Secured Secret (7 page)
Shannon nodded absently at the doctor’s words. Jacob waved for them to follow, and they fell in line behind him as they worked their way through the halls of the hospital.
When they came to a closed door, they all paused with the exception of Shannon who rushed in ahead of everyone. Genie was turned on her side, one arm encased in a cast, and her body was covered in so many cuts and bruises that she was almost unrecognizable underneath the many bandages. Her gaze locked on Shannon, and a tear rolled out of the corner of her eye. He ran the length of the room, skidding to a stop at her side. Wasting no time, he framed her face with his hands, touching his forehead to hers. Shannon was openly crying now, as he spoke to her quietly, and it was then that Weave knew; not only were they married, but Shannon loved her as well.
The flight to Texas was almost unbearable for Shannon. The not knowing was too much. When he finally laid eyes upon her, he thought his heart would stop. Now that he was touching her, and knew she would be okay, he also knew he’d never be able to leave her side again for any length of time, which was really going to play hell on his business, but nothing else mattered in the world but her.
She was crying and that was killing him, but he knew the tears weren’t hers alone. Jacob was patting her foot just to have some contact with her, but Shannon found himself unable to back away long enough to let anyone else in.
“The doctor says I’m going to live,” she rasped out through dry lips. “But right now it doesn’t feel like it.”
Jacob, who was still dancing in place trying to find a way to be of use, jumped in. “Do you need pain medicine?” Feeling around her bed, he looked to see if there was a pain pump. “Do I need to find a nurse? Doesn’t anyone work around here?”
“I’m fine,” Genie croaked, bringing Jacob’s pacing to an end. “Have you called mom and dad?”
“Shit. I forgot,” Jacob, muttered leaving the room to make the call.
As soon as he was out the door, Shannon touched his lips to Genie’s, and then, because he couldn’t stop himself, he did it again. “I love you so much baby. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
She started crying and babbling at his words. “Oh baby, I love you too, and from now on, wherever you go, I go. I don’t give a shit how we have to work it out. When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was, and all I wanted was to find you. I’m pretty sure my cell phone got it in the blast, and Steven is dead,” she added before her voice seemed to give out.
“Oh my god,” the air left his lungs making his chest tighten. “And Bradley?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Barely a scratch. It was the way we were standing huddled together when the blast hit. Bradley was standing in front of me looking down at our honeymoon pictures, and Steven was standing behind me looking over my shoulder, so Steven took the majority of the blast and we both, for the most part, shielded Bradley.”
Bob, like everyone else, was engrossed in the scene playing out in front of him. He had never seen Shannon like this, and as happy as he was for his lifelong friend and as relieved as he was that Genie was going to be alright, his heart was still breaking for his brother.
Shannon’s forehead was resting on Genie’s and his eyes were closed as if he were simply breathing in her scent. Jacob glanced away obviously uncomfortable with intruding on the couple. “Hey, wasn’t there two of you?”
At Jacob’s words Bob turned back finding Weave gone. Bob took off in pursuit, knowing he couldn’t have gotten far. After questioning a couple of nurses, Bob found Weave sitting inside the hospital’s chapel. They were alone, and Bob slid into the seat next to Weave’s. He held his silence, since, as usual, he didn’t know what to say to ease his brother’s pain. Weave spoke without turning to look at him. “Did you know?”
“About which part?” Bob asked, unwilling to shoot himself in the foot.
Weave snorted at the obvious evasion. “I guess that answers that.”
“She couldn’t fix you,” Bob told him gently. “No one can fix you; believe me we have all tried, including Genie. She offered you a different life. She gave you a chance to turn it all around, but you didn’t want it. You have to fix yourself. I know that misery loves company, but Dude, you have to let other people be happy even if you don’t want to be. Did you expect her to never find anyone else? Did you expect Shannon to hold your hand through your depression for the rest of his life? Do you think you’re the only one to blame?” His chest felt heavy at the look of shock and hurt that crossed his twin’s face, but it was time for Weave to face the facts. “I killed that boy just as surely as you did. You were there and you know the truth. That kid didn’t think that I was you. He knew full well who he was attacking because I goaded him with my taunts, and I am every bit as guilty as you are.”
