Learning To Trust Again

A couple of hours later Jake wandered outside to get some fresh air and stretch his legs. He liked Rebecca’s family, and apart from the pointed looks he’d got from some when they had first walked in, they had been very welcoming. Her parents in particular had been great. They had both saved him a couple of times from other relatives who had cornered him. Even Todd hadn’t been openly rude, although Jake could feel the animosity emanating from the younger man. Rebecca obviously had been successful in changing his mind. The only thing he didn’t like was that they all seemed set on finding out everything about him on first meeting. So seeing Rebecca was deep in conversation with her father and having had enough of answering questions for a while, he pushed his hands into his pockets and stepped out of the bar.

Strolling a few paces down the street he breathed in the crisp night air. He didn’t intend to go far, but just needed a little time to himself and some fresh air. However turning back towards the bar a few minutes later, he was just crossing the top of a lane, a few doors down the street, when he heard what sounded like a moan. Frowning he stopped and waited, but for several minutes he could hear nothing except the sounds coming from the street behind him. Then just as he was wondering if he had indeed heard what he thought he had, his ear caught the moan again. This time he knew he hadn’t been mistaken. It wasn’t a cat or some other animal. This time he was sure, whoever was making that noise was definitely human and they were in pain.

His frown deepening, he looked up and down the street but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. Nobody was paying any attention to him and nobody was stopping. Most people were hurrying to or from somewhere but neither of these courses took them anywhere near the lane. Unable to just walk away, he decided to check it out. The very thing that drew him to the police force all those years ago and kept him coming back each day, wouldn’t let him ignore it. Plus he had first aid training. If the person was hurt, he could help. He could at the very least call for assistance if whatever he was faced with was beyond him. So his police training kicking in, he began moving forward with care.