by Savana Jade
“Where’s Jenna?” I ask. Ashley walks past me and sits beside him taking his hand in hers. He leans in and kisses her cheek.
“She’s laying down in the back bedroom.” He reaches and takes her other hand and kisses her fingers before looking over to me. “I think you should leave her alone, at least until we are in the air.”
“She doesn’t like takeoffs or landing Brennan. You know that.” I argue making my way toward the back room. He suddenly stands.
“Then I suggest you wait until the doors are closed. She’s pretty fucking pissed off at you right now. And because I love you two too much to lose either one of you, I’m trying to help you out man and keep you from getting thrown off.” I take a deep breath and nod before sitting on the opposite side of them. Robert walks out of the cockpit and makes his way toward us.
“Gabe.” He nods before turning toward Brennan. “Son.” Brennan nods toward him before he turns back to me. “I… I’m sorry things didn’t turn out the way you wanted them to. She’s… well, she’s hard headed, I suggest giving her some time. But don’t give up on her.” He pats my shoulder in a supportive manor.
“I would never give up on her. Good or bad, she’s the center of my world.”
“Anyways, I just wanted to let you know we should be leaving in a few minutes. I’m just waiting on my taxi time.” Brennan and I both thank him before he returns to the front of the plane. He makes it half way back when his phone chimes in his pocket. Once he’s opened it up to answer it, his body tenses and he stops immediately. He turns to look at Brennan but then turns away to the cabin door.
“Hmm. That was odd.” Ashley says, also noticing the change in demeanor in Robert. “Wonder what that was about.”
“Who knows with him?” Brennan says before turning to me. “Gabe look,” his voice is now serious. Oh well, here it comes. “We both know she has no memory of that night. The only reason she knows where those pictures came from is because she remembers what she was wearing and she recognized part of the background. Since I never went to The Underground, I can’t say anything looks familiar. And I couldn’t tell you what she wore yesterday.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls her phone out. “I understand your doubts with Justin. Honestly, I can’t stand the little prick, but it doesn’t matter what I think. We have to trust Jenna.” He passes me her phone and I begin to look at the pictures.
“This is what she was wearing that night.” I whisper before swiping to the next photo. It’s obvious she was high. You can tell just by looking at her face. I scroll to the last one and notice one of the neon lights in the background. “She’s right. It’s The Underground.”
“You sure?” Brennan asks.
“Positive.” I show him the picture. “The Underground is the only club that I know of that has that neon.” He looks at it carefully then nods.
“That girl.” He mentions. “Does she look familiar to you?” I turn the phone back to me as he asks. “I swear I’ve seen her before, but can’t put my finger on it.” Robert makes his way back into the cabin and walks straight to us.
“I hope you don’t mind but.” He stares at Brennan. “But we will have some company on the way back.”
“It’s your plane dad.” Brennan shrugs.
“No son, it’s our plane.” Robert corrects. “Everything we have has been divided up equally. That was one thing that your mother and I made clear of before she passed.” He looks back down to his phone. “Anyways, our guests shall arrive in a few minutes and then we will take off. I have a co-pilot with me today. I’m hoping we all can have a chat later?”
Dumfounded, Brennan looks back up to his father. “Uh, sure. I guess.” He says. Robert nods and turns back to the cockpit.
Brennan slides himself down so his head is resting on my sister’s lap. Her fingers immediately begin running through his rat nest he calls hair. “I’m exhausted. Let me know when we get there.” He yawns, closing his eyes.
“I can’t take this anymore.” I stand and head straight to Jenna.
“Just leave him.” I can hear Ashley telling Brennan. “Its best they get this over with now. Otherwise it will be a long flight for all of us.” Once I make it to the door, I take a deep breath before getting enough courage to grab the nob and turn it. I crack it open, not knowing if she is sleeping or not. I don’t want to wake her if she is.
“You could have knocked you know.” She says before I can even get a peek in. I open the door all the way. She’s sitting on the center of the bed, her back leaning on the headrest with her knees pulled up. Her chin resting on top of her knees. She glares at me before rolling her eyes and looking down.
