Color Me Grey

by Michelle Janine Robinson

  “I want to see and know that Jasmine and Jacob are alright. I finally believe what Chantal told me all those years ago; Jade is evil and now she has my babies. I can’t sit here and wonder what is happening up there. I need to be wherever they are.”

  “I understand,” David said.

  “Yes,” Stephen agreed.

  “But Bridget, if Jade is up there, do not get too close to her. She’s probably capable of anything,” David cautioned.

  “Why don’t we call the police in the meantime?” Stephen asked.

  “She’s my daughter and I’m going to do my best to protect Jasmine and Jacob, but I don’t want Jade hurt either. After all, this is my fault as much as anyone else’s. I’m going to do my best to get Jade the help she needs. I wasn’t there for her her entire life. The least I can do now is try to save her. I don’t want her locked away in some prison somewhere. I have to believe that even Jade is not beyond saving.”

  Until now Bridget had always been Jade’s greatest champion. Now, however, she was only concerned with saving her son and daughter.

  “David, you know I love you and once upon a time, I loved Jade very much, but you know where I stand. If it comes down to saving Jasmine and Jacob or saving Jade, Jade is expendable. I can’t allow her to hurt them. I can’t.”

  “I gotta tell you, David. I’m with Bridget on that one.”

  David took great pride in his legal expertise. He realized that ability would have to be the force that guided him in not only rescuing Jasmine and Jacob, but Jade as well. He would have to present the most riveting and convincing opening argument he had ever put together, if or when it came to that.

  David, Stephen and Bridget took the stairs leading to Bridget’s former apartment; all unsure of what they would find waiting for them behind those doors. All three of them stopped at the entrance. Then, David produced a key.

  “Where did you get that from?” Bridget asked.

  “Didn’t you ever wonder who was paying the rent all those years?” David said.

  “David, you were paying the rent on this place?”

  “No, not me. My mom was. It seems, all those years ago when Marie got pregnant, she tried to contact me, but instead got in touch with my parents; my mom and my dad. She probably would have been ignored and given a few thousand dollars to keep quiet, if left up to my father, but my mom was a good woman. Knowing my mother, she probably even wanted to get to know her granddaughter, maybe even raise her. But my father would never have heard of anything even close to that. So, I guess my mother did the only thing she could do. She created a dummy corporation called Swerdly Enterprises and paid the rent on this place under that corporation’s name. I’m not sure how she ended up with this key. Maybe, somehow, she was able to get a copy from the management company before Marie first moved in. I really don’t know, but for whatever reason, she kept a copy among her things. I thought I knew all there was to know about my mother, but when she died, this key was one of the mysteries I was unable to solve. As soon as I found out about her paying the rent on this place, I knew that’s what that key was for. My mother ensured that living or dead, Marie and Jade would have a place to live, no matter what. I didn’t know anything about any of this until my investigator starting digging around. In my mother’s wildest imagination, I’m sure she would never have envisioned the sort of place her money was paying for. I believe if she had known where Marie and Jade were living, she would have probably bought them a house or something. It’s just that she was so damned afraid of my father and so...controlled by him. I guess, in many ways, I’m just like him.”

  “David, you’re nothing at all like your father. He went to his grave the same person. You’ve done more to become a better person in the last few months than some people have done in their entire lives. You made mistakes, that’s all. That thing that defines us is not our mistakes but how we handle them and grow from them. You’ve done that.”

  When David first told Stephen the story of how Jacob came to be, he was so angry with David he punched him square in the jaw. But now he realized that David truly did love Bridget. He loved her as well and was sorry he hadn’t had it in him to love her beyond their obstacles. But David loved her beyond everything. He had stuck it out for the long haul, despite all that he knew—and didn’t know—about Bridget. He, unfortunately, had not, and he would probably regret that for years to come.

