When Dean had first left the NIRV facility, almost every day he was expecting a call any second. At times he even felt phantom rings but there were no missed calls. As time went on, he forgot about the phone but had gotten into the habit of charging it once a week in order to receive a call.
When he had met Maya, his anxiety and fear of having the call come someday had come back. He imagined that the peace and happiness he had achieved he would have to leave.
He pictured in his head what to say to Maya, how to explain to her he had to suddenly up and leave, what his excuse would be. As time went on though, the fears started to settle.
He had children, it had been years since he had met the person named Rickle, and it had gone out of his mind. That was until he had received the call.
“Hey, it’s me, I need you. We can meet at the place where we first met. I’ll give you a few days to do whatever you need to, so meet me at noon next week.” Those were the only words Rickle had said before hanging up.
Dean knew it was him, the voice was the same as what he had remembered from that time. He thought he had forgotten what it sounded like. Maybe he could have tricked himself into thinking someone had called the wrong number, but it all came back to him once he had heard the voice.
Currently, Dean was in the living room of their small townhouse home, which was attached on either side of the building. It wasn’t the biggest place but it wasn’t small by any means.
They had managed to afford it on both his and Maya’s wages, and it was just enough for his children to have small rooms each.
Currently, the children were in the kitchen which was separated by a small hallway that led from the living room to the kitchen. Dean himself was in the living room away from the rest of the family.
He had exited from the kitchen as soon as he had gotten the call.
‘I can’t even call him back, there’s so much I want to ask.’ Dean thought. ‘What is it that he wants me to do? How long will I be gone for… judging from the fact that he’s giving me a few days, it sounds like it might be a long time.’
The number on the phone was a private number, so Dean couldn’t even give it a ring back.
Dean was pacing back and forth a few steps in the small living room, trying to think what to do, or what to say.
‘I can always just not go, right? But then what will happen? That man isn’t just a normal researcher. NIRV has been getting bigger and bigger and their connections among the gangs are large.’
‘Not just that, but the man is a vampire of all things. I’m sure he has ways to track me down, and now that I’m no longer what I was before… I can’t even protect my family if need be.’
“Dean.” Maya said standing by the living room door. “I’ve been calling you from the kitchen for a while now, but you didn’t answer. What have you been thinking about so much?”
Dean looked at Maya, and then looked at Gary who was pulling on his mother's shirt with a thumb in his mouth. He was close to being five years old, yet he was dribbling everywhere.
Usually, Dean would tell him to take his thumb out of his mouth, but in this instance, all he could think of was his son looked so cute.
“It’s okay.” Dean said, as he followed his wife and family and went ahead to have a meal with them all.
While eating, Dean couldn’t help but think that this was his last meal with his family. That it might be a very long time since he saw them again. He would miss both his children growing up, the struggles they would have.
On top of that, all of the burden would be left on his dear wife to raise two kids on her own.
“You know, if something happens to me, you can remarry and find someone else.” Dean commented. “It will be easier on the children that way.”
“What are you talking about, with you walking back and forth earlier and now this?” Maya asked. “Tell me the truth, are you in trouble?”
In trouble, Dean wondered how he was meant to answer the question himself, because he didn’t know if he was in trouble.
“I’m sorry.” Dean said. “But Maya, I have to go.”
“To the bathroom?” She replied.
“No, I mean, I have to leave this, I have to leave you all, there’s something I need to do.”
Maya looked at Dean and she could tell he was serious. She knew when something was bothering him and she knew it was something that Dean couldn’t really talk about.
“And how long will you be gone for, while you deal with this business?” She asked.
“I don’t know… I really don’t know. It’s going to be hard without me, and the longer it takes I know it will be a struggle. If you guys end up leaving this home, just leave a note or something, keep me updated on where you guys are, and as soon as I can I’ll be back.”
“But if you’ve waited too long, and decided to move on, because you needed help or needed someone who could be there for you, I completely understand. I’ll just watch, and do what I can from afar, and I promise no matter what I will do everything I can for our children no matter what.”
At the end of his speech, Dean was getting teary-eyed, and it had caused a reaction in Maya as well.
Placing his spoon down, Dean then went towards Gary, kissing him on the forehead and did the same to Amy. Finally, he went ahead and kissed Maya as well.
“It will be easier for me if I just go now, otherwise the next couple of days would be torture for me… goodbye… I will always remember all of you, the Dem Family.” Dean said, as he went toward the door, closed it behind him, and never looked back.
Heading to NIRV wondering just what they needed him for.