Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
JASON
The three of us stay by Jasmine's side as she sleeps. We don’t say a word at first because we fear waking her. But also, because there are no words for what we witnessed in the sparring room.
Jasmine has always been so unbelievably strong; we have seen breakdowns and what the effect of nightmares have done to her, but not once have I witnessed what we did today. That was a new level of pain, breaking us all to watch.
“You okay?”
I lift my head from where it's been buried in her hair and look at Sean to find both of them watching me.
“Better than she is,” I answer, forcing myself not to kiss her head in case I wake her.
“What happened?” Maximus asks.
“How much did you see?”
“We heard her yelling ‘I hate her, ’ and then the screaming started.”
I fill them in on what they missed, and we sit in silence again.
What I wouldn’t give to kill Carol for the abuse she caused our girl. Jasmine is an absolute sweetheart who wouldn’t say boo to a goose unless provoked. But Carol has caused all kinds of fucked up issues, and it's going to take years for the therapist to unravel it all.
“Have either of you contacted Christian?” I ask quietly, a while later. Both of them shake their head, but I don’t miss the way Maximus’s jaw clenches.
“If he wants to know what's going on, he should be here, not swanning off doing whatever he feels is more important than her,” Maximus mutters through gritted teeth.
“He has a right to know,” Sean starts but stops when Maximus glares at him.
“What right does he have? He should have been here or at least told us what was so important that he couldn’t be.”
“I know, and I will deal with him when he gets back.”
“Will you, though?” Maximus snaps.
“Of course I will.”
“You said that last time, but here we are, with Shorty suffering and him being AWOL again!” I know he’s right, but if I don’t stay in control of this, Maximus will deal with him, and that will be all kinds of fucked up, which is the last thing Jasmine needs, us all to be falling out. It’s the last thing any of us need.
“Look, I know things are crazy at the moment, and I’m not making excuses for him,” I glare at Maximus to stop him from arguing with me. “But something is going on, and he is hiding it from us, me included. He’s only ever done that a handful of times, and each has been because he needs to keep us safe.”
“That’s no excuse anymore; we are old enough to deal with shit,” Sean sighs, but I shake my head whilst turning my attention to him.
“Do you really think age matters to Christian? He took on the father role at fifteen, when Mum first started getting ill, for fuck’s sake. He has spent his whole life protecting us, if not from Tommy, then from the shit he had gotten us into. Now that Jaz is involved, he will take even more on to keep her protected, even if it means staying away and dealing with shit on his own.” I look to Maximus and know he will want to have his say, but I’m not finished. “I know our brother, and I know he is dealing with something that he wants to keep us safe from; all of us,” I nod down to the sleeping Jasmine to show it includes her.
“I will not attack him about today, but I will make it clear how fucked up it is that he doesn’t trust us to help or to know what's going on. He needs to stop trying to protect us all and include us so we can take some of the pressure off him.” Letting out a deep breath, I briefly close my eyes and try calming myself a little.
Looking down at Jasmine asleep against my side, holding her bear, I worry again about what Christian has gotten himself into. It’s got to be something terrible for him to let her down like he has. I’m just about to climb out of bed and call him when I feel Jasmine tighten her grip on me. Looking back at her, I can see she is starting to wake up. I’m surprised she has slept as much as she has. It just shows how draining her breakdown was.
As her eyes flutter, I run a hand over her head, letting her know she isn’t alone. Her bloodshot eyes open and look up at me.
“Hey, Angel. You okay?” I ask softly. Maximus leans in and kisses the top of her head as she nods slowly.
“Do you need anything, Shorty?” he asks softly. She opens her mouth to speak but has to clear her throat, which is no doubt sore from screaming earlier.
“Water,” she croaks. Sean leans towards the floor and grabs a bottle he placed there earlier.
“Here you go, Princess.” He hands it to Maximus, who helps Jaz to sit up. I don’t miss how she keeps her bear tightly in her arm. It’s a sign that she's hurting and feeling vulnerable. I’ve not seen her with it for a while and knew it was a good sign. But now, she’s back to clinging to it again, and it's hard to watch her take these steps backwards.
Sitting up myself, I lean back against the cushioned headboard and hold out an arm so she can lean against me whilst sipping the water. Once she’s finished, I take it and place it on the cabinet beside me. I want to ask her what happened that caused her so much pain and if there’s something I can do to help her heal, but I don’t know how to ask without upsetting her. As usual, Maximus doesn’t think about such things.
“What happened, Shorty?” He takes her hand to kiss her knuckles.
“Maximus, give her time,” Sean sighs. Jasmine looks at him before looking to Maximus, then me.
