Enigma (25 page)

“I immediately put them on an IV, desperately trying to flush out the drug, but it didn’t work. Nothing I tried worked.” Tears slid down Jonathan’s face, and he mirrored Lindsey. It was obviously a traumatic memory.

Jonathan calmed himself and with his voice wavering, he continued. “After five long hours, Marcus and Alissa lay unconscious. Their hearts were beating erratically, and they remained like that for eight days. Lindsey and I sat by their sides the entire time, praying that one of them would wake up. At that point, hope was all we had. Eight days later, your father finally opened his eyes and an hour after that, your mother opened hers, too. I’ve never felt such relief. But we had no idea what damage had been done.” Jonathan took another exasperated breath.

“When Marcus awoke, he pulled off the straps and got up, saying that he felt amazing. He explained that his body felt as light as a feather and claimed that his head was clearer than it had ever been before. His eyes sparkled with excitement. He couldn’t wait to start living in his modified body to see how many days he wouldn’t need to sleep. I listened to his heart and although it was slightly faster than normal, I chalked it up to his excitement and the adrenaline from the drugs.”

Jonathan began to cough, holding his chest. Ethan ran to the kitchen and brought him a glass of water. He took a sip and continued.

“When Alissa woke up an hour later, she described the same feelings, but when I examined her, there were three heart beats: one was hers and the other two were Jack and Sebastian’s. She had no idea she was pregnant. I was petrified, thinking I may have damaged the babies with the drug. I would have never agreed to the experiment if I’d known your mother was pregnant. I took blood samples from them for analysis, but to my horror, their blood was no longer red. It was the wildest, brightest purple color you could imagine.”

Lindsey stood up and walked over to Jonathan. He stood up and they hugged each other and then held hands. Everyone remained silent, eager for Jonathan to continue.

“Alissa had a normal pregnancy up until her last trimester and she and Marcus were so excited about having twin boys. They even picked out your names; the baby on the left was Jack Jonathan and the baby on the right was Sebastian Marcus.

“When Alissa was seven months pregnant, she began experiencing sharp, stabbing pains. The babies were constantly kicking and the pain was excruciating. She had visible bruising on her stomach and we could clearly see the babies’ limbs through her thinning skin. She was unable to consult a regular doctor, so Marcus and I prepared to deliver the babies ourselves.”

Jack and Sebastian glanced over at each other. Their eyes filled with disbelief.

“Jack and Sebastian were born seven months into Alissa’s pregnancy. But we weren’t prepared enough, and worried that the babies wouldn’t survive. Marcus couldn’t cope with seeing Alissa in so much pain, so Lindsey took him out of the room. The babies were incredibly strong and I had to cut through Alissa’s thinning skin to deliver them. They came out so fast that they split her sides too widely.” Jack winced and Seb sat open-mouthed. “Alissa lost too much blood and I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t call Marcus back in, because the sight of Alissa was horrifying. Sadly, your mother died before she’d gotten the chance to see either of you.”

I felt sick and couldn’t stop crying. I looked around the room and saw that Lindsey was sobbing again, too. Jack sat motionless, his face unreadable; Seb’s eyes were glazed with tears, and Ethan sat with his hand over his mouth.

“So what happened after my mom died?” Jack asked.

Jonathan looked over at Lindsey and she urged him to continue.

“Marcus left the day Alissa died and we didn’t see him for weeks.”

“What happened to my mom?” Jack wiped away tears.

“I buried Alissa and Lindsey vowed to take care of you and Seb.”

“So our dad abandoned us?” Seb asked.

Lindsey sat next to Jack and held his hand. She looked over at Seb. “Marcus returned three months later and blamed Jonathan for everything.”

“So to get back at me, he cursed Lindsey, and she was never able to have children.”

I was beginning to wonder how much more of the story there could possibly be and how much more everyone could emotionally cope with, when Jonathan continued.

