“Something happened out at JJL,” began Maddison, her eyes blazing with fury. “I wanted you to hear it from me first.”
“Maddy, what’s wrong? Is Jake ok?”
“Oh, he’s fine! He’s having a great time out in the rehearsal studio!” spat Maddison furiously.
“What in Lord’s name has he done to get you so riled up?” asked Lori, heading towards the kitchen. “Coffee?”
“Lori, stop!”
“Maddison, what is going on?” demanded Lori, turning to face her friend. “You’re scaring me!”
“Sit down, Lori,” suggested Maddy, trying to sound calmer than she felt.
Without argument, Lori sat down at the kitchen table and stared up at her friend expectantly.
“I went out to JJL to talk to the boys,” she began sharply. “Jake was out the back. When I went out to fetch him, he wasn’t alone out there.” She paused then continued, “I walked in on Jake getting a blow job from that crazy bitch music teacher.”
“What?”
“You heard me, girl!”
“A blow job? You sure?”
“Lori, trust me, I’m sure. I know who and what I saw,” snapped Maddy, her tone sharper than she intended.
“Jake wouldn’t….” faltered Lori, the shock of what her friend was telling her slowly sinking in. “He wouldn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” said Maddy, her tone softer. “I know what I saw. She was….”
“I’m going to be sick,” stated Lori, getting to her feet.
She pushed her way past her friend, limping as fast as she could towards the bathroom.
“Let me get this straight,” began Grey as he sat down on the edge of the stage beside Jake. “That crazy ass teacher has been coming on to you? This wasn’t the first time?”
Jake shook his head.
“Have you had sex with her?” demanded the band’s bass player, praying the answer was no.
Jake nodded then said, “But it wasn’t exactly consensual.”
“Jake, why?” yelled Grey angrily. “All these years, you’ve never looked at another girl. It’s only ever been Lori. Now, you jeopardise all that plus your family for HER? For that music teacher bitch?”
“Don’t,” sighed Jake, running his hands through his hair. “And don’t say I told you so. You warned me she was trouble. I didn’t listen. Thought she was…. Christ, I don’t know what I thought.”
“Well, you better start thinking and fast,” stated Grey bluntly. “My money’s on our beloved tour manager having gone straight to your house.”
“Shit!” yelled Jake angrily. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”
“Go home, Jake,” suggested Grey calmly. “Go sort this mess out with your wife.”
The drive back down the highway to Rehoboth seemed to take a lifetime. Thumping the steering wheel in frustration, Jake silently cursed himself for being so stupid. As he’d left the studio, raised voices were coming from Dr Marrs’ office. It was clear that the producer was making his thoughts on Nicole’s behaviour perfectly clear. Knowing that Grey believed his version of events had helped to calm Jake momentarily but the closer to home he got, the more he fretted about what Maddison had said to Lori.
When he turned off E Lake Drive into the driveway, he was relieved to see that it was only Lori’s SUV that was parked in its usual spot. There was no sign of Maddy. Having parked his truck in his usual spot, Jake offered up a silent prayer that all would be well. As he stepped down out of the truck, the “scar” on the tree trunk caught his eye, reminding him of the last time his actions had almost destroyed his marriage.
“Lori,” he called out hesitantly as he entered the kitchen. “You home?”
Silence echoed back at him.
“Lori!”
There was no sign of her at her desk but, from the state of her work surface, he guessed she’d abandoned her commission in a hurry. Lori was always meticulous about clearing her work away when she was finished for the day.
A gentle breeze wafted in from the sunroom and Jake noted that the patio doors were open. Through the open door, he could see Lori standing on the sun deck, gazing out over the ocean.
He took a deep breath and headed through the sunroom to face the music.
Keeping her eyes focused on the waves, Lori tried to ignore the sound of Jake’s footsteps approaching. She could smell his deodorant and knew he was only a few feet behind her. With her arms wrapped round herself protectively, she prayed that he didn’t reach out to touch her.
“Lori,” she heard him say softly. “Can we talk?”
Hearing the pain in his voice tore at her heart but her resolve held fast and Lori ignored him.
“Can I explain this to you?”
Lori kept her eyes firmly on the horizon.
“Look, I don’t know what Maddison has told you. I can imagine though,” began Jake falteringly. “I didn’t instigate that. She accosted me. I was trying to push her away.” He paused, “She assaulted me. Grey wants me to press charges.”
Lori felt herself flinch but, breathing slowly and deeply, she kept her focus on the ocean, fighting the urge to turn round.
