Abandoned but Not Alone

by Theresa L. Henry

  “I asked you if you really wanted your question answered, so now you know the truth, is it a deal breaker?”

  “Honestly Jason...I don’t know. This is a lot to deal with and I need time to process what you just told me – us.”

  “I don’t care what they think of me – I only care what you think. What – do – you – think – Aviva?”

  “Stop pushing me Jason, I told you already, I don’t know!”

  Jason knew he should back off but that devil on his shoulder was pushing him, whispering that he should force an answer out of her. As he was about to give in to his inner voice Jackson broke into his thoughts, stopping him from making a mistake from which he might not recover.

  “Leave it Jason, she needs time, at least give her that; your admission is too big to form an immediate impression – give her some time.”

  Jason didn’t bother to look in Jackson’s direction, he knew he was right but he couldn’t take his eyes off Aviva, irrationally thinking that if he took his eyes off her she would disappear from his life. Nodding in acceptance of Jackson’s words of advice, he continued his regard of Aviva as she sat immobile on the couch, her uncertainty reflected on her face.

  “Well Aviva, while you’re making up your mind, you all might as well hear the rest of it. I have two more men on my list, and it is my intention to ruin them both. Don’t worry, my plans don’t include killing them, although they deserve it, death would mean they didn’t suffer the way they deserve to.

  As I mentioned before, I didn’t make it to college but I did begin building my business. I moved from the east coast and ended up here. Before I left I sent the two remaining pedophiles a warning that if anything happened to Steve or me; eight copies of a letter containing very specific information with names and dates had been deposited with eight different lawyers in eight different states. One move against me or Steve and not even their powerful families could save their rotten hides. On the surface they’ve left us alone but they and I know that this is just a stand-off. Someone will have to make a move soon and that someone is going to be me. You see, it has come to my attention that those men, after all these years are now feeling comfortable enough, with the death of their fathers to begin the steps of putting plans in place to start up another ring of abuse – it’s not going to happen. But they’re desperate, they got sloppy and I was able to get to them before harm came to any children. I might not be so lucky next time so I’m going to take them down to a point where there will be no recovery.”

  Jason gave Aviva the complete truth of who he was and what he was capable of doing. It was now up to her, she either accepted him as he was warts and all or she could try to leave him. He knew he could be a hard man, the circumstances of his life had shaped him into what he had become, he also knew he would give her anything she wanted, allow her anything, apart from leaving him – that one thing he would not allow. His decision was made; Jason gave Aviva a slight nod and turned back to the men who also occupied the room.

  “When Steve completed college we hooked up again. He is the face of the company and I do my part behind the scenes. So far we’ve been extremely successful. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you gentlemen about our company, how long did it take you to find out all about Blackman-King? You don’t need to answer that, you probably know as much about my business dealings as I know about yours.”

  Jake dipped his head in acknowledgment of Jason’s statement, not bothering to vocalize what they all knew to be the truth. He was still curious about one fact that Jason had left out of his story. “Thank you for sharing your story with us, I understand it’s not been easy for you, but it seems to me that you left out one vital component – how did you end up in care, did anyone ever tell you how that came about?”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry gentlemen, how remiss of me. Well this part is pure speculation you must understand, but from my summation of the situation, Diana for some reason didn’t want two babies so she decided to throw one away. I was found in a dumpster in a back alleyway with rats nibbling on my flesh.”

  Aviva screamed; the sound filled with bone chilling horror.

  Josh shouted ‘no’ with such force the sound echoed throughout the room.

  Crash – Jake who was standing by the window put his fist through the glass panel with such might, shards of glass flew around him as blood ran in rivulets unnoticed down his balled fist.

  Jackson rose slowly to his feet; hands hanging at his sides, silent tears of despair sheeting down his face at what his child, his flesh and blood had gone through – alone.

  Jason turned and walked out the room not to return for the remainder of the evening; his tears hidden from those within, unable to reach out for the comfort he so desperately needed in order to bridge the void that had for so long been a part of his existence.

  Chapter 14

  London, England

  “I hope you have good news for me. I’m not a patient man and your lack of movement has pushed me to breaking point. Therefore, for the sake of your own well-being and those you hold dear, the next words out of your mouth had better be pleasing to me.”

  “I think they will be.”

  “Continue...”

  “Matters have changed at my end. I think we need to reconsider our original plan. I need a few more weeks to assess how matters develop. If they go as I think they will, everything you want will be yours for the taking.”

  “Explain to me why I should change my plans at such a late stage, and don’t test my patience, make sure I like what you have to say.”

  “It would seem the unstoppable Jason King may have developed an Achilles’ heel; in the form of one Aviva Johnson. I’ve known Jason for a long time, and I have never seen him act this way before. In all the years I’ve known him, he has never had a woman stay at the house. I’m ninety per cent sure we can use this turn of events to our advantage. I just need a few more weeks, if she’s still around; we’ve got him right where we want him.”

