Enlightened (Red Flags) (11 page)

I hugged her.  As we pulled away, I watched as a hint of unease hit her face.

"It's nice to see you too, Heather, and thank you!  What brings you to San Diego?"

She strolled to the chair positioned in front of my desk and nervously took a seat.  She closed her eyes as she said, "I'm here to see my sister."

Great confusion filled me.  "Then what are you doing here?" I asked, in an unintentional, aggravated tone. 

"I came to San Diego to see Stacey, but you kept coming to mind," she said, finally relaxing into her seat.

"Okay, so what's up?  How did you know where I worked?" 

"The internet is an amazing tool." She smiled.

"Did Jason send you here?" I asked.  "Because if he did, there really is nothing for us talk about."  I didn't want to be rude to Heather, but I was in no mood to deal with messengers for Jason. I had work to do.

"No.  I'm not here on Jason's behalf.  I came to San Diego because I had to see my sister.  We don't have a good relationship and I'm sure after what you dealt with in Heath, you can see why." 

I relaxed in my chair and let her continue talking.

"I'm really sorry about what happened that night; I had no idea that Jacob and Stacey were planning to put on that little show.  I came here to see her because I needed to talk to her face to face.  She's been a piece of work for years, making my life and everyone else's miserable."  She stopped and looked around the office, but then brought her attention back to me.  "She's definitely pregnant, but I highly doubt it's by Jason."

Compassion filled my heart.  She'd had to deal with a monster of a sister her entire life and it seemed like she'd finally had enough.

"Do you remember Jacob saying I chose him over Jason?" she asked, embarrassed by the question.

"Yes," I replied meekly.

"Well, that was a lie.  I didn't choose Jacob. I had no other choice."  She paused before continuing.  "I hope this isn't too hard for you, but I have to clear the air." 

I closed my eyes and swallowed, but nodded to her, signaling for her to go on.

"We were definitely some reckless teenagers.  When I met Jason and Jacob, I had no intention of falling for either of them.  I did end up falling for Jason, but Jacob had leverage on me."  She swallowed as she closed her eyes.  "You have to remember that Heath is a small town with many affluent people in it.  Jacob had filmed us having sex, and he'd also filmed me and Jason.  We didn't know about it until later, but he threatened to leak the videos, saying he would spin the story to make me look like a brother hopping slut, and it would ruin business for my dad.  Mr. Bradley favors Jacob, so if Jacob went to him with something like that, there would have been no questions asked and my family would have suffered."

My stomach rolled even more at Heather's tale.  It was certainly right up Jacob's alley, but the thought of someone being so viciously vindictive repulsed me more than anything else in the world.

"What is the hold that Jacob has over his dad?" I asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this forever murky swamp.

"That I don't know.  From the day I met them, Jacob has always been the favorite."

"What about Mrs. Bradley?"

"She loves both of her sons, but Jason gets the raw end of the deal because she will not stand up to Mr. Bradley where the boys are concerned."

My heart began to ache for him.  My assumptions were right; he'd grown up in a home where he was ostracized and made to feel less than.

"Jason has always been better at almost everything.  Jacob has a serious jealous streak and it's always aimed at his brother."  She ran her fingers through her long hair and continued.  "Jason and I did love each other," I watched her grimace as she said it. "And if I was stronger, I wouldn't have allowed Jacob to blackmail me into marrying him, but I was weak, and I put my family first--so I thought." 

My heart began to hurt for her as well.

"How did Abby get thrown into all of this?" I asked, hoping to get to the bottom of that story as well.

"I can admit my wrong in all of this.  I was married to Jacob and I never should have slept with Jason, but I did, and it opened up a brand new set of problems." 

I handed her a tissue as I watched tears start to trickle down her face.

"After we did it, I just felt so wrong.  I wasn't in love with Jacob, but I felt like I'd betrayed him--and I had.  I told Jason that we couldn't do that anymore, and while he was hurt, he understood.  When I got pregnant, I had no idea who the father was because, even though Jacob and I had an atrocious marriage, we still had sex.  I told Jacob about Jason and he went on a rampage.  He told his dad about everything and they threatened me, saying if I didn't go along with Abby being Jacob's, regardless of a test, they would take her away from me.  I couldn't have that happen, so I went along with it."