“Lori, say something,” pleaded Jake, his voice cracking with emotion.
“Did you have sex with her?”
The question hung in the air.
“Yes,” confessed Jake quietly, knowing in his heart that honesty was the best policy.
“And today wasn’t the first time she’d sucked your dick,” stated Lori coldly, her words a statement of fact rather than an accusation.
“No, it wasn’t,” replied Jake.
“Pack your bags,” said Lori, still keeping her eyes fixed on the ocean swell. “You need to leave. I need space to think. I don’t want you here.”
“Please, let me explain,” pleaded Jake.
“Not now. Just pack and go.”
“Lori……”
“I need you to go,” she said calmly.
“Can we please talk about this?”
“Not now. Just pack a bag and leave, Jake.”
Realising it was pointless to try to persuade her to talk to him, Jake slowly turned and went back into the house. Numb, he wandered down to their bedroom, hauled his holdall out of the closet and threw in some clothes and toiletries. Acting on automatic pilot, he gave little thought to what he was chucking into the bag. His heart was breaking at the pain he was causing his wife. He didn’t dare to think about the impact this was going to have on the kids, especially on Melody.
Zipping the half-full bag closed, he gazed round the room. Lori’s Guns ‘n’ Roses t-shirt that she’d been sleeping in lay on the bed. Tentatively, Jake lifted it, held it up to his nose and breathed in the familiar aroma of her favourite perfume. How was he going to live without her? Pushing the thought aside, he unzipped the bag and stuffed the worn t-shirt inside.
Barely holding it together, Jake walked through the house, closing the back door behind him.
When she heard Jake’s truck leave, Lori crumpled. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Her hand went to her stomach and she gently stroked her slightly rounded belly. Suddenly, she felt as if her whole world had come crashing down like one of the breakers hitting the shore.
Part of her wanted to call Jake. Tell him to come back. Tell him she was willing to talk.
Part of her was furious. Angry that he could break their marriage vows. Angry that he had cheated on her.
Part of her wanted to listen to what he had to say.
Part of her knew she wasn’t ready to hear what he had to say.
Gradually, the fuel gauge on the truck fell as Jake drove around aimlessly. He’d driven out to Henlopen State Park. He drove through Lewes then worked his way up the coast, stopping next at Slaughter Beach. Finally, having nowhere else to go, he headed back to JJL.
It was growing dark as he stopped the truck in front of the low studio building. There were lights on inside and Jake guessed that Dr Marrs was still working. Wearily, he headed in.
The
lights in the lounge were dimmed as he wandered through. Jake fetched himself a bottle of water from the refrigerator then stretched out on one of the black leather couches. Staring up at the shadows on the ceiling, Jake replayed the day’s events over and over in his mind.
“Jake?” said Dr Marrs sometime later. “Didn’t expect to find you back here.”
“Hey,” said Jake without moving. “Had nowhere else to go. Drove about for a few hours and ended up back here.”
“You ok?”
“Not really,” replied Jake, sitting up and turning to face the producer. “She wouldn’t talk to me. Told me to pack a bag and leave.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah,” sighed Jake sadly. “Couldn’t go to Paul’s. Maddison is after my balls on a plate. Couldn’t go to Grey’s. Not fair with the new baby. Can’t go to my old apartment. Scott’s there. I guess I’ll go find a hotel or head to Lucy’s.”
“No, you won’t,” said Jim calmly. “There’s plenty of room at the house. You can stay here for a few days. Stay as long as you need to.”
“Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it.”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
Jake shook his head.
“Come on. I went food shopping so I’m sure I can rustle up something more appetising then grilled cheese.”
The rest of the day passed in a haze for Lori. After Jake had left, she had sat on the deck and sobbed until no more tears flowed. Around her, the world seemed to fade and all she could visualise was the gaping black hole in front of her mind that represented Jake’s betrayal of her trust. What she couldn’t comprehend was the why….
She’d been on autopilot as she’d collected the kids, helped with Melody’s homework and cooked dinner. Curious to know where their daddy was and when he’d be home, the kids had plagued her with questions about Jake. Trying to keep things as normal as possible for them, all she’d been able to say was that he was working late at the studio. It tore at her heart that, despite everything, she was lying to protect his image to their children.
It was a relief when they finally went to bed for the evening and she could curl up on the couch in the sunroom and watch tv. Flicking through the channels, unable to settle on a show to watch, Lori felt drained and numb. As she tried to focus on the late news bulletin, her cell chirped on the arm of the couch beside her. Dreading the thought that it was a message from Jake, she switched it off without checking it.
