by Lily Silver
“No.” Jessie shook her head, “B-b-but Jack--”
“It’s manipulation, Jess, nothing more. My therapist said the next time she pulled this stunt to tell her I was going to call the authorities and report her suicide threat. He says it’s about turning the tables on her, taking control away from her. Mom won’t want the police and the ambulance pulling up to her door at three in the morning, not to mention, how is she going to explain all this to dad?”
Jessie pulled her knees up, hugging them as she tried to still her heart rate. It was useless. The adrenaline pumping through her body was making her shake like a leaf in the wind. Her head was starting to ache from raw nerves. Jack’s hand moved back and forth up her back, comforting, in the silence that followed.
The house phone rang again. Jessie jumped. Her heart did a full lurch. She felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “No--no.” She sobbed, as Jack hurried to the kitchen to answer it.
“What?” His terse voice commanded. “Oh--Hi, yeah, she’s right here.”
Jack handed her the phone. Jessie shook her head vehemently, whispering ‘no’.
“It’s Lex.” Jack insisted. He put it on speaker so Jessie could hear his voice.
“Is everything all right over there? Is Jessie okay?” Lex’s voice echoed in the room.
“No, she’s not okay, man.” Jack replied. Jessie put her hand on Jack’s shoulder, and shook her head insistently, begging him not to tell Lex who had just called them.
“What is it? I’ll be right over.”
“A prank call, that’s all.”
“I thought your house phone was unlisted.”
“It is. Some whack job must have got it. I just happened to pick up the same time she did. Jessie’s shook up. Just come over, dude.”
Jack pressed the off button.
“Why did he call s-so l-late?” Jessie asked through chattering teeth.
“He said he woke up feeling you needed him. Now, how cool is that, hey? The guy’s psychic and he’s in love with you. Oh, don’t start.” Jack chided as Jessie glowered at him. “Everyone here has some weird gig going down. Hell, it’s probably a coping mechanism for the rich and famous” He waved at the ocean shore as he spoke. “It’s California, they aren’t Baptists or Catholics like back--”
The dogs punctuated barking stopped him cold. Jack signaled for Jessie to stay put as he followed their vicious snarls. Jessie stayed on the sofa hugging one knee to her chest, too shaken and wobbly to move. It didn’t take long for Lex to find her.
One look and he was beside her on the sofa and pulling her into his arms. “Jessie. It’s okay. I’m here.”
Jessie could only tremble. She was too shaken for words. And how could she explain such an emotional ordeal? She couldn’t imagine his mother pulling such stunts to frighten Lex out of his mind in the middle of the night.
“Jack and I won’t let anyone hurt you.” He soothed as she shivered in his arms.
Not even my mother? Jessie thought, but couldn’t bring the words to her lips.
“Yeah,” Jack agreed. He stood at the entrance to the kitchen, watching them. “Relax, it’s cool.” He smiled hopefully at his sister. “I’ll leave you two to sort things out.”
He went into the kitchen, out of their line of view on the sofa. Within moments, she heard the steady, determined snuffling. He was doing that line he had prepped, de-stressing, as Jack liked to call it. She closed her eyes. God, she didn’t have the strength right now to deal with her brother’s addiction. She could barely contain the pain in her heart, much less try to tackle the resonating agony burgeoning up in her twin.
The small TV in the kitchen roared to life. She heard the steady whir of channels as Jack clicked the remote in search of something to distract him from the circle of hell they couldn’t escape even in California. She took comfort in knowing Jack was just a few steps away listening with his heart, his intuition telling him if his twin sister needed him. Jessie could sense it so easily; his pain, his anger and his concern for her.
In that instant it didn’t seem so common. Billions of other siblings didn’t share that peculiar intuitive link, only twins. Yet, it was a reality between Jack and Jessie. Something special between them they had come to take for granted. A psychic occurrence she accepted as normal in her experience. Lex’s talk of being reunited soul mates wasn’t really any different than the rare twin sense she shared with Jack.
