by J. O Mantel
Jake looked at the sight before him, a tear trickled down his cheek. He carefully removed the gown and handed it back to the midwife.
“I’ll leave the four of you alone.”
“Jake, it’s fine, you don’t have to leave” Margaret said. But before she got a response, he was already out the door.
It was at least one hour later when one of the doctors walked over to Jake and the others.
“Doctor?” Jake called. “Sienna? How is she?”
Sienna and Jake’s families all stood up and listened to what the doctor had to say.
“She’s stable. We’ve managed to control the bleeding.”
“Oh thank God,” Margaret gasped.
“Can I see her?” Jake asked.
“I’m afraid she’s still unconscious. One of the nurses will come and get you once she’s settled into her room.”
“Thank you, doctor” Carl said.
They didn’t have to wait long, about fifteen minutes later a nurse approached their group.
“I’m afraid you all can’t go in there at once.”
Jake looked at Margaret, Carl, his parents and the rest of Sienna’s family.
“Go, Jake. She needs you,” Margaret said.
Jake went to the nursery and put both his children into the one crib. With the twins wrapped in blankets, he proceeded to wheel them down the corridor and followed a nurse to Sienna’s room.
When he entered her room, Sienna was lying peacefully on the bed. The rhythmic beeps from a monitor could be heard. One of the nurses finished writing some notes, before making room for Jake. He placed the crib next to the bed, before sitting down on one of the chairs provided. The twins slept peacefully, while Jake leaned over and held Sienna’s hand. Jake rubbed her hand gently, as tears streamed down his cheek.
“Sienna. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” He looked over at the crib and smiled. “You need to wake up and say hello to our son and daughter. They’re beautiful, Sienna, just like their mother. Please, please wake up and let me explain everything. You have to know that I love you, I’ve always loved you” he whispered.
He placed his head down, resting it on her hand. All he wanted was for her to open her eyes. He didn’t care if she never spoke to him again; he just wanted to know that she was going to be all right.
He stood up and walked over to the crib and picked up his son.
“Look, Sienna. See how precious he is? He needs his mommy.” Jake cradled him in his arms, kissed him softly on the forehead, and then placed him back into the crib.
He picked up his daughter and cradled her also, and then he leaned closer to Sienna.
“This is your daughter, Sienna. She’s beautiful, and she wants to say hi to mommy.” He again kissed the baby softly on the forehead, before placing her back into the crib beside her brother.
Sienna was still unresponsive and Jake sat there, waiting. Hoping. Praying.
He left the room about two hours later and placed the twins back in the nursery, so the nurses could feed them. Jake went back to their families, who were patiently waiting for some further news.
“Any change?” His mother asked.
Jake shook his head.
It was after 4a.m. and everyone was exhausted, including Jake.
“Why don’t you go home Jake, there’s no use all of us being here. You look exhausted” Olivia said.
“I’m not going anywhere” Jake replied.
Carl, Tom, Emily and Chris decided to head home with the rest of Sienna’s family. Margaret and Olivia decided to stay with Jake. Neither of them wanted to leave him alone through the night.
“Why don’t I grab us a bite to eat-”
“I’m not hungry,” Jake interrupted.
“Jake. You have to eat something” his mother said.
“Mom, I’m the reason she’s in here in the first place. Both of you stop trying to pretend like everything’s ok, because we all know that it’s not.” His tone was slightly loud, as he looked at the two of them.
“Jake. It’s going to take some time to get over what you did, and to get used to the fact that you’re… well, you know. But right now, you need to be strong for Sienna and those two children. They need their father and their mother right now” Olivia said.
Jake headed to the nursery again and peered through the window, looking at his children. They were both fast asleep. Margaret approached him from behind, placing her hand on his shoulder.
“Have you thought about names yet?” She asked.
“No. I think it’s better to wait until Sienna wakes up, we should do it together,” Jake said.
“Jake, you’re exhausted. Why don’t you go and lay down. Your mother and I will take it in turns to watch the children.
“No, I-”
“Jake, this is non-negotiable. These children are going to need you in the morning when they wake up, and you’re no good to them if you’re tired. You’re no good to any of us. Now go and lie down, that’s an order.”
He was exhausted, but no matter how tired he was, he couldn’t sleep until he knew Sienna was going to be okay. He looked at Margaret and he knew that her words were final. He didn’t have a chance at winning this argument.
“Okay” he replied, reluctantly.
He went into the nursery and kissed his children goodnight, before heading out the door and down the corridor. Jake said goodnight to his mother, who had prepared herself a temporary bed for the evening just outside Sienna’s room. Margaret stayed at the nursery and watched over the children. Slightly satisfied, he forced a smile and walked into Sienna’s room. He placed a pillow on the armchair provided and grabbed a blanket from the closet. He threw it over himself and sat there. He tried to close his eyes, but each time he heard a noise, he would open them, thinking Sienna was awake.
Eventually, tiredness overcame him and soon, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
He woke sometime later and found his mother and Margaret standing by the door, each of them holding one of the children.