At Weave’s continued silence, Bob gave up. He said his peace. That was all he could do. It was all that he was ever able to do. So with one last squeeze of his brother’s arm, he walked away, passing Shannon as he came in.
Weave was solid today, if for no other reason than the news of the explosion was enough to kill anyone’s high. When he heard a throat being cleared, he glanced over, surprised to see Shannon coming down the aisle. “Can I sit with you?”
“Yeah man, of course.”
Weave cleared his own throat a few times before finally asking. “So how long ago did you guys get married?” He tried hard to sound normal but failed miserably.
“Two weeks ago. We went to Cancun and were married there. We didn’t invite anyone. It was a private ceremony, and we told the families when we got home.”
“Is she happy?”
“Yes.”
“Does she,” he began, then fell silent before deciding he did indeed need to know. “Is she in love with you too?”
“Yes.”
Shannon’s one word carried away the last of his hope, and his eyes closed in defeat.
“I’m unfixable,” Weave heard himself saying. “Broken beyond all repair. Funnily enough, I never felt that way about myself until my own brother pointed it out to me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always believed that I could turn it all around. Now I’m being forced to face a fact that has been obvious to everyone but me; that I’m dead already. I just haven’t laid down yet.”
Shannon stayed silent for a moment before saying; “I’m still your friend for as long as you want me, and I hope that one day you don’t wake up and decide you really do hate me over this thing with Genie. You are not unfixable, but you need professional help, and I wish you’d at least try.” Shannon took a deep breath as if he were trying to control his own temper. “At least then we would all know that you haven’t completely given up. And I love you man, just like a brother. Your brother loves you, but you are slowly killing him. I’m afraid if you ever do decide to lay down that he’ll follow you.”
Shannon squeezed his shoulder as he started to stand. Weave put a hand out, stopping him.
“I know from all of Bob’s many lectures that he thinks that I don’t care about anything anymore, but that’s not the truth. The real problem is that I care too much. I love you, and my brother. I do love Genie, but I’m not good and I would have crushed her underneath the weight of my bullshit. I’ve known from the very beginning that you’re the best man for her, and I can tell you really love her so I wish the two of you all the happiness in the world. Maybe one day you’ll accept me back into your lives.”
He knew that his words didn’t count for much, but he hoped Shannon could sense his sincerity. A junkie tended not to have many friends, and he didn’t want to lose the few he managed to hold onto these past few years.
Shannon gave him a quick pat on the back and stood, leaving him alone with his own thoughts. Weave stared straight ahead, unable to even pray for help or redemption. “You know what I think?” The words floated up from the back of the chapel. Weave spun in his seat, spotting Jacob sitting in the shadows.
“How long have you been sitting back there?”
“Long enough,” Jacob answered, moving to Weave’s side until he was hovering over him. “I appreciate the lift here, but I also feel moved to tell you that you need your ass kicked.”
Weave went from feeling sorry for himself to being pissed off in ten seconds flat. “Anytime you think you got what it takes then bring it on.”
A small smile touched Jacob’s lips. “See, you’re not quite dead yet.”
***
A hole was ripped through her chest, thousands of tiny fire ants were stinging her skin, and it felt as if a bear was gnawing on her arm. Her ears were ringing, her throat was raw, and the images playing across her mind would haunt her for the rest of her life.
The F.B.I. knew what they were about when they paired her with Bradley and Steven. The three of them were matched so well in personalities that sometimes she would forget she was supposed to be working instead of socializing. The two men were hilarious in their antics, and back when they were investigating The Queen of Diamonds, she laughed so hard watching them try to learn how to be women that she pulled an abdominal muscle.
