Seeing Red (26 page)

“Hey, what happened to Alexander? Does he know about
last night?” Jill asked.

“I’ve tried calling him, but he doesn’t answer. I
was worried your vision was about him, so I called him as soon as
you went into your trance, but he never called back.”

“I’m sure he’s fine. Probably busy with some girl.
I’m not worried about him. This vision had nothing to do with him.
Anyway, I’m starved. I’m going to make something to eat. You guys
want anything?”

“No thanks. We ate. I was cooking when Oliver
arrived. We had wheat pancakes, a spinach-egg-white omelet and a
cleansing seaweed shake.”

Jill looked at Oliver who made a yacking face behind
Heather’s back. “I’m glad I wasn’t awake for that.” Jill said.

“Y’all need to stop teasing me about my cooking; it
was delicious! Wasn’t it, hon’?” she said, looking at Oliver.

“Yep. Mmmm. Delicious.” Jill couldn’t help but smile
at the sweet way Oliver refused to hurt Heather’s feelings.

Good judgment comes from bad
experience; unfortunately, most of that comes from bad
judgment.

-Helen

Jillian

The certified letter that Jill was about to open last
night sat on the kitchen counter. She opened it, and it was a
formal letter on very expensive paper addressed to Ms. Jillian
Stone. She read it carefully. Twice.

Dear Ms. Stone:

My name is Francesco Amico. I am the owner of the
chain of luxury resorts and spas—Bonamico. On February
18
^th
, we will be grand opening of a new luxury resort
and spa on the island you once called home. We were so touched by
the remaining items we found on your camp that we could not begin
this project without paying tribute to the passengers of the
dreaded flight that ended with your being stranded for twelve
years. Together with one of the investors, we have decided to have
a memorial made in honor of the passengers. I am requesting that
you honor us in coming to the gala as well as the grand opening
ceremony of Bonamico Rota Resort and Spa and perhaps say a few
words about your experience. I hope that you will consider my
invitation—all expenses paid, of course.

I’m hoping to meet you at your former home now known
as Rota Island. Enclosed are two first class tickets for you and a
guest.

Sincerely,

Francesco Amico

CEO Amico Holdings, Inc.

The island—Onion Island—had been purchased, and a
resort and spa was being constructed. She put the invitation aside
and went back to the kitchen. It took her all of thirty seconds to
decide that she wasn’t going to attend.

Jill heard the knock on the door and Heather welcome
Paul back.
Shit!
She still didn’t really know what she was
going to do about Paul. She had definite feelings for him, but with
the realization of the previous evening, she was out of sorts and
preferred he wasn’t around. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she
couldn’t tell him the truth . . . yet. Jillian needed time to think
without the distraction that was Paul Black.

Paul walked into the kitchen, planted a kiss on
Jill’s cheek, placed a bag of groceries on the counter, and started
cooking. Normally, she didn’t like aggressive men, although they
seemed to gravitate towards her, but it felt good to be taken care
of for once in her life.

“I’m making dinner. Hope you’re hungry,
sweetheart.”

“Famished. Thanks. And thank you for staying with me
last night.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It was my pleasure.” He
said with a smile.

There was another knock on the door. My God, is my
home a revolving door?

Who was it now?!
Jill sighed; Paul kept
cooking. She heard Alexander’s voice coming from the other room,
and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
A revolving door
of beautiful men. I guess life could be worse.
There was
undeniable electricity connecting them, but he had, as usual, not
been around when she needed him.

“Where have you been?” Oliver barked.

“It’s none of your business. Why?”

“I’ve been calling you since last night. I was
worried. Jill had—” Oliver cut it short, realizing Paul was in the
other room. Jill could hear everything from the kitchen but didn’t
even bother going out to greet Alexander. He should have been there
for her last night.

“Jill, what?” He was loud this time and sounded
frantic.

“She um . . . She fainted and we had to call the
ambulance.”

“What? Where is she? Is she okay?” He walked into
her room when Jill came around the corner to meet him. He grabbed
her right away and held her arms out, looking her over from head to
toe. “Did you have a . . .” Jill caught him off by placing a finger
over his mouth, and her eyes signaled that there was someone in the
kitchen. However, she did nod, affirming that she had a vision. She
whispered into his ear, “I’ll explain later.”

