Andrew studied his reflection in the mirror for a few moments before undressing to take a shower. He’d largely been avoiding people at the outreach center – especially anyone with children. It was his own fault, he kept telling himself. Technically, he should have known better, but he supposed that he may have pushed that knowledge back, and let tempting voices tell him otherwise. He mulled things over some more as he showered. He didn’t take as long as he normally might have, were he at his own or his parents’ place. He dressed quickly, pulling his long hair back into a loose ponytail before leaving the bathroom.
As he headed out, he continued to dwell on the subject of his parole. There were some harsh truths he had to deal with, he knew, but he was avoiding confronting it for now. Still…eventually, he had to find a therapist; that was one of the conditions he got out on. Once at the park, he saw down, pulling from his pocket the last letter he’d received. It was from Thorny, and it was nearly a year old. He wasn’t sure why the prison let him have it. After all, they read everything incoming. He read it over again, his eyes lingering to the section where she described trying to get revenge for them.
…with any luck, I did what I set out to do, and that was to kill Trish, or at least make her suffer greatly. I couldn’t find the bastard that throttled you, nor do I know how to, or I would’ve done the same to him. I’m sorry I couldn’t find him, for your sake – but I did try…
With a heavy sigh, he tore it up, and threw it into the trash. She’s been charged with attempted murder, and he’d never written her back. It had taken time, but he realized that she was a toxic personality in his life. If he hadn’t been so into her, he never would have done it, but she had coaxed him into it. He was twenty-four now, but when it had all started he was eighteen. Thorny had always looked older than she was, due to early development and skill with makeup. He’d thought she was around his age when he’d met her. It was only later, once they were deep into a relationship together that he learned she was actually fourteen. Unfortunately for him, she had her claws in deep, and once he was completely into her and listening to everything she said or suggested, that’s when she introduced him to Trish.
Trish was only twelve when she was introduced. Thorny had babysat for her a couple of times, and had managed thus far to (behind her family’s back), try alcohol and cigarettes. Trish wasn’t a fan of the nicotine, so never tried it again, though she did start taking hits from a joint when passed to her after a few months of association. It was around Halloween that year that she’d talked him into getting a good camcorder, passing it off as an expense for his university studies in film. By Thanksgiving, she’d talked him into filming her fulfilling herself for him. By New Years Eve, those plans included Trish.
He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it. Instead, he glanced at his phone, then started making his way downtown so that he’d be on time for the meeting with his parole officer. The meeting went well enough, but he was reminded several times throughout that he needed to see a therapist, and he needed to get registered on the sex offender’s list. He walked out of the courthouse, blinking against the sun. He seemed to recall that the administrator of the outreach center had said something about therapy – maybe he could see if he recommended anyone.
Back at the outreach center, he made mention to Chance that he’d like to talk to Charles if the man had time, to which Chance responded he didn’t come in until evenings, citing he preferred to take the shifts others were less likely to want. Content with this response, he headed to the room he was staying in, avoiding people along the way. Door closed behind him, he collapsed onto the bed, and pulled the pillow on his head, down over his hears. He wanted very badly to get rid of the thoughts and images in his mind, but, as far as he knew, there was no way of doing so – he just had to deal with it.