Chapter 7: July - Stars in the Sky

Imagine a jigsaw puzzle. Not just any puzzle, but one of those multi-thousand piece monsters littered with detail and colors. Getting started is no chore; all you have to do is start with the border and corner pieces, set the structure for the big picture. Sort out the colored tiles and find a few of the more obvious pieces. Problems quickly become obvious for the uninitiated ... crossover colors, similar images in three or more spots, any other challenges the creator dreamed up for the truly devoted jigsaw enthusiasts. To paraphrase Gump, life is a lot like that box of puzzle pieces – you might have an idea of the structure, the people in your life, and how those relationships connect, but working out the details can take a lifetime.

Greg Bartels stood in the doorway of the Reeds' home with a woman Jahn had never met before, and he couldn't begin to imagine what the hell the man wanted with him half a year since they'd seen each other last. They weren't friends. They weren't co-workers. They had almost nothing in common. At worst, the pair had been nemeses unable to stand the sight of each other, at best united only by their inability to successfully resolve a relationship with a woman they both wanted. For all Jahn cared, Greg could have dropped off the face of the earth.

From the expression on Fiona's face, it was clear she'd already made the connection whenever the scrappy tool had been introduced to her; and the brunette looked ready to forestall an argument between the two men. There was something else at play here, and he didn't like not knowing what it was.

Unable to mask the hostility, or even keep from raising his voice a notch, he asked, "What do you want now, Greg? Hell, how did you even know where to find me?" A reaction was immediate, but it didn't come from his former competition, it came from the woman at his side. For the first time, he took notice of the woman. She looked to be a few years older than Jahn, bearing an oddly tired look, as if the years had taken a toll. Her hair fell in long curls of a light brown that complimented round, dimpled cheeks. She was curvy in a classic way, though not overweight, and he thought she could be beautiful under the right circumstances, if it weren't for her eyes. Lord, those eyes. Colored a light green that looked like they could sparkle with laughter ... but there was no laughter in them. Only stark fear, and fear of Jahn, of all people. All his fights had been grade school scraps, and he'd never raised a hand to another adult. A cold sensation twisted his gut.

Jahn had never worked at a center for victims of domestic violence, didn't know for sure that anyone he knew was a victim of it, or how to read the signs. But a nasty certainty dawned on him; he was sure this woman had been abused, and badly. He hoped that Greg wasn't the piece of shit who'd done it because it would change a lot of things he thought he knew about the man's relationship with Andrea.

Greg's mouth turned downward, as if he was working up an angry response to Jahn's outburst, but strangely he held his tongue, though his eyes broadcasted sheer outrage. Instead, he raised a calming hand to the woman's shoulder. The fear in her eyes subsided, and she seemed to relax. Jahn backtracked, with an apology that was as sincere as he could make it. "Sorry miss, Greg and I have some history." She nodded faintly, and he turned his attention back to the man. "Why are you here?"

Fiona said gently, "Relax, Jahn. He's here to see me and Jen."

Disbelief washed over his brain. What the hell was this, now?

Late to the show, Jen's voice piped up behind him. "What's up?" Peering over his shoulder at Greg and the woman beside him, she commented to his companion, "Say, you look familiar. You work at V&P?" She said nothing, but shook her head.

Fiona, ever diplomatic, took charge of the situation and said, "Greg has some things he needs to say. Let's have a seat, something cool to drink and talk about it, alright?" After getting everyone a chair in the kitchen, she poured lemonade, and got introductions out of the way. Greg's companion was Amelia Collins.

Visibly more relaxed, Greg kept a constant and reassuring hand on Amelia's arm as he began to talk, his story coming out haltingly.

"I wouldn't have dragged Amy along if I didn't think she needed to be here. I don't know either of these ladies..." he nodded towards Fiona and Jen, in turn, " ... and I wanted to make sure they understood I'm not just talking a lot of shit. Amy will verify everything I tell you."

"Here it is: Amy's been in a couple of real bad relationships. You know the type, macho fuc-"he cut himself off, moderating his language, "-macho tools who like to use their fists, who think its okay to treat a woman like a punching bag." There was anger in his voice, but his blue eyes were an expressive apology as he looked sideways at Amy, obviously not keen on sharing her personal affairs.

Thank you Greg, Jahn reflected silently.

"I'm telling you this for a reason, not to get sympathy. Her latest boyfriend-"

Jen cut in suddenly, "Jake Edwards, right? I thought I'd seen you before." Unsure just who she was talking about, Jahn looked at her curiously, but Fiona beat him to the question. "That's the skinny guy with the long dark hair, isn't it? Works with you in Records?"

The blonde nodded, her mouth twisting in distaste. "He used to hassle me for dates all the time, hinted to people that I was his girlfriend. Stopped bugging me a few years back. Guess he got a gir-, right, okay," she stumbled over the response as a flush of embarrassment crossed Amelia's face. Greg's hand tightened comfortingly on hers.