Jessie trembled on and off, her body still suffering the effects of the adrenaline coursing through it from the sheer terror of her mother’s threat.
“Who was it? A fan?” His gentled voice caressed her ear.
Jessie didn’t answer. She buried her face in the soft, silk folds of his bathrobe.
Bathrobe? She pulled back slightly. Yes, his legs were bare, as if he’d jumped from the bed and come to her. “Y-you aren’t d-d-dressed.” She made a sweeping gesture at his attire in a frustrated attempt to communicate what her lips failed to convey.
“Oh, Jessie.” He hugged her tighter against him, nestling his head on top of hers. “You’re so scared you’re stuttering. Jack’s in the kitchen, Steve’s upstairs and I’m right here. No one can get to you, honey. And no one can get into the Malibu Colony without a guest pass or a community ID, it’s secure.”
“H-h-how . . . how d-did you kn-kn-know?”
“I just sensed you needed me. Intuition. Like in the old Star Wars movies. Luke and Leia had a psychic link.”
“Yeah, but they were twins. Jack and I have that same gift.”
“Yes. Emotional and psychic bonds aren’t limited to twins. Lots of people have them. Meditation helps to strengthen and focus that energy.” Lex corrected. “I was dreaming you were being chased through the darkness by some menacing force.” The back of his hand stroked her cheek as he spoke. “I know, it sounds very strange on the surface, like a B grade Sci-Fi movie. All I know is I had this gut feeling when I awoke. I saw the light on over here and decided to call you.”
“You were right.” Jessie snuggled into his comforting frame. She couldn’t deny the deep bond between them, a bond too powerful for a man and woman who barely knew each other. She didn’t understand all this past life stuff he talked about. It was part of his religious belief system, his reality. She didn’t know if she believed it, but she couldn’t deny the uncanny sense of ease she felt with him, a feeling of familiarity, as if they had been friends forever, despite having met hardly a month ago. And yet, did that mean they were lovers in a past life or did it merely mean they were compatible?
“Tell me who it is. We’ll get a restraining order and hire security. This kind of thing happens frequently in Tinsel town. We’re used to it. We have resources to call upon to deal with it when it happens.”
“I can’t.” Jessie murmured. “You’d never believe me.” If not for Jack’s presence, the sharing of their nightmarish existence with their mother, she’d believe it was all in her head, that she was bringing it all upon herself. Jack was the only other witness to their mother’s frightening emotional tirades.
Lex squeezed her tighter, sensing the shiver that had gone through her. “Just tell me who the guy is and we can figure out how he found your home phone number.”
The land line phone rang, sending shards of terror back into Jessie’s heart. Lex grabbed for it. “NOoo.” Jessie clutched his arm with both hands, preventing him from answering it.
It rang a second time, then a third, each ring stabbing through her consciousness.
“Stop calling here.” Jack’s voice broke the tense silence from the opened portal of the next room. “I mean it. This is harassment and telephone stalking. I’ll call the cops if you call here again, understand? Now fuck off!”
Oh, God---Oh God---Oh God. Jessie’s mind froze, she closed her eyes, shame filling her as the reality of her mother’s tormenting behavior was about to be revealed.
“No, you can’t talk to her. Fuck off and die. Stop terrorizing Jessie with your suicide threats
and sick mind tricks.” Jack’s voice was harsh, piercing the night as he screamed at their mother. Jessie huddled in her lover’s arms, hoping against hope that Lex wouldn’t learn just who was stalking her in her own home.
After a few more loud oaths, Jack hung up. Jessie winced, burying her face deeper into Lex’s protective shoulder as her brother flung the cordless receiver across the next room. The steady beeping of the receiver being off the hook echoed in the silent house, as Jessie waited for Lex to ask the one question she dreaded with all of her being.
It didn’t come. Silence reigned. A potent, deadly, taunting silence as Lex held her and massaged the tension from her neck with powerful fingers.
“Want anything?” Jack stuck his head in the living room? “A good stiff drink?”
Lex shook his head and pulled back to look at Jessie. “I’ll pass. Would you like to go for a walk on the beach. It’s peaceful this time of night.” Soft blue eyes caressed her soul, embracing her with tenderness.
