Cut (39 page)

Jessie glanced at the table; at all the diamonds in a row. She spotted a tiny hammer on the table next to a bag of tools. She slammed the tiara on the table. She grabbed the hammer and put the entire force of her body, of her loss, and of her broken heart behind it. In one swift move she brought the hammer down on the tiara.

The sound of metal on metal ripped through the room at the same moment the tiara bent in two. Some of the small diamonds popped out and flew onto the floor. She hit the tiara again, this time for Melanie. More diamonds scattered onto the floor. She couldn't stop the force of her arm. She hit the tiara again and again for Brent, for herself, for everything she endured until her eyes dripped with tears and her heart pounded so hard she thought it would burst.

Jessie dropped the hammer and stepped back. The tiara lay ugly and broken; the sparkle was gone. The spell-binding beauty was dead.

“No!” Jefferies said, rushing up to the table and grabbing the bits and pieces of the tiara in his arms like a precious child. His chest heaved. His lips mumbled words she didn't understand. And he wept.

The sound of a siren wailed in the distance. Jessie spun around. She ran over to the baby in the carrier. With quick fingers she unbuckled him and started to remove him from his seat. One of the straps on the restraint caught on his leg and she pulled too hard. He woke up and began to cry.

Jefferies dropped the tiara and came after her. She couldn't get Gabriel out of the carrier so she put him back and grabbed the handle. The weight surprised her and she tried to run with the heavy load in her arms. She tripped over her own feet and the baby carrier dropped and bounced. Gabriel's shrill scream filled the room.

Jefferies leapt at her. His body was like a large beam coming down on her. She kicked him in the stomach. He fumbled backwards and gave her a chance to get away. She rolled onto her stomach and crawled to the front door.

But the position of the knob made it impossible to reach. She tried to get up off her stomach, except Jefferies had ahold of her feet. She kicked and it didn't deter him. Jessie twisted her body and he held on tighter. A slash of pain shot up from ankle to knee and she screamed.

“I'm going to kill you,” he said, holding down her legs. He extended his hand to grasp her neck.

Jessie's hand opened and she went for the only weakness she could see. She went straight for his eyes. Her fingers gouged them. He tried to rip her hand off his face and she added more pressure. She saw the blood leak from his eyes; she heard the pain in his voice, but she held her position. Gabriel kept screaming from his carrier but she barely heard. She only saw the moment between her life and her death.

Jefferies tried to release her hold and he couldn't. He begged her and she turned a deaf ear. The squishy sensation of his eyeball stirred vomit in her belly. Only when he began to whimper, did she pull back. He dropped on her legs like a concrete wall.

She shimmied herself out from underneath him and put her hand on the baby carrier. In painstaking slow motion, she got up and left the house. She walked into the night with a limp, a torn shirt, and blood on her pants. Her entire body shook. She was dazed and disgusted and she set the baby carrier down. Jessie leaned over the perfect green grass and vomited. But she was safe.

Three days later Jessie buried her sister under a sky of dense fog. The grass was brown and the guests wore black. Jessie looked over the casket, with her mother and father standing on either side of her. Their gazes all stopped at the white and pink roses bridged over the casket. The finality of the funeral carved out a hollow space in Jessie's heart. The tears fell without her even really feeling them touch her face. The legs she depended upon to hold her up threatened to buckle and her heart felt broken into a thousand tiny pieces.

The pastor began to recite a final prayer with a loud, clear voice. He spoke of love and comfort. Everyone bowed their heads and closed their eyes in prayer. Everyone except Jessie.

She didn't want to look away from the casket for too long. She needed to hold this moment, to remember it. To drink in the details. She could still reach out and touch the wood that would house her sister's body forever. But once the casket was lowered into the ground, she would never stand this close to Melanie again.

Jessie looked up briefly and caught sight of her nieces. Three little girls with the most beautiful faces on earth. Lydia and Annabelle with their curly brown hair and tiny pink lips. They kept trying to grab the other's hands. Luke held Vivian. He kept her close. She looked like him with her striking eyes and a nose and lips that were miniature versions of his.

She made a silent vow to herself. Her nieces would grow up knowing about their mother. They would know that she lived and breathed and loved with a full life.

The wind blew over them. The leaves swept over their feet—time already going forward. As if the leaves themselves could push them to move on with the service. In a few minutes they would walk away from the casket. Then they would grieve. Life would have to go on for Jessie and for Luke and his daughters. The pain she would carry with her from this day forward. She would hold onto the memories until they faded and moved on and away from her. Until Jessie was old and gray and wondering how it was that her sister was forever frozen at the height of her beauty.

The forward motion of Jessie's life wouldn't include Brent. Thoughts of him circled through her mind. She hurt for him, for the loss of a love they couldn't pursue. He remained true to his word and didn't show up today. Even after Gabriel had been found, she was certain word would get to him, and yet, he wasn't here.

She had asked Luke where Brent might be, but he said he didn't know. They didn't leave things well between them and she decided not to bring up the subject to Luke again. With the funeral, everyone's minds shifted to burial. No one asked about Brent. But she thought about him. All the time.

The funeral came to an end, punctuated by a clap of thunder. The pastor made a comment about God and about peace. Everyone got moving. Jessie stayed with her parents until the very end.

They were the last people remaining, except for her friends Clara and Louise. They approached Jessie and each hugged her.

“We're heading over to Luke's. Do you want to ride with us?” Clara said in a voice quiet as the raindrops.

Jessie shook her head. “I'll go with my mom,” she said. “Thank you for showing up today.”

“We're so sorry,” Louise added. A blob of rain hit her forehead and she wiped it away.

“We're ready to go,” her mother said, lifting a finger at Jessie.

“I'll see you there,” Jessie said to her friends.

