The Best of Us (3 page)

Carly reached Landon Falls late the next night and decided to check into a local hotel. It was late and Carly didn’t want to wake Jenna up, even though she knew Jenna wouldn’t have minded. Carly knew that if she stayed with Jenna, they would wind up staying up until the wee hours of the morning talking and she was just too tired…tomorrow would be soon enough. Plus, Jenna didn’t even know she was coming, so surprising her at the shop would be fun.

The next morning, Carly got up and had a quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant before heading over to Jenna’s store. Driving up to the store, she noticed that the lights weren’t on. That was unusual because the shop was supposed to open at nine on Saturdays and it was a few minutes after nine. Since you could set your watch by Jenna, Carly was immediately worried, especially since Jenna lived in the apartment above the shop and didn’t have far to go to open up. Carly headed inside the store intending to use the key Jenna had given her years before when she bought the building; but the door was already unlocked. Carly hesitantly entered the store, cringing when the bell over the door sounded. In the quiet of the store, it sounded deafening and Carly felt her heart rate speed up. Carly continued in as she tried to control her racing heart.

The only accessible entrance into Jenna’s apartment was through the store. The buildings on this side of the street were so close that little light got into the alley, even on the brightest of days. Jenna didn’t like the feel of the closed in alley, so she had always used the store entrance. In fact, when you were in her apartment, you wouldn’t even know there was another entrance into her apartment. Jenna had hung a tapestry over the door that lead to the fire escape and placed an antique water table in front of it. If you didn’t know it was there, you never would have guessed. She’d also had the lower level of the fire escape removed. She’d have removed all of it, but Daniel wouldn’t let her saying she might need it “for, oh, I don’t know, a fire!” So they compromised and removed the lower level so no one could get up it, but she could get down in an emergency, granted, the last step was a doozy, but she was insistent.

The store was cloaked in shadows, but Carly knew her way around and didn’t need much light. As she neared the door that opened up to the steps that lead to Jenna’s apartment, Carly noticed a ray of light on the floor. She looked to her left and saw that the storeroom door was slightly ajar and that the light was on. Had Jenna lost track of time? Not likely. She also hadn’t come out when the bell above the front door chimed. Jenna had made sure she could hear the bell from in the storeroom so she would know if a customer came in.

Carly changed direction and started slowly toward the storeroom. She was feeling apprehensive about opening the door and felt foolish for it, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. The sudden thought that Jenna could be hurt propelled Carly into action.

“
Jenna,” Carly yelled as she raced toward the storeroom. She pushed the door open and stopped short. The room had been destroyed. There were boxes and broken figurines and shattered vases everywhere.

“
JENNA!” Carly yelled again much louder. She could barely hear herself above the pounding of her heart. She raced through the storeroom calling for Jenna. The storeroom was in an L shape and as she rounded the corner her blood ran cold. Lying there in a pool of blood was Jenna. Carly couldn’t wrap her mind around what she was seeing. It couldn’t be real. Even though Carly had never seen someone that was dead, she knew that Jenna was. Her eyes were open and she seemed to be staring off into space. Her eyes had a cloudy look to them and there was dried, congealed blood at the corner of her mouth and coming from her nose. She had several whelps on her face and her lip had been busted. Carly’s stomach threatened to revolt at the realization that Jenna had been beaten…to death. It took Carly only seconds to take it all in and realize what she was seeing but it seemed like she stood there forever, frozen.

“
NOOOOOO” a terrible, tormented and agonized moan tore from Carly as she found her voice. Falling to her knees she sobbed uncontrollably as she rocked back and forth. Huge, ugly, sobs tore through her body as she shook violently.

“
No, No, No, No” Carly started babbling between sobs. Her mind was telling her to get help but her body wouldn’t listen.

“
Jenna?”

Carly heard a man’s inquisitive voice, but it seemed as if it were a long way away. “Carly?” The voice had a hesitant, confused tone to it and footsteps were coming up fast behind her. Carly couldn’t react; all she could do was rock on her knees. No matter how much she wanted to look away, she couldn’t take her eyes of Jenna.

As Daniel entered the storeroom, he saw Carly. Thinking she had been hurt, he started toward her. Before Daniel reached Carly, Jenna’s body came into view and he froze. “Jenna?” Daniels voice sounded small and unsure as he said her name. But it didn’t stay that way. “JENNA!” Daniel’s voice roared as he come flying around Carly running to Jenna.

“
Jenna, baby…” Daniel had Jenna in his arms cradling her. Tears were pouring down his face. Carly couldn’t move; her mind all but shut down.

There was another voice from somewhere behind Carly but it didn’t really register with her. Daniel and Jenna were all she could see, and the blood, so much blood.

“
I’ve called the ambulance and the police.” A man Carly didn’t know knelt beside her but talked to Daniel.

Carly almost let out a crazed laugh, she could feel the hysteria bubbling up. An ambulance?! Carly thought, “For what? They can’t help her now.” That thought was all it took for the flood gates to open and another bought of hysterical crying erupted from Carly. The stranger pulled her into his arms trying to comfort her. She found herself being held by a man she didn’t know while watching the man she had once loved hold his dead sister, her best friend.

Carly would look back on the police and ambulance arriving as a blur. The paramedic took one look at her and diagnosed shock. He wanted to take her to the hospital but Carly wouldn’t move. It wasn’t that she was trying to be difficult; she just couldn’t get her body to function.

Carly watched Daniel as he talked to the police. He stood about five feet away and his eyes went back and forth from the pool of blood where Jenna had been before they took her away, back to Carly’s face. His face was unreadable and Carly wondered how he could pull himself together.