“Marcus returned when you were two years old. He was remorseful when he learned that Lindsey had been unable to get pregnant. His wicked words had come true and he begged for her forgiveness. He apologized, taking equal responsibility for the experiment that should have never happened.”

“So he came back for us?” Jack questioned.

“Marcus said he couldn’t cope with taking care of you and Seb. He wanted Lindsey to have the chance to raise a family, so he asked us to take care of you,” Jonathan answered.

There was so much to absorb. Lindsey had just stopped crying, but I hadn’t. Ethan looked bewildered and Seb and Jack looked like they’d gotten punched in the stomach.

Ethan stood up. “I’m going to go,” he said awkwardly. “I feel responsible for all of this. I didn’t mean to cause a problem; I’m sorry.”

Jonathan stood up. “Sorry, Ethan. I’ve left you out of all this. This is far from your fault; the truth was bound to come out eventually. I’m sorry; I had no idea how to contact you after your mother left town.”

Ethan looked stunned. “Do you mean you knew about me all this time? You knew that I existed and kept it a secret from my brothers?” He looked furious.

Seb shook his head and Jack looked at Lindsey.

Jonathan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry Ethan. It wasn’t my decision to keep your brothers from you.”

“What do you mean? Tell me everything you know.”

Jonathan wiped his brow and took a sip of his water. “Marcus was a complete wreck after Alissa died. He met your mom in a bar and they spent the night together. When Marcus found out that Shelly was pregnant, he told her everything, but she refused to abort the baby. She agreed to have the baby in secret and stayed with us until the day she gave birth. Shelly made it to eight months and gave birth to you without any complications. The next day, she disappeared and we never saw her again.”

“Ethan, how is your mother? Does she know you’re here with us?” Lindsey asked.

“My mother is dead,” Ethan said flatly. “She was hit by a car, only living long enough to tell me about my brothers and a man named Jonathan Jones who would help me.”

Lindsey stood up, walked over to him, and hugged him.

“Ethan, I’m sorry. When did this happen?” Lindsey asked, releasing her hold on him.

“Six months ago.”

“You can stay with us for as long as you like. You’re family. We’ll take care of you,” Lindsey offered.

“Thank you, Lindsey, but I don’t want to intrude, and I’m old enough to look after myself.”

“Nonsense! I won’t hear of it. You’re staying with us,” Lindsey insisted.

My head was pounding and I had no idea what Jack and Seb were thinking. Jonathan was breathing heavily again and holding his chest, and then blood began to drip from his nose. We all rushed over to him, but Lindsey shouted for all of us to move away while dabbing his nose with a tissue. Jack carried his father over to the couch where we all left him to rest.

Although our conversation was short, it was far from over.

CHAPTER 25

W
hile we left Jonathan to rest, I made a fresh pot of coffee and watched Jack, Seb, and Ethan as they sat around the kitchen table in silence. When I placed the pot on the table, Jack pulled my arm and I sat on his lap, which made me feel uncomfortable. Seb looked away from us. Ethan poured a cup of coffee and finally broke the silence.

“Do you wish I hadn’t turned up today? If you want me to leave, I’ll go. I’ll go right now. We may be related by blood, but I understand that we’re complete strangers.”

“No, I’m glad to know the truth,” Jack stated.

“Sebastian? What about you? How do you feel about me being here?” Ethan asked.

“I have nothing against you, but you’re a stranger to me. All I want is an antidote for the curse that I stupidly created. I want to set Kate free.”

“Oh yes, the curse. Your situation kind of sucks doesn’t it? I hope you find some way of destroying it,” Ethan said.

“How do you know about the curse?” I asked, knowing none of us had mentioned it to him.

He glared at me and then over at Seb. “Like I said, I’ve been watching you for a while and listening to everything.”

I walked over to the counter to get a tissue that I didn’t really need. I just wanted to get away from Jack. And when I did, he picked up the chair and smashed it on the floor. I jumped.