“I need time to work through it all,” she whispers as she plays with the bear's ear, not looking up at us. “I asked Dr Gold not to send his usual report to Daddy.” When Jasmine looks up, she seems like a small, vulnerable child. Her eyes fill with tears, and she looks scared. “I know he's going to be cross, but I need to understand this myself before explaining it to the rest of you.” I offer what I hope is a reassuring smile before running a hand over her head.
“He won’t be cross; he will understand. Therapy is about you and not any of us. You do what you must to heal from whatever has come up.” Jasmine tries to look away, but I place a hooked finger under her chin and gently encourage her to look at me. “The only thing I want you to promise me is that you will always come to us if things become too much. If something ever makes you feel like you need extra support, or if you feel like you can’t cope, please know we will help you. Don’t ever do anything reckless because we love you more than life itself, and we would never cope without you.” Looking deep into her eyes, I know she is reading between the lines as she nods slowly.
“I promise.” I release her chin, and she leans into me. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Kissing the top of her head, I look to see my brothers looking at me, both looking devastated and as unsure of what to do, as I feel.
Sean's phone vibrates on the bed at the same time as Maximus’s and mine. I know it will be the security system letting us know someone has arrived.
“It’s him.” Maximus’s jaw clenches as he starts to fight the urge to go to Christian and have it out with him. I know I need to intervene quickly and ensure there’s no fighting while Jasmine is this vulnerable.
“I’ll go and speak to him and let him know you are okay and what you have asked,” I say softly into her hair. I hear the slightest thank you from her before I kiss the top of her head and nod at Sean for him to take my place. He nods and moves once I am out of his way.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” I smile at Jasmine, leaning against Sean now as Maximus holds her hand and plays with her hair. I glance at the other two and nod, hoping they will understand that I heard them, and I will not be going easy on Christian.
Walking from the room, I close the door to ensure they won’t be able to hear anything and head for the stairs. As I reach the top, I find Christian standing at the bottom of them, looking frantic.
“Where is she?” he demands as he moves up a few steps.
“Resting. We need to talk,” I reply coldly. Seeing him there looking worried gets my back up. It’s been a couple of hours since her session finished, and as far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t contacted any of us.
“We can talk when I’ve seen her for myself,” he starts, but I place a hand on his chest as I reach him.
“No. You will listen to what I have to say first.” I add firmly. Christian looks at me for a moment, and I can see he knows I’m pissed, but when he opens his mouth to argue with me, I shake my head. “Don’t. You are not getting near her until I have said what is needed, and I will not do this where she may hear us.” I stare at my brother, showing him I will not change my mind. I will not back down and mean what I said. He will not get near her until I have spoken to him.
He looks like he will argue for a moment, but when he sees I’m not backing down, he turns around and heads back down the stairs. I follow a few steps behind as he storms through the house and heads for his office. I know it's his way of trying to keep some power right now, but I don’t care. He may be my older brother, and he may have saved my life a number of times, but I have saved him as well, and he needs to remember he is my brother, not my boss.
As we enter his office, he walks over to the desk, pulling off his suit jacket and placing it on the back of the chair. He looks up at me, and my control snaps a little.
“Are you having an affair?”
Christian’s eyes bulge as he stares at me from his seat.
“What the fuck did you just ask me?”
“I asked if you are having an affair because it’s the only reasonable explanation as to why you are still being so secretive!”
“Of course, I’m not having a fucking affair! Are you insane?”
“Then where the fuck have you been?” I demand, marching over to his desk.
“Out.” That’s all he’s got to say whilst sitting back in his chair.
“Where?” I ask again.
“It doesn’t matter where I’ve been.” The proud, stubborn bastard is actually going to continue hiding shit from me.
“It matters when you ignore your responsibilities to your fiancée,” I point out. “Did you forget it was your turn to be here for her today?” The look on his face tells me he didn’t.
“Something came up, and I had to take care of it,” he answers.
“And you couldn’t pick up your phone to give us a heads up so we could move things around? Or is your phone broken again?” I point to the door as my anger starts getting the better of me. “She tried to call you herself, and as much as she tried to hide it, she was gutted when you didn’t answer!” I stand tall whilst crossing my arms over my chest.
“I didn’t have time to call and left my phone in the car. Things progressed quicker than I thought they would, and time got away from me.”
“Are you going to tell me where you were? Or what you were doing?”
“There's no need, it’s sorted.” It’s like talking to a goddamn robot. He is giving nothing away, which is starting to get on my last nerve, and I have no doubt he knows it, too.
“How long are you going to keep doing this?” I ask, shaking my head in disappointment.
