Tell Me Lies (27 page)

              “You just have to be patient, Jonas,” William told him. He heard Paige return from the bedroom and glanced at her. She was pale and still shaky, but her back was straight and her shoulders squared.

              “I’m ready, Dad. Let’s go home.”

~*~

              Paige slipped into her childhood bedroom and sat on the bed. She looked around her room and smiled. The room hadn’t changed much since she had left home. Her stuffed animals graced the bed, her dolls perched on shelves, her books stood sentinel in the bookcase.

              A soft knock pulled her attention to the door. “All settled in?” her father asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

              “I feel like a school girl, surrounded by all these things. Why didn’t you get rid of this stuff when I moved out?”

              “All your rooms are just as you left them. Marcus left his trophies and medals. Ryan left all his books and models. You left your dolls and stuffed animals. It’s as if none of you ever left. It fills this house and makes it a home.”

              “I never realized how lonely you must be here all alone.”

              “It’s not so bad. I see the boys all the time and the grandkids come over occasionally. Being teenagers, they all have better things to do. It’s you I worry about the most. Things haven’t been as good between us as I would like since your mother died. That’s my fault, I know. I couldn’t see beyond my own pain to realize how much you were hurting.”

              “It’s okay, Dad. I knew how much you loved me. How much you love me now. Thank you, for letting me come home. It’s been…difficult the last few days.”

              “Are you and Darren having problems?” William asked, knowing that Darren was probably telling Paige only what he wanted her to know and not the truth.

              Paige reached for a teddy bear and hugged it to her chest. She looked so young and vulnerable; it broke his heart. He knew that the last few days had been hard for her, wanting to remember but having huge gaps that needed filled in. He had not agreed with her doctors and thought she should have been told what had happened. But he had gone along with their recommendations and held his tongue. Now he wasn’t so sure that had been the right thing to do.

              “I think he’s been lying to me, Dad,” Paige said, plucking the bear’s ear.

              “What makes you say that, Paige?”

              “It’s just a feeling I have. I have remembered a few things and when I have asked him about them, what he tells me is completely opposite of what I remember. Maybe I am being paranoid, but I’m uncomfortable in my own home.”

              William leaned over and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “You can stay as long as you want, Paige. Now, I will let you rest. The whole gang will be here for dinner later,” he said, closing the door to her room as he left.

              Paige sighed and lay back against the pillows. It was good to be home, even if it was only for a little while. She needed to get her equilibrium back.             

~*~

Chapter Twenty-Two

~*~

             
Paige sat in the living room, listening to her nieces and nephews arguing loudly while playing a board game. Her brothers, Maria and her dad were in the kitchen and dining room, getting ready for a huge family dinner. Normally, she cooked for the entire family at these gatherings, but today Maria had decided to cook. She had recruited Marcus in the kitchen and Ryan and their dad were put to work setting the table.

              “So, when will we see Jonas around here again, Aunt Paige?” Jon asked to a chorus of groans and protests.

              “What? When was he here?” Paige asked, looking at the five of them.

              “You just had to open your mouth, didn’t you?” Adam lamented.

              “Yeah…we were told not to bring that up, moron,” Jaclyn said, smacking Jon in the back of his head.

              “Okay, that’s enough,” Paige said. “Tell me what is going on and don’t lie to me. When was Jonas here?”

              “Aunt Maria said we were not to bring this up,” Michelle argued.

              “Listen to me. I am remembering things every day. Your parents don’t need to know about this. But I need to know what you are talking about,” Paige pleaded.

              Adam looked at his brothers and cousins and nodded. “Okay. He was here at Christmas time. You brought him and we spent the day after Christmas with the two of you.”

              “I brought Jonas to celebrate Christmas with the family, not Darren?” she asked, searching each of the teens’ faces.

              “Darren was not here,” Liam answered. “But we can’t tell you anything else, Aunt Paige. If Dad finds out, he’ll be furious that we told you this much.”

              “It will be our secret…”

              “What will be your secret?” Marcus asked as he entered the living room.

              The teens all looked at each other and nervously turned to Paige. “If we told you, Marcus, then it wouldn’t be a secret,” Paige told him. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.”

              “Well, dinner’s ready,” he said, glancing from one teen to another, wondering just what they were all up to.

~*~

              After dinner was over and the dishes done, William sat in the living room, watching television. Paige had retreated to her bedroom, claiming she had a headache. She closed the door and leaned against it, thankful for a quiet moment alone.

              Spying her laptop on the bed, she decided that enough was enough. She was going to find out once and for all what her life had been like in December. If her nieces and nephews were right, that she had brought Jonas Barnett here to Chicago for Christmas then it would be on the Internet somewhere.

              He was well known enough to be followed by paparazzi and fans worldwide. If he had any kind of relationship with her, it would have been reported as big news. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought about looking on the Internet before now.