  David used the key he held and slowly opened the door. It was readily apparent that no one was there and that no one had probably been there for quite some time. Bridget looked around. Everything seemed to be exactly as they had left it. It was more than a little disturbing to Bridget’s memories. Despite the fact that the apartment appeared to be empty, they decided to check each room, just in case. That’s when Bridget saw it—little Jasmine’s Dora the Explorer pacifier, lying on the floor of the bathroom. That’s when Bridget knew where Jade had taken Jasmine and Jacob.

  “Let’s go! I know where they are.”

  “David, why don’t you let me drive? You’re going to get us all killed! You must be driving a hundred miles per hour. Not to mention the fact that we’re screwed, if we get pulled over by the police.”

  David realized that Stephen was right and slowed down.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll slow it down. We’re almost there anyway. Aren’t we, Bridget?”

  “Yes. And, I’m pretty sure I know where she’ll be. I just hope I can remember the exact location.”

  “Oh,” David said, suddenly realizing the area Bridget was referring to.

  “What?” Stephen asked.

  “I’m guessing that she’ll be where we took her mother, or at least somewhere in the vicinity. The area may have changed a little since then.”

  “Well, if that is where she’s gone, I have the exact location in the investigator’s report. It was all documented by the police after Marie’s body was found.”

  “Maybe we should find somewhere to park the car and search for them on foot,” David suggested.

  “Yeah, if the area is the way I remember it, I think you’re probably right.”

  It didn’t take long for them to find Jade. She was exactly where Bridget expected, sitting on a rock, just waiting. But, where were Jasmine and Jacob?

  “Jade! Where are Jasmine and Jacob? Where are my babies?!”

  “You mean my brother and his sister? Ain’t this a fucked-up situation. Not at all what you expected, huh, Bridget? Your perfect little family, your perfect little life is still just as imperfect as it’s always been.”

  “Yeah, it is, Jade. Thanks to you!”

  “There you go again, playing the poor little victim. I’m so sick of hearing that song I could puke. You never take responsibility for your own fucking life. That’s what makes you a target. I had you pegged from the moment I first met you. You were a whining bitch back then and you still are.”

  “Jade, what the hell are you talking about? When we met we were just little girls.”

  “Yeah. We were and you took my family away from me; the first and last family that ever wanted me. I could have had a life. A real life—the life I deserved. But no, you waltzed in your first day at Mannersville, sat your skinny ass down at that old-ass piano in the waiting room, and started to play. The Bennetts were hooked instantly. They were all set to take me home with them. I was going to be their daughter and then you came in and showed off. And instead of me, they wanted you. And the fucked-up thing about it is, you stayed with them for all of a week and you were right back here, whining and crying about some ‘traumatic incident’ that happened while you were there. You were so fucking stupid and pathetic!”

  “Jade, Mr. Bennett was a fucking pedophile. He tried to rape me! We were both better off not living there. If anything, I saved you from the Bennetts!”

  “See, that’s one of the many ways in which you and I are so different. I wouldn’t have cared. I would have given Mr. Bennett whatever he wanted in exchange for the life he and his wife were offering.
Once you came back, I kept hoping that the Bennetts would realize they had made a mistake when they chose you and do what they had originally intended—come back to Mannersville and take me home with them. That never happened. You ruined it for me, the way you ruin everything. You ruined that, you ruined my chances with Buster. Buster liked me best when he came to work at Mannersville. He even let me leave once. We had an understanding. I took care of him and he took care of me. It made my days at Mannersville livable. Then, you started developing—finally, and all of a sudden his attention shifted from me to you. Giving you extra food, asking where you were, what you were doing. I wanted to kill him myself for betraying me, but I figured what better way to get the fuck out of that hell hole and to keep your dumb ass under my thumb than to let you kill him. I didn’t know that old, fat drunk bastard would live.”

  “Jade, I would have done anything for you...”

  “And you did, didn’t you?” Jade chuckled.

  “We could have had a better life a lot sooner, without all that ugly stuff that we had to do.”

