Abandoned but Not Alone (35 page)

Aviva screamed; the sound filled with bone chilling
horror.

Josh shouted
‘
no
’
with such force
the sound echoed throughout the room.

Crash
–
Jake who was standing by the window put his
fist through the glass panel with such might, shards of glass flew around him
as blood ran in rivulets unnoticed down his balled fist.

Jackson rose slowly to his feet; hands hanging at his
sides, silent tears of despair sheeting down his face at what his child, his
flesh and blood had gone through
–
alone.

Jason turned and walked out the room not to return for
the remainder of the evening; his tears hidden from those within, unable to
reach out for the comfort he so desperately needed in order to bridge the void
that had for so long been a part of his existence.

London, England

“
I hope you have good news for me. I
’
m not a patient man and your lack of
movement has pushed me to breaking point. Therefore, for the sake of your own
well-being and those you hold dear, the next words out of your mouth had better
be pleasing to me.
”

“
I think they will be.
”

“
Continue...
”

“
Matters have changed at my end. I think
we need to reconsider our original plan. I need a few more weeks to assess how
matters develop. If they go as I think they will, everything you want will be
yours for the taking.
”

“
Explain to me why I should change my
plans at such a late stage, and don
’
t test my
patience, make sure I like what you have to say.
”

“
It would seem the unstoppable Jason King
may have developed an Achilles
’
heel; in
the form of one Aviva Johnson. I
’
ve known
Jason for a long time, and I have never seen him act this way before. In all
the years I
’
ve known
him, he has never had a woman stay at the house. I
’
m ninety per cent sure we can use this turn of events to our
advantage. I just need a few more weeks, if she
’
s still around; we
’
ve got him
right where we want him.
”

“
Why are you so sure this will work?
”

The caller
outlined his new plan.

“
This sounds as though it has merit.  Tell
me more.
”

“
She
’
s staying at the house
–
that
’
s the
beauty of this, I
’
ll be able
to keep an eye on any developments as and when they happen. If anything
changes, we can go back to the original plan. But I assure you, if things work
out the way I think they will, this is the way to go.  I want this just as much
as you do. I
’
ve had to
live in his shadow for so long it makes my blood boil when I think of what
could have been mine
–
it
’
s time I collected, if Jason suffers in
the process, then all the better.
”

“
Very well, I
’
ll give you the time you need.  A word of warning
–
don
’
t let me down. The next time I hear from you, I want to be told
we
’
re ready to move, one
way or the other.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jason awoke
early the next morning and lay gazing at a still sleeping Aviva. As his eyes
moved across her sleeping form, from nowhere the thought entered his head, what
he would do if this small woman were not in his life. Amazed anew, Jason
contemplated how empty his life had been just days before. Although Steve had
been a constant in his life, for the most part this was the first time for a
long time he was honest enough to admit to himself something had been missing. 
Jason was finally prepared to accept that he needed someone. Within a few short
days everything had changed. When he least expected it the woman lying beside
him in slumber had rushed towards him, heralding changes that still left him
reeling. Staring at her precious face, he knew he would do whatever it took to
keep her with him.

He hadn
’
t understood that he had been searching
for someone to fill the gaping void that occupied the space that should contain
his heart. Yet here she was; mending the fragments, bonding them together to
form something whole.  She made him feel defenseless, needy for her constant
presence. Jason King, who needed no one, needed Aviva Johnson as he had needed
nothing before. Her presence had been the only reason he had been able to cope
with the sudden deluge of family he never dreamt existed. Shifting his eyes to
the window, Jason stared unseeing at the eastern horizon as the sun began to
spread its glow across the sky. He had a family; people existed in the world
who shared the same blood that ran through his veins. The sudden understanding
stopped his breath. He had a family. As the thought ran through his mind again
and again as though on a loop, he finally gave voice to the need buried deep
within; buried so deeply by the sheer force of his will, had never allowed it
to surface for fear of it destroying his very existence. The fact that someone
had been prepared to discard him with the unwanted trash, never looking back to
see if he still breathed had been deliberately, blocked from his mind.
“
I have a family
…”
Jason whispered into
the stillness of the room.

