Who: Jared & Sadie What: Checking in Where: Sycamore St. When: Afternoon Monday 09/25 Status: Complete Warning: None
Ever since the fog hit, Jared had felt unsettled, like something bad was going to happen any moment now. Work was more hectic with people driving like idiots in the almost zero visibility and getting around was hard. It was Monday afternoon when he finally found himself near Sycamore street and decided to check in on Sadie. Cursing quietly he realized his phone was at the station so he'd just go there in "official" capacity and drop in unannounced. So be it. He hadn't heard from her in a while and with Danny missing... Well, he wasn't an asshole ex and he cared about Sadie and her family still so checking in only felt right.
He parked in her driveway and made his way up to the house, watching his step and frowning at just how thick this damn fog was. He could barely see a thing that wasn't right there in front of him and reaching his arm out into the fog felt like reaching into the unknown in some creeptastic way. He shuddered a bit at the thought, then knocked on Sadie's door, already dreading this conversation as she was bound to be upset and he had absolutely no good news for her.
Sadie was frustrated by the fog. She didn't mind so much that school had been cancelled, but it also meant no one could really get out and search for Danny. She'd had a bad feeling in her gut since he went missing, and she knew it was from her own experiences with her parents, and Danny's mother and now... this cycle of tragedy never seemed to end. So because there was nothing she could do, and she was more or less stuck indoors, Sadie had poured a bit of vodka into her orange juice to help her cope. She wasn't drunk by any means, but it had helped numb some of the distress that had kept her tossing and turning all night long.
Though the fog made it near impossible to see, Sadie still heard the car when it pulled into her driveway. She wasn't expecting anyone, so she walked to the front window to peer outside. Jared was on her porch. He was on duty, which had Sadie's heart jump into her throat. He hadn't called, and he was on duty and Danny was missing and now she was expecting terrible news. Of course they would send Jared to tell her. Panicked, Sadie hurried to the door and fumbled with the locks. She looked stricken as she pulled open the door. "Did they find him?" she asked hoarsely.
Jared shook his head with a sympathetic look on his face and that helpless feeling he too often got as a cop. They hadn't found him, they hadn't even looked yet. Danny was an adult and there were no extraneous circumstances leading up to his disappearance save for his own possible mental deterioration. Jared hoped they would start once the fog lifted since nobody had yet heard from him. "Can I come in?" he asked because there were things he wanted to talk to her about and ask and it didn't feel right to do so outside - even if currently not a soul could see them.
"Yes, of course," Sadie said with a faint smile as she moved out of the way so Jared could step inside. There was both relief that they hadn't found Danny's body and frustration that there was no news at all. At least she was assuming there wasn't. Sadie shut the door behind him and started for the living room where she had left her phone and drink. "I imagine you guys are pretty busy," she murmured, "dealing with all of this. I'm okay, if that's why you came by." Jared seemed to check in on her from time to time, especially when the town had seemingly gone crazy. That happened more than what was probably considered normal.
Jared wasn't intending on staying long. Even if he wanted to it was hard to do with the state of the town right now. It felt weird to walk into his old home, it always did, though that strangeness was thankfully slowly fading with time. "I wanted to see how you were doing, check in on you and Lucy. She can't be having an easy time right now... Neither of you." He had told Grady about the things he knew about Danny to give them all more to work with, but he hadn't talked to Sadie about it yet and he knew it wouldn't be easy since he was feeling damn guilty about it all. "Did anyone tell you about the uh... the possible medical complications?"
Sadie sat down and reached for her drink as she watched Jared. This had once been his home too and she just assumed he still felt comfortable enough to sit if he wanted to. "We're doing okay," she said with a soft shrug. "I mean, as well as we can be, considering. I'm... not sure what you mean by medical complications." Was there something going on she hadn't known about? Sadie felt that uncomfortable feeling start to tighten in her stomach. "What's going on, Jared?"
Jared knew better than to drag it out and he took a seat at the edge of one of the chairs, resting his hands in his lap. "Danny was having blackouts," he said and it felt a little strange to automatically slip into that tone of voice he used for the job almost exclusively with someone he knew so intimately. "He'd wake up in places he didn't remember going to and it didn't just happen once." Or twice, or three times... Jared wished he'd pushed him harder to get help, or even driven him to the hospital that same day Danny told him but it was little too late to lament that now. "Something was going on with him, Sadie."
"Blackouts?" Sadie set her glass back down on the coffee table, a fresh wave of worry washing over her. "He never told me... why didn't he tell me?" Why hadn't Jared told her, if he knew? Someone needed to be watching over Danny if that was truly happening. Did Lucy know? There was a sudden barrage of morbid thoughts in her mind, about Danny and where he was now, what could have happened to him if he truly blacked out. Sadie stared at Jared, her blonde brows furrowed together in concern and confusion. "How many times did this happen? How did you find out about it?"
There were certain things Jared had learned as a deputy about what not to say to people, but he was here as a friend not as a cop so he pushed those things away with a heavy heart. She might lash out at him for this but he could take the hit if that was what she needed. "He told me a couple of weeks ago and I told him to see a doctor, get some tests done. He promised me he would." Of course Jared felt like shit for not following up on it and checking in on Danny again to make sure he'd done what he said he would but at the same time Danny was a grown man and Jared had his own shit to deal with.