“N-n-no--just--just stay--hold me?”
“I’ve never seen her like this before.” Jack’s concerned face emerged from the panicked fog in front of Jessie’s eyes. “Oh, Christ.” Jack plunked down on the coffee table opposite them with a heavy sigh, his hand moved consolably along Jessie’s knee as she huddled against Lex.
“She’ll be all right.” The sensual throat echoed against her ear as Jessie found herself pulled into Lex’s arms once again. She sank into him, relishing the arms about her, nestling her head in the hollow beneath his chin. “It’ll be okay, Jack. We’ll take care of this.” Lex sounded so sure, so calm, so in control of everything.
Jessie let her head rest on Lex’s shoulder, luxuriating in the calm assurance of his presence.
Jack licked his lips. He ran a shaking hand through his tousled copper mane. “Okay, I’m going upstairs.” He stood up and gave Lex a classic rocker salute thumb and baby finger raised in the air to form a horn. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
After Jack left them, Lex held Jessie in the silence of the beach house. The lights were out, and all they could see was the dark outline of the Malibu shoreline through the windows and the beauty of the stars hanging above the sea like diamonds amid dark velvet. His sureness and calm seemed to seep into her skin as they just sat, looking out the large window facing the sea, without talking, not needing to.
Jessie started to drift away. It became harder to keep her eyes open. At last, she simply gave up and let them close and allowed her head to rest on his chest, just beneath his chin. His flesh was warm pressed against her cheek. She could feel his heartbeat beneath her. It mixed with the steady waves of the sea outside their glass and steel refuge.
Chapter Fifteen
Jessie was stirred from a deep, dreamless slumber as grey light was filtering in the glass walls facing the sea. She snuggled closer to the warm hard body cradling her so protectively. Soft, curling hairs tickled her nose, as a gentle thrumming serenaded her dreams. She was in an ethereal world, somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, a fragile haven, safe, sheltered in strong arms. She didn’t want to open her eyes and be pulled back to the loneliness of her empty bed.
A musky male scent teased her senses, pulling her back into the sweet delirium.
“Go back to sleep, sweetheart.” Her phantom lover whispered, grazing the top of her head with his lips. And then, just as the sweet words penetrated her mind, she lifted her head with a start. It wasn’t a dream after all. She wasn’t in her bedroom, she was in the living room downstairs, on the sofa. Lex was holding her as she slept, holding her on top of him, his legs splayed to allow her body a soft resting place between them as he reclined beneath her on the soft leather sofa.
“Shhh, it’s too early. Close your eyes.” His hand eased her head back down on his chest. Jessie sighed, but kept her eyes open in spite of his gentle reprimand.
“What time is it?” She whispered, her throat heavy with sleep.
“Five-thirty. I love you, go back to sleep.”
She snaked her arm about his waist and let it settle on his chest at the opening of his robe. Her fingers brushed over soft whorls of chest hair as she snuggled closer to him, feeling the soft pull of exhaustion as she surrendered to her body’s need.
Jessie awakened curled up on the sofa alone. The enticing scent of his cologne verified his presence the night before. Jessie rolled over on her back, stretching slowly as she marveled at his tenderness as he comforted her through the night.
I love you, go back to sleep. Jessie smiled as those words brought new yet familiar warmth to her heart. She never woke up with a man beside her before, holding her sweetly, whispering words of love through the shroud of slumber. Jessie understood now why Kyra was so excited to move in with her fiancé. Waking up every morning in Lex’s embrace would be pure heaven.
The house phone rang.
Gut twisting fear replaced the peacefulness of the morning.
The land line gave a second ring, and then a third.
No one answered it downstairs.
Oh, God, please. Jessie prayed, immobilized by terror. No more threats.
She assumed the voicemail kicked in when no angry voices were raised from the within the house in answer. She sank back down on the forgiving sofa with relief.
“Morning.” Jack’s bronze head peeped in through the kitchen
“Where is Lex?” Jessie asked, afraid to ask who called.
