Lord, what do I tell him?
Rhea stared at Jonas as he slept. He had slept over twenty minutes ago after much persuasion and assurances that all was well. She supposed she should be grateful, he had literally rescued her from the claws of a hungry predator. But his act of chivalry had come with a price.
This was what had kept her away from home. She didn't want them to see each other. On her way here she had known it would be inevitable, but she never guessed it would be so soon. They hadn't even been here for twenty-four hours and the drama was already enfolding. She stroked Jonas' cheek affectionately with a small smile; he had proved once more that he really was her little soldier, but even he couldn't save her from the Field Marshall himself.
She could still remember that look on Mitchell's face when his eyes fell on Jonas; shock, disbelief, realization...anger. It was the anger that still scared her. The way he had stepped away from her and simply assured her he would return, with a calmness that spoke volumes of an impending explosion. She wished he had just gotten it all out of his system once and for all, perhaps if he had screamed at her and demanded an explanation, she wouldn't be so nervous. Instead he had just walked out, but not before a final glance at Jonas who never dropped the pole until the door closed behind Mitch.
She went into her bedroom and lay on her bed, but sleep evaded her; thoughts of what Mitchell would do and how he would do it plagued her mind. She was scared of him. She turned restlessly, willing for sleep to somehow overcome her, but nothing happened. You would think after a long, highly eventful day she would be out like a light the second she hit the bed, so much for that.
She had just closed her eyes when the sound of her phone ringing caught her attention. She turned and grabbed the gadget on her bedside table. She blinked at the caller ID, it was Jared. She sat up as she wondered why he would be calling so late.
"Hello?" she began sleepily.
Hey Rhea, hope I didn't wake you." He began softly.
"No, what's up?"
"I just wanted to know how your day went, if you're okay." 'no dummy, you just want to know if she'll date you' he thought to himself, but pushed the thought away, the last thing he needed was the little voice in his head discouraging him too, he had gotten enough of that from Gerard, his twin brother all through the day.
Rhea smiled, grateful for his thoughtfulness. She wished she could tell him all that happened, but that would be giving him more information than he should have access to, irrespective of how long they had known each other, she thought it was wrong to divulge the happenings of her personal life to a man she had only began an informal relationship with a few months ago.
"It went fine, thank you Jared. And yours?"
"Could have been better if I was with you...." Jared replied and immediately regretted it, that was a bit too forward- no, it was way too forward, it was supposed to be just a thought.
Luckily, she laughed it off, "I bet you say that to all the ladies." She replied. Despite how old he was, Rhea liked that Jared had a goofy side to him- perhaps the reason he got along with Jonas so well.
He laughed briefly, "I guess I do. How is Jonas?" he asked, switching the subject to avoid making a total idiot of himself.
"He's good. He's asleep."
"Nice, I wanted to ask if the day after tomorrow I could take you guys out. There's a nice amusement park here I know Jonas would love. I mean, I know I said you could call when you were around, but I figured if I could just come over.." he knew he was blabbing, it was a habit- he talked off-point whenever he got nervous.
Rhea smiled, not just because she realized Jared was nervous, but also, she found the idea of going to an amusement park totally interesting, Jonas loved amusement parks, "That would be very nice Jared."
"So I can come pick you up then?"
Rhea could hear the smile in his voice through the phone, "Of course, I'll send you our address tomorrow."
"Really?" now he sounded like a dorky teen that had just gotten a date with the prom queen. He heard her giggle and he turned a deep shade of crimson, "I mean, that's cool." He seeeriously needed to work on his damage control.
Rhea's giggle grew into a laugh, "Good. So, sleep tight Jared."
"Yeah, you too. Thanks again."
"You're welcome" with that she ended the call. She lay her head on the pillow with a deep sigh, finally feeling that much needed sleep wash over her. Funny how a nice conversation could put a smile on one's face despite a generally awful first day back home.
*****
How dare she?
Mitch hadn't stopped seething since he left Rhea's house last night. Of all the low down dirty things she could do to him, this had to be the worst. It was okay if she decided to just up and leave without notice, but to keep the knowledge of his son away from him for over four years? That was just plain unacceptable.
He couldn't even stand to think of her right now. He hadn't been in the right framed of mind to speak to her last night, and nothing had changed now. .
So he was going to see the only other person he could vent at without causing bodily harm- Lynn. They were a tag team, one couldn't know something and the other didn't, he accepted he had wronged her to some extent- five years ago, but he definitely didn't think that enough leverage for her to keep something so serious away from him.
He parked his truck in front of the grocery store where Lynn worked, it was owned by her uncle, but not without his father's help- one of the many businesses in this county that was tied to the Montgomery name.
He got out of the car and barged into the store just so everyone there knew he wasn't here for any bullshit. The look on Lynn's face as he approached the counter told him all he needed to know- the conniving bitches!, "How could you?" he bellowed.
Lynn backed away from the counter in terror. It wasn't everyday anyone got to see Mitch this angry; eyes a jade green. Nostrils flaring, jaw ticking- scratch that, she had NEVER seen Mitch this mad, "I swear I was going to tell you..."
Don't give me that shit Lynn, when were you going to tell me? When I was on my death bed?"
"No, but..."
"How old is he?"