  “There you go with those pipe dreams of yours. Who do you think would have hired an eighteen-year-old secretary who had never had a job and just got out of a family group home?”

  “Jade, people do it all the time. If I had been living with my family and just graduated from school, it would have been feasible. It’s not like I had a prison record, nor you. We were in a home—a home for children with no parents.

  “And look, the proof is in our lives. Look at how far we’ve come. It didn’t have to be like this. David told me what he found out—I mean, about him and your mom. Just think of the life you could have had, could still have.”

  “Yes, Jade,” David spoke up. “Whatever is mine is yours. Just tell us where Jasmine and Jacob are.”

  “You could care two shits about me; you just want that little half-breed boy of yours. I wonder if we flashed back to the day I was born, would you be quite so willing to pay for my life. Huh, would you, Daddy Dearest?”

  “Jade, I would have given anything to just know that you existed. I never knew. No one ever told me. I swear to you. I would never have abandoned you, if I had known.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you say, but I guess we’ll never know, will we?”

  “Jade, you’ll just have to trust me.”

  “Yeah, right.” Jade laughed. “Me trust the likes of you. My name is not Bridget.”

  “Why are we playing cat and mouse with this crazy bitch?” Stephen asked.

  David turned to Stephen to silently caution him to take it easy. However, Jade was way ahead of him.

  “If it isn’t Mr. Bourgeoise. What do you want, your nappy-headed baby? What would you do if I told you one of my crackhead friends was up in a crackhouse selling her to the highest bidder as we speak?”

  Stephen lunged for her, but David was able to stop him before he could cause any damage. Realizing David had his hands full with Stephen, Bridget attempted to reason with Jade once again.

  “Jade, what is it that you want? Whatever it is, I’m sure David will give it to you. Just tell him what you want.”

  “I want my life back. I want to live the life that your two precious babies are going to live. That’s what I want! Can he give me that? Well, can he?”

  “Yes, Jade, as a matter of fact, he can. He can give you that and more. And I do believe he is more than willing to do that; was willing to do that even without you kidnapping his son—if you had just given him a chance.”

  “You still don’t get it, do you? Nothing will ever be enough to make up for what was stolen from me. All that he has, all that Jasmine and Jacob will have, that was my birthright just as much as it was theirs. But instead, what did I have? Nothing, less than nothing. Did you know I can’t have children? Every time I would hear you talk about a family and all that shit, I would tell you how I was never having children. Damn right, I wasn’t having any! I couldn’t have any—can’t have any, because one of my mother’s johns raped me when I was two years old—two fucking years old! Fucked me up so bad there isn’t a chance in hell that I’ll ever have a baby. Bet you didn’t know that, huh?”

  Bridget kept thinking that this was the point in movies when the person telling the story would start crying, but Jade’s eyes were dry as a bone. Then it dawned on her that the only time she had ever seen Jade shed anything even close to a tear was when she killed her mother. Bridget was convinced those tears had been fake. The thought chilled Bridget to the bone. As she stood there, she was hoping for a glimmer of a tear from her eyes, hoping that somehow that would free Jade from the evil that had kept her bound all these years. In the shadows Bridget could see someone sneaking up behind Jade. Just as Bridget was about to yell at the person, whoever they were, to stop, Jade was wrestled to the ground. Sitting on the rock next to Jade was a duffel bag. She and Brianna, the person who was engaging Jade in the fierce struggle, were battling over ownership of the duffel bag. That’s when Bridget, and then Stephen and David, all heard the faint sound of a baby crying.