“I… I wasn’t sure if you were sleeping or not.” I say before stepping in and closing the door behind me. Leaning against the door, still not sure if I’m welcome yet or not. “Can we talk?”
“What do you want Gabriel?” Oh shit. When Jenna says my name in that tone, I know I’m in deep shit. Her eyes remain down. This distance is killing me. I take a step toward her but stop immediately. Her eyes shoot to mine, she knows I’m waiting for permission. She rolls them then nods. There may be hope for me yet. Carefully, I make my way to the bed and climb on to the center and sit Indian style at her feet.
“Angel, I’m so sorry.” The words come out before I even realize it. Her eyes shoot up to me and a tear falls down her face.
“You should be.” She snaps. I can’t take this tension anymore. I rest my hands on hers. “That really hurt, Gabe.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I really don’t have an excuse for my behavior.” She huffs a small laugh. “So, does that mean you forgive me?”
“No.” She answers honestly. “It means you’re an asshole and I’ve known for a long time that you can’t control your behavior.” Her beautiful blue eyes meet mine. “You have a lot of begging to make me forgive you on my wedding day.”
“For the record, it’s my wedding day too.” I can’t keep the sarcasm from my voice. She rolls her eyes again at me. I can’t help but to pull at her hands and force her on my lap. “What do I have to do to make it up to you?” I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. She sighs deeply and rests her head on my chest.
“For starters, you have to start trusting me more.” Her finger trails up and down my arm.
“I know.” I kiss her head again. “I do trust you Jenna. With all my heart. That picture totally took me by surprise.” She nods. “I have no clue what that ass has against us being together, but I promise you, I won’t let anything happen to us again. I love you Jenna. Heart, body and soul, my entire being belongs to you.”
“I love you too.” She shifts on my lap and straddles me. “Please believe me when I say I had no idea what happened that night.” Her fingers make their way around my neck. She slowly plays with my hair. Her favorite thing to do. “I was way too far gone before we even got to the club. You know that.”
“I know you used before she picked you up that night. I only assumed you used some more before you went clubbing.” She nods in agreement. “The doc said your counts were so high, that you should have been dead.” I shiver remembering that God awful night. “That girl that put the pill in your drink, do you know her?” She shakes her head immediately.
“No. But I feel like I should. Not just because she drugged me, but she looks so familiar.”
“Yeah, that’s what Brennan says too.” I rest my head on hers. “I know you wouldn’t do anything with anyone. I truly am sorry Angel.” She nods against me. “I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you. I know I fucked up and doubted you without even giving you a chance. But I can guarantee one thing though.”
“What?” she whispers, her eyes are closed as she listens to me.
“Even though it didn’t happen today, and it may not happen tomorrow. I can guarantee you it will happen as soon as it can. I am going to marry you Jenna Lynn Munson. And there’s nothing anyone can do to get in the way us doing so. I want to do this the right way. I want you t
o have the wedding of your dreams. I will do whatever it takes to make sure you have everything you want in life. Because my life isn’t complete until yours is. I love you so fucking much Jenna, it hurts.”
Tears stream down her face. She scoots herself closer to me, our lips are so close. “I love you too Gabriel. We’ve gone through so much, and so recently too. I’m not sure what more could happen to us. The one thing that hasn’t changed is my love for you. The day you walked into my kitchen with your Doc Martin shoes and those faded ripped up jeans, I knew it was you all along.” She blushes. I can’t help but smile. Kissing her swiftly.
“You remember what I was wearing?”
“I remember everything about that moment, like it was yesterday. That’s the day you took the key to my heart.” The knot in my throat seems to have gotten bigger. I take her face in my hands and gently press my lips against hers. “I love you Gabriel.” She whispers against my lips before pressing them against mine again.
The overhead speakers sound off. It’s Robert. “We will be leaving in five minutes. Please buckle up until we are up in the air.”
