Chapter 26: The Compound
TIME FLEW BY and summer came and went. Jared had a steady routine that gave him purpose. He still lived in the bunker, but he worked diligently throughout the Compound. He recommended and later implemented several new policies; he was a volunteer deputy in the Sheriff’s office; and he picked up extra work wherever anyone needed him. He still loved working outside with his hands, but he seemed to have a natural talent for security. He saw the holes in their system and helped close them, and he was proud of himself for the first time in his life, knowing he was making a difference.
A part of him still expected people to turn their noses up, or look away when he walked through town, but that no longer happened. Instead, he was constantly bombarded by well-meaning ladies wanting to assure themselves that he was truly okay. It often caused a spectacle just to walk down Main Street. It was nice that others worried about him, but sometimes he missed the days of being ignored and living in the shadows.
Having never really had people that gave a shit about him, Jared overcompensated by wanting to go above and beyond to help those who now cared. His ability to say no seemed flawed, so he took on more and more work, until one of his squad stepped in and said no for him. He’d just grin sheepishly at them and shrug.
For the most part, his schedule was pretty consistent from week-to-week. Mondays and Fridays were still therapy days. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he stayed in town working in the Sheriff’s office. Sometimes he’s do office work, sometimes he’d go out on patrol, which, in a town like Wythel really meant just wandering around talking to people and helping where needed. Those were the days he often over-exerted himself.
Every Wednesday night, he babysat the boys for Chris and Cassie. At first, it scared the hell out of him, but by summer’s end, he’d been doing it long enough that they no longer intimidated him. He always looked forward to boys’ night, as he called it. His place had been fully baby-proofed, and he thought it was mostly toddler proof, though the bigger they got and the more active they became, the more the twins found ways to defeat his baby-proofing perfection. Jared had no idea how Chris and Cassie managed them both all the time. It was exhausting, even for just the few hours he had them each week. He also knew that Cassie didn’t trust many with the care of the twins, so the fact that she entrusted their well-being to him, meant the world to Jared.
He usually headed down to his old trailer on Sunday afternoon and always returned in time to watch the boys Wednesday evening. The first time he had gone home after the accident, Jared had been shocked. The place looked and felt like a home. Scott, Jacob, Ashlyn, Joey, and Kyla all still lived there. Milo sometimes stayed over, especially if he were up late working on the house he was building next door for Callie as an engagement present.
Despite Jared’s protests, no one ever slept in his room. It seemed like a waste of a good bed to him, but they had insisted that was his room only. Many nights, they would stay up into the wee hours of morning telling him more detailed recaps of their adventures together. Jared knew he had only lost three years of his memories, but to hear the stories they shared, it felt like he’d lost a lifetime.
Nights like that always left him with this hollow, empty feeling, like he was missing something, but didn’t know what it was. He’d stare into the darkness alone in his room and try with all his might to remember something, anything, but the memories never came.
Sometimes at night he’d dream of their adventures and they felt so real, but he never considered them anything more than his mind trying to reconcile the stories his friends told. Even when the most beautiful woman he could ever imagine started showing up with her flaming red hair, he knew it was only his mind’s creation of Holly, the woman they all spoke so highly of, his wife.
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