“
I got a call from her a couple of days ago but I was out and didn’t get the message until last night. I tried to call her back but there was no answer. It was late when I tried calling and it worried me that she wasn’t answering her phone. I didn’t want to call and wake up my parents and get them all upset if nothing was wrong. So I grabbed a buddy that has a plane and we decided to visit for a few days since we both have some free time…” His voice trailed off for a moment, and then he seemed to snap back from where ever he went.

“
We just got in, rented a car and drove straight here to see Jenna.” Daniels voice cracked when he said her name. It was the only indication that he wasn’t made of stone.

“
When we pulled up, I noticed that the lights were off and became even more concerned. We were headed up the stairs to Jenna’s apartment when I heard Carly cry out,” his eyes met Carly’s and she felt fresh tears flowing down her face. No, he wasn’t doing well but he was staying strong for now. “I thought it was Jenna and came running, thinking she was hurt. I saw Carly first; she was on the floor rocking back and forth and...” Daniel stopped for a second to regain control, “Then it registered that something was very wrong, as I reached Carly, I saw…” Daniel took a fortifying breath, “I saw Jenna lying there and rushed to her side. Mike called 911 and that’s pretty much all I know.”
Except that my baby sister is dead
, he added to himself. Jenna is dead, gone. He hadn’t been there for her, now she was gone. He and Carly were watching each other and she knew that she was seeing the same thing in his eyes that he was seeing in hers, blame and devastation.

The officer, he’d introduced himself as Detective Stone, thanked Daniel, handed him his card and turned to Carly. “If you remember anything that you might think is useful, please call me.” He had tried to interview Carly but she was too deep in shock and couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought. He promised to come see her in the morning.

Daniel walked over to her, took her into his arms and held her while she cried. She hadn’t talked to him, or even seen him for that matter, in eight years, but now she clutched on to him and couldn’t seem to stop the flow of tears. Daniel somehow got her walking while still holding her. He helped her into the passenger seat of her car and went around to the driver’s side. He said something to his friend Mike who was watching Carly through the windshield; Mike nodded, then turned and got into his car. Daniel got in, reached over and buckled Carly in as one would a child, then drove to Carter’s place. He managed to get her inside and gave her a glass of water and two pills. She didn’t care what they were, right now, she didn’t care about anything. Daniel helped her lay down; again it was as if she were a child, on a bed he claimed when he came into town to visit. Then he lay down beside her and held her until she cried herself to sleep. They still hadn’t said a word to each other…

Once she had fallen asleep, he got up to call his parents and brothers to tell them about Jenna. Harm lived in Montana where he was a fire jumper and Carter was in Washington covering a story of a new federal judge that had been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Daniel managed to keep it together while he listened to each family member in turn, first it was disbelief, then it was shock and finally it was unabashed grief and sobs. Then, still wearing the clothes that were now stiff with Jenna’s dried blood, sitting in his brother’s recliner, he cried. Big racking sobs tore out of him as he poured out the grief and misery he felt from losing the brightest star; the best of them…his baby sister Jenna.

The day was stunningly beautiful, it was a warm seventy eight degrees, the sun was shinning and the sky was crystal blue with big fluffy clouds. Any other time Carly would have thought it a perfect day. It reminded her of a time, too many years ago, a lifetime ago, when she’d stood there, face upturned to the sky enjoying the sun, just before she was tackled. But there would be no laughter today. No joking. No Jenna. Not today, today she was burying her best friend. Carly had been functioning on automatic for the last two days. She really couldn’t remember much. She slept a lot. Apparently Daniel had given the pills the paramedic had given him to her dad when he’d arrived to take her home. Her dad made sure she took them like the bottle said, even if they made her sleep.

When Carly had awakened in Carter’s house that first day, she was momentarily confused. Then the memory came rushing back and she thought she would cry, but nothing happened. She felt numb. Hearing voices in the other room, she got up and headed toward Daniel’s voice. She found him sitting on the edge of his chair, looking like he had just taken a shower. He looked up at her when she walked into the room. He was out of the chair in an instant, taking her into his arms. She clung to him as they just stood there holding onto each other for what seemed like an eternity.

“
Are you okay? How do you feel?” Daniel’s familiar voice sounded raw with pain.

“
My head is aching...”

“
The paramedic said you needed to drink lots of water. He said the pills he gave you would make you thirsty and could cause headaches if you became dehydrated.” Daniel let go of Carly and she noticed for the first time who Daniel had been talking to.

“
Daddy” Carly cried and ran to her father. She hadn’t seen him when she first walked in because he had been behind Daniel. Carly realized she had been wrong, seeing her dad had a new onslaught of tears streaming down her face. He held her as he had when she was little and had been hurt. He stood there rocking gently back and forth in a manner that was very similar to the way Carly was rocking on the floor when she found Jenna. Daniel had to swallow hard and look away to get the lump in his throat to go away.

When Daniel had called him, Carly’s dad felt horror at what had happened to Jenna but couldn’t help but feel relief that Carly was safe. He felt guilty over that, but as a father he hadn’t been able to help it. Jenna had been as much a part of their family as Carly had been to the Wayne family. He and Nancy, Carly’s mom, had loved Jenna.

“
Thank you for taking care of her.” Carly’s dad said to Daniel as he guided Carly to the door.

“
Ed, let me know if she needs anything.” Daniel’s voice was thick with tears. Carly stopped, turned to Daniel and gave him another hug. Daniel held on tightly and kissed her forehead. “Call me if you need anything,” he said softly.

Her dad had taken Carly home where her mom was waiting. He had called to let her know that they were on their way and she had pulled herself together so she could take care of her daughter.

In the last two days, Carly’s parents had been there for her. Making sure she ate and slept and they were there to hold her when she cried. While they couldn’t get her to eat much, she did a lot of sleeping and crying.