“What exactly do you want to free her from, Seb? Do you want to free her from me?” Jack screamed. Much to Jack’s fury, Seb stood up and walked over to me. “That’s right! Go and protect her! Protect her from me! I’ll never get to live my life with the girl I love because of you, Seb! The only satisfaction I’ll get is that when I die from a broken heart, you’ll die with me.”

Jack stormed out of the back door, and Jonathan and Lindsey walked into the kitchen, looking at the broken chair.

“What just happened in here? Is this about Jack and Kate and that damn curse?” Jonathan seethed.

I sobbed, falling onto the floor. Seb crouched down next to me, trying to pull me up, but I was too weak. He scooped me up in his arms and placed me in a chair while Ethan stood up and said that he would go and find Jack.

After a good half hour of relentless tears, I managed to compose myself. I had to ask Jonathan the question that had been on my mind since we’d all met Ethan.

“Jonathan, can you help us? Can Marcus help us? I don’t want Jack to die and I don’t want Sebastian to die either.”

Jonathan sat in thought for a moment. “I’m sorry. There’s no way to break the curse.”

Devastation didn’t even come close to how I was feeling. Seb placed his arm around my shoulders.

Lindsey jumped up out of her chair. “Wait! I know what we can do to save you all!”

I looked up at her, eagerly waiting to hear what she had to say, then Jack and Ethan walked through the door, and Lindsey told them to sit down. Jonathan looked concerned about what his wife was going to announce.

“I know how we can break this curse,” she said, smiling.

“Lindsey, what are you talking about? We’ve been over this. There’s no way to break—”

“I know this will work. It’s guaranteed.”

My stomach churned.

“For the curse to linger on, there has to be a human involved. No one who’s adrenalized can be cursed without human involvement. Kate is the human associated with this curse. If she were adrenalized, the curse wouldn’t be able to prevail. If we adrenalize Kate, Jack and Sebastian won’t die.”

“Wait, explain this again,” Jack said.

Lindsey’s eyes glimmered with excitement. “Kate is the one carrying the curse Jack, not you. The curse lives within her. We know you love her and your feelings are real, and deep down you know that Kate only loves you because the curse made her fall for you.”

Silence fell around the room.

“Lindsey, this is insane,” Jonathan objected.

Finally, there was a glimmer of hope. There was a way to destroy the curse and I was willing to do anything to save Jack and Sebastian.

“I’ll do it. I’ll be adrenalized.”

I was excited that we finally had a way to resolve our problem. I could finally be with Sebastian without the fear of killing Jack.

“I know it’ll work!” Lindsey said enthusiastically.

Lindsey and I hugged while everyone else tried to absorb what Lindsey had just said.

“No! Will you listen to yourselves?” Jonathan protested. “You have no idea what you’re saying! This is madness. I’m not going to tamper with an innocent person’s life. Kate could die in the process! Marcus and Alissa may have just been lucky to survive. And if Kate does make it, she’ll never be able to bear a child, the risks are—”

“I’ll do anything to save Jack and Seb,” I said.

“Kate, I’m not going to ask you to risk your life to save me,” Seb said.

Jack’s eyes widened. “This is dangerous, Kate!”

“Seb, I appreciate your concern. I appreciate everyone’s concern, but we don’t really have a choice. I want to do this.”

I wasn’t going to allow anyone to die when there was a way to save us all. My mind was made up; if Jonathan wouldn’t do it, I knew that Lindsey would help me. It was time to let everyone know once and for all that I wasn’t going to back down.

“I’m going to do this with or without your help, Jonathan. I’ll do it with Lindsey’s help alone,” I said abruptly.

“Follow me, Kate. Let’s go to the basement,” Lindsey said as she walked out of the kitchen.

“Wait, Lindsey! You’re insane! Boys, stop them! This is madness!” Jonathan yelled.

I ran out of the kitchen and followed Lindsey down the hallway. I ran downstairs to the basement and almost tripped over my feet when Seb stood in front of me, blocking the way.