She didn’t want to argue but was certainly hurt at
his uncanny ability to disappear when she needed him most, but she
was not going to discuss her secrets in front of Paul.

Looking intensely into her eyes, he whispered with a
face full of concern and something else, anguish perhaps, “Are you
okay?”

She let go of his hands, “Just fine. Why are you
here, Alexander?”

And with that, Paul brought the plate of food from
the kitchen and placed it on the dinner table, “Here you go,
sweetheart. Eat,” he said, completely ignoring Alexander’s
presence.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Alexander
snapped.

“Alexander!” Jillian yelled, pushing him slightly
away from Paul. They stood a little too close for comfort.

“Someone needed to take care of her, Mr. Jacobs, and
she’s my girlfriend. That honor belongs to me.”

“Girlfriend?” Alexander looked first at Jill then at
his brother and then to Heather, who just shrugged. Jill fidgeted,
looking at the plate of food instead of Alexander.

“I’m going to respect your friendship with my
girlfriend, Mr. Jacobs, because Jill seems to want you around.
However, I want to make it clear that I don’t like it and I don’t
share. Get used to seeing me around because I’m not going anywhere,
so that jealousy you have going on—both of you, actually,” Paul
said, looking at Oliver and Alexander, “needs to be kept bottled
up.”

Heather and Jill both stared with their mouths open.
It was as if it happened to someone else; Jill was not sure about
the whole girlfriend thing or the twins’ jealousy. It was
unnerving.

“Paul, don’t talk to them like that.” Jill
interrupted the pissing contest. “They’re just . . .
overprotective.”

“So am I.” Paul replied.

***

Alexander

Alexander refused to show it, but he felt as if his
heart had been ripped out of his chest. He gave her space because
she had made it clear she needed it, and he had sensed that Oliver
was the reason behind it, but now this son of a bitch, Paul, had
snuck his creepy professor hands into the picture. What was worse,
Jill wasn’t denying it.

“Jillian, I need to speak with you in private.”
Alexander demanded.

“Anything you need to say to her, you can say in
front of me.” Paul calmly stated, grabbing Jill’s hand and planting
a soft but possessive kiss on the inside of her wrist.

“No, Paul. I need a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Jill responded, nervously.

“Okay, sweetheart, but if you are not back in ten
minutes, I’m coming to get you.”

Alexander almost lunged forward and grabbed Paul by
the throat when Oliver reached over and seized his brother’s arm
and herded him outside with Jillian. For the first time in a long
time, Alexander felt defeated and on the verge of losing
control.

“Jill, love, what’s going on?” He was suffering.

“I don’t really know what to say, Xander, and why
are you calling me love? Stop that. It makes me uncomfortable and .
. . confused. You haven’t been around. He asked me out. I said yes.
He’s a nice guy. It’s no big deal.”

“And how did that progress to girlfriend? You do
realize that all that was missing from that kiss was that he whip
his dick out and piss around you in order to mark his territory,
right.”

She had her hands on her hips as she tapped her
right foot. “He’s a little protective and old-fashioned. It’s just
a word and a kiss. Relax.”

“No, he’s not old-fashioned. He’s just old and he’s
our fucking teacher.”

“Not anymore, Xander. He’s just a guy. And he’s only
thirty-three! He’s not old. Where have you been? You disappeared.
Again.”

“I didn’t disappear. I . . . I went away. I needed
to think and take care of a few things. You asked me to stay away,
and I was trying to respect your wishes. It wasn’t easy, but had I
known that I would be coming back to you and Professor Asshole, I
wouldn’t have left.”

“Why is that, Alexander? Why wouldn’t you have left?
Why are you being so possessive?”

“God, Jill! You are . . . How don’t you know? I
can’t stand to see you with another person. When I suspected it was
Oliver—well, he’s my brother and I don’t want to hurt him, but with
this jerk? No. Jill. No! You and I belong together. Please, Jill.
My God, can’t you see that? I know you feel something for me. I
know it. We have something that you can’t possibly have with him.
Jill babe . . .”

