Under Investigation

10

Jett jerked her from a peaceful sleep once more. His loud screams seemed to shake the entire house, and Sadie was fed up with it.

Not only was he not eating, drinking, sleeping, bathing, he was also disrupting her life. She had to move clients back so she could be his caretaker and she was dependent on that money.

She got up from her warm bed to the kitchen, filling up the largest bowl with cold icy water. He would get up today.

"What the hell?" Jett gasped, sitting up as the ice seemed to seep into his bones. "Why would you do that?"

He was angry. He had a fire in his dark eyes that disturbed Sadie, but she was upset too.

"You've been waking me up every night when I have a full day of work ahead of me. I'm not your nurse or your caregiver. If you don't get out of bed and meet me in the barn, I will call Chris to come and get you."

"Why the fuck would I even care if I left? You're not important to me."

Ouch. That was Sadie's worse fear, yet she kept reminding herself that the Jett she knew was not like this. How could she convince herself that when it was his voice and his face?

"The Jett I know would have cared. He would have cared that I'm losing business over this, and I was hoping he was still in there somewhere. I'll call Chris if that's what you want because if you're not going to help you're no longer welcome to stay."

Sadie didn't know how she did it. She was never confident, never spoke in a tone that wasn't soft. She never got angry, but today was different and it took everything out of her. When she left the room, she wanted to collapse on the carpet and never wake up. It was worse than breaking up with somebody.

She was mucking stalls when Jett walked in the barn. She was shocked to see him, certain he was going to leave.

"I'm here," he announced, sticking his nose up arrogantly.

"Great," she handed him her pitchfork. "You can finish for me. Scoop the manure, shake the extra bedding, dump in the wheelbarrow."

"I shouldn't have to do your work for you," Jett said, but taking the rake from her hands anyway.

"I shouldn't have to babysit a 30 year old man," she rhetorted. "Holler when that gets full I will show you where the pile is."

Jett did a good job at cleaning the stables. Labor was good for an unrested mind. If she could get him on a horse that would be better, but this would do for now.

"I'm finished. Is there anything else?" Jett asked, his tone not as brash.

"I'm going to feed and water the horses that are in the pen outside. Would you like to help brush them?" Sadie asked, holding out the brush and giving him the choice. She was pleased when he took it from her.

"You want to work from top down, neck to butt, so you're not just spreading the dust. You can apply a bit of pressure, they don't mind." Sadie smiled at Jett who was standing several feet away from Copper, looking very uncertain.

"Copper is really sweet, he loves the attention. There's nothing to be scared of."

"I'm not scared," Jett growled, stepping closer.

When they went in the house for the evening, Jett didn't return to his room which also surprised her. He wondered aimlessly around her house as she cooked them dinner, and then he found a seat at her table, watching her intently.

It made her nervous to have his calculating eyes on her. He was a bit unpredictable at the time, so she did her best to remain neutral as if he were a client.

They had made good progress today. Just getting him to focus on a task was really good. She hoped he was feeling better. It seemed to her he was making little improvements, but she couldn't be sure.

Dinner was quiet. He didn't speak to her, and she was exhausted from work and the nightmares that woke her, not to mention the way she had to be authoritative with Jett. It absolutely drained her entire body.

Sadie began to wonder if what she had with Jett before was over. Even if he managed to snap out of his predicament, he would likely still remember the way she treated him. It wasn't like she was forcing him to work, she was doing it for his own improvement. Her anxious, over-thinking brain did not see it that way.

Jett went upstairs, leaving Sadie to clean up. The burning tears that had been pressing her all day finally surfaced, and she sniffled pitifully as she tried to contain them.

She just wished things could go back to the way they were. She couldn't even sympathize with Jett because she didn't understand what was going on. She wish someone would tell her what to do.