Taunting Moves

He stays smiling at me.

“Well, I am still grateful, for everything, for you coming to the house and helping us, for you keeping Jackson sane while I was missing, and for taking a bullet for him. I can’t say I kept him grounded. I had never seen him like that before; he changed a lot.” I think back to how he was those first two times in his playroom.

“What do you mean, you never saw him like that before? How did he change?” I look at him, wondering how much is too much. Should I be discussing this with him?

Then I remember he has seen the videos, the pictures of Jackson and me; he has known Jackson for years and knows him better than I do.

“He was a mess, screaming and crying uncontrollably. He wouldn’t talk. He sat in the same spot for hours. Then, when he finally moved, and I tried everything to break him out of the shell, he blamed himself for you being shot.” My memories flood back, him crying that he kil