Back to the Top (Ross Records) (3) (5 page)

Pinching open the box, I smiled through my tears at the silver bracelet with matching necklace and earrings I’d received from Jake during my senior year. Under them was a beautiful ring – a promise that we’d always be together.

I shut the box, fighting the misery that howled inside of me, and shoved it into my purse. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t feel that the trinkets were safe inside my home.

And I just sort of wanted them with me.

Quickly changing, I slipped into the sheets, moist eyes and aching body, praying for a long, deep sleep.

***

True to his word, Brad called me early that Sunday morning to tell me that he’d be golfing with George and Kevin Tharpe. There was no hint in his voice that anything out of the ordinary had happened the evening before and I didn’t remind him. I wished him well, claiming to have household chores to do, and ended the call.

As I dusted the living room furniture, my mind wandered to Jake and how exhausted he’d looked. He’d had a hard time, I knew, but many of the details were still unknown to me. The cocaine addiction was something that none of us who knew him best had saw coming. By the time anyone had realized that he was using, it had been too late.

Sighing, I sat on the carpet near the coffee table, dust rag limp in my hands. Closing my eyes, memories flooded my mind.

“I need to talk to you, Iz,” Nick said, taking me by the arm and leading me to the sofa.

My swollen eyes remained on the kitchen doorway where Jake had disappeared, presumably for his basement hideaway. Once again, he’d been out and came home only to start an argument with me. Luckily, Nick had stopped by and kept me company while Jake was out doing whatever it was he was doing.

“What?” I asked, fatigue lacing my voice. The summer had started out promising but had taken a severe turn. I had no idea what to do to fix it.

“Iz,” Nick said, taking my hand. “I’ve been talking to the guys and we know what Jake’s problem is.”

“What is that?” I asked, anger in my voice. “That he is a jackass? I already know that.”

He forced a smile. “No, Iz, it’s more serious than that.”

Alarmed, I turned to him, heart in my throat. “What are you saying? Is he sick?”

With a sigh, he squeezed my hand. “He’s using, Iz. We’re not sure what, but the signs are all there. And it’s out of control.”

“Using?” I asked, flabbergasted. Sure, he was right – the signs were there. But I’d ignored them. Jake Johnson did not use drugs. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yeah. We just need to figure out what he’s using and how bad it is. Maybe we can get him into a program.”

I couldn’t help but to snort. Jake wouldn’t go for anything like that. He was far too proud. But still, I had to try. I loved him too much to just let him flounder.

“How should we do this?” I asked as I gripped Nick’s hand. “Where do we start?”

I hadn’t realized that I was crying until the ringing of my cell brought me back to reality. Rising to my weary feet, I retrieved my phone from the kitchen table and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Isabella. It’s me, Jenny.”

“Oh, hi, Jenny. How are you?”

“Bored,” she sighed. “Kevin is golfing with Brad, as I’m sure you know, and I have nothing to do. I was wondering if you’d like to meet for lunch.”

Glancing at the already clean living room, I suddenly realized that the walls were closing in on me. I needed to get out of the house.

“Sure, that sounds good,” I said, a smile in my voice. “Where would you like to meet?”

***

I’d passed the little café several times but had never stopped. I was glad that Jenny had suggested it as we sat out at the umbrella-covered sidewalk table, chatting while we sipped sweet tea. Her lively eyes and excited chatter gave evidence that she was indeed lonely and greedy for a friend.

“So, the show last night was exciting, huh?” she asked.

I braced myself for further questioning from her. My heart stilled, wondering if her supposed boredom was a ruse or an excuse to meet with me and perhaps convince me to hook her up with the band again.

“It was,” I said. “Their new stuff was amazing.”

She paused as the waitress delivered our sandwiches. Thanking her, we watched as she zoomed off to check on her other customers.

“Bella,” she said, her eyes suddenly dark. She leaned over the table, dropping her tone. “Tell me that everything is all right. I was a little worried that Brad might have been mad.”

Forcing a smile, I patted her hand. “He was embarrassed because I didn’t tell him that I knew the band, but he wasn’t mad. We talked about it and after I explained, he understood.”

She nodded, although I don’t think she was totally convinced. “And, one of the band members was an old boyfriend – the old boyfriend that you were upset about during the show, right?”

It was no use lying. She’d already figured it out and was only seeking confirmation out of politeness. For a brief moment, I hesitated, worried that she’d mention this conversation to Kevin who would in turn inform Brad, but decided what the hell? Brad wasn’t a fool – he’d figure it out on his own if he was inclined.

“Yes,” I said, dropping my eyes to the wilting lettuce poking out of my sandwich. “Yes, I was involved with Jake during my senior year of high school and most of the following summer.”

She nodded, her lips set. She stirred the ice in her drink with the straw and released a long breath. “But you two broke up.”

I gazed at the sidewalk, watching as the people walked by, busy with their errands and not noticing us. I longed to be one of them – a person who had never met Jake Johnson and hadn’t had her heart ripped out by him.

“Yeah,” I said, fighting tears. “Things turned sour and we decided to split.”

Again she nodded and I waited for more questions but she seemed to sense my reluctance to talk about it and changed the subject. Instead, she asked me about the area and what there was to do. I relaxed as I talked about the little town and what it had to offer. Once we paid the bill, we left the café and walked to our cars.

“I appreciate you having lunch with me,” she said, slipping sunglasses over her eyes. “Like I said, I get bored and lonely. We don’t know anyone here.”

“Well, you know me,” I said with a smile. “And you can call any time.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “I guess I’d better get home. We’re having dinner with George and Mildred tonight.”

“That sounds fun,” I teased.