Sadie inhaled deeply as she tried to process the news. Danny was having blackouts. He hadn't told her, or Lucy. If Lucy had known, wouldn't she have said something? Sadie knew immediately why Danny hadn't said anything... he knew Sadie would have pushed him to go to the doctor. Would have driven him there herself. "You should have told me," Sadie breathed, although deep down she knew Jared wasn't obligated to share personal information with her about someone else. Maybe he would have, if they had still been married, but they weren't. She stood from the couch, feeling too restless now to remain sitting. "Why would he tell you about them and not me?"
Telling her that Danny had woken up naked in a field and called Jared to help him would do nothing but worry her more so Jared opted to keep that to himself for now. "He didn't want to worry you or Lucy I guess," he said instead. "I told him to see a doctor and he promised me he would. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it until he knew what he was dealing with. Maybe he was in denial but we'll do our best to find him, we have an APB out on him, if he shows up anywhere we'll get a call." It was a big 'if' and most of the places would mean he was hurt or dead but that was another thing he didn't need to be telling her, her mind had probably already gone there. He stood up, not feeling right sitting there while she was pacing. "Sadie... Is there anything I can do for you?"
If that was truly the case, that Danny didn't want to worry her, then he was an idiot. Blackouts were no joke, and he should have been more responsible, especially knowing he had Lucy to take care of. It made her angry, though she knew deep down that it made her feel better to be furious with Danny than to worry about him. Sadie folded her arms under her breasts, hugging herself a bit, and then turned to Jared. She was upset that he hadn't told her about Danny sooner, but she also knew it had really been none of her business. Sadie wouldn't have wanted Jared telling her family if she had issues either. The whole situation was just incredibly frustrating for her. So she released a slow breath and closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I mean, you're doing enough already and you've got enough going on. Just... please keep me updated? Even if it's a small thing... any news at all is something."
"Of course," Jared said and fought off the urge to hug her or try to placate her with sweet reassurances that didn't really hold any water. He kind of wanted to tell her he would have spilled the beans on Danny if he hadn't gone to a doctor within some certain time period but what was the use of that now? "You call me if you need anything, you or Lucy. Anything." That was better, that was something he could give her that had any meaning; he would be there for them.
While Jared might have fought off the urge to hug her, Sadie couldn't quite resist the temptation herself and she crossed the room to slip her arms around his waist. There was a desperate need for comfort, for physical touch. Jared was solid and familiar and she was thankful every day that they had somehow managed to remain on good terms, even after the divorce. "Thank you," she murmured, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Just be safe out there, okay?"
His arms wrapped around her almost automatically in that all too familiar way and it hit him in that moment how stark the difference between holding her and Ty was. She was so much smaller and softer, he was almost surprised he hadn't somehow managed to hurt her by accident during their time together - which he logically knew was a ridiculous thought but there it was anyway. "I'll be safe," he promised her. "I've got good people watching my back and we'll all do whatever we can, okay?"
Sadie nodded, because she knew he was right. The town was a bit safer with someone like Jared watching over them, but she also knew it was never that easy. Even the strong ones could be affected, or hurt. She sighed and pulled back, smiling up at him for a brief moment. Sadie nearly thanked him again but realized that would just be repetitive. Hopefully he knew how much she appreciated his help. "Don't be a stranger," Sadie murmured as she dropped her hands from him. "Come by soon, okay? I know Lucy would probably be happy to see you." Any company was welcome company at the moment.
"I'd love to see her too," Jared said quietly and gave her a small smile back. He hated this situation and it didn't help that he was outside of it all now, no longer really a part of the family. All he could do was do his duty as a cop and hope he found Danny alive somewhere, that all of this was just some confusion because of an easily treated illness. None of that was likely however and he had a bad feeling that he'd be delivering bad news the next time he came to see Sadie. "Send her my best regards," he added, bracing to go back out there. "Tell her she's welcome to come see me anytime, if she just wants to talk or anything."
"I'll be sure to do that," Sadie said with a small nod. She sighed again and walked Jared to the door to see him out. She had been hoping for good news, but she supposed no news was better than bad news. At least for now. Eventually, the not knowing would drive her insane, and she knew it.
"Thank you again," she murmured, pulling open the door for him. The fog hadn't eased up any and it felt so unbelievably ominous to her. Danny was out there somewhere. A part of her wanted to beg Jared to stay, but he was on duty, and it wasn't fair for her to ask him for such a thing. So she stayed out of his way with a small smile on her lips. "We'll talk soon."
"Bye Sadie," Jared murmured and even if it was a bit awkward to be there because he couldn't even begin to reassure her, he was still reluctant to leave. He gave her a little smile before he ventured out into the fog again and while he wasn't as on edge as he had been the day before, walking into it gave him a similar chill running up his spine. It didn't feel normal and this was definitely where ghost stories came from, weird weather and overactive imaginations.