Jenna and I aren’t ready to join the rest. I let her know that her father is planning on having some company going back with us, so we choose to buckle up on the couch that sits on the corner of the room. I hold her in my arms as the plane begins to taxi and I decide to sing a song to her as we go into the air. I do whatever I can to get her mind off of take offs. She absolutely hates going up and coming down from a plane. The cabin is quiet. I’m assuming Brennan fell asleep on my sister. Once we’re cleared to move around, we remain in each other’s arms on the couch just talking until we both fall asleep…
~~~
“Brennan Don’t” Ashley yells waking both Jenna and myself. “GABRIEL!” She yells. “HELP ME!” I’m up on my feet and out of the room before she can finish yelling.
“What the hell Ash…” Then I see it. Brennan is kneeling over someone. His fist is pulled back and before I have a moment to react, he’s thrown a punch. I run over quickly and pull him up. “Bren man, what the…” Oh shit. “What the fuck?” I yell and charge the body that’s scurrying away from us. “You fucking prick!” I lunge at him.
“Gabe Stop.” Jenna says running toward me. I land my fist to the side of his face before Jenna takes hold of it keeping me from swinging again. “GABE!” She screams. I stop immediately and look straight into her eyes.
“You fucking prick. I’ll kill you for what you’ve done to her.” Brennan yells. Ashley’s pulling him back with all her might. Suddenly, as if she seeing him for the first time, Jenna gasps. We all stop and stare.
“Justin?” She asks, pulling her hands over her mouth. “What? Why?” She asks.
“Jenna…I’m…” He says before she charges him. Her shoulder rams into his chest knocking them both down. She’s cursing more than I’ve ever heard her before.
“You fucking asshole.” She yells. “Why? Why did you do this to me?” She’s crying pounding on his chest frantically. All he can do is cover his face and protect himself as we all stand there frozen. Robert opens the door to the cockpit to see what’s going on. He swears a few choice words of his own before running and grabbing Jenna by her waist and pulling her off of Justin.
“What the hell is going on here?” He yells bringing Jenna to me. She’s shaking in her skin. I pull her into my arms to try to calm her. “I won’t ask again.” He demands in a fatherly tone.
“Why don’t you explain why he’s on the plane with us?” Brennan points to Justin and his crew.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about son. Do you want to tell me why I had to pull Jenna off of him though?”
“You seriously don’t fucking know who he is?” Jenna cries. Robert takes a step toward us and pulls Jenna into his arms.
“Princess, if I knew this was going to happen, then I wouldn’t have brought him on. No I have no clue who he is.” Just then, I pull out Jenna’s phone from my pocket and show him the pictures at the same time the front bathroom door opens and the girl in the picture steps out.
“Jesus.” Robert says holding Jenna tighter.
“It was the night of the accident dad.” Brennan says, trying to catch his breath. “It was the night we lost Will and almost lost your daughter.” Jenna’s sobs are uncontrollable as he scrolls through the pictures. His eyes immediately look up to the girl.
“You had something to do with this?” He asks her. She lowers her head in shame. “Son of a bitch.” He hollers. He hands me the phone back and holds Jenna tighter. “I swear to God Paisley Anne, if you’ve done anything to… Get out of my sight.” He orders. “All of you!”
“Sorry daddy.” She whispers walking to the back of the plane. What the hell did she just say? Robert continues to shush Jenna but watches as Paisley, Justin and two other people that I recognize are part of his band follow her to the back room Jenna and I were in.
“Uh, excuse me Robert, but did I hear her correctly?” I ask. His eyes meet mine and he nods unhappily, rolling his eyes in the process. “Jenna.” I reach for her, she meets my gaze and takes my hand. “Robert, we need to talk, NOW.” I demand taking Jenna with me as we sit at the front of the cabin.
“What’s going on Gabe?” Jenna asks between sobs. Brennan and Ashley take a seat across us. Robert decides to sit by Jenna. I’m not too sure that’s a safe move.
“You didn’t hear what she said did you?” She looks confused and shakes her head. “I suppose you didn’t either, did you?” Asking Brennan.