  “Why are you so sure this will work?”

  The caller outlined his new plan.

  “This sounds as though it has merit. Tell me more.”

  “She’s staying at the house – that’s the beauty of this, I’ll be able to keep an eye on any developments as and when they happen. If anything changes, we can go back to the original plan. But I assure you, if things work out the way I think they will, this is the way to go. I want this just as much as you do. I’ve had to live in his shadow for so long it makes my blood boil when I think of what could have been mine – it’s time I collected, if Jason suffers in the process, then all the better.”

  “Very well, I’ll give you the time you need. A word of warning – don’t let me down. The next time I hear from you, I want to be told we’re ready to move, one way or the other.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Jason awoke early the next morning and lay gazing at a still sleeping Aviva. As his eyes moved across her sleeping form, from nowhere the thought entered his head, what he would do if this small woman were not in his life. Amazed anew, Jason contemplated how empty his life had been just days before. Although Steve had been a constant in his life, for the most part this was the first time for a long time he was honest enough to admit to himself something had been missing. Jason was finally prepared to accept that he needed someone. Within a few short days everything had changed. When he least expected it the woman lying beside him in slumber had rushed towards him, heralding changes that still left him reeling. Staring at her precious face, he knew he would do whatever it took to keep her with him.

  He hadn’t understood that he had been searching for someone to fill the gaping void that occupied the space that should contain his heart. Yet here she was; mending the fragments, bonding them together to form something whole. She made him feel defenseless, needy for her constant presence. Jason King, who needed no one, needed Aviva Johnson as he had needed nothing before. Her presence had been the only reason he had been able to cope with the sudden deluge of fami
ly he never dreamt existed. Shifting his eyes to the window, Jason stared unseeing at the eastern horizon as the sun began to spread its glow across the sky. He had a family; people existed in the world who shared the same blood that ran through his veins. The sudden understanding stopped his breath. He had a family. As the thought ran through his mind again and again as though on a loop, he finally gave voice to the need buried deep within; buried so deeply by the sheer force of his will, had never allowed it to surface for fear of it destroying his very existence. The fact that someone had been prepared to discard him with the unwanted trash, never looking back to see if he still breathed had been deliberately, blocked from his mind. “I have a family…” Jason whispered into the stillness of the room.

  Running her hand gently across Jason’s chest; Aviva blinked back tears as she watched the emotions pass across the chiseled plains of his handsome face. “Yes, you do and if you give them a chance, I don’t think you will ever regret allowing them into your life.”

  “I think you may be right, but I need time. Help me to make them understand that, I just need some more time to assimilate them into my life. Sometimes they make me feel like they’re pressing down on me so hard I can’t breathe. Can you do that for me; can you try to make them understand?”

  “Oh, Jason, of course I will baby. I’ll try – no I'll make sure they understand.”

  “Thanks Angel, I don’t want them to disappear, I just want…” Feelings of vulnerability once again overtook him and he couldn’t meet her eyes.

  “It’s okay, I understand – I’ll speak to Jackson later on.”

  Still unable to meet her gaze Jason got out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. Hearing the toilet flush and water running as Jason brushed his teeth; Aviva awaited his return. Moving around the room Jason dressed in sweats and then bent down to give her a quick kiss. “I’m going to the gym; try to get some more rest. I’ll see you in a little while.”

  “Okay, have a good workout and don’t forget I start working at the studio today.”

  Hesitating, his hand on the handle of the door, Jason tried to hold in the question that sprung into his mind – and failed. “So you start working with Carlos today?”

  “Yes Jason, I do – but you already know that.”

  Grunting Jason exited the room, closing the door very quietly behind him.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Jason knew the vagaries of his life had shaped him into a hard man, a ruthless man and he readily admitted to those facets of his personality being true. He had long ago decided that he wouldn’t go out of his way for anyone – especially those he had business dealings with.

  Once he had started to make money, people had wanted to be around him, both men and women, in the hope that some of his Midas touch would rub off on them. He accepted this for what it was – greed and treated greedy people according to their nature, with disdain. He didn’t need them, they needed him.

  Being confronted by other people’s greed had been one of the foremost reasons he had withdrawn from being a part of the business world, preferring to leave the entire cat and mouse crap to Steve. Facing the avaricious greed of corporate America was something Jason had no patience for. His want to speak his mind had made more enemies than it had brought in business; so he had withdrawn to work behind the scenes. He had yet to fill Steve in on his handling of the meeting in his absence. His friend was going to be pissed at him, nothing new there, but Cox and his cronies were messing with them, making excuses for the non-commencement of the scheduled work, something or someone was responsible for Cox messing with them. The two companies had worked together before with no problems outside of the norm. These maneuvers felt different, contrived and Jason was at the end of his patience.