"Why didn't you guys just have a test done when she was born?" I asked, trying to piece all of this fucked-up-ness together.

"After all of the threats, we just figured it wasn't worth it.  I thought for sure she was Jason's, so he signed the birth certificate, but in public, she would be Jacob's.  It was good for business and the family's image."

I shook my head and leaned back in my seat.  This was a lot of information and coming from Heather, I believed it.  She sounded like a tortured soul and my heart really went out to her.

"What about…Stacey?" I cringed saying her name.

"Jacob hooked them up.  I wanted to keep her out of it because even as kids, she was very mischievous, but when Jacob wants something, he doesn't stop.  I think Jason just wanted to move on and she made it easy.  He never loved her though, and that killed her."

"Then why did he propose to her?" I asked, this part of the story had my ears burning, but I needed to know more.

"Jason went for so long being the black sheep in the family, as Mr. Bradley often called him."

Thoughts of Jason's outburst in Vegas flashed through my head.  He had used that exact term.

"He went through a period of just wanting acceptance.  He was pretty much willing to do anything to be held in the same regard with his dad that Jacob was.  Mr. Bradley thinks business first, family second.  He thought if the two of them got married, it would uphold this image he wanted to keep for his company, so Jason went along with it."

Irritation flashed through me as I thought about Jason basically being set up in an arranged marriage.  Mr. Bradley had rubbed me the wrong way while I was in Heath, but I had no idea he had so much control in such egregious ways.

"Stacey loved Jason, but he didn't love her in return.  When he broke the engagement off, she came home to Heath, full of rage and cried to the Bradley's.  Mr. Bradley and Jacob automatically took her side, which really is no shock, but Jason was further alienated.  Money and material things were used to placate him and keep him away from Heath.  I think he just took them because, while he had no intentions of ever moving back, he was getting rich in the process."

I looked down to my hands that were now balled into fists.  I'd subconsciously riled myself up at the sound of Stacey's name and all of the nightmarish things that she was capable of.  I couldn't think of another living soul that I despised more. 

"I'm not telling you this to make you run back to Jason, and I'm not here working for him.  I just saw you get the raw end of a very bad deal and I felt you needed to know the full truth."

"What about you?" I didn't want to ask but I asked anyway.   "And--Jason?"

She looked at me dumfounded and put her hand up to her chest. 

"There is nothing between me and Jason.  That was a long time ago."

"Do you love him?"  I blurted out.  "It seems you two were the two that were really in love, so… do you love him?"

She shook her head.  "No, Cara.  I love him in the sense that he is a good person and I have been through a lot with him.  Am I
in
love with him? No."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I know what it's like to see Jason in love, and I hadn't seen it until I saw him in action with you." 

Her words gutted me.  I should have been happy to hear that he was truly in love with me, but I wasn't.  I was beyond hurt.  Even though Heather had provided the background to all of this madness, I had no idea how to process it all.

"What about you?  Where do you go from here?" I asked, taking a tissue to wipe away my loose tears. 

"That's why I'm in San Diego.  I had to come face to face with my sister and let her know exactly what I think of her.  We're family, but that's in name only.  I'm breaking free of all of this toxicity. I don't want Abby growing up in such filth."

"What about Jacob?"

"Jacob and I are done.  I moved out about a week ago and I took Abby with me.  I have him and Mr. Bradley down my neck, but I can't do it anymore.  I won't do it anymore."

"What about Abby?"

"Abby is with my mom right now.  I've made friends over the years with some pretty good lawyers myself, so I have no fears that he'll be able to take her away from me."

She had a look of confidence in her eyes and I could tell that she meant business.  I wholeheartedly sympathized with her and everything she had been through over the years, even if some of it was her own fault.  The Bradleys wielded a world of dominance and power that was difficult to break free from. 

