Chapter 15

A whole week. A whole damn week! It was his fault actually. Not only he had let her go but he had even pushed her to go when she didn't want to. How dumb was he anyway?

She hadn't called. Not even Hannah. Not even Maddy. Maybe she had her own problems, maybe her parents required most of her time but that was no excuse, was it? Alex was finding it hard to believe that she couldn't even pick up the damn phone!

He paced his study, irritated beyond belief. He didn't know where she was. That morning she had took her suitcase and went to find her brother. And he hadn't heard from her since. She had told him that her parents lived in London but he strongly suspected that she hadn't told him the truth. How was he supposed to contact her when he had no idea where the hell she was?

What bothered him most was that he couldn't stop thinking that she might need him. He felt so protective that he wanted to go there and have a word with those cruel people who had hurt her so bad. He wanted to put himself between her and the rest of the world. But he could not do that because she had left. Because she had to fight her own battles and he could do nothing about it.

He cursed while Maddy entered the room holding a cup of coffee. The last days he had been brooding, snapping at everyone. Maddy was the only one who had the patience to deal with him.

"Alex? What's the matter?"

"I didn't ask for coffee", he said instead of a reply.

"I know", she replied calmly. "But you'll drink it anyway".

He took the cup from her hands because he didn't have the energy to fight with Maddy. He took a sip. It was black, scalding hot and strong; just what he needed but he didn't tell her that.

Maddy sat down and gave him a stern look. A look that meant he was in some kind of trouble. "What did you do to her?"

"Me? What makes you think I had anything to do with her decision?" Alex had told Maddy and Hannah that Jen asked a few days off without explaining that she had to visit her parents. Maddy of course suspected that something else was going on but this was the first time she accused him.

"Oh please!", Maddy exclaimed. "Are you going to pretend that you spent together a week in Paris and you didn't take advantage of the situation?"

"You make me sound like a total jerk", he said, amused.

Maddy glared at him. "I know you very well Alex Devlin. And I don't think that you are a jerk. But you can hurt Jen easily, don't deny it".

Alex resumed his pacing. "I've always been honest with you Maddy. However, what makes you so sure that she can't hurt me?"

"Are you deliberately answering every question with a question? You know that your tricks don't work on me Alex".

And she was right of course. Maddy was the one person that Alex could never fool. "Let it be, Maddy. Whatever happened is between us and I don't want to discuss it anymore".

Maddy was standing now and about to deliver a lecture when Hannah rushed in the room like a tornado yelling, "Jen called!" Alex stood still looking at his daughter.

"What did she say?", Maddy interrupted before Alex could.

Hannah fell on Alex pleading, "Daddy you have to do something. Please". She attempted to explain but she was so agitated that she didn't make any sense. Alex hugged her tenderly rocking her back and forth for a while.

"Calm down, honey. We can't understand a word you're saying".

When Hannah looked up at him, her big eyes swimming in tears he was sure that something was wrong. "She didn't want to talk to you. I tried but she wouldn't listen to me. She said she called me to say goodbye. She's not coming back".

Anger flared suddenly. "The hell she isn't!"

"But daddy..."

"It's ok honey. Did she tell you where she was?"

Hannah blushed and averted her gaze from his face. "I'm not supposed to tell you", she explained.

"Do you want her back or not?", he asked tersely.

"Of course I do". Hannah fidgeted for a few moments and then said nervously, "She's in London. But she didn't say where exactly".

Maddy took her hands and pulled her away. "Your father will find her Hannah. Don't worry. Come now, he has work to do".

They left the room while Alex was picking up the phone. Finding her was not going to be a problem. Jen was running away from him and using her parents as an excuse. He knew it as well as he knew his own name.

...

A week later and she still hadn't found the courage to face them. She was staying in her brother's apartment but she was not so sure that she would go and see her parents after all. John had explained the situation to her and it was not so pleasant.

Their father was dying. Cancer, the doctors had told them and it was spreading fast. He had refused to go through all the treatments and they had respected his decision. He had always despised hospitals and doctors. He wanted to die in his own bed and nobody had the strength to deny his wish.

John said that their mother was falling apart slowly. The house was full of nurses, relatives and neighbours but that didn't help her. That is why John thought that Jen's return was important. She, on the other hand, thought that her father wouldn't be too happy to see her and her mother would accuse her of making a sick man feel worse. But how would she go on with her life if she didn't even try? She loved them and the least she could do was to offer help. If they didn't accept she would leave them in peace.

The problem was that she had to see them first, to return after eight years. Procrastination was not a solution. This afternoon she would go.

John came in the living room looking grim. "Dad is worse. We better get there as soon as you can".

"Now?", she asked, alarmed.

"Yes. Get ready. I'll be waiting for you in the car".

She was ready in five minutes and she joined him feeling nervous. Her parents had a house in Essex but they had bought it only five years ago and she had never been there. She was lost in her own thoughts until she realized that John was looking at her with an amused expression on his face.