“Good morning,” his mother said.
“I think these two want to say hello to their daddy.”
The twins were screaming, Margaret and Olivia placed both of them in Jake’s arms and he cradled them gently. He stood up and walked around, while Margaret and Olivia cleaned themselves up and got some coffee.
Jake looked at Sienna, she remained in the exact same position he had left her the night before. Yawning, he took his children back to the nursery for their feed.
It was some twenty minutes later when Jake heard his mother call out to him. He could hear her running toward the nursery.
“JAKE? JAKE?” She yelled frantically.
Jake ran out into the corridor at the sound of Olivia’s voice.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
“It’s Sienna. She’s awake.”
Although Sienna was expected to make a full recovery, the doctor decided to keep her in hospital for another week. Everybody finally got the opportunity to congratulate her, and spend some proper time with her and the twins.
By the time everyone left the hospital, it was after 8p.m, Jake and Sienna were finally alone. She finished breastfeeding the children and Jake placed them back in the crib.
She still hadn’t spoken to Jake since he revealed he was Lukas Dark. Even in front of the others, there was so much tension, that everyone felt awkward being in the same room. Although Jake knew he deserved the silent treatment, he desperately wanted to tell Sienna the reason why he did it, but she would hardly even look at him.
“Sienna?” Jake said.
She ignored him.
“Look, Sienna I know you’re mad, but please, at least give me the opportunity to explain” Jake begged.
“I’m not mad” Sienna finally spoke.
“Excuse me?” Jake replied.
“I’m not mad, at all.” Sienna said.
“Ok, I don’t know if you’re suffering from some sort
of amnesia, but the Sienna Forrester I know wouldn’t react like this.”
“I’m hurt” she said.
“Oh” Jake said.
“I’m really hurt.”
“Which is going to be a lot worse than you being mad” Jake replied.
The two of them looked at one another.
“Look, Sienna. I’ve been rehearsing this for quite some time. Let’s see if I can get it right. I know this has come as a huge shock, and there were many times when I wanted to tell you sooner, but something kept getting in the way. You have to realize how hard this has been for me, carrying a secret like this for years, and how long I’ve so desperately wanted to tell you. But when I decided to become Lukas Dark, I-”
“Let people believe that you were someone that you weren’t. You let me fall in love with him… I, mean with you. And then as things got more and more complicated, you realized you were in love with me.”
“Which was about five minutes after I met you,” Jake added.
“Don’t try and score points, Jake.”
“Sorry” he said.
“I get it Jake, really I do. But when you piece everything together, you made me believe that you were two entirely different people. And you did it by lying. And after all these years Jake, that makes me feel like I don’t know you at all, and that I can’t trust you, and that’s what really hurts me. And you know what? I am mad-”
“Ok, Sienna-”
“I’m really, really mad. I mean I can’t-”
“Sienna look I-”
“I just can’t believe that you’re Lukas and you put me through all this. And to think, Lois Lane was fooled by a pair of glasses. I was fooled by a stupid wig and blue contacts-”
“Sienna-”
“I’m not finished Jake. Over the past nine months, do you have any idea what you’ve put me through? My family? Your family? None of us knowing who the father of the twins was, and yet you knew, you knew all along that they were yours. What about that night that I slept with you? You had the opportunity to tell me then who you were and you didn’t. Instead you let me get totally trashed and we ended up…well you know -”
“That-”
“That wasn’t your fault! You keep saying that. But Jake, you knew then what the consequences of your actions were going to be. Not to mention, when I found out I was pregnant, why didn’t you say anything then? You let me believe that I was unfaithful to Lukas when all along it was really you. You knew, the day I told you I was pregnant, that you were the father all along. Why the hell would you put me through all that?”
“Sienna can I please explain?” Jake said.
“First, you’re going to listen,” one of the twins jerked in the crib and Sienna lowered her voice.
“Now it all finally makes sense why Lukas… I mean you… see this is really confusing. I don’t even know what to call you. It makes sense now, why you never wanted me to meet your parents, because you knew your secret would be out. And what about all the times Lukas and Jake were on tours? How did you pull all that off? And I can’t believe the band went along with this the whole time. How were the two of you both in the same place at the same time?”
Jake waited in case she had something else to say.
“Finished?” He asked.
“For now.”
He took a deep breath and stood up, wandering around the room trying not to make too much noise.
“Firstly, I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to hear that right now, but please let me explain everything to you. If, after that, you choose never to speak to me again, I’ll accept it. For starters, the band, both of the bands, had nothing to do with this. They only found out five minutes before we went out on stage at the Mother’s Day concert. Matt was the only one who knew all along. Even Brian, our agent, didn’t know the secret.
When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was sing. You know that. My whole life has been singing and playing the guitar. After seeing Aerosmith perform on stage at my very first concert, I was like, ‘wow, I wish that was me.’ That’s when I got my first job at the music store. I worked every night after school for weeks, so that I could pay for my first guitar. After that, I started singing lessons. It was you and my parents who were always telling me that I had a good voice, and I should try singing.
