43. Boom, Mission Accomplished
Boom, Mission Accomplished
Doug
‘Get up, dumbass.’
I glare up at Leo from my spot in the porch chair. I dropped here about an hour ago and haven’t been able to force myself back up.
Harley moves from my side to greet Leo, and I take a swig from my bottle.
‘I said, get up. We’re going out.’
‘Nah, not in the mood.’
‘Yeah, I just saw Breanne, and she told me to come and get you.’
I hang my head and take a deep breath, and Leo drops into the seat next to mine.
‘Tell me.’
‘I lost her,’ I say, pushing the words past a throat that’s dry despite the four beers I’ve had.
‘So, talk. What happened?’
I tell him everything, about the box, the way Cara was so panicked about losing it, then about everything with Jessie, the letters, the fact that Cara didn’t deny any of it.
‘I’m a fuckin’ idiot for believing her.’
‘Yeah, you are.’ He shakes his head and punches me in the thigh.
‘Fuck, Leo. What the hell?’
‘Let me be clear here, the her that you are an idiot for believing, ain’t Cara.’ I turn and glare at him. ‘You seriously chose to believe the word of the spawn of Satan. The girl who has made your life a living hell for years, even before Bowie, over the woman who made you happier than I remember ever seeing you?’
‘Fuck you. She had fuckin’ evidence. It was right there in black and white. Cara admitted they were hers—she didn’t deny a damn thing. Jessie seemed genuine like she’s trying to get straight. She said I can have Bowie.’
He throws his head back and laughs loudly, and I stare, waiting for his explanation.
‘Are you serious right now?’ He stares back at me, then shakes his head and stands. ‘Brother, I love you, but I can’t be around your stupid ass right now. You got played, Doug. In a very unsurprising turn of events, Jessica Lavell manipulated the shit out of you to get what she wanted.’
Did she? The letters, though.
‘She didn’t want Cara in your life. Boom, mission accomplished. The fact that you, for even a single second, believed that evil witch has me seriously questioning your intelligence. Her track record should have had you driving up to that house to laugh with your girl about Jessie’s attempts to fuck things up for you. Instead, you took the bait.’
He bends to stroke Harley’s head, and if I were in a better mood, I’d be pissed that she doesn’t feel the need to jump up and punch him in the balls, but I can’t consider anything other than my confusion right now.
‘I talked to Zoe,’ he says as he steps down from the porch and turns back to look at me. ‘I told her to keep Bowie away for another night. You’re in no state to see your kid right now. Go up there, Doug. Go up there and beg for forgiveness because you fucked up. Get her back. Do whatever it takes.’
And then he’s gone, and I’m confused as shit.
The cold light of day doesn’t improve a fucking thing. My head hurts the second I open my eyes, and the memories of last night come rushing back. I am so confused.
Leo was right. I believed Jessie, even after everything she’s done because of the letters. Cara admitted they were hers. She didn’t deny anything. But when I think about the confusion and hurt on her face, my stomach gets all knotted up. I watched her crumble. I watched her always-warm, beautiful eyes become cold. Her ever-present smile became lost to a tightly clenched jaw, and I tried and failed to ignore the way she trembled and the tears she wasn’t able to hold back.
She blackmailed her own grandmother to get that house. She admitted it, didn’t she?
I try to remember the words. What I said—what she did, but I was so angry it’s all just a blur. Why didn’t I just ask her to explain? Why did I have to go storming in there like an angry bull and fuck everything up without all the answers?
I go through the motions of getting ready to face the day. Mama stayed at Merv’s last night, so the house is empty and quiet. I let Harley out to pee, take a shower, and get dressed. I try to eat, but my stomach rejects the idea pretty fast. I need to talk to her.
Hopping on my bike, I race up toward the house, and seeing it come into view as I reach the top of the hill leaves a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I have to pull over to the side of the road. I stare up at the house, my work, and I remember all the beautiful moments we had up there—all the moments that I drew a line through and crossed out, the moment I stormed into that house last night.
I can’t see Cara, not until I know for sure. Turning around, I head back down the hill and straight to Jessie’s place.
‘Morning,’ she says as she answers, a small smile on her face. ‘You doing okay?’
She really does seem so different; it’s fucking with my head. We step inside, and she pours us two cups of coffee from her pot, and we sit. I don’t say anything.
‘Did you decide what you’re going to do about the letters—about Cara?’
I think about it and decide to act like I didn’t fuck everything up already. I need to know.
‘I don’t know, Jess.’ I rub my hand over my face. ‘I mean, I was pissed last night, but now, I don’t know if it makes much of a difference.’
‘What do you mean?’ She tilts her head, confused.
‘She’s in the house already. The work is all done. The money is hers. Charlotte is dead. Roberta is dead. What good is blowing it all up?’
She swallows and takes a breath.
‘Doug. What she did is illegal. You should be sending your sister up there to arrest her.’
I take a sip of coffee and contemplate my next move. Jessie, the old Jessie, would have lost her shit by now, knowing she’s not getting what she wants, yet, this imposter is staying calm, keeping it together, being rational. Fuck, I’m so confused.
‘If I tell Bree, you could get in trouble for the break-in—for taking the box.’
I watch the soft smile curve her lips, and she reaches out to put a hand on my thigh.
‘Don’t you worry about me, Douglas Campbell. I did what I had to do.’ I take another sip. ‘I know it’s all crazy right now, and you need to get over what you had with her, but,’ her hand slides up a little higher, ‘I really would like to revisit the idea of us being a family,’ higher, ‘and maybe,’ she drops off the chair to kneel in front of me, ‘I can make you feel a little better in the meantime.’ There she is. True colors on show.
I push my chair back and stand, and she looks up at me, shocked.
‘Jessie, no. That can’t happen.’
‘Doug, please, just give us a chance.’ She doesn’t get up from her knees, and I turn my back. I can’t look at her begging me. ‘I love you. Why don’t you understand that? Everything I’ve done has been because I was scared of losing you.’ I feel her hand on my back and turn, taking her arms in my hands.
‘I don’t love you, Jess. I love Cara.’
And just like that, the mask falls off. The scowl I’ve gotten used to over the past few years is back, and she steps back as though I burned her.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ The hiss is full of anger and hurt as she turns away and starts to pace. ‘Even after this , even after the letters. That fucking bitch has everything, every damn thing that should be mine. It’s not fair. It’s not fucking fair.’ She’s ranting and pacing, and I realize she’s not even talking to me anymore. She’s just talking. ‘It should be mine, all of it. She’d never even set foot in this damn town, and now she gets the house, the money, the friends, the man, and she even gets my fucking kid. No, no, I can’t let it happen.’
Without warning, she picks up the coffee pot and throws it across the room, screaming with the force of her efforts as coffee and glass explode against the white wall.
‘ Jessie! ’ I say, shocked, stepping forward as she holds her arms with her hands and stares at the mess she made. Tears roll down her face as she shakes and cries.
‘I wrote the letters.’ She sobs, and I freeze. ‘I wrote them because she has everything, and I have nothing, and it’s not fair.’
I swallow hard and press my teeth together, trying hard not to blow as the reality that I blew up my relationship for a lie sinks in.
‘Why, Jess?’ I ask weakly, stepping a little closer as she sinks to the floor, crying hard, and I look down at her. ‘Why would you do this?’
‘She’s my sister.’ She gazes up at me. ‘Your precious Cara is my sister, Doug.’