Chasing the Demon by Paul Sating

Author:Paul Sating [Sating, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bigfoot, podcast, scripts, audio drama
ISBN: 9781732261709
Publisher: Paul Sating
Published: 2018-06-09T22:00:00+00:00

*****

After they hung up, Jared drove in silence as he weaved his way back to Olympia.

The moment moved him, the realization that a life's work was coming together.

Peter, threatened.

The print in Forks.

Pushing forward.

Pushing against resistance.

He was going to make this right with everyone who supported him. He needed to finish.

He was so close.

So damn close.

13

The phone rang.

His heart thumped against his chest wall. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

Waiting.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

He was about to hang up when she answered. "Hey, Jared," Maria sounded concerned like his call was the last thing she was expecting. "Is everything—"

"I'm sorry," he started, and once he began, the words came out so effortlessly. "I'm sorry for everything I've done, for every single time I put us off to go on an expedition. For every single time, I've asked you to give up something for me. For every single time, you slept alone in that bed because I was out chasing a childhood nightmare. It was unfair and selfish. I was unfair and selfish."

"Where's this coming—"

"Please," he interrupted again, gentler, "Please. I need to say this. You've deserved so much better than what I've given you. I don't know where I went wrong. One day we were partying in college, not having a care in the world beyond how many papers we could bullshit our way through and the next we were fighting day in and day out about everything. I don't know when it all changed but I know why it did. It was me and my self-centered fixation. I cannot believe you put up with me as long as you did. I owe you so much."

"You don't owe me anything, Jared," Maria's voice was soft, warm. Welcoming. "There isn't a couple out there whose marriage doesn't have bumps and potholes. We're no different. I put up with your crazy pursuits just like you sacrificed for me."

"Not even close," he countered kindly. "You put your graduate degree on hold. You let promotion opportunities pass because I was constantly gone and someone needed to take care of everything else. I didn't even ask."

"Jared, listen to me. Those things don't matter anymore. We both made mistakes. We both screwed up and did things that harmed our marriage. I'm just as guilty as you."

He shook his head, not that she could see it. "Don't. Don't say that. Please."

There was a pause on the line, a reflective silence. "What's this about? Have you told anyone else what happened? Why you're really doing all of this?" The unspoken confirmation hung in the silence that followed. As he was about to speak, Maria said, "That's what I thought. You're going to have to deal with this before you can move on, Jared. You know that, right? If you're serious about this, if you're serious about us, you're going to have to bury your demons. I hope you can, because if you can't ..."

Jared switched off the recorder. He was sure some people would question his judgment, determining for him what was inappropriate to record for the podcast.

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