“Thanks,” Evie said, looking ahead at the footpath as she made her way along. “I think everything’s okay now. He’s just come out of rehab and stuff so.. Hopefully he stays on track now.” She forced a smile, it was unlikely. Something would screw it up, if she hadn’t done so already with the things she had done the previous week. What the man had to say next made the young girl’s heart sink. The tone set the mood, she didn’t have to question what ‘not here’ meant. Sucking in yet another deep breath she chewed on her lower lip. “I’m sorry for your loss… Well, losses. It’s terrible to have to go through that. Worst thing you could go through, probably.”
Joe’s first instinct was to ask about the girl’s husband, why he was in rehab. There was more than one reason to get admitted in one of those places, but as a former (and present) addict and alcohol lover, he just took his smoke to his mouth and took a long drag, releasing it in a soft slow sigh. He could hear the change in the girl’s voice, could see it in her eyes from the quick glimpse he gave at her from the corner of his eye, she had made the connections to know what he meant, yet, no one, unless they knew what and how it actually happened, would never imagine how bad it had been for him: getting home to a suffocated girl and crimson sheets beneath her wife’s stabbed body. Joe remained quiet for a second until he was able to expel the pictures out of his head. He shook his head and looked down at the small brunette. “It is,” he agreed and cleared his throat. “Why did you think it was a good idea to go out in the rain today, in first place?” He said, changing the subject. It had stopped raining, but by the look of the puddles and the streets, it had been quite a heavy storm.
