The Rock Star Next Door, a Modern Fairytale (52 page)

As the twins grew older, the physical evidence disappeared, but their school reports had notes on conversations with counselors that were clearly pleas for help.
At last, Lex understood why Jessie and Jack ran away from home
as teens
. He understood w
hy Jessie
was still running from any
emotional commitment
that reminded her of her mother’
s schizophrenic
embrace. She was afraid of being deeply hurt and rejected by others as she had been by her mother as a child. And by her parents recently when they couldn’t reconcile themselves to her upcoming nuptials wi
th a man they despised
.

Lex stood by the limo, his shades in place, his black suit making him feel like a member of the mafia as the bodyguards he hired to protect Jack and Jessie from hometown fans and groupies stood beside him. The ceremony was nearly concluded.

After the ceremony, the twins were going to the state hospital
in the next county
to say goodbye to their mother, and then Lex was taking them back to
L.A. They had a
90 minute drive to St. Paul to the nearest airport, and their flight would leave at 10 p.m.

He made certain the lawyer prosecut
ing Mrs. Kelly for the accidental
shooting of her husb
and had all the information Rolly
uncovered about the Kelly family during his investigation. Aunt Rachel, when presented with the stacks of evidence, had seemed ashamed for her part. It wasn’t deliberate, Lex k
new that. It was a crime of omission rather than a crime of passion. She loved her younger sister, and her own mother and her sister’s husband had mad
e it difficult for Rachel Johnson
to speak out. Instead, she tried to be there when Mr. Kelly was on the road, and had by her own admission gone to the Kelly house in the middle of the night many times to bring the children safely to her home and away from Mrs. Kelly when her mania was at its worst.

Aunt Rachel was a kind, loving person.
Lex could see that in the days that passed before the funeral
. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a slow simmering of anger toward her for not speaking out when Jessie and Jack were children. True, they might have gone into foste
r care, and the family would have fallen apart. Was that any worse than living in the hell they had, with an absent father who was on the road 5 days out of seven and a mentally ill mother as their
primary caretaker. He was angry
and sad.

As the funeral service ended, the woman in question, Aunt Rachel, hugged her charges, and spoke to them quietly. Lex moved in, determined to whisk Jessie away from the family. He reached Jessie’s side, the bodyguards flanking him. Yeah, it felt like an episode of
The Sopranos
to him. Any moment, Tony would show up.

Jessie extracted herself from her aunt’s
embrace as Lex joined them.
He came to her side, and placed his hand on her elbow.

“We should go.” He whispered. “We have a long ride ahead.”

“Oh, you must stay for dinner.” Aunt Rachel insisted. A tall, gaunt man beside her nodded in unison. Uncle Dave. Lex thought the man looked like a corpse. He’d make a good zombie.

“We can’t.” Jack placed his arm about Jessie’s shoulder, leaning in with familiarity on her left side as Lex flanked her right. “We’re off again. Schedules to keep, Aunt Rachel. We missed a whole week and we still have to finish the MTV shoot.
We’re under contract. Just like a CEO, we have to go back to the office.”

*   *   *

Jessie leaned in to embrace her
brother. Jack was right, and l
ike her, he wanted nothing more than to get out of town and away from the cloying sweetness of Aunt Rachel and the somber grief of their sister, Michelle. The only reason they had to return home after eight and half years absence had just been buried. It wasn’t like Kansas. They couldn’t go back home again and find Auntie Em and the gang waiting for them.

“Jack is right, Aunt Rachel. We’re on a tight schedule that’s been interrupted to
o
many times as it is.” Jessie leaned in to hug her aunt. “We’ll be in touch. I promise.”

“Lex, it was a pleasure to meet you.” Aunt Rachel demurred, stepping up to him to give him a hug. He leaned down to hug the small, slender woman who on this day was looking every day of her fifty-six years. Uncle Dave stood behind her and when Lex released her aunt, her uncle
stepped in to shake her
fiancé’s
hand with more vigor than Jessie thought him capable of possessing.

At last, they were in the limo, driving away from the crowd of people dressed like black crows gathered at the old cemetery to help them bury their dad. They managed to get to the limo without the press moving in, although there were plenty of camera clicks and flashes as they hurried to the car.

“Are we going to the hotel to change?” Jack asked, leaning forward to shrug out of his dress jacket. Steve was in the corner of the car, nursing a
cigarette
in one hand and a bottle of beer in another. “Hey, gimme that!” Jack took possession of the beer and tossed his head back.

Steve leaned forward and retrieved another one from the small cooler behind the driver. “
I packed us up.” Steve informed them. “While you were at the funeral, Lex and I agreed I should pack our things so we could avoid more media blitz. We’r
e on the road to the crazy farm
and then off to the airport in St. Paul.”

“I’d just as soon leave without seeing her.” Jack huffed. He started rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt. Once that was done, he undid his necktie and tossed the slender black fabric to the floor in disgust. “Really, Jess. Do we have to?”

Jessie felt the same. But, she would not give in to the temptation to flee without facing her mother one last time. Running wasn’t doing either of them any good. She leaned against Lex, comforted by his solid frame pressed tight against her and his arms holding her. “We owe it to ourselves, Jack. Face the dragon, together, as adults.”

Her throat clogged. It was hell thinking of her mother like this. As an enemy. Most people had warm, fuzzy feelings when they thought of their mom. Most people didn’t break out in hives at the thought of visiting their mother, or have panic attacks when their mother called them long distance on the phone to chat. Yeah, sure, everyone liked to diss their mother, but when it really mattered, when they just buried their father, they probably didn’t have the sick anxiety roiling in their gut at facing their mother.

