Chapter Sixty One

Following an overnight stay in the local medical centre as a precaution for concussion, Jenn fidgeted anxiously in her hospital bed. The crisp dazzling white linen that surrounded her with the sterile magnolia walls were making her itch for a shower. She could still feel the ground in dirt in her hair from the night before but the police wouldn’t let her shower until they had taken what DNA evidence they needed to prosecute the guy. Two officers had just left her room after finishing what seemed like the umpteenth interview and had scraped her finger nails to the point where she was getting irritable. Right now she just wanted to get out of here.

As if on cue her ride home appeared at the door, freshly showered with a bright smile that only half concealed the exhaustion in his eyes. Yesterday’s events had taken their toll on everyone.

“Hey baby, how are you feeling?” Jon leaned against the doorjamb idly swinging a bag from his right hand.

“Hey……..” She smiled wearily at him, truthfully she had a banging headache but she was afraid if she said anything they’d keep her here longer. “Okay I guess, I just want to go home.”

Moving to set the bag down on the floor, he sat carefully on the bed beside her and leaned across to gently brush her lips. “I brought you some fresh clothes, Steph got them from your room.”

In all the commotion Jenn had completely forgotten about the teenager she was supposed to be minding. Guilt seared through her as she thought about what she had put everyone through yesterday. A small tear escaped from the corner of her puffy left eye.

“Hey………what’s all this about?” Gently wiping it away, Jon looked at her in concern.

“I just………..God Jon I’m so sorry, I should have just gone home yesterday and instead I went and made things ten times worse!” Her lower lip trembled as she hung her head in shame. “I wasn’t thinking about anybody except myself!” Another tear followed the first as she looked mournfully back up at him. “As if you didn’t have enough to deal with yesterday!”

Sitting up straight Jon took both her hands in his own and fixed her with a stern look. “Jenn you listen to me right now, yesterday was NOT your fault, it was nobody’s fault except for that bastard that I’m gonna make sure rots in jail for the rest of his sorry ass life, you hear me?”

She nodded mutely at him, feeling miserable. It was all her fault, she knew that no matter what he said. Giving her hands a final warm squeeze, Jon shifted himself off her bed. “I’m gonna go sign you out of here and then I’m gonna bring you home and you’re gonna let me take care of you, okay?” He waited for her dejected nod and with a reassuring smile left the room.

She waited until she was sure he was gone before she lifted her shaking hands to her bruised face. Quiet sobs escaped her lungs as she wept, each gulping breath making her body ache. How had she made such a mess of things?

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A few days later she sat curled up under a throw by a roaring fire that Jon had just lit for her before he went over to see Dorothea. She was feeling much better physically, the bruising and swelling slowly reducing in size but emotionally she was still exhausted. Jon had been the perfect nurse, bringing her all sorts of delicious foods from a local deli to entice her to eat and sitting quietly with her in his arms at night. She should have wanted for nothing more but the guilt was consuming her. Although he said nothing, she knew Jon was also going through his own emotional hell. Relations with Dorothea were no better, she refused to talk to him and he came back from his visits to see his kids tense and weary.

Funnily enough after all the crazed media at the start of this thing, the lawyers had been right. Once they had officially announced the divorce, interest seemed to have melted away. Steph had reluctantly moved back home, protesting that she wanted to take care of Jenn but Jon had gently yet firmly insisted he was more than capable of doing that himself. Although Jenn missed the young girl’s chatter, Jon had been right in taking her home. Dorothea needed her daughter around her.

Snuggling into the plump cushion behind her head, she watched the flickering flames in the grate. Although Jon repeatedly told her everything was going to be fine she couldn’t see how it ever could be. He had a soon to be ex-wife who was still very much in love with him, four kids who needed their parents to be together and a stupid Irish woman that was also in love with him. It was an impossible situation.

A knock on the front door dragged her attention back from her thoughts. She yelled out at whoever it was to come on in and smiled at Paul when he padded through from the hall in his socks.

“Hey you. Have a seat, it’s cosy in here!” She nestled further under her throw stretching out on the sofa.

“So I see! How are you feeling?” He sat down in an armchair opposite her and looked concernedly at her. 

“Okay……getting there.”

“One day at a time huh?” He smiled encouragingly at her, his hands kneading nervously together.

“What’s wrong?” Jenn knew the look on his face all too well, there was something he wasn’t telling her.

“Nothing!” he said it a little too quickly for her liking. “No, no. Nothing at all!”

“Paul! Spit it out!” Sighing she sat up to exasperatedly look across at him. His worried eyes met hers for a moment before he began to speak.

“Okay, thing is you’re really not gonna believe this…….the timing is unreal.” He shook his head in slight disbelief. “You have some visitors.”

“Who?”

Before answering he raised his hands in anticipation of her response. “Now you don’t have to see them if you don’t want to! I told them you’d had a little accident and might not be up to it.” He stopped talking just long enough to roll his eyes. “They just showed up…….again!”

Confusion at his cryptic answer muddled her already tired brain. Who on earth was he going on about? She raised her hands questionably at him as she failed to think who could be here. His next words floored her.

“Karl and Nancy.”

Steve’s parents? Here? AGAIN??