awful it was, Jared felt a deep seated homesickness for the place that wasn't even all about Ty. He missed the stupid marina, Main Street, Moxie's and the people. It was small and familiar, it was home. Being back in Texas felt like being a stranger in a wide open space and that was easier when he wasn't around people at all.
Grady understood what I'm alright and I'm fine really meant, so he didn't press for more information. "I'm doing fine, Jared," Grady replied. Point Pleasant had been pretty quiet for the last few months. Some minor B&E's, some domestic disputes and the like, but nothing as horrible and terrifying as what he was used to. With people from Witcham starting to reappear, that rusty ball of discomfort was starting to reform in Grady's gut. Something wasn't right about it. He just didn't know what that was yet. "Look, I've got some news. We picked up Ty on Witcham Road earlier this morning. He's all right, but he's in the hospital right now getting checked over. He's got some memory issues, but the doctor doesn't think it's permanent."
There it was and Jared would never have been able to imagine what feeling surprised at the same time as feeling not surprised could be like if he wasn't experiencing that very thing now. He'd known there was news about Ty when he saw the two missed calls or maybe he'd just hoped there was news, feared there were news. This just wasn't the news he was expecting. He was quiet as a few seconds ticked by, swallowing hard as he tried to find the words to say, combing through the entirely too complicated emotions welling up inside of him. "He's uh," he started so Grady wouldn't think the connection had been cut or something but then he went quiet again for another few seconds. "Is he... Himself?" he asked and now more than anything he wished he'd told Grady everything. Maybe he'd found out through other ways since but Jared had kept quiet about what Rylee told him to protect the people involved.
Grady could hear Jared breathing softly on the other end of the line, but he didn't say anything until Jared was ready to talk. This was ultimately good news, though Grady was sure Jared was dealing with a half a dozen emotions at the moment. But Grady had always been a patient man, so he settled back against his chair until Jared was ready to respond. His question confused Grady momentarily before he realized what Jared meant. That was something Grady knew about now, though he hadn't at the time. "Yeah, he seems to be himself. Again, he doesn't really know who he is, or anything about his life." Grady paused, his lips twitching into a faint smile. "He's got a lot of hair."
Jared huffed softly at the idea of Ty with a lot of hair because he'd never seen him like that and it just sounded weird but it was hard to really smile when he was currently at war with himself. If Ty didn't remember him, should he still come home? His mother would guard him tooth and nail, that he was sure of, but Ty - his Ty - deserved a chance to know who he was and who he had been. Grady had said the doctor didn't think it was permanent but Jared still didn't feel welcome somehow, maybe because he'd left, maybe because the way Ty had left him, helpless and dying in their bed. But no, that hadn't been Ty. "Are they keeping him a while at the hospital?" he asked even if he knew he wouldn't be able to get there fast enough either way. He wanted to drop everything and get a flight now while at the same time he wasn't so sure he should go there at all.
"I'm not sure. Maybe overnight. I'll know more in a while." Grady paused. "It's up to you whether or not you want to come back, and I'm sure you know that. But if his memories do come back, sooner than later, I'm pretty confident that Ty would want you here." It wasn't his place to pry or tell Jared what to do. But he felt like he had known his deputy well enough to know what Jared had meant to him. Coming back from... wherever Ty had been... might end up being pretty traumatizing and Grady was sure Ty could use a strong support system.
Ty would want him there. Jared knew that but at the same time he felt like he didn't, not really and he could feel himself getting choked up at the thought of going back, of actually seeing Ty again. "I'll be there," he said anyway because there was no way he wasn't going to Maine now, not a chance. Even if he just went there to see things through and then it was over, he needed to go back. "I'm... I'm in the middle of nowhere right now," he said with a faint chuckle. "It'll take a while I- can you tell him I'm coming? It might take a couple of days but I'm coming. Just so he knows." Even if he didn't remember, if he suddenly woke up and remembered Jared he needed to know that Jared was coming back. There was no way he could sleep tonight so he'd start driving as soon as he got dressed, he'd do all the math about how long it took him to drive back and when the next available flight was but there was no way he was staying in this tiny motel after getting the news.
"Yeah, of course." Grady felt the wave of relief wash over him when Jared agreed to come back. He hadn't really doubted it, but things had been so bad before Ty disappeared and now everything felt a bit uncertain. He could absolutely understand any reluctance Jared might have had. But talking with Ty, Grady hadn't felt anything strange or unusual, but for Ty's lack of memory. Maybe that was a good sign. "I can get you a room set up at Juniper if you need a place to stay." He knew Jared had sold Sadie's place and his place in Seaview was still on the market so Grady wasn't entirely sure that Jared had a place to stay. But he would do what he could to make the trip back to Point Pleasant easier for the guy.
"Yeah?" Jared asked with a sense of his own relief. He could have gotten a room himself but it was nice of Grady to offer to fix it up for him and made it less likely for there to be complications. "I'd appreciate that. Let me call you back tomorrow when I know about flights and such, afternoon sound okay?" He was already a little distracted now as he started planning this trip in his mind and trying to figure out just how much to tell his mother. He'd kept things purposefully vague with her and everyone else, unable to really go into what had happened in any depth when he could barely rationalize it to himself. Thankfully his mother hadn't pushed for too much information, she'd just been a comforting and steady presence when he needed her.
Of course Grady was willing to do whatever was needed in order to get Jared back to Maine. He had no idea if he would stay indefinitely or not. That was all dependent on him and Ty. But if anyone could help Ty right now, it was Jared, even if Ty didn't remember who the guy was. "Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll call Juniper and ask them to keep a room open, just in case." It was starting to become tourist season and Juniper tended to fill up fast in the summertime. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me."
Maybe it was a mad man's folly to fly all the way to Maine without really knowing how it would go but this was Ty they were talking about so there was no question in Jared's mind that he had to go. He had to go and stay as long as was necessary until Ty remembered him and if he never did then Jared needed some kind of a closure. It was Ty and he was worth the long trip. "Thanks," he said and meant it with all his heart. He was almost sure he could get his old job back if it came to that but beyond that, not a lot of bosses were this attentive to their people. "I'll call you when things are a little less vague."
"I'll talk to you soon," Grady said before hanging up. He knew he would. Grady was betting Jared would have flight details by the end of the day. He also knew not a lot of people in his position would be so accommodating, but while this town could be hell on earth, it was also home. It was certainly small enough that he knew just about everyone now and he cared about a lot of them, his deputies included. Even former deputies. People have gone missing in January and now they were returning, one by one. It was a relief, but disconcerting at the same time. Grady rubbed his hands over his face, taking a moment for himself before he exhaled and stood, ready to get on with the day.