She shrugged. “They’re nice people but they have such old fashioned views. George and Mildred raised Kevin when his parents died and they think of him as a son. They think that I should stay home and raise babies while Kevin works to support the family.”

I held my tongue. I didn’t want to criticize other people’s views.

“I don’t want to stay home, though,” she said, leaning against her car. “I like being out with people. I mean, we’re not even pregnant yet. We haven’t decided when we want to start our family.”

“So, you’re still not working full time?” I asked.

“No,” she said, sighing again. A slight breeze lifted the hair off her shoulders as she adjusted her sunglasses. “No, just a few hours a week and I’m so bored all the time.”

My eyes grew as I stepped closer. “Why don’t you volunteer at the Children’s Center? We can always use help and you can come in whenever you have time.”

“That would be great,” Jenny said. “What do I have to do?”

“Call me tomorrow and I’ll get the volunteer forms ready for you,” I said, excited by my idea. “The Board has to approve all volunteers – it’s a safety thing. But they meet on Thursday so we could present you this week.”

“Wonderful,” Jenny said. “I would love it. I’ll call you tomorrow. Thanks.”

“No, thank you,” I said. “You may change your mind once you spend some time with the little darlings.”

Laughing, she squeezed my arm, making me wince. She didn’t notice, though, so I was spared the need to explain. “I love children. I’m sure I’ll manage.”

“Okay,” I said as I took a step back. I didn’t want her to touch the tender, bruised spots on my arms again. I wasn’t sure that I’d totally convinced her that Brad hadn’t been mad. I’d had to dress in a thin, three-quarter length sleeve t-shirt to hide the purple rings on my upper arms so I wouldn’t have to lie or make up some excuse. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

With a wave, I hurried to my car.

***

The next two weeks passed without incident. I’d managed to get Jenny approved for volunteering and she’d started coming in three times a week. She’d even confided in me that, although the children could be a handful, volunteering had filled in the boredom and loneliness in her life.

I was happy to have recruited her. The Children’s Center was something that I took great pride in. When I’d started, the place was struggling financially. But, with Brad’s influence over the Board and some imaginative programs of my invention, things were on the upswing. The Center not only housed preschool and kindergarten, but a full day care program as well. It also provided resources and information for single parents and struggling families.

The school year was dwindling as the long, Memorial Day weekend approached. I was busy with summer program registration and everything that went with it, such as food, activities, and proper staffing. I sat in my office the Wednesday before the long weekend, going over numbers, when Addy knocked on the door before peeking inside.

“Hi, Addy,” I said with a smile. That smile slipped when I noticed her pale, shocked face. “Is something the matter?”

“There are two people here to see you,” she said, her voice matching her stunned expression. “Can I send them in?”

“Sure,” I said, puzzled. Standing, I walked around my desk, curious to see what had Addy so rattled.

“Hey, Iz,” Nick Collins greeted with a smile, a rather subdued Ronnie Stone in his wake. “How’s it going?”

“Great,” I said as I hugged them both. “What brings you here?”

“Checking out preschools for Ronnie’s kid,” Nick said with a wink.

I had to blink several times to somehow get past that comment. “Ronnie, you have a kid?”

He grinned, a little sheepish. “Not yet but he’s due any day now.”

“Wow,” I said as I sank to the corner of my desk. I pointed at the chairs in front of me and the guys sat. “That’s cool.”

“It’s way cool,” Ronnie said, coming back to himself. “That’s part of the reason we’re taking time off this summer. I want to spend some time with the little dude. But man, is he going to be like those kids out there?”

I laughed. “If he’s anything like his father, he will be. So, who’s the lucky girl?”

“Her name is Carly and you’ll love her,” he said. “We were going to get married after the baby is born but we went ahead and got hitched a few weeks ago.”

“Wow, congratulations, Ronnie. I’m very happy for you.”

“Me, too,” he said.

Clearing my throat, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Now, tell me why you’re really here and how you found me.”

“Geez, Iz, it wasn’t hard,” Nick said as he leaned back in his chair. “It’s not like you’re in the Witness Protection Program.”

“Yeah, we just looked you up on the Internet,” Ronnie said with a smirk.

Easy enough, I suppose. I did have a landline number at my apartment that was listed. And I was pretty sure I’d told them that I worked at a Children’s Center. Wouldn’t take a private investigator to find me.

“So, what’s up?” I asked.

Nick shrugged. “Memorial Weekend is upon us. Jake’s having a big bash. We’ll start on Saturday and end on Monday.”

Frowning, I did my best to appear nonplussed. “Do you think that’s wise for Jake to party like that? Didn’t he just get out of rehab?”

“He’s been out for awhile,” Ronnie said. “And he doesn’t drink. He’ll have drinks for those who want to drink but he won’t.”

I looked at Nick for confirmation. He nodded.

“You can even bring Brent,” Ronnie said.

“Brad,” I corrected.

“Him, too,” Ronnie grinned. “Come on, Iz. You never called us. We miss you.”

“Greta and Carly will be there,” Nick said. “Everyone wants to see you.”

My heart jumped at the chance but, although my bruises had healed, my mind wouldn’t forget the incident. “I’ll have to see what we have planned. Brad usually goes on a fishing trip that weekend with his father and I spend time with my family.”

Nick frowned, a groove appearing on his forehead. He got up and stood before me. “Sure, Iz. We understand. But just so you know, he worked hard to get better. And not for us. Not for Greta. Not even for his dad. He did it for you.”

A huge lump formed in my throat. I swallowed but it remained lodged. “He shouldn’t have done that. He should have gotten better for himself, not for me.”

“Yeah, right,” Ronnie said as he got up to kiss my cheek. “But when has anything or anyone come before you?”