Afterthoughts (15 page)

They rode in silence all the way
home.

When they arrived, David was waiting
by the door. “Hey, baby!” he said as she walked up. “Hi,
Jay.”

Jay only nodded. “Hey!” Paige smiled
at him.

“
Paige, I really need to
talk to you. Can we have a few minutes alone?” David asked, looking
at Jay.

“
Sure,” she unlocked the
door.

“
Go on in and help
yourself to something to drink,” she told Jay as she held the door
open for him and Harry ran outside.

She then turned to David. “I wasn’t
expecting you back so soon,” she said as she hugged him
tightly.

“
I wasn’t expecting to be
back. I wanted to see you and talk to you,” he said as he sat down
and motioned for her to sit on the glider beside him.

Paige could tell this wasn’t going to
be a good conversation and immediately knew what it was about. She
took the seat beside him and took a deep breath. “It’s about the
woman in the paper.”

“
Yes,” David shuffled his
feet on the porch. “I knew you would figure it out so I thought I
should come and talk to you myself. I want to …”

“
Before you begin, I was
giving you the benefit of the doubt. The paper mentioned nothing
about her. I wasn’t going to concern myself with it,” she stood and
walked to the end of her porch.

“
I wanted to tell you
sooner but you were going through so much,” he said as he walked up
behind her. They stood in silence for a moment as Paige stared off
across the neighborhood.

“
It’s okay … really.
You’ve always been there for me and I haven’t been there for you in
a long time. I know that. I understand and I guess I’ve expected it
for some time,” she said breathlessly. She could feel the puzzled
expression on David’s face even though her back was to
him.

“
I didn’t expect you to
take this so well. Aileen was afraid you would freak
out.”

“
Aileen? That was Aileen?”
Paige began to tremble as she turned to face him.

“
I’m sorry. I thought you
had figured that out as well,” he said as he turned his back to her
and looked at the sky. Paige felt as if someone had punched her in
the stomach.

“
No, that part just bowled
me over!” Paige then fought back the tears. Not only had she been
betrayed by her boyfriend, but her family as well. She thought she
recognized the woman in the paper. “Aileen,” she walked out into
the yard and paced back and forth, muttering the word over and over
again as if it would suddenly make sense.

“
I see that part is
bothering you more,” David turned back to her and followed her out
into the yard. “I’m so sorry, Paige. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
David reached toward her as she away.

“
It’s okay. I’m strong.
I’ll get over it. I’m worried about Jones. I’m assuming he knows,”
Paige said as she put her hand on her hip as if to give David a
lecture on tearing up marriages.

“
I know you will. You can
handle anything. And yes, he knows. Aileen is talking to him now as
well. I’ll miss you, Paige,” David kissed her on the head and
started to walk away. Paige stood in the yard for a few
moments.

“
How long?” she yelled
after him. “How long has this been going on?”

He turned back to face her. “Since
just before Anthony was murdered. Like I said, you’ve had so much
going on that I couldn’t tell you.”

Dumbfounded, Paige responded, “I
stayed in her home. She treated me like a friend, not just like
family. Like the family we’ve tried to be over the years!” Rage
began to take over. She started pacing back and forth, breathing
heavily. Tears began to streak down her face. “I hate you … I hate
you both!” she screamed at him. “Get off my property you lying,
cheating son of a bitch! I hope you rot in hell! You both deserve
it!”

David just turned and walked away. She
watched him with eyes full of tears and hatred as he climbed into
his car and drove away. Her stomach clinched in a knot that she
thought she could not break free from. Trembling with rage she
looked around the yard and caught a glimpse of her neighbor peaking
out of their window. She paced a moment longer, not caring what the
neighbors thought.

She talked out loud, “I’m going crazy.
I’m talking to myself, hearing voices, seeing visions. I’m going
crazy.” She continued to pace. Tears were pouring down her face
now. She wiped them with the sleeve of her jacket and stood in the
cold air for a while longer. Now she had to go in to face Jay. He
would think she was crazy too, but she needed to explain what had
just happened.

Paige turned around and could see Jay
sitting at the kitchen table. Breathing deeply, she gathered her
courage and went in. At least she knew she had his friendship and
new she knew she had his love. Would he still love her after
hearing everything? It was a chance she had to take. She didn’t
have a choice any longer.

Chapter 26

Paige slowly told Jay about Junna. She
told him about the readers and about what Junna had said about her
kidnapping. He just listened.

He didn’t nod or give any other
acknowledgment of what she was saying. Finally, he stood and walked
across the room as Paige just watched him. He paced back and forth
in the kitchen. His mind was racing, mostly in disbelief. Wanting
desperately to wake up from this nightmare he pinched himself. “I
can’t believe this,” he muttered continually. Crossing his arms and
drumming his fingers on his elbows, he continued to pace. His
emotions were bouncing from anger, to wanting to kiss Paige, to
wanting to slug David for upsetting her now. He had watched them
from the window enough to know David had hurt her, but he didn’t
understand how he felt about anything for certain so he continued
to pace.

After watching him for some time,
Paige walked to him and touched his shoulder.

He wheeled around and looked at her,
“Are you reading me now?”

Stunned she took a step back. For a
second she was relieved to know he believed her and then
disappointed that he seemed aggravated at the thought that she
could read him. Her heart was pounding in her ears while it rested
in her throat.

“
No, I wasn’t trying to,”
she whispered as tears started to form, yet again, in her
eyes.

“
How many times have you
read me?” His demeanor was cold.