Now it was gone. Steven was dead, and her life would never be the same. She understood now, better than ever before, how her mom did the job that she did, and how many lives she must have saved over the years. Lives like Steven’s. Genie’s career was most likely over and she’d have to find a new place in the world. She wasn’t sure yet where that would be, but she knew it was wherever Shannon was. He was the most important thing to her, and even though she knew that, a brighter beacon was shined upon it when she thought she might be dying.
A new tension entered the air, pulling Genie from her thoughts, and she realized Weave was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot in the doorway. Jacob, Bob, and Shannon were all watching him, waiting. He finally spoke. “Is it okay if I talk to Genie alone for a few minutes?”
A collective chorus of shuffling feet and throat clearing carried the men out of the room, but Shannon paused for a second, looking back. He held her gaze mouthing, “I love you,” before pulling the door closed behind him. Weave moved haltingly to the chair next to the bed as if unsure of his welcome. Something about him seemed different today, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. She was too tired try. “I’m sorry about Steven,” he said finally. “He seemed like a nice guy: a bit of a klepto, and a little strange, but nice.”
Genie wanted to laugh at his description but it hurt too much. “He was one of a kind,” she agreed instead.
“I killed a sixteen year old kid four years ago,” he said, suddenly taking her by surprise. “Despite what everyone thinks, I know it wasn’t intentional, but it was me. He would have been twenty years old now, if he were still alive. That’s old enough to be in college, or the army, or even, God help him, married, but he will never have or do any of those things. Every day I know that it’s because of me.”
Genie was powerless to stop a tear from rolling down her face. “Steven’s birthday is next Wednesday,” she admitted. “The floor shook a split second before the building exploded and Steven pushed me into Bradley, shoving us both to the floor, before covering us with his body. He might be celebrating next week, if not for saving us.”
She cried harder as the words left her lips. She didn’t want to blame herself, but that became more difficult with each passing moment.
“It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your bomb in that car, and you weren’t the one pulling him over your body covering yourself with him. The entire thing was out of your control. You were only an innocent bystander. The witness to a horrific event, so don’t be like me. Don’t shut out the people who love you. You should tell Shannon what you’ve told me, and let him love you, even on the days that you don’t love yourself.”
Genie nodded absently, and he leaned over, touching his lips to her forehead before adding. “I’m going to go away for a little while so Shannon might need help with the business, if you’re going to be in between jobs.”
“Where are you going?”
Weave smiled sadly. “I need to work on me a little bit, but I’ll leave my number and you can call and talk to me anytime you need to. You know, if you need an understanding ear.”
Weave stood and opened the door, signaling the others to rejoin them. Shannon reclaimed his seat by her side, and she felt a new sense of hope in the light of Weave’s understanding of her pain. It wasn’t her fault, and now there was Shannon. So long as they held onto one another, everything else would be fine.
CHAPTER SIX
Eleven months later- Murfreesboro, Tennessee
It was the great beef jerky vs. ice cream show-down that kept Shannon staring at the clear door in the frozen-food section of Jimmy’s food mart. At seven months pregnant, Genie’s cravings were at best unpredictable and he didn’t want to come home with the wrong thing, again—she owned a gun. His cell phone rang as he reached for the ice cream, and he held it to his ear as he opened the freezer door. “Just get both, damn.”
He smiled at the sound of Genie’s irritated voice. “How did you know I was waffling?”
“Because I know
you
. Please, please come home. Your daughter is tap dancing on my bladder and my back hurts, and I’m really just missing you.”
“Maybe I should leave this cart sitting here and come home,” the silence he met with nearly made him laugh aloud, but he wasn’t quite that stupid.
“Okay you got fifteen minutes,” she conceded with a grumble. Then she added, “Oh, and grab the chocolate sauce as you walk by.”
“Am I wearing a camera?” Shannon asked, glancing down his body.
Genie lowered her voice seductively. “I’ve got plans for that chocolate sauce.”
Shannon stopped dead in his tracks, yanking the sauce from the shelf before taking off at a fast clip towards the register. “I’ll be home in ten minutes tops.”
THE END
AUTHOR BOOKSHELF