They all moved to their cars. Jessie walked behind her mother and her father. It was difficult to think about going to Luke's and not hope for her sister's recovery. She wished she didn't know the ending. It all turned out wrong, just as her mother had feared. Jessie longed to have this part of her life turn out differently, with her sister alive and Brent by her side.

Jessie's father stopped and turned around, as if to make sure she was still there. It felt weird to have them together. The young girl inside her slipped on a blanket of security to another time. They hadn't been like this since her childhood; back when Melanie was alive, and Mark wasn't in prison and they'd been whole.

They continued walking to their car parked on the road and that's when Jessie saw him. He stood under a tree with a black umbrella. She stopped walking and narrowed her gaze to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. Her heart gave a little cry. “You're here,” she said to herself.

“What?” Leslie said, turning around.

“Go ahead without me,” Jessie said.

“How will you get to Luke's?” her mother said.

“Don't worry, I'll get there soon. I won't be long.”

“I don't understand how you can get to Luke's without a car.”

“I have to talk to him,” she said, not breaking her gaze from his.

“Him who?” Leslie moved her head and spotted him. “I don't know what is wrong with you.”

“Let her go, Leslie,” her father said and took her mother's hand.

Jessie stood there in the rain and waited for her parents to drive away. Thunder sounded again and motivated her to move. She walked over to where he stood and stopped in front of him. She could see he wasn't happy.

“Don't ever do that to me again,” he said, shielding her with his umbrella.

Her face went hard. “Do what?”

“What you did for me.”

“I haven't done anything,” she said, and her teeth began to chatter.

“You met with Jefferies in private.”

She felt her cheeks warm despite the cold. “I had to do something.”

“You gouged his eyes.”

She shuddered at the memory. “I don't want to talk about that night ever again.”

Brent continued with warm regard in his voice, “I also saw what you did to the Abbott Tiara.”

“It was personal.”

He chuckled. “It can never be put back together.”

“I know.”

“That's a good thing.”

“I agree.”

“You weren't supposed to take me literally. You didn't have to put your life in front of mine.”

“I needed a way to win you back.”

“Did you not think for a minute that I wouldn't have been able to stay away for very long?”

“But you said we couldn't be anything.”

“I didn't want you involved. I was trying to protect you.”

“I just wanted to prove that I was sorry,” she said.

“I think we both have our fair share of regret,” Brent said. “I could have lost you forever.”

She bit back tears. “I didn't think I'd ever see you again.”

He rearranged the umbrella to keep her face from getting wet.

“Where did you go?” she said.

A frown ran across his lips. “I went to South Africa, to the D & F Headquarters, only to get a call from Salvador Alvarez that the police had Jefferies in custody thanks to you.”

“You deserve your son.”

“He's not my son.”

“No?”

“I'm not the father of Victoria's baby.”

Jessie took the news with a mixture of relief and sadness. “Salvador is the father.”

“Yes.”

“How can you be sure?”

“The DNA report sent by his lawyers.”

She couldn't read his expression. She didn't know if he'd wanted this child to be his or not. “I think you'll make a great father someday.”

“Someday, maybe.”

“What will you do now?”

He contemplated her for a moment. “For starters, I don't want to see you get hurt again. I won't stand for anyone causing you physical pain ever again. I will never chase you down either. I put that diamond above you, and that was a huge mistake. You mean more to me than you can ever imagine.”

“Then we're even—finally.” She frowned and said simply, “The pink diamonds ended up at Whitaker's, with Jefferies, in case you want to know.”

“I don't care about those diamonds.”

“What will happen to them?”

“They will be returned to me once the police have finished their investigation.” He cracked a smile. “The irony is I was looking for a diamond worthy enough to replace the green one. I had it in my mind that only a red diamond would be sufficient. Salvador Alvarez sent one to my house and said to enjoy. He said to say hello to you.”

“He's an interesting one.”

“I think he feels guilty for taking his son away from me.” Brent looked beyond her shoulder and back to her. “I hope you understand why I couldn't attend the funeral.”

“Because of your brother.”

“Yes.”

“What about the jewelry store?”

“I plan to buy out Luke and go my separate way.”

Jessie felt sad for the brothers, but she said nothing on the subject. “In any case, I'm glad you have what you want. I'm happy to hear the pink diamonds will eventually find their way back to your hands and your home.” She sensed this to be where they parted and tears welled up in her eyes.

“What's wrong?” he said, and tried to move his hand around hers without dropping the umbrella.

“I don't want to say good-bye.”

He let the umbrella fall. With one tug she collided with his chest. He took her face in his hands and molded his fingers around her jaw, careful to avoid the bruises on her face. He touched her with a possessiveness that reminded her of the first time he'd touched her, in the bar at her bachelorette party. Her heart beat fast and she turned her lips to his.

“Tell me one thing,” he said. “Have you found a home?”

“I'm not sure where home is anymore. I think I need some time to figure out what's next for me. My mother will need some help and I don't want her to be alone.”

He ran his fingers down her cheek in a loving stroke. “Time is something I can give you.”

“What are you saying?”

“I'm not here to say good-bye. I want to be with you.”

She smiled.

“I want you to take all the time you need.”

Brent molded her body to his. He ran his hands down her thighs and up her sides. His lips glided over hers and she shuddered. He cradled her face in his hands and said, “I love you.”

She brushed her lips against his in response.

He kissed her slow and firm and in between kisses he whispered, “Thank you for what you did.”

A stray tear trickled down her cheek. Its salty wetness ran over her lips. Brent kissed away her tears or the rain, she couldn't really tell at this point.

He responded with a kiss. The soothing strokes of his mouth parted over hers. The longing she felt for him filled with each touch of his mouth. And this was when she knew…she knew what it felt like to be his.