“Uh, no. I wasn’t paying attention to her.”
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?” Jenna cries out angrily. “What the hell is Justin doing on this plane? And who is that girl?”
“Jenna, she’s…” Robert stops quickly, then takes her hand. “She’s your sister.”
“What?” Both Jenna and Brennan say in unison. Brennan stands quickly followed by Robert. “You mind repeating that?” Brennan snaps.
“Brennan sit down.” Robert demands.
“That’s why she looks so familiar Brennan.” Jenna says. Brennan’s body stiffens as he stands nose to nose with his father.
“What else can you fucking hit us with dad?” His voice is hard.
“Let me explain. Please sit down.” Robert takes a seat next to my sister who’s just sitting just as shocked as Jenna is. Brennan sits and takes Jenna’s hand in his for support.
“I promised not to say anything until you’ve seen your mother’s video, but since nothing with you two ever seems to go accordingly as planned…” He stops quickly, shakes his head and continues. “When your mother left us, she didn’t realize she had recently fell pregnant. I had no clue until after I went to be with her. Even then, I didn’t know. Paisley was just recently sent away to boarding school. Of course, by that time, she was around ten and had no clue who I was.”
“This is a joke right?” Jenna asks. “Because to be completely honest, this entire situation sounds worse than a fucking soap opera.”
“Jenna, watch your mouth.” He orders. “I wish this was a joke. I honestly do. But unfortunately, that young woman in the other room is your sister. Your little sister. When I found out, I insisted on her moving back to Florida to live with us. I felt that if I couldn’t be a part of your lives anymore, I needed to at least be a part of hers. I had the right to know who she was. And she had the right to know who I was as well. I was so furious with your mother for not telling me. So much so, that I almost left to come back home.”
“Maybe you should have. It would have made our lives easier.” Jenna whispers.
“I know princess, it would have. I didn’t know what to do. All I knew was that there was a little girl out there that had no idea who her father was. All she knew was that she had a mother that was in a messed up relationship with her parents and as soon as they could, they sent her away when she was old enough to take care of herself. She was raised with nannies and housemaids for the most part. Your grandp
arents were very unforgiving when they found out your mom was with child. ”
“So you just ditched your other two children for her?” Brennan asks.
“I deserve that son. But I had no clue. Not until I arrived. Like I said, I can’t change the past, but I can try to fix the future.”
“It’s apparent she knows about us though.” Jenna says. “From the looks of it, she isn’t too happy about us.”
“No princess, she isn’t. She’s known about you two since the beginning. When she became of legal age, she moved out. She only checks in once in a blue moon. When she told me she needed a ride back home, I couldn’t say no. But Jenna, I truly had no clue she was involved with him, or with the accident. I swear I didn’t.”
“Well, now you do.” I snap. “I want answers. She obviously knows who they are. But why the hell did she try to drug Jenna?” Jenna rests her hand on my leg. Immediately, I rest my hand on hers. She is nothing more than amazing to me. Here she is calming me when I should be the one calming her.
“Because I hated them.” Paisley says standing at the door. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t stay away.” She pushes away from the door and walks toward us. “I had no clue that you were on any kind of drugs Jenna, if I had known, I wouldn’t have given them to you.”
“Them?” Jenna squeezes my hand for support. “How many did you give me that night?”
“Enough.” Paisley says shamefully.
“Why?” Jenna asks. There’s no beating around the bush with her. She always gets to the point.
“I hated you. I was so angry at you and Brennan for always having the best memories with them.” Brennan huffs and shifts in his seat. “All I heard about growing up was ‘Brennan this’, and ‘Jenna that’. I got so tired of it. Then when daddy came and forced me to move back home, I didn’t know what to expect. Here he was, ready to dedicate his life to me, but his heart wasn’t in it. All he thought about was you two. Do you have any idea how it is to live without being wanted?”
“You have no idea.” Jenna mummers. “I don’t understand.” She says. “Why now? Why couldn’t you just leave us alone? Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.”