“Lex will b
e with us.” She added pensively
after several moments of silence as the green cornfields sped past the car window. “Won’t you?” Jessi
e couldn’t help but look at him as she asked the question.

“Yes.” Lex whispered, his eyes resting on her with tender assurance. “I’ll be right beside you.”

“They will have her, like, restrained or something, won’t they?” Jack asked the back seat at large as he gazed from one face to another with uncertainty. “I me
an, she did kill a man.”
All of a sudden, his composure crumpled. Jacks face contorted into undeniable pain. Tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. “Oh, God! Jess?”

An hour
later, they were ushered through the security
doors of the Clark County Mental Health Facility. Jessie held Lex’s hand tight. Jack followed them. He downed a small bottle of Jack Daniels found in the limo bar for courage. Steve walked beside Jack, trying to steady his wandering gait as they passed through the glass and metal doors separating the patients from the outside world.

The buzzer stopped and the door clicked shut behind them. A nurse led them to the waiting area. Jessie stopped, pulling Lex beside her. She felt a little sick, and no wonder. She was about to face the woman who hated her, who resented her all her life, the woman who killed her father. True, it was an accident. Her mom had been trying to kill herself--or so the story went. Jessie wasn’t sure anymore if she believed Aunt Rachel.

What if Mom did kill her
dad
and Aunt Rachel was covering it up with the botched suicide? Something de
ep within Jessie was stirring;
a
queer feeling, an odd little jolt of memory. Somethi
ng told her
she was walking into
nasty
confrontation
.

“What is it?” Lex asked as he drew her close. “You look frightened, honey. It’s okay. I’m right here.” He hugged her. Jessie closed her eyes briefly, savoring his solid embrace.

“It may be best if you take turns seeing her. Too much agitation isn’t good in her condition.” The nurse informed them. She looked from Jessie a
nd Lex to Jack and Steve. “Who is
first?”

“I’ll go first, Jess.” Jack stood up to the challenge. “Is she . . . is it safe? She did kill our father, after all.”

“Yes, there are two attendants with her. And she’s been sedated since she came in yesterday.” The nurse assured them. “Don’t worry. She’s not violent. Just keep the visit under fifteen minutes, please?”

Jack nodded, and strode with determination toward the patient lounge door. He paused with his hand on the door handle, peeking in to see where Marcie was before he opened the door. Odd instinct, that. Odd, and yet, very reliable, Jessie thought.

She watched her brother walk through the door and close it. The latch clicked. He stepped away from the window. She heard her mother’s voice, screeching. She hurried to the glass and pressed her nose against it. Her mother, dressed in
bright red
patient pajamas resembling surgery scrubs, had rushed at Jack. She was crying, pleading,
and begging
something of Jack. Jessie could only imagine what it was.
Get me out of here
.

Jack’s back was to the window. Jessie couldn’t see what his reaction was. He stood back. He didn’t allow her to approach him and embrace him. Oh, she was trying, but the attendants were holding her arms, preventing her from rushing
up to
Jack.

Jessie turned her back on the scene. It was disturbing. Jack didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to face their mom. She was pushing him. If they didn’t see her before they left, Jessie figured they would never see her again. She had no plans to come back here. She figured Jack felt the same. Their father died trying to protect the one thing he loved, their mother. He died trying to protect her from her worst enemy, herself.

Michelle  . . . well, maybe there could be something there between them, later on. Even that seemed like a pipe dream to Jessie. Michelle didn’t seem to want them in her life any more than their parents had. It was just the two of them. Always had been. Always would be. Well, maybe now three. Lex was in her life, and she
could tell he was
fond of
Jack, too. During the past week in Eau Claire
she noticed how Lex looked after Jack as if he were a younger brother. She loved him for it. Jack was important to her. He was her other half, her twin.

Too soon, it was Jessie’s turn to go in. Jack emerged, tight lipped, his face white with pain.  He didn’t say anything to her as he returned to the waiting area.

“What did she say to you?” Jessie prompted, wanting to be prepared.

“Nothing. Crazy stuff. They were out to get her. That stuff again. When will Dad come and get her out. She doesn’t know, Jess. She doesn’t even know he’s dead.”

Jessie didn’t believe that. Mom knew, deep down, she had to know.

“Your turn.” The nurse smiled at Jessie. “Just keep it light. Please. She’s been very distraught since she came in.”

Jessie just turned to look at the woman with consternation.
Yeah, right. I’d be upset, too, if I shot my lover.
She thought it, but didn’t say it aloud. The nurse had to know the woman was in here for criminal behavior, for accidently shooting her husband. The nurse was playing dumb, pasting on a smile. Well, what else could anyone do in the face of a
horrible
family tragedy.

She moved to the door. Lex was right behind her. She waited, watching her mother, as Jack had done before her. Sizing up Mom and her mood was more like it. Years and years of reading the mood, trying to anticipate which Marcie would show her face today, the nice one or the mean, scary one. She turned the knob. She heard the click. Her hand stayed on the doorknob, unwilling to release it. Unwilling to go in.

This was a bad idea. A really, really bad idea.

There was a deep, burning sensation
in her chest
. Jessie s
wallowed the rock in her throat
and tried to move forward. She couldn’t. She was frozen in place.

Lex’s hand covered hers on the doorknob. “I’m right behind you.” He whispered, his warm, cinnamon breath caressing her cheek. “Let’s do this.”

Lex helped Jessie into the room. He placed his arm about her waist, guiding her.  He understood her fear, how horrible this was for her. To face the woman who killed her father. A woman chained by mental illness. He focused his attention on Jessie, leading her slowly across the room as he watched her carefully for signs of emotional distress.