The Franklin Series: Forgotten| On hold

Nine

Lydia Gerard was never the same after her daughter Johanna went missing. She stopped working for six months and she was put on government assistance.

Her husband, Lance, couldn't take the amount she drank and after two years, left her to work on himself. He wasn't emotionally devoid in his daughters absence but Lydia used methods to deal with the pain that he couldn't stand.

She was an angry and violent drunk who zeroed in on her loss and spent every second having herself a pity-party. When she started staggering home from an early morning trip to the bar, he knew it was over.

After 35 years of marriage he had to leave. She would suffocate anything in her path, he couldn't allow her to do that to him. He tried to keep a positive mind set. One day his baby would come home. Till that day, he wouldn't leave Fairview. But it wouldn't be a happily married wait for her. It would be lonely and friendless. With an ex wife that called at late hours for reassurance from him.

The day the calls stopped was the day Lance changed his number.

Lydia swiped her hand across the cluttered table. Her self help books and fliers for grieving seminars thudded and hissed as they fell. She swung her arm once more and grabbed the beer can that rolled out from under the heaping mess.

She wrapped her hand around it and took note of its temperature, room. She shrugged and popped the top open. She put it to her lips and chugged it back.

She laid back on the couch that she had made into a bed. She clicked the power button on the television remote and it flickered on. She turned her head to face the couch and closed her eyes.

The news started with the regular melody and the anchors names. None of this interested Lydia, the sound was comforting. It chased away her inability to sleep. It almost made her feel less alone.

"Good evening, Fairview." The cheery female voice rang out, "This morning the police received a call to Nelson's Auto Shop and Gas Bar. The customers and sales attendants described a young woman with hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair, standing about 5' 6. She entered the store and requested assistance getting to Fairview."

Lydia swung her head around so fast she thought it could have broken her neck. She scrambled up from the blankets and pillows and turned the volume up. She sat at the edge of the couch cushion waiting for any information about the girl that they saw.

The program switched to a recording of the employees when they were interviewed.

"Yeah, she came in and asked to go to Fairview. Well she didn't really ask but she was in such rough shape that I didn't think she should be traveling without seeing a doctor first." The man scratched his head, "She had red stains over her face and acted like a rabid dog when she knew that help was coming. She ran from the store and the police went after her." 

The outdoor video returned to the indoor set. The female anchor continued, "An officer said he followed her and watched her leap from the Johnsonville bridge. She was not recovered from the scene. Police think she swam to shore and escaped."

Lydia smiled and reached for her phone. She slumped down and threw the plastic device at the wall behind the tv. It shattered into pieces that flung around the room. There was no one to call. No one to share this possibly life changing news with.