“Xander, stop it! I’ve never had someone be there
for me. The closest thing has been Oliver, and I’m not going to lie
to you: I have feelings for him. I don’t know what they are, but I
can’t move forward with them the same way that I can’t move forward
with the feelings that I have for you. One of you’ll be hurt, so I
choose neither of you. I just can’t. I made that decision, and then
Paul came along. I don’t know; he’s nice. There’s something there.
No, it’s not like it is with you or with Oliver. You two know me
like no one else knows me. There’s a history between the three of
us that I think we confuse with something else—something romantic.
I need a chance to explore things with Paul, and you need to move
on and so does Oliver. It’s not healthy. I’ve never had a man who
has cared for me or wanted to take care of me, and Paul can give me
that. He wants to give me that. He rushed over last night, and with
him, I don’t have to worry about choosing you versus Oliver.”

“But Jill, I lo—” Jill quickly covered his mouth
with her hand.

“Don’t say it, Xander. Please don’t. Just go. Oliver
was here and Paul was here. But you, you didn’t even answer your
phone!” She was yelling.

“Did he stay over, Jill? Did you sleep with
him?”

“Yes, we slept together, but we didn’t
sleep
together; although, it really isn’t any of your business,
Alexander. Where were you? With Ms. Yellow VW?” His jaw clenched,
and he had his hands in fists by his sides. “Wait! Don’t answer
that. I don’t want to know. Why are you even here, Alexander?”

“I received an invitation to go back to the island
for a resort grand opening. I wanted to see if you got it too.”

“Yep, but I’m not going.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to talk about that right now. We’ll
talk about it at some other time. I gotta go back inside.”

“Jill, don’t do this. Babe, please, you’ll never
feel the same way towards him. We have something . . . more.”

“I know that! Don’t you think I know that!” She
looked him straight in the eyes with anger blazing the emeralds in
her eyes. “I may never feel the same way with him or anyone for
that matter. But,
sweetheart
,” she said mockingly, “he will
love me the way you could never love me. That’s enough for me to
push aside any feelings I may have for you, because he’s here! He
doesn’t fucking disappear on me.” And with that final punch to his
stomach, she walked back inside, but not before turning around,
looking up at him, embittered, and through gritted teeth saying,
“Game over!”

***

Jillian

At the precise moment she walked back inside, Jillian
decided she would give Paul the chance he deserved. The fight with
Alexander had been an epiphany.

“Everything okay, sweetie?” Paul asked.

“Everything is perfect.” For the first time, she
initiated a kiss. It was tender and sweet, and when she looked at
him, he had a victorious smile on his face.

“I think I’m headed home, baby. Are you and Xander
okay?” Oliver asked Jill.

“Just peachy.” She said sarcastically.

“So . . . same as usual.” Oliver mocked.

“Paul, can you excuse us for a second. I need to
speak with Heather and Oliver.”

“I’m starting to get a little concerned over all the
secrets, sweetheart.” His tone was tense even though there was a
smile on his face.

“Please.”

“Sure. I’ll be in your room.”

When he was out of the room, she said, “Guys, you
have to promise me you will not tell Alexander about Rocco or my
vision.”

“Are you crazy? Of course, I’m going to tell him. As
soon as I get home, he’s going to be all over me with
questions.”

“No! No! Oliver. You can’t. Promise me. I can’t
handle another concerned lunatic. No offense. You and Paul are
enough. He’ll drive me crazy. I’m telling you don’t do it. Please.
I’m begging. Just keep to the same story as Paul. Okay?”

Hon’, you’re acting kinda nuts. What did you tell
him?” Heather interjected.

“You don’t know him, Heather. He’s super
domineering. He was so upset about Paul being here he didn’t even
bother asking about the vision. I’m sure he’s going to ask you,
Oliver. Just tell him I had some sort of abstract vision like it
was going to rain tomorrow or something.”

“You aren’t a meteorologist, Jillian. He’s not going
to buy that.”

“Please, Oliver. Just don’t tell him.” And then she
used her wild card. She felt guilty about it but had no other
choice, “If you tell him, he’ll move in here and be stuck to me
like glue twenty-four hours a day.” That would strike a chord and
she knew that he’d cave.