Defined By Deceit

“What time you getting on the road?” His PO asked him, tucking the forms back inside his leather brief case.

“Well it’s only an hour and a half away. I’ll probably leave in a bit. It’ll give me time to look around, maybe find a few construction sites and apply.”

“I’m gonna talk with Deputy Potts this afternoon.”

“Who’s that?”

“The Chief Deputy of Henderson.”

Llew stood so fast, he knocked his small chair over. He scowled down at his PO, who’d already skidded his chair back, putting some distance between them. “Why are you talking to him? About what?”

His PO stood up, putting himself almost eye level with Llew. He wasn’t a small man by any means, but he was definitely smaller than Llew. He could see that the officer was trying to keep the situation under control by not stepping closer to him. But, the frown-lines on his forehead and the throbbing at his temples clearly said he was pissed. “I’m going to give him your sex offender registration paperwork. You’re in his county, and I have a legal obligation to let him know.”

“I’m going there so I can start fresh, man. How the hell am I supposed to do that if the cops are already on alert?” Llew ran his hands threw his hair, dropping back down into his chair. “Fuck!”

“Here.”

Llew looked up and saw the man was holding out a plastic cup in his direction. “Piss, so I can go. Then you can finish your tantrum.” The look he wore said that as a PO, he’d heard it all, seen it all.

Llew left immediately after his PO. He didn’t want to stick around just in case his brother swung by on his lunch break. Leslie was still fuming over him having to leave, and he couldn’t bear to watch it anymore.

He threw his duffle over his shoulder, and hooked his backpack on. He only had to a quarter-mile walk to the bus stop, not too bad. His brother insisted he take his truck, and he would use his work truck as transportation, too. Although Llew had agreed, he’d only done so to avoid continuing the discussion. He had no intention of taking his brother’s vehicle; of making him have to use a truck with a huge trailer hitched to it to make a simple grocery run. When the time came, Llew would buy his own car. His brother couldn’t keep coddling him, trying to eliminate every obstacle thrown his way. He wasn’t eighteen anymore, he was almost twenty-seven, he’d been a man for a long time.

Llew abandoned his musings when he saw the sign that said “Welcome to the City of Henderson, North Carolina.” He sat up higher in his bus seat and looked out at what was to be his fresh start. There was nothing to be seen but trees on the interstate, but when the bus pulled into the small station, Llew caught a glimpse of the rural town rich with history. It looked like the set of the movie Back to the Future. If he was a smiler, it would’ve shown, but instead he smiled on the inside. He’d loved history, enjoyed watching movies that depicted old-style living. This will be fine.

He grabbed his bag from the luggage compartment beneath the bus and fastened his backpack on his shoulders. He needed to walk and look around before he decided on a place to crash. Maybe he’d check out the town center first, most likely there’d be job postings and room vacancies listed there. He walked into the building and was surprised that the outside had a vintage rustic look, but the inside had been remodeled with marble floors and tall hand-sculpted columns. It looked too expensive and it didn’t fit. He hoped all the buildings weren’t like this… an illusion. He wanted small-town Americana on the inside as well as the outside. I’m already thinking like this is my city.

Llew picked up The Daily Dispatch – the local newspaper, a couple brochures from nearby attractions, and a flyer for a town meeting tomorrow. Soon he was trekking up the cobblestone sidewalk along Garret Street on his way into town. There weren’t very many people out and about when he arrived. Only a few older couples; most likely retirees, everyone else was probably at work in the middle of the day. His head was buried in the paper when a woman carrying three grocery bags piled high in her arms and a toddler at her side bumped him hard enough to drop his paper. One of her bags crashed to the ground.

“Oh my goodness lordy. I’m sure sorry. I didn’t see you,” she said hurriedly, shuffling the other bags in an effort not to drop them too. She looked up at him when Llew hadn’t said anything. Whatever she saw in his eyes must’ve made it okay. She smiled sincerely, the laugh lines that crinkled next to her brown eyes said she did that a lot. “I really apologize.”