  “You did what?” Steve shouted anger written across his handsome face as he tried to control his growing temper. “What is the matter with you, Jason? I was only gone for one day and you’ve probably single handily managed to undo all the progress I’ve made in the last year.”

  Jason could feel his own anger rising at being brought to task by Steve’s comments and raised voice. “You weren’t answering your phone, you weren’t here and I was – so I dealt with the situation.”

  “What did you say to him Jason, if you’ve jeopardized this contract with your antics, I’ll…”

  “You’ll what Steve?” Jason asked in a quiet voice; his anger rising another notch.

  “I’ll kick your ass, that’s what I’ll do. I’ve told you a million times, leave the negotiations to me – you short tempered son-of-a-bitch!”

  Jason’s booming laugh suddenly filled the room as his anger dissipated. With all he had learned over the last few days, he couldn’t help but see the funny side of his mother being referred to as a ‘bitch’. “Well you got one thing right – my mother is a bitch; so what else you got?”

  “This is serious, Jason. Your antics are no laughing matter. What, did you do?”

  “I took Mr Cox aside and told him he had till the end of the week to sign the contract. No more negotiations, no more pussy-footing around. He either signed the contract or the deal was off the table. I also told him there were a whole bunch of building contractors just waiting in the wings to take his place.”

  “Jesus – do you know what you’ve done?”

  “What’s going on here, I dealt with a contractor that has been holding us over a barrel for way too long, making us look like chumps and you’re sweating it – the question is why?”

  Pacing the floor of the office Steve didn’t answer Jason’s question. The tension in the room was swirling around them; the hairs on Jason’s neck rose. Something was going down and he wanted answers. “I’ll ask you again, Steve – what the hell is going on here!”

  Steve audibly cleared his throat before he began to speak. “I've got problems with the building commission. It seems one of my sub-contractors used substandard materials on the Ojai project. I’m dealing with it; I thought I’d managed to keep the whole situation under wraps. Somehow Cox found out, he’s threatening to make a statement to verify that we knew about everything and were willing to cut corners to make a profit. It gets worse; he’s also threatening to swear corner cutting is almost the company’s motto, and that’s how our company has managed to grow into a major player so quickly.”

  Jason didn’t bother to ask Steve if there was any truth in the allegations. He was well aware of his and Steve’s hard work over the years. Neither of them would have allowed the use of substandard material in one of their building projects. He was also aware that while there may be no truth in the accusations, speculation alone could have far reaching implication to the credibility of their business. “That greasy smug bastard – I want to know who’s pulling his leash – and I want to know now!”

  “I’m already on it; so far, I’ve drawn a blank.”

  “When were you going to tell me about this; for God sake, if things hadn’t changed you would be on your honeymoon right now?”

  “I already told you – I’m taking care of it. This right here is what I can’t stand about you man, you can’t control everything. Leave me the hell alone to do my God-damn job!”

  “This is my company as much as it is yours; therefore I have a right to know what’s going on, especially if it affects me. I trust you to take care of our day to day business, but not to keep far reaching matters from me when you feel like it. We're partners and I have to be able to trust you to keep me in the loop, especially about something so serious.”

  “Fuck you, you egotistical shit!”

  “You can call me as many names as you like Steve, but it still doesn’t tell me who’s behind this mess and I want answers. We’ve worked too long and too hard for some jumped up shit like Percy Cox to pull the rug from under us.”

  “You think I don’t know that? Just back off Jason – I’ve got this.” Looking at his watch Steve straitened his tie and reached for his briefcase. “Look man, I’ve got to go. I need to get a handle on what
Coxs' next move is going to be, and if I know that slimy turd – he already has a jump start on me.”

  Jason made no comment as he watched Steve leave for the office. It also didn’t escape his attention that while he has spoken about them in terms of their partnership, a team, Steve had spoken about himself – in the singular.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Jason had yet to return by the time Aviva got out of bed. Taking a shower she dressed in comfortable blue jeans, white tailored button down shirt and comfortable open toed sandals.

  Knocking on Jason’s office door Aviva waited until she heard a mumbled, 'come in' before entering. Jason sat behind his office desk, feet propped up, and hands behind his head. Aviva noticed two things as she entered the room: one Jason was wearing a pensive look and the other the room reeked of man sweat. Scrunching up her nose she decided to deal with what was troubling Jason first – the bathing suggestion could wait for a few moments. “Did I just see Steve leaving?” At Jason’s nod, Aviva waited for Jason to pass further comment, when none was forthcoming she pushed a little further. “Is everything okay Jason? To be honest you look as though something is troubling you and the way Steve just slammed the front door, I was surprised it didn't come off its hinges.”

  Seeing her apparent concern, Jason considered whether to tell her about his and Steve's conversation. Deciding there was nothing she could actually do that would help with their business situation, he decided to hold back from telling her what was going on.