At the office Jessica and Spencer worked together on the legal forms to dissolve her marriage. Spencer had offered to deliver them to Jason himself and Jessica laughed because he actually looked giddy about it. After they finished up the petition Jessica left the office to stop by the house to pick up a few more things before Jason was due home.
The house seemed eerily quiet and unfamiliar. It was the weirdest feeling to be there now and feel as if it were the first time stepping foot into this place. Making the rounds checking to see if she had everything she needed she stopped by Jason’s office. There was nothing in there that belonged to her but something pulled her to go in anyway. Walking around the room looking at various items they had picked out together she went around and sat at the large cherry wood desk. The picture frame that held an image of Jessica laughing at the park that once sat at the corner of the desk was now propped up in the middle, half a bottle of scotch and an empty shot glass sitting next to it. Jason probably had to drink half the bottle just to get through the night…but that was by his own choice. Unable to sit in this house any longer, Jessica picked up the box with her belongings and left.
The evening was spent up alone in her old room as the quietness of the house only added to her desolate feelings of failure and heartache. When her phone began to ring she ignored it. She was in no mood to talk to anyone at the moment. The phone rang a second then a third time before she finally picked it up. “Of course…” she said to the empty room as she seen the id of the caller.
“What do you want, Jason?” Jessica sounded irritated and didn’t care to come across mean to this man who had wrecked her world.
“Jess, I…” he paused not sure what to say now that she finally answered the phone. “Uh, I guess I just wanted to apologize. I had no idea that you were at the restaurant.”
Like that made any difference, she thought. He was still out in public with another woman. “Save it, I don’t need your apologies. You wanted to live the single life, you’re free, don’t feel sorry about it now.”
“I, uh, got the divorce papers,” Jason said in a low voice. Did he feel bad about that too? What did he expect would happen next? “Your boss dropped them off not long ago.”
Wow, Spencer put a rush on completing those for her. She would have to thank him again in the morning. “Good, there’s no need to prolong things.”
“Jess…shouldn’t we talk about this?”
“What? Are you seriously asking me that?” Jessica yelled into the phone. The nerve of him! “We’ve already gone over this and you’ve made your decision, Jason. There’s nothing left to say. I could never trust you again. I could never forgive you after all of this.”
“Thirty days…give me thirty days to try and make things right by you. If I can get you to forgive me then stop the divorce. If you still feel the same then I won’t contest the petition,” he pleaded, waiting for her response while holding his breath.
“Jason, why are you doing this now? You made it perfectly clear you want that whore I keep finding you with. It’s no use, what we had is over and done with. Good bye Jason,” she said then hung up on him. Why does he want to play these mind games with her? They both knew he had thirty days to contest the divorce petition and six months before it was finalized. If she had been asking for anything in the settlement then she would have expected Jason to contest it, but she wasn’t asking for anything. This should be an open and shut case. Perhaps he wanted to keep the divorce from going public just yet. He did have the Dawson case right now so their divorce would shed an unwanted spotlight on him and the case. Well, that was just tough. He didn’t care about her feelings when he had the affair, why should she worry about his career because of their divorce?
Tossing and turning all night Jessica had very little sleep. At least it was Saturday and she didn’t have to be up early for work. But she was up early as usual with a need to get out of town for the weekend. Packing a bag she marched out of the house with a spur of the moment idea to go visit her niece.
The flight was a few hours so Jessica tried to rest up on the plane. One look at the dark circles under her eyes and Jackson would bring down the inquisition. It had been a relief that her parents had not mentioned the situation to anyone, including her brothers. If they had she would have known about it. Instead she had not heard from either one in days, which in this case was a good thing. She couldn’t wait to show up at Jax’s place for a surprise visit. Spending time with him and Jane would definitely help her mood, not to mention the enjoyment she would get from seeing her beautiful little niece again. The last she heard she was crawling around non-stop.
Finally arriving in New York, Jessica headed for a taxi and gave the driver the address as she sat back and enjoyed the view. New York was beautiful and so was the countryside they had to travel through to reach Jackson’s house in Westchester. The place looked very welcoming and she couldn’t hold back the grin that spread across her face. There was a car in the drive she recognized at once as Will Avery’s. Will was a good friend of Jackson’s from their childhood and she knew he had spent most of his free time there helping out as much as he could. Their friendship was more of a brotherly bond. They were both very lucky to rekindle that friendship after a decade long feud.
The taxi pulled up to a stop just outside in front of the French doors in the rounded drive when the door burst open with Will bounding down the steps to greet her.
“Jess, what’s up? I didn’t know you were coming for a visit,” Will announced as he ran out to meet her followed by a very pregnant Jane wobbling towards them. Jessica smiled in earnest as she hugged Will before heading over to Jane.
“It was a last minute decision. I missed you guys so much and I wanted to come see Summer. Where is she?” Jessica looked around just in time to see Jax walking through the door, noticeably at a slow pace and still using a cane, with Summer taking her own wobbling steps. “She’s walking? Jax, why didn’t you tell me,” she admonished. Summer squealed with delighted laughter as Jessica picked her up and spun around while kissing her chubby little cheeks.
“It’s her new thing,” Jane beamed, every bit of the proud mama shining through.