              Crossing the room to the bed, she grabbed the laptop and settled onto the bed. Turning it on, she waited for the screen to come to life.  As she waited for the Internet to connect, Paige thought back to what the kids had said. She had brought Jonas with her the day after Christmas. So if he was here and Darren had gone to the wedding with her, what had happened in those two days that Jonas had come to Chicago to visit with her family and not Darren?

              Jonas refused to tell her anything that had happened between them. Darren told her many things, yet nothing agreed with what she remembered. She was missing something and she hoped that there would be some clues online.

              Connecting to the search engine, Paige typed in ‘Jonas Barnett’ and waited a second for the results to post. She clicked on the first link and found his bio on a movie site. Nothing unusual there so she moved on to the next result. Once the next page loaded, she realized there was a news story. She could hardly believe what she read.

            
 
“New York City has been called ‘The Crossroads of America’ and for good reason.  There are millions of people crossing through the city every day.  Coming and going in their busy lives, rather for work or for pleasure.  Businessmen and women, families, even celebrities come through the famed streets every day.

              Jonas Barnett is no exception.  Born and raised in the state of New York, Mr. Barnett is a familiar face in the city.  He has had gallery showings, red carpet appearances, and has been seen enjoying the nightlife the city has to offer.

              What has been rarely seen though, is a woman on his arm.  That is until this recent trip into the metropolis for the nuptials of younger brother, Christopher.  Barnett, acclaimed actor and painter, has been seen escorting a mysterious, yet beautiful, woman around the city since he arrived nearly two weeks ago.  Upon further investigation, the woman, now known as a Miss Paige Harper, of Chicago, is not only Barnett’s companion, but also his fiancée.

              Miss Harper, a prominent member of Chicago society, and a junior partner at the ad agency of Milian & Watkins, arrived in the city the same day as Barnett.  The two were seen leaving LaGuardia Airport, in the company of Barnett’s future sister-in-law, Sara Harrison.  They were quickly taken to New York’s premiere hotel, The Waldorf-Astoria, where the couple was ensconced in a private deluxe suite.

              According to sources within the hotel, Barnett and Miss Harper were seen coming and going at the hotel for several days, before they checked out and relocated to an undetermined location.  Among the places they were spotted were, B.B. King Blues & Grill, Rockefeller Center, a showing of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and Paul Sheraton’s Gallery.

              During the impromptu exhibit of Barnett’s paintings at the Paul Sheraton Gallery on December 18th, Miss Harper was reportedly ill and had to be rushed to the hospital via ambulance.  A source at the emergency room sited that Miss Harper nearly lost the unborn child she carried due to complications from stress and high blood pressure.  This source also confirmed that it seemed that Barnett was unaware of the child.

              After being kept overnight for observations, another source claimed to overhear a conversation between the couple.  The conversation, while loud, was muffled, but the source claims that the unborn child was the subject of the discussion.

              Upon being discharged from doctor’s care, Miss Harper was seen leaving the hospital on the arm of Barnett.  Several days later, the couple was again spotted on the streets of New York.  A photographer caught them out and about, obviously enjoying the recent winter snowfall.  Several snapshots showed the two lovers playfully tossing snow at each other while shopping.

              During one of their several stops on December 20th, Barnett bought Miss Harper an expensive, diamond engagement ring at Finnegan Jeweler‘s.  The owner of the jewelry store was quoted as saying ‘They were so in love.  Eyes only for the other.  A love unlike I have seen before.’

             
What really baffles the mind is that there has not been a mention of Miss Harper being connected to Barnett before these last two weeks.  Although rarely seen, Barnett has a huge following due in part to his huge success as ‘Luca Gascoyne’ in Robert Miller’s ‘Gypsy Prince’.   Sources close to the actor have revealed that Miss Harper is an unknown factor in the actor‘s life.

              So where does this woman come into Barnett’s life?  Is there a strong possibility that the unborn child she carries is most likely not the famed actor’s?  How long have they really known each other?  And if their relationship is older than believed, why has she been kept such a well-guarded secret?

              Another article in this series will follow next week.”

              Paige held a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. Tears of disbelief and horror slid down her cheeks as she realized what exactly she had read.

              She skimmed through the remaining articles and then stumbled upon the news about the accident. She read about the speculation of her being pushed, that someone had caused the accident. The fact that Jonas, her fiancé, had disappeared the day after the accident, and didn’t reappear by her bedside for a full 24 hours. That he had flew to Madrid for a film while she was in a coma.

              Paige pushed the laptop away from her. She didn’t remember any of this. She was engaged to Jonas? What the hell had happened at the wedding? Darren couldn’t have been with her. He was lying to her. And what about being pregnant? She placed a hand to her flat stomach. She was definitely not pregnant. She had lost a baby she couldn’t even remember. And the papers had said it was Jonas’s baby. She knew that couldn’t be true. She didn’t remember knowing Jonas before the accident. So that meant the baby had been Darren’s.