"Yeah, that's him," he agreed. "I ran into Amy in Vander & Porter's cafeteria the day I broke up with Andrea. Recognized Amy – we both went to the same high school, though she was an upperclassman and we didn't really know each other. We talked for a bit, reminisced about the old days, all that good stuff, you know? She was the life of all the parties... ," he trailed off in embarrassment, then took up again.

"Macho shows up, makes a big deal about his girl chatting with guys he doesn't know." Venomous contempt began to creep into Greg's voice, though he kept his tone even. "Seen that shit before, would have just backed off and went my merry way, rather than making trouble for Amy. But no, something she said set him off and he slapped her ... in the middle of a public cafeteria, for fu- goodness sake. You could have heard a pin drop in there."

He locked eyes with Jahn. "I've never hit a woman in my life, but when I saw him do that, I knew he'd done it before. Whole lot. Seen people do that before, know ladies who've let it happen to them."

"I've never backed down from a fight in my life, even picked a few. Called him out, said a few things, he took a swing. Flattened that little shit, right there." No pride in his voice, just a flat statement of fact. "Nobody said a word. He had it coming. Took the rest of the afternoon off, told Amy that unless she wanted to live the rest of her life like that, she needed to let me help her. She agreed, thank God, but Edwards made that part pretty easy. She didn't have anything to lose by leaving everything behind." Greg delivered these statements piecemeal, as if reciting old history for a class. "We got a restraining order against Edwards, and I'm giving her a place to stay while she gets her life sorted out."

Jahn interjected. "That's like ... six months ago. How do Jen and Fiona fit in?"

Greg grimaced. "I went over to their place while Edwards was at work to collect her clothes. I guess he expected that. Some of his friends were waiting and beat the shit out of me. Lost a couple teeth, and they told me I'd lose more if I ever came 'round there again." Amelia's face contorted with unhappiness, tears forming at the corner of her eyes, and she ducked her head.

Jen rose and went to her. "We don't need to stay for this, Amy. Let me get you some Kleenex, and help you with that mascara." The blonde got up, and the others waited in uncomfortable silence as the pair climbed the stairs.

When they'd gone, Greg picked up where he'd left off. " ... so I left. Told her it was fine, we could get her some new stuff real easy. She wanted to know what happened, made me tell her. So I told her he'd had some friends watching the place and let her work out the rest."

"Ever seen one of those movies, where someone delivers a creepy line and you know bad shit is probably gonna happen? It was exactly like that."

"He watches the girls too, she told me."

The bottom dropped out of Jahn's stomach, and he heard a low noise like rumbling that it took him a moment to recognize as bile rising in his throat.

Fiona must have seen his expression change, and turned to him with a look of concern on her face, "Jahn?"

"And the 'girls' were Jenny and Fiona," he croaked. "Right? Who were his friends? Skinheads?"

Greg eyed him. "Wouldn't have known by looking, but yeah basically. I pressed her for details, asked her who these pricks were, who the punk was watching. Amy said they were part of some Purity group that Edwards was in and doing somebody a favor

Jahn closed his eyes, a wave of nausea roiling in his gut.

"I told her we needed to let these girls know about it, so they could get a restraining order or something. Don't know why he was watching them, what he wanted. Maybe he's just a pervert, but you can't take chances with a guy who pounds on people he claims to love. That's why I'm here. I'd have passed it along to you instead, if I'd known Fiona was your girlfriend." Jahn didn't care to explain the relationship, and let it go at that.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Puzzle pieces suddenly begin to fall into place, a picture begins to form.

"got friends on the outside keeping a close eye on my little girl for me."

"long list, kids who got shown the door."

"Margrave"

"used to run off any kids that gave Jen a hard time"

"Jake Edwards"

"asked me for dates all the time"

"watches the girls"

Donovan had friends, good friends who knew he wasn't ever getting out of prison. He asked them for a favor, and what greater favor could somebody do for a friend than make sure his little girl had someone looking after her? Sure, the half-breed was a fly in the ointment, but if his kid adored her half-sister, allowances could be made. There was something about that that didn't quite fit, but the picture was there.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

Two attractive girls lived alone, not just any girls, but sisters. Both charismatic and intelligent women, both well into their twenties. Virgins, too. One as lusty as any guy, the other somewhat reserved, but not so shy as to be a wilting lily. Falling for and falling into bed with a guy just out of a failed relationship, after only a few weeks of dating. The guy looked a little like an old movie star, but really? What were the odds?

"had boyfriends before ... they just never seem to stick around long"

"was supposed to be my first"

"hinted that he was my boyfriend"

How many people did Jen and Fiona have looking out for them? A neighbor across the street. A co-worker. Perhaps fellow students or a teacher? Somehow, Jahn had slipped under their radar, but had passed whatever test Donovan had concocted in his head and was left be.

Someone to look out for you, that was a good thing, right? Friends who cared, kept an eye on family to make sure things were alright, but Jake Edwards was another matter altogether. What kind of crap could he get up to, if Donovan's friends decided he'd make a good boyfriend for Jen? Fiona ... how would someone like Edwards look at a woman like her? Another punching bag to add to the list? Gotta keep the girlfriend in line somehow, right? Even Donovan only showed her the barest respect.