Page 26 of Diluted Truths
“Your friend? Who’s your friend?” I asked Joey, trying to keep my tone neutral. I needed him to keep talking to me.
“I don’t know his name. Nancy calls him Toby. Don’t know why,” Joey mused as he stood and walked to the closet. “He doesn't come to play anymore.”
I watched as Joey opened his closet door and my breath immediately stopped. In the back of the closet was the sigil. It was nearly four feet tall and was blood red. Joey began tracing the symbol in front of him. It also sounded like he was… whispering?
“I tried painting over it, but it won’t go away. I can’t think too hard about it.” I jumped at the intrusion of Nancy’s voice and turned to see her in the doorway. “Is he telling you about his friend?”
“Yeah mom, he said he would believe me,” Joey stated defensively.
Janice sighed as she looked at me with disappointment in her gaze, and then back to her son. “Can you give us a moment, Joey?”
Joey nodded as he left the room. Slowly Janice walked and sat next to me. We were like that for at least a minute as we stared at the sigil within the closet. “His friend isn’t real, he’s imaginary.”
I turned to Janice, who looked even more exhausted than before. “Why do you say that?”
“Toby, the friend, has been around for years and has been in different houses with us as well,” she responded, still staring ahead. “Just a figment of Joey’s imagination that Nancy named.”
I nodded, not knowing how to respond. I didn’t like how dismissive she was of Joey and his beliefs, but I wasn’t his parent, it wasn’t my place.
“I can see you judging me, Will.”
I guess in a way, I was.
I sighed. “I shouldn’t be. I don’t have your responsibilities.”
“It was easier when Carter, my ex-husband, was around. I didn’t have to do it all on my own.” Finally she turned and looked at me. “He left over a year ago and we haven’t seen him since. Even when the divorce papers were delivered.”
“Why did he leave?” I asked before thinking. I had no right to ask that, but shockingly, instead of telling me off about my intrusive question, she answered.
Janice looked back at the wall as she responded, “It sounds crazy. Completely crazy, but he believed something was wrong with Joey and him. I could never figure out what. I would ask and ask and he never told me. He always said he was protecting me and Nancy. Then boom, one day he is gone along with every picture I had taken of Joey.”
That explained his absence in the pictures on the walls, but it was odd. Why would Carter take them with him? What did he think was wrong with him? He abandoned his family due to fear something was wrongwith his son and then six months later his son went missing. The answers felt important and maybe even necessary to understanding what was happening here. However, these answers could only come from Carter Reagers himself.
I took her hand in hopes of finding a way to comfort her. She was bearing the weight of the world, completely on her own. Janice and I continued to sit in silence as I contemplated how I could find Joey’s father.
We were interrupted as Jackie entered. “I distracted the kids with a book, I hope that’s okay.”
Janice turned to her in response. “Of course. I’m sorry I left you with both of them, but thank you for the break. I needed it.”
Jackie looked like she was about to respond when she saw the open closet doors and the sigil. “Oh my god,” she muttered. I watched as she approached and began outlining it just as Joey did. She seemed entranced by the drawing. “This is more strange than I was expecting.”
Both Janice and I nodded our heads in response. Jackie turned to face Janice. “Are you okay if I take some pictures of this?”
Janice waved her question off as she stood and exited. “Of course. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”
Jackie took the camera that had been with her since we arrived and began taking pictures of the painted closet. It was incredible to watch her work. Her focus on her tasks was awe-inspiring. Even as she took pictures, she was methodical in her actions and movement, ensuring she got all of the angles she was hoping for.
“Apparently Janice tried to paint over it,” I stated, accidentally startling her from her work. She turned to look at me, almost sheepishly.
“She told me that too while you were talking with Joey. I think it’s the type of paint. It won’t adhere to whatever was used to draw the sigil.”Jackie looked down as she continued. “You and Janice did seem to get along well.”
Confused by her statement, I responded carefully, “We were just talking about what happened. She seemed exhausted. I thought it would be best to give her a minute to breathe instead of asking her any more questions.”
Jackie nodded to herself at my response as she turned and faced the closet once again. There was something about the sigil that completely sucked the life and joy out of the room. It was all you could focus on and see.
Wanting to make it go away, I stood and abruptly shut the closet doors in front of Jackie.
Obviously perplexed, Jackie looked up at me. “You good, Will?”
