Damaged Souls (Broken Man) - By Christopher Scott Page 0,30

ever give him the benefit the doubt? Why would I put Delaney in danger?

I’m no better than my own father, Jack punished himself as he tried to understand his incompetence. The acorn really doesn’t fall far from the tree, he realized he had mirrored his father’s indifference, replicated his neglect of his parental duties. Never again, Jack vowed to change as he softly placed his hand on Greg’s and whispered a thank you as he started to cry.

“I don’t think you can hear me, but I want to apologize for letting you down. Thank you so much for being there, Greg. You will never know how much you mean to me, how much you mean to my family,” Jack paused as he tried to gather himself. “I promise to be better, and I promise to never let you and Delaney down ever again.”

Chapter Eleven

Delaney refused to open her eyes as she tried to cut through the fog clouding her mind. Where am I, she wondered as she acclimated to her new surroundings and unfamiliar bed and then suddenly panicked. “Greg,” she whispered his name as her eyes shot wide open and she sat straight up.

“You’re okay,” Amanda reassured her as she remembered where she was.

“What happened,” Delaney asked, hoping the answer had somehow magically changed overnight.

“It’s been a long night,” Amanda responded and handed her a cup of tea. “I gave you a couple sleeping pills so you would sleep.”

“What time is it.”

“It’s 11:00 on Saturday morning.”

“Where’s Jack,” Delaney asked, knowing that something was out of place.

“He’ll be back in a minute,” Amanda answered. “He is dropping off Logan at the Richard’s house.”

Amanda is not telling me something, Delaney realized as she regained her senses and felt uneasy. I can see it in her eyes, she is not a good liar. What isn’t she telling me?

Delaney’s mind suddenly grasped what Amanda was holding back. Oh my God, she finally put all the pieces together. “Where’s Greg?”

Amanda’s hesitation told her all she needed to know as Delaney got out of bed and started to panic. “Amanda, please tell me what happened.”

Jack rushed into the room just in time as he caught Delaney and took her into his arms. “Greg’s going to be alright,” he tried to reassure her as she buried her face in his chest and started to cry.

“What happened,” she demanded to know as she looked up at him.

“I’m still not quite sure yet,” Jack answered quietly as he sat her back down on the bed. “It appears that he went back to Mitch’s house and there was some kind of fight.”

“Oh my God,” Delaney cried. “Is Greg okay.”

“Try to stay calm, Delaney. He is going to be okay, but he is in the hospital.”

“No,” she screamed as she again sprang to her feet. “We need to go see him now.”

Jack reached for her and wrapped her in his arms. “We are going to go see him. But before we do, I need you to calm down. I’m going to tell you what happened. Do you understand me, Delaney.”

“I understand,” she answered as Jack sat her back down with Amanda and squatted just in front of her holding her hands.

“Greg has a concussion and a pretty severe laceration on his head,” Jack spoke slowly and paused as he looked into her eyes. “I want you to be prepared when you see him.”

“Did you talk to him, what did he say,” Delaney whimpered as she tried not to cry.

“I talked to him a little, but he was pretty out of it. I think he might be able to talk a little more when we visit this afternoon.”

“Can we go see him now.”

“We’re going to go see him, honey. As soon as you get dressed and ready to go, we’ll drive you over there.”

“Okay, Jack,” Delaney replied and couldn’t be ready soon enough. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”

* * *

I wish she would say something, Jack worried about Delaney as he realized he hadn’t slept all night and reviewed his mental checklist to confirm he hadn’t forgotten anything in his sleepless state. Drop off Logan, check. Pick up Delaney, check. Call the attorney, check. Have Amanda pick up Susan, check. What am I missing?

What is wrong with me, Jack scolded himself for not being able to break bad habits and finding comfort in his lists. You’re not at work now, he realized as he looked over at Delaney in the passenger seat. Wake up and pay attention to her.

“Delaney, I