“He had business in LA this morning. Said he’d be back later. He wanted you to sleep as long as possible after last night. We agreed on that point.” Duncan and Ozzy entered the room behind him. Seeing she was awake, they raced as one to the sofa to greet her. Jessie laughed as they stood on hind legs in front of her face, each one wrangling and vying for her attention.
Jessie quickly sat up to escape their devoted licking and slurping as they tried to wash her face. “What was it the two of you didn’t agree on?”
Jack released an aggravated sigh and came to sit at the edge of the sofa, near her feet. “He wants to hire bodyguards and a private detective to find out who is harassing you.” He gave Jessie a level look. “And he was pumping me all morning to tell him what I knew.”
“You didn’t tell him.” Jessie pleaded. Jack shook his head. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the sofa back with relief.
“No, but you should.” Jack interrupted. “He’s out now, trying to hire a bodyguard for you. If he knew it was Marcie and she’s 2000 miles away, he’d feel a lot better. The guy’s really worried about you, Jess.”
“I can’t.” Jessie hugged her knees. “I just can’t--”
“Then let me.”
“No--Jack.”
“You can’t go on like this. He’s in love with you. He needs to know some demented fan isn’t stalking you. If he knew it was our wacky mother back in Wisconsin, he wouldn’t be going about like the godfather, trying to take control to protect his lady. You should have seen him this morning, Jess, he was loaded for bear.”
Jessie wiped her cheeks, sniffling slightly as she fought to regain her composure. Remembering Jack’s hot retort to their mother, she asked, “Since when are you seeing a counselor? You could have told me.”
“Lilly plugged me into this guy in the Hills. I’ve only had two sessions, but he told me not to let Mom manipulate us. That’s part of the problem, Jess. Challenging her will make her stop, at least with us. Appeasing her doesn’t work. It only gives her more power over us. We have to draw the line. We have to make boundaries. It’s okay to do that, Jess. Even with family. Especially with family.”
“Did she call again this morning?”
“Yeah, the machine got it. More bullshit.” He sat up, looked her straight in the eyes, and said in such a quiet tone Jessie had to strain to hear him, “Jessie, this is abuse. Emotional abuse, that’s what my counselor called it the other day. And telephone harassment is a crime.”
Jessie didn’t know what to say. Big, tough Jack had tears in his
eyes as he regarded her silently, waiting for her to respond. Her throat tightened. Her chest burned with a dull ache. Jessie felt the pain of a lifetime rise up; their mother’s rejection and the cruel words that haunted her, even as far away as California. They ran away as teens, but they were still running, it seemed, and they couldn’t run far enough.
“You aren’t suggesting . . .” She croaked in a thick voice, “that we press charges?”
“I don’t know.” Jack whispered back, his voice raw with pain. “I just know that every time she does this it kills me a little more inside. It’s worse than any physical pain she could inflict on us. It kills me, Jess! It burns deep to see you cowering at the sound of mom’s voice on the answering machine. It hurts when she disowns us, again and again.” Jack’s shoulders shook as he sniffled and wiped away the moisture with the back of his hand. “I wish she’d leave us the hell alone. I wish you hadn’t called them to tell them about marrying Lex. God, sometimes I wish she’d just do it, just take all of her damn pills be done with it.”
“Jack,” Jessie wrapped her arms about him, stunned by this soft side he never let rise to the surface. He was always the strong one, always ready to rally to her defense.
“I feel like I’m being held hostage by that woman and her emotional bullshit.” Jack continued in a shaky voice. “That’s what I told the counselor, and he agreed with me. We, both of us, are being held hostage by mom and her mental illness. And the worst part is we keep allowing her to do it, again and again.”
“What does your therapist suggest we do?”
“Protect ourselves.” Jack answered. “He said our mother’s mental illness and her use of emotional blackmail are not our problem to fix. He said that if she and our father are unwilling to admit there is a problem with her behavior, there is nothing left for us to do but protect ourselves, Jess. And that could very well mean just walking away.”
