"I'm pretty sure he already knows. He just wants me to come to him about it. But the moment I do, he'll try to fix it or get involved and it'll be my dad cleaning up my mess. Or my mother will call some of her old friends in the service and it'll all 'go away'." Joe said bitterly.
"I made these choices, Roxanne. I'm an adult and I've got to accept what comes with that." he said quietly. "My parents taught me that, too, and that's why I do what I do. We never think about the consequences of our choices to get involved in the lives of normal people. You, me, Bruce and everyone...we're taught that we're supposed to get involved when we see something wrong and we do." Joe said, his hand reaching out for his water glass and fumbling a bit because he was looking at Roxie.
"But we never consider what happens to those lives after we get involved. We think, we want to believe, that these people go on and live better lives and never have another problem but that's not how it is, is it? Sometimes people die even after we help them and...if I hadn't said anything, she might still be alive. And it would be hard to live with myself for helping a criminal but Melissa wouldn't be dead." Joe finished.
He'd had a few years and a lot of scotch to help him come to that conclusion. Never mind the people who'd told him he couldn't see the future or that it wasn't his fault. In his mind, it would always be his fault for doing the right thing.
"The sad thing is that I'd do it all again, Roxanne. That guy was an animal and he had to be stopped. I just wish I could have saved her."
no subject
"I made these choices, Roxanne. I'm an adult and I've got to accept what comes with that." he said quietly. "My parents taught me that, too, and that's why I do what I do. We never think about the consequences of our choices to get involved in the lives of normal people. You, me, Bruce and everyone...we're taught that we're supposed to get involved when we see something wrong and we do." Joe said, his hand reaching out for his water glass and fumbling a bit because he was looking at Roxie.
"But we never consider what happens to those lives after we get involved. We think, we want to believe, that these people go on and live better lives and never have another problem but that's not how it is, is it? Sometimes people die even after we help them and...if I hadn't said anything, she might still be alive. And it would be hard to live with myself for helping a criminal but Melissa wouldn't be dead." Joe finished.
He'd had a few years and a lot of scotch to help him come to that conclusion. Never mind the people who'd told him he couldn't see the future or that it wasn't his fault. In his mind, it would always be his fault for doing the right thing.
"The sad thing is that I'd do it all again, Roxanne. That guy was an animal and he had to be stopped. I just wish I could have saved her."