Jessica hugged her brother next with a kiss on the check while Will paid the driver and grabbed her bag. “So you came alone?” Jackson asked and noticed the change on his sister’s face at once. “Where’s Jason?”
“Home,” she stated flatly, not offering any other details. They all returned inside and sat around the living room. Summer left Jessica’s embrace to go exploring around the room as every eye was focused on her. “Wow, I can’t believe how big she has gotten.”
“Tell me about it,” Jane agreed.
“How are you feeling, Jane? Any news with the delivery date yet?” Jessica admired Jane. When she first met her she knew they would become close. Jane was perfect for her brother. He settled down and was a stable family man now. And even Will had changed since Jax settled down.
“No, the doctor said everything looks fine and we still have some time before this one’s appearance,” Jane smiled as she rubbed her extended belly.
When Jessica looked up she noticed Jackson was eyeing her suspiciously. It was unnerving and she had to look away. But Jackson was not the type to let it go so he asked, “So why didn’t Jason come with you?”
Jessica looked straight into the eyes that resembled hers so much, her mouth in a flat line, as she silently cursed at him. “He’s busy with work.” The look she gave her brother had not gone unnoticed by him. She was definitely demanding him to stop asking about Jason…for now he would give in to her silent demands. As soon as they were alone he meant to get to the bottom of things. Most importantly is why she showed up unannounced and why would her newly wedded husband allow her to go off on her own after only three months of marriage without him tagging along to accompany her?
After dinner Will said his goodbyes as he had to go meet his date for the evening. The group broke out into laughter when Jessica asked, “You just had dinner. You’re going out to have a second dinner?” His response was what generated the laughter as he deviously replied, “Who said anything about eating dinner?” With a large toothy grin and a wink he headed out the door. Jane was the next one to leave the group. It had been a long day and she was going to put Summer down for the night and planned to retire herself once she finished up the dishes.
“Honey, just leave them. That’s what we have a housekeeper for,” Jackson tried to persuade Jane.
“Yes, and you know I don’t want her to think we live in a pig sty,” Jane retorted.
Laughing at the couple Jessica piped in, “Don’t worry about it, Jane. I’ll take care of the dishes. You should go lie down and rest.” With a quick hug and a thank you, Jane left the siblings alone and Jessica knew the inquisition was about to begin.
“Alright enough is enough…spill it,” Jackson’s tone was firm as he meant to finally get to the bottom of things. He kept replaying the last conversation he had with his sister a few days ago when she expressed her concerns with Jason and his workload.
“Jax please, there’s nothing to tell really,” Jessica tried to delay retelling the events of the past few days.
“I don’t buy it, sis. Just tell me. It’s better to get it out in the open sooner rather than later after all. You know I owe it to you since you did the same with me and Jane.” He was right about that. Jessica had pestered Jax daily trying to get information from him when she suspected he was running from something. That something happened to be his love for Jane.
“Fine, but please don’t say anything until I finish telling you everything.”
“Agreed,” he stated as he mocked locking his mouth shut and tossing the key.
“I’m divorcing Jason.”
Jackson opened his mouth about to ask why when he suddenly stopped as Jessica looked over with one eyebrow raised reminding him to stay silent.
“I left him after I found out he’s been sleeping around with someone from his office.” Jackson’s face froze and she could see the anger and rage emanating from the tight clenched jaw of his. To her amazement Jackson kept his word, he did not utter a single word as she continued to explain in detail what she has gone through the last couple of days. That could be contributed to Jane as well, Jax always let his temper take control in past but now he held it in check. When she finished her story she sat and eyed her brother as she said, “Ok, go ahead…tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I think I’m going to kill him. I mean literally, I’m going to kill him.” Jackson’s tone was deadly serious. Knowing this response was very much the brother she had grown up with, the fighter, she knew he really wanted to enforce bodily harm to Jason. It was touching in a way, big brother wanting to still protect his younger sister even in adulthood.
“Jax, it’s a nice gesture that you want to beat Jason to a pulp but reality is you are still recuperating and we’re adults now. You can’t just go and threaten to beat up everyone that hurts me. You would end up in jail and I would have to call mom and dad to bail you out,” she joked.
“Jess, he’s not going to get off without retribution. No one is going to treat you that way and get away with it.” His look was menacing with the tightened jaw and the clinched fists while flexing his muscles.
“I’ll be fine Jax,” she smiled at her brother. “Of course it has been a shock and yes, I am very hurt because I really thought what we had together, our love for each other, was the real deal. But I’m glad if this had to happen that I found out about it now rather than later.”
Jackson looked over at his sister trying to see past his anger to give her some kind words that showed he supported her through this…through anything. “So what are your plans now? What do you need? Just name it and I will see to it that you have it.”
“Honestly, right now I’m just trying to take it day by day. I just needed some time to breathe so that’s why the unannounced visit. It’s just for the weekend but I will be back when the baby is due. I still plan on being here for my niece’s arrival.” Jessica smiled feeling really good at the moment. If there was anyone she could count on it was her brothers and right now all she needed was a place away from the distractions in LA and to have some familiarity.
“You know you can stay as long as you want, whenever you want,” he replied as they both stood to head to the kitchen to tackle the dishes. The rest of the evening the siblings stayed up while laughing over old photos and memories of their youth. The topic of her failed marriage had not come up again nor had the thought of Jason.
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