  “Oh my God, they’re in the bag! Somebody, help! Jasmine and Jacob are in that duffel bag! No! Somebody do something!” As Bridget rushed over to save her babies who were now sitting dangerously close to the edge of a ravine, Brianna and Jade were fighting tooth and nail for possession of the bag. David and Stephen both rushed over, unsure of what they should do. The fall was sure to kill both babies. And under the right circumstances, David’s daughter, Jade, might also die, not to mention Brianna. David watched the situation and decided the only thing they could do, would be to try and grab both Jade and Brianna and pull them from over the edge. Someone would have to carefully grab the bag, especially since Jade was trying to throw it over the edge with every turn. Watching the bag bump against the rocks, Bridget feared that even if the bag didn’t go over the edge, the twins might still perish. The constant assault on their tiny little bodies coupled with the lack of air could prove to be fatal. That’s when she decided the only thing she could do would be to dive for the bag and grab it as quickly as humanly possible. It would take split-second timing, but she would use every bit of energy she had to get that bag out of Jade’s hands. As Bridget leaped for the bag, David pulled at Jade’s hand, attempting to pull her up just enough to grab her by the waist. It would afford him more leverage, while Stephen tried grabbing Brianna. Amidst the mayhem, Bridget was able to wrestle the bag from Jade’s hand, but not before both she and Jade tumbled head first into the ravine.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CONCLUSION/JASMINE AND JACOB

  Bridget was amazed at her babies’ resilience. They spent a couple of nights in the hospital, but had gotten a clean bill of health. There had been no injuries to either of their bodies and the hospital had ruled out the biggest concern, lack of oxygen.

  Stephen and David were also both very happy to learn that their children would be fine. However, David was mourning a great loss; at least to him. No one involved could believe that the twins had survived while an adult, Jade, had suffered such a crushing blow. After both Bridget and Jade had fallen, Jade’s chest was impaled by a tree branch, piercing her lungs. At first, David thought she might survive—she appeared as feisty as ever, spitting, spewing and cursing until the end. But, she succumbed to complications in the hospital and died. David was devastated. For years he had a daughter he had never known about, yet somehow she had been brought to him—literally placed on his doorstep—but he hadn’t found out she was his daughter until it was too late. He would never have the opportunity to make it up to her. She was gone.

  He still remembered her last words; the words that would haunt him until his dying day: “We’ll be waiting for you.”

  If no one else knew what she meant, he sure did. She was talking about hell. She meant she and her mother would be waiting for him. He couldn’t help but think that her comment, while saddening, was more that just a little fitting. He couldn’t help but feel overwhelming guilt for the legacy (albeit handed down to
him), that he had in turn handed down to his own offspring. But, Jade was wrong about Marie. If there was a heaven and a hell, Marie was surely watching over them all —as an angel.

  “How are you doing?” Bridget asked her matron of honor,

  Brianna, as she fussed over Bridget’s makeup.

  “Girl, shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re the one jumpin’ the broom today.”

  “But to answer your question, my boo is back. We’ve been fuckin’ like minks since we got back together. We decided to compromise and stay here in New York because quite frankly I hate Georgia and I’m so glad I’m home! Not only that, little Jacob and Jasmine are going to have a playmate soon.”

  “Oh my God. No!”

  “Yes!”

  “No! You’re pregnant. Oh, Brianna. You’re gonna make such a good mom and I’ll have someone to talk about mommy stuff with. Does Trevor know yet?”

  “Yeah. He knows. He was right there holding the pee stick for me. I adore him.”

  “I know you do, honey.”

  “And you know, if it wasn’t for you and your drama, we might never have gotten back together.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Bridget said.

  “No, we wouldn’t have. He and I are both so stubborn. We both missed each other, but we were both too damn stubborn to make the first move. You brought us together. So, thank you.”

  “I should be thanking you, over and over and over again. Speaking of which, how is your arm doing? Are you in any pain? I really hate that you got hurt because of me. And, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for quite some time. How did you end up on that rock in the first place? How did you know we were there?”

  “When I couldn’t get in touch with David, I called the only person that was sure to know exactly where David was and how to reach him—Michael. Michael, who is usually in so much control, seemed a bit frazzled, so I badgered him into telling me what was going on. At first I tried to convince Michael that you all needed us, and when he told me to stay out of it, I considered calling the police. I thought better of that and decided to show up on my own.”