“
I don’t know. A couple of
times I thought I had but wasn’t sure. I wasn’t trying to until
tonight. I took a chance tonight by telling you that. I was afraid
I was forming words in my head of what I thought I wanted to hear
from you.” Paige was feeling defensive now and still afraid. He
would think she was crazy and would want to leave her alone. Who
could blame him? “I’m sure you think I’m crazy,” she finally
whispered and turned her back to him. Tears began to swell now and
fall down her cheeks.

“
Why didn’t you tell me
any of this before?” His voice was still cold.

She hesitated. “I didn’t want you to
think I was off my rocker. Hell, I think I’m off my rocker now! I’m
hearing voices, seeing people,” exasperated, she paced around the
kitchen with her hands in her hair, squeezing her head.

He reached up and touched her face.
“Read me, Paige. Read me now,” he said, finally certain of what he
was feeling.

She closed her eyes and
concentrated, worried that she would not be able to read on demand.
Trying to relax and breathe slowly, she turned her entire attention
on him, trying to find him in the collective conscious. Words
formed in her head as she heard him say
“Paige, I do love you. I do believe you.”

“
I’m afraid to say,” she
was crying harder now as she looked at him.

“
Paige, I do
not
love you,” he said
this time out loud.

Astonished, Paige turned from him.
“You didn’t say ‘not’ in your mind, or did you?”

Jay laughed out loud. “Okay, so I love
you. Just don’t tell David okay?”

“
He has Aileen now,” she
was looking at him again as the anger started to
rebuild.

“
You are full of surprises
tonight. What do you mean?” he said as he motioned for her to sit
down at the kitchen table, knowing that was what the argument
outside was about.

“
That’s what he came by
here to tell me. The woman in the paper is Aileen. They are
together now. Evidently Jones knows too,” sighing, she rested her
head in her hands, trying to choke down the bitter anger that was
building like bile in the back of her throat.

“
Are you okay?” he asked
her; feeling a little dumbfounded.

“
I’m fine. The only
surprise was that it was Aileen.” She took his hand in hers, “I was
expecting it to happen. It’s been different for a while now. I’m
just upset about Aileen; all of the lies. I feel like such an
idiot. Why didn’t I see it? I feel so betrayed by both of them,
especially Aileen. How could she do this to me?” Paige stood to
pace the room.

The pain of it all had built up so
much inside that she started to sob uncontrollably, trying to find
some sort of release.

“
Paige, take a breath,”
Jay pleaded as he pulled her to him. “Do you need some time
alone?”

“
The first thing I saw
when he left was you sitting at my kitchen table,” she paused. “I
felt like you belonged there. I need you. I’ve never been able to
admit to needing anyone, but I need you. I need you here with
me!”

“
I belong wherever you
are,” he pulled her to him and kissed her lightly. He held on to
her and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

“
I know you are confused
and vulnerable right now, but I’m here for you.”

“
I do want some time
before anything more happens between us. So you don’t think I’m
using you to get over David. Hell, so I don’t think I’m using you
to get over David,” she said softly as she touched his
cheek.

“
I feel the same way. I
won’t take advantage of you right now. I love you too
much.”

“
I already know that,” she
wiped her face with her hands and kissed him again.

“
We’ll get you some help,
I promise you that. We’ll find out what is going on,” he tried to
reassure her. At the same time, he tried to reassure
himself.

Chapter 27

Junna woke to find herself tied to the
chair. She could smell the blood that was dried on her face and she
felt sick. Trying not to think about what was happening to her, she
looked around the room. She could see the window; the window she’d
seen in Paige’s dreams. Biting her lip, she tried to concentrate on
Paige but since she had been working on blocking a reader, she
couldn’t find Paige in her thoughts. Occasionally, she caught
glimpses of her thinking about Jay and David. Junna’s heart broke
at all of the pain she was going through at this time. How could
she reach out to her? She had to find a way.

“
Paige, I’m so sorry,” she
said out loud. “How much more can you bear?” Junna took a deep
breath. Paige needed to be warned somehow.

He was coming after her. She tried to
figure out how to concentrate on Paige without him reading her
every thought. Tears poured down her face. What could she do? Junna
felt completely helpless. She whispered, “Paige, I’m sorry I failed
you. God, I hope you are alright.”

It was dark outside and Junna could
barely see the stars through a crack between the boards on the
window. Clouds slowly moved across them to block her view. Speaking
softly, she repeated over and over again, “If there is a God in
heaven, please help her. She doesn’t deserve this.”

Chapter 28

Jay crawled out of his bed in Paige’s
spare room and called into the police station. He told the captain
that he and Paige were going to take the day off. The captain said
he understood. Jay then poked his head in Paige’s room to see if
she was still asleep. After pausing long enough to watch her sleep,
he stepped outside on the porch to call Dr. Southerland.

“
Hello Jeffrey, this is
Jay Vittidini. I really need to talk to you.”

“
Sure Jay, what’s going
on?” Dr. Southerland asked.

Jay explained what had been happening
to a friend of his and wondered what could be going on. He
explained everything except for the collective
conscious.

“
Well Jay, I can’t say for
sure without seeing your friend, and this is in no way a diagnosis.
But I will say this; it sounds like it could be schizophrenia,” he
paused and cleared his throat. “The typical symptoms of
schizophrenia include visual and auditory
hallucinations.

The sufferer tries to interpret these
very realistic hallucinations by developing delusions. One delusion
may be that they think they have some sort of magic power or that
they are God.” He coughed and cleared his throat again. “The most
common form is paranoid schizophrenia. This is where the sufferer’s
thoughts are controlled by strong suspicious delusions like someone
is after them or following them and auditory hallucinations or like
hearing voices.”