"Sorry to spring this on you so early in the morning, Cara.  I would have called ahead, but I was afraid that you wouldn't see me, and I had to clear this up with you."

"It's okay.  Thanks for coming, Heather. I really do appreciate it," I replied, feeling the earlier twinge in my stomach subside.  I made my way around the desk and hugged her tightly.

"He loves you, Cara.  I saw how broken he was that night.  He truly loves you," she whispered into my ear. 

We pulled apart and smiled affectionately at one another.  She turned and walked out the door, and I sat down in the chair she had occupied, staring at the walls.

<>

Driving home from work, Heather's words replayed over and over in my head.  Imagining Jason's childhood made my heart hurt, and it explained a hell of a lot about him, but I still wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with him.  It had been so difficult having to stand there and be used as a pawn in Jacob's and Stacey's game, but it was even worse having it done in front of a room full of people.  In the days after the nightmarish incident, I'd wondered why Jason didn't just tell me before-hand.  Sure the information was surprising and vomit-worthy, but it would have been so much better to talk it through before his devious brother had the chance to spill the beans.  I just needed to get home and have a nice glass of wine, or two.

Chelsea was parading around the kitchen area when I walked through the door.  Looking worn out after an emotionally taxing day, I waved a lethargic hello in her direction, and she stopped and stared at me quizzically.  I didn't want to stop moving until I made my way up to my room, so even though my appearance had caught her attention, I trudged along until I made it up the stairs, into my room, and onto my bed.  Hitting the bed, I released a loud exhale, and felt a tad bit better.

Chelsea walked into my room shortly after, with two glasses of wine in her hands and a half smile on her face.

"What's the matter?  Italian Stallion riding you hard or what?"  She joked, but I was too exhausted to laugh.  I sat up and gave her back the half smile she had given me.  She walked further into the room, handing me a glass of wine as she took a seat on the foot of my bed.

I turned to her, my eyes droopy, and I watched as concern permeated her face.  She didn't say anything, but the silence spoke volumes, and I knew she was looking for an explanation.

I took a sip of the wine before saying a word; I felt the need for liquid courage in order to wade through the murky waters that Heather's tale had brought with it.

"I had a visitor at work today," I said, in a dry, monotone voice.

Concern instantly dipped into anxiety as I watched the muscles in Chelsea's face twitch.

"Who?" she asked, surely afraid that I would say Jason.

"Heather."

I watched as anxiety slowly faded away and curiosity crept in.  Chelsea was never good at hiding her emotions, and since what I had to say loosely dealt with Jason, her emotions were on full display. 

"The freakin' door mat?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she said it.

I cocked my head to the side and gave her a perturbed look.

"Chels, knock it off."  She threw her hands up in a sign of surrender.  "She actually came and laid out the truth to all of Jacob's horse shit."

"And?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in a speculative manner.

"And, I believe her."

Chelsea turned and sat cross-legged on my bed, listening intently as I told her the story that I had been replaying over and over in my head since Heather left my office.  Chelsea listened attentively, never interrupting, and occasionally gawking at the details of the story--that was a first for her.  I had to stop a couple of times as I told the story, especially at the parts of Jason's treatment by his father.   It made me incredibly sad and even a bit angry.  My dad was the epitome of what a father should be.  He was loving, caring, and willing to let us fail, but always there to pick us up when we faltered.  Mr. Bradley was a monster.  While his motives behind his treatment of Jason were still unknown, they were in no way fair, nor were they acceptable.

I finished up the story to a stunned and open-mouthed Chelsea.  I couldn't believe she was looking at me through bulged out eyes and unable to formulate words.  She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. I motioned for her to finally say something, anything.

"I'm sorry, Cara.  I honestly don't know what to say."  She ran her hands through her hair again.

"I didn't know either, but I definitely believe everything she said."

"Oh I do, too," Chelsea quickly said. "Especially the part about her spawn of Satan sister.  I don't think I have ever seen such an evil bitch in my life."