Running her
hand gently across Jason
’
s chest;
Aviva blinked back tears as she watched the emotions pass across the chiseled
plains of his handsome face.
“
Yes, you do
and if you give them a chance, I don
’
t think you
will ever regret allowing them into your life.
”

“
I think you may be right, but I need
time. Help me to make them understand that, I just need some more time to
assimilate them into my life. Sometimes they make me feel like they
’
re pressing down on me so hard I can
’
t breathe. Can you do that for me; can
you try to make them understand?
”

“
Oh, Jason, of course I will baby. I
’
ll try
–
no I'll make sure they understand.
”

“
Thanks Angel, I don
’
t want them to disappear, I just want
…”
  Feelings of vulnerability once again
overtook him and he couldn
’
t meet her
eyes.

“
It
’
s okay, I understand
–
I
’
ll speak to Jackson later on.
”

Still
unable to meet her gaze Jason got out of the bed and made his way to the
bathroom. Hearing the toilet flush and water running as Jason brushed his
teeth; Aviva awaited his return. Moving around the room Jason dressed in sweats
and then bent down to give her a quick kiss. 
“
I
’
m going to
the gym; try to get some more rest. I
’
ll see you
in a little while.
”

“
Okay, have a good workout and don
’
t forget I start working at the studio
today.
”

Hesitating,
his hand on the handle of the door, Jason tried to hold in the question that
sprung into his mind
–
and
failed.
“
So you start working
with Carlos today?
”

“
Yes Jason, I do
–
but you already know that.
”

Grunting
Jason exited the room, closing the door very quietly behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jason knew
the vagaries of his life had shaped him into a hard man, a ruthless man and he
readily admitted to those facets of his personality being true. He had long ago
decided that he wouldn
’
t go out of
his way for anyone
–
especially
those he had business dealings with.

Once he had
started to make money, people had wanted to be around him, both men and women,
in the hope that some of his Midas touch would rub off on them. He accepted
this for what it was
–
greed and
treated greedy people according to their nature, with disdain. He didn
’
t need them, they needed him.

Being
confronted by other people
’
s greed had
been one of the foremost reasons he had withdrawn from being a part of the
business world, preferring to leave the entire cat and mouse crap to Steve.
Facing the avaricious greed of corporate America was something Jason had no
patience for. His want to speak his mind had made more enemies than it had
brought in business; so he had withdrawn to work behind the scenes. He had yet
to fill Steve in on his handling of the meeting in his absence. His friend was
going to be pissed at him, nothing new there, but Cox and his cronies were
messing with them, making excuses for the non-commencement of the scheduled
work, something or someone was responsible for Cox messing with them. The two
companies had worked together before with no problems outside of the norm.
These maneuvers felt different, contrived and Jason was at the end of his
patience.

“
You did what?
”
Steve shouted anger written across his handsome face as he
tried to control his growing temper.
“
What is the
matter with you, Jason? I was only gone for one day and you
’
ve probably single handily managed to
undo all the progress I
’
ve made in
the last year.
”

Jason could
feel his own anger rising at being brought to task by Steve
’
s comments and raised voice.
“
You weren
’
t answering your phone, you weren
’
t here and I was
–
so I dealt
with the situation.
”

“
What did you say to him Jason, if you
’
ve jeopardized this contract with your
antics, I
’
ll
…”

“
You
’
ll what Steve?
”
Jason
asked in a quiet voice; his anger rising another notch.

“
I
’
ll kick your ass, that
’
s what I
’
ll do. I
’
ve told you a million times, leave the negotiations to me
–
you short tempered son-of-a-bitch!
”

Jason
’
s booming laugh suddenly filled the room
as his anger dissipated.  With all he had learned over the last few days, he
couldn
’
t help but see the
funny side of his mother being referred to as a
‘
bitch
’
.
“
Well you got one thing right
–
my mother is a bitch; so what else you
got?
”

“
This is serious, Jason. Your antics are
no laughing matter. What, did you do?
”

“
I took Mr Cox aside and told him he had
till the end of the week to sign the contract. No more negotiations, no more
pussy-footing around. He either signed the contract or the deal was off the
table.  I also told him there were a whole bunch of building contractors just
waiting in the wings to take his place.
”

“
Jesus
–
do you know what you
’
ve done?
”

“
What
’
s going on here, I dealt with a contractor that has been holding
us over a barrel for way too long, making us look like chumps and you
’
re sweating it
–
the question is why?
”

Pacing the
floor of the office Steve didn
’
t answer
Jason
’
s question. The
tension in the room was swirling around them; the hairs on Jason
’
s neck rose. Something was going down and
he wanted answers.
“
I
’
ll ask you again, Steve
–
what the hell is going on here!
”