Right Back to You

20. Heart to Heart

Jimmy hadn't really given much thought to where he and Jessie could go. All he'd wanted was to get out of there and give Kyle and Kay some much needed privacy. In normal circumstances, he'd take her to the club Tom worked at, but since she was famous and shouldn't be seen with him, that was off the table.

Simply walking down the street with her proved to be difficult. Why was it so crowded? It was so much harder when a big part of him wanted to take her hand. Which was so weird. He'd never been the hand-holding type. As much as he thought back, he couldn't remember one single instant when he'd held Izzy's hand. But this was so different. He felt in control for one thing.

Jessie didn't question his tactics of avoiding busy streets, nor did she complain or comment when they ended up in a park. Fortunately, it was empty since it was dark, and they could navigate the paths in peace. It became even harder not to take her hand.

They reached the playground and lingered there.

"So, um..." She looked around.

"I'm sorry, but it's not like I can take you anywhere."

"This is a nice place."

"It's a park."

"Believe it or not, I haven't exactly been in many parks." She walked to the swing set and had a seat, wrapping her fingers around the chains. 

He leaned his back against the metal frame, watching her swing back and forth. "Me neither. Never had time for parks." Or anything fun for that matter. His childhood sounded bleak even to him.

The thought that he had parents, that Kyle could be his brother, haunted him. Kyle obviously came from a rich family. Or one that had been rich at some point. If it was true, why had they thrown him and Tom away when they actually had twin brothers. The thought was sureal.

"I'm really sorry," Jessie whispered. "This must be really hard to take in."

"Which part exactly?"

"Having a long lost twin brother. A family."

Huh, she'd read him well. It heated up his hallow chest. She tended to do that a lot.

"Your family apparently sucks, too."

"Yeah..." Her voice faded and she took in a deep breath. "I'm not sure they ever wanted me, or they wouldn't have always treated me like a bother. Like I didn't belong with them. They used to lock me up, you know. In closets, or any place from which they couldn't hear me scream."

He narrowed his eyes, his muscles tensing. "What?"

"It's not a big deal anymore. I learned to cope with it. After a while, I craved to be away from them so I would misbehave on purpose. I got to know them and manipulated the situation. Even this marriage to Kyle... If it wasn't Kyle, it would've been someone else. Someone of their choosing. I got lucky because he's not an idiot and it worked out so well."

"Jessie, that's still awful." It was beyond awful.

"It is, but I'm so used to awful this is like a blessing." She raised her eyes to look at him. "And I met you, even if for a short time."

The idea of parting with her stung. It was an uncomfortable thorn in his heart, forcing it to somehow beat around it. But it beat when he thought it never would again, not after what happened with Izzy.

And once he came to that realization, the world seemed brighter some how. He wasn't dead. He didn't have to sail through life like a robot anymore, go through the motions. He could feel again and, for some insane reason, it was because of her.

"We're a right pair, aren't we?" she asked with a sad laugh.

"Don't be sad."

"I can't help it. I'm grateful really, for meeting you, for having my first kiss with you. But..." Her green eyes shone like emeralds. "I wish it didn't have to end."