“I wasn’t aware I was doing anything.” There he goes again with that stubborn streak of his.
“You are well aware of what you are doing, and it needs to stop. Whatever is going on, you need to tell me. How can we help you when you shut us all out?”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Yes, you fucking do!” I snap, slamming both hands on his desk, and I lean against it, staring at my brother. “I know about the other buildings, Christian. I know that it hasn’t just been one vandalised but eight! I also know that something has got you so worked up you are letting Jaz down!”
“I am not letting her down!” he yells, jumping to his feet as he, too, slaps his hands on his desk and glares at me. “Everything I do is for her!”
“Except being here when she needs you the most!”
“I’m here now!” he states, standing tall and waving his hand towards the door. “I would be with her finding out what’s been going on if you hadn’t stopped me!” He shakes his head and starts marching towards the door.
“She doesn’t want you to know!” The second the words are out there, he stops in his tracks and frowns as if he had misheard.
“What?”
“She asked me to tell you that she doesn’t want to discuss what happened today. She doesn’t want to talk about the session or what caused her to have a breakdown.”
“What breakdown?” he asks as his eyes widen. Shit. I forgot he doesn’t know everything. He probably only knows that she was upset.
“Layton called after he brought her home to let me know she was really upset. He tried to call you, but you weren’t answering. I rushed back, and at first, we couldn’t find her, but then I found her in the sparring area. She was beating the shit out of a punchbag. She started shouting that she hated that bitch Carol before she broke down and screamed until her voice was gone. She then shut down completely.”
I watch as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and starts tapping it, looking for an email from her therapist.
“There isn’t a report to read,” I say, stepping forward.
“I’ve told him I want a report after each session!” he snaps and lifts his phone to his ear.
“She told him not to send one.” Christian stares at me before lowering the phone and ending the call. “She knows you get sent them as she has to agree to it; otherwise, it goes against client-therapist confidentiality.” I point out, taking another step towards him. “But today, she didn’t consent. She begged him not to send one, so he can’t.”
“Why would she do that?” I can see the pain on his face. “How can I help her if I don’t know what’s happening?”
“You help by letting her accept whatever she’s dealing with. All she’s asking is that we give her time, and we have to respect that.” Running my fingers through my hair, I let out a deep sigh and wish I could just go back upstairs and take all her pain and suffering away.
“Jazzy never asks us for anything. But she has asked us for this, and we have to give it to her, even if it’s the last thing we want to do. We have to give her the time she has asked for.”
Christian walks over to the sofa against the far wall and leans against it whilst rubbing his face. As he lowers his arm, I realise there are marks on his shirt.
“Is that your blood or someone else's?” I ask, nodding towards his arm. He looks at it and curses.
“Someone else’s,” he answers, unfastening the shirt and pulling it off. “It’s why I left. I was given a tip-off about who was behind the destruction. It all progressed quickly, and I ended up taking out the threat,” he explains, obviously realising he has no other choice but to tell me now.
“So it’s over? Whatever you have been dealing with on your own has finished?” He nods once before screwing the shirt into a ball. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I look at my brother properly for the first time since he returned and see how tired he looks. Not just because he left early this morning, but like he hasn’t slept in weeks. His skin looks pale, and he has lost a little weight. All signs that he has been pushing himself too hard and dealing with more shit than he should have handled on his own.
“Because I was furious and wanted to deal with it myself. I wanted to ensure no one got near you guys or Jasmine. They made this personal, and I had to ensure I ended it.”
“I would have helped,” I point out, and a small smile appears on Christian’s face.
“I know. But this was something I needed to do.”
“Okay,” I answer, knowing there is no point fighting over it. “If you are sure it’s over, then nothing else needs to be said on the matter.” I walk over to my brother and cup the back of his head whilst leaning my forehead against his. “But stop thinking you are the only one who can take people on. If they threaten one of us, they threaten all of us, and we deal with them as a family. It’s the one thing that we all stand by. What have you always told us?”
“You hurt one O’Reilly, you hurt us all,” he replies as his eyes close.
“So take your own advice and let us help you.”
He nods in agreement, but I can’t help thinking he’s only saying it because he’s been caught. But there’s nothing more I can do. The ball is in his court now, and I can only wait to see if he will start including us or keep playing on his own.
“Come on. Let’s get you a clean shirt, then you can see Jazzy. She will be glad you are home,” I tell him, hoping it will put him in a slightly better mood.
As I follow him out, I can’t help but wonder if things are as over as he says they are or if I should be worried. One thing I do know for sure is that no one will stand a chance against us. Now I know I need to be on the lookout for trouble; I will be, and God help anyone who attacks my family because it will be the last thing they ever do.