I wanted to do it my way, so I trained my voice every day. Then one day after school, Matt and I were sitting down at the bus stop waiting for the bus home, and that’s when we came up with the idea to start our own rock band.
At first it was just Matt and I, we would both play around on our guitars and then record ourselves, to hear what we sounded like. Matt met Dave at a wedding, and then we met Tyler. We asked him if he wanted to join with the three of us. That’s when we decided to form Dark Falkon, even though we didn’t have a name yet.”
Sienna lay in her bed looking at Jake, trying to grasp all the information he had given her.
“So-so where did Lukas Dark come from?”
“Lukas was my cousin’s name. He loved playing the saxophone and was a huge fan of music. When he was eighteen, he was killed in a car accident on his way home from a club. I took his name in honor of his memory and his love for music. Dark comes from my mother’s maiden name. As far as the band goes, you know the story about how much I love falcons. So when the band and I sat down to come up with a name, the first thing I said to them was ‘it has to have the word falcon in it.’ We went through hundreds of names, until finally Matt came up with the idea that I should use my surname and the word falcon. Tyler and Dave only ever knew me as Lukas Dark, so that wasn’t a problem. When we put them together, it was me who decided to change the spelling to incorporate the K in Dark. After years of writing music and doing gigs around New York, we finally decided to put together a demo. Like everything, we didn’t succeed the first time. In fact, it took us fifteen years and hundreds of demos later, before we were signed to Sony Music. Then one Christmas, we drove to Detroit and met Brian. That’s when we recorded Bitter Sweet Symphony, and like I told you, if it wasn’t for Brian, Dark Falkon wouldn’t exist.
I never told mom and dad because, even though they fully supported my singing, they would have worried that it would be too hard an industry to break into. I didn’t want them to know that I had taken on another identity to try and make my dreams come true.
I saw what little effect I had on you as Jake Cooper.
Then five years ago, when you were at our first ever concert, that’s when I knew I was in love with you. I’d loved you for years before that, but that night, seeing you in the front row, made my feelings toward you grow even more. I knew then, that I had to be Lukas Dark to win your heart.
That’s when I decided to have the best of both worlds. Be an unknown musician, Jake Cooper by day, and a world-famous rock star, Lukas Dark, by night.”
“And what about Lightning Ridge?” Sienna asked.
“I met Tori, Lance and Ryan at a gig here in New York. It was the same deal as Dark Falkon, we all had a love for music and while Lance, Ryan and I played instruments, Tori had the voice. Her family are all musicians, so she was surrounded by music growing up. The four of us decided to go on a backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon, to get to know each other better. One night we were sitting outside our tents and there was lightning flashing over the ridges, and that’s where we got the name Lightning Ridge from.”
Sienna was processing everything, her eyes widened.
“But wait! What about all the times Lukas and Jake were in the same place at the same time?”
“We were never in the same place at the same time” Jake replied.
“What? I don’t understand. What about when you went on tour? Or Japan? Or Europe?” Sienna asked.
“Japan was easy; Lightning Ridge was the support act, so I sang with them first and then did a quick change, in time to come out as Lukas Dark, frontman for Dark Falkon. Lukas and I were never away at the same time. Whenever I wanted to have some alone time with you as Lukas, I would
make up an excuse for Jake to leave. At times, neither band had any major appearances or recordings to do, so it was easy to make either Jake or Lukas disappear. Most of the time I would tell you that I was on tour with Lightning Ridge or at a gig, to get me out of town. The same goes with Lukas, there were never times when the two of us were ever together, until the Mother’s Day concert.”
“So, you were lying, and the band went along with it?”
“The bands never knew, except for Matt, he was in on my secret the entire time. Whenever we weren’t rehearsing or had some time off, we all did our own thing. What reason would the band have to come over and see you? I knew that as long as we were on a break or leave, I didn’t have to worry about someone coming over and asking for me. I only lied about where each of us was. Everything else was true, I promise.”
“But what about your house? You told me that you made most of your fortune through real estate.”
“And I did. I outright own three properties, the New York apartment, the penthouse in LA, and I have a house in Sydney.” Sienna was still reeling from the shock, and she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Jake was Lukas.
“I know you probably have a million more questions, and I promise to answer them as best I can.”
“I’m still confused Jake. You’re telling me that neither band had any idea you were either person?”
“No. Just Matt.”
“But what about all the rehearsals, the late nights? All that stuff?”
“Like I said, I was never in two places at the same time. If anything, I was usually a couple of minutes late going places, because I would need to change into the other. But it was never enough to draw suspicion to either band. Whenever I was Jake, I performed with Lightning Ridge. When I was Lukas, I performed with Dark Falkon.”
“How did the band find out at the concert?”
“I told them. Immediately before we walked onto stage, I knew that I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. I removed my wig and told them who I really was. They were all as clueless as the rest of the world.”
“Jake, I’m trying to make sense of all this, really I am. There’s just so much that still doesn’t add up.”