Half an hour later, as she switched off the tv ready to head to bed, Lori turned the phone back on. Once it had powered up, there were three messages waiting for her. The first was from Maddy checking that she was ok. The second was from Grey saying that he’d be over after breakfast to talk to her. The third read simply, “Your husband tastes so sweet.”
Angrily, Lori threw the phone across the room. Instead of smashing on the floor as she had intended, it landed on the smaller couch and slid down in among the cushions.
“Christ,” she muttered. “I can’t even smash up my phone!”
Leaving it buried where it was, she headed to bed.
There was a crack in the ceiling of the spare bedroom of the studio house that he’d been allocated. Unable to sleep, Jake lay with the small bedside lamp on, staring up at it. In an effort to find some way to get to sleep, he began to imagine that it was a river winding its way across a valley, tried to visualise the landscape surrounding it. Next, his imagination suggested it was a road or a trail across the desert. Nothing helped. His mind kept darting back to the events of the day. Picking up his cell, he scrolled through his photos, finally stopping at one taken at the aquarium on Jesse’s birthday. The faces of his family smiled up at him from the small screen. His heart ached to hold them. His heart ached to hold Lori, to smell her favourite floral perfume, to smell the scent of the shampoo in her hair, to feel her heart beating next to his. Instead, all he had was her worn t-shirt with its fading aromas.
Wistfully, he thought that perhaps the crack on the ceiling represented the crack that had split right through his own heart. With tears wet on his cheeks, Jake finally drifted into a restless sleep, curled round the Guns N Roses t-shirt.
Feeling the clothes still warm from the dryer, Lori was folding laundry in the kitchen when she heard a knock at the back door. Before she could call out, the door opened and Grey stepped in
“Mornin’,” he said warmly. “Chilly out there.”
“Hi,” she replied, forcing a weak smile. “Coffee’s hot. Help yourself while I finish this.”
“Want one?” asked Grey as he fetched himself a mug from the cupboard.
“Please.”
She had just neatly folded the last t-shirt as Grey handed her the mug of hot black coffee.
“You ok?” he asked, concern written across his tanned face.
“Not really,” she sighed, taking a seat at the table. Silently, she indicated that the bass player should sit down.
“Bit of a mess, isn’t it?”
“Understatement of the day, Grey.”
They sat in silence for a moment or two as Grey tried to find the right words to say what he’d had in his mind on the drive over to the beach house.
“How’s Kaya?” asked Lori, breaking the strained silence.
“A handful,” admitted Silver Lake’s bass player. “Kola’s trying to get her into a routine but that young lady knows her own mind already. Lord help us when she’s a teenager!”
Lori smiled.
“Listen, Lori, this is going to come out all wrong no matter how I say it,” began Grey hesitantly. “There’s no easy way to talk about this.”
“Stop!” interrupted Lori firmly but calmly. “Can I show you something first? Something you can’t tell Jake or anyone else about?”
The Silver Lake bass player nodded.
Her hand trembling, Lori passed him her cell phone with the screen unlocked and open at her SMS messages.
“Read the ones from the unknown numbers,” she instructed quietly.
Eyes wide in horror and disgust, Grey read the obscene messages that Lori had been sent.
“Yesterday was just confirmation that these aren’t lies,” said Lori, watching the bass player’s reaction to the messages. “I have no idea how she got my private number.”
“I can guess,” said Grey, still staring down at the phone. “If these are from who we both suspect they are then she’ll have got your details from Jake’s staff file at the school. You’d have been listed as his emergency contact.”
“Of course,” gasped Lori, suddenly feeling stupid. “I never thought about that option. I assumed she’d taken the number down from his phone.”
“My money would be on the school records.”
“Adds up.”
“You should go to the police with these,” advised Grey, handing her phone back to her across the table.
“How can I?” asked Lori sharply. “If Maddy’s right then these aren’t lies. They’re nasty but not inaccurate.”
“Did you give him a chance to explain himself?” Grey spoke softly, nervous of how Lori would react to the question.
“Not exactly.”
“Lori, he’s been played,” stated Grey evenly. “I’ve known him long enough to know he’d never deliberately jeopardise his marriage to you or to ruin the kids’ lives. He’s been played by a pro and wouldn’t listen to the warnings. Thought he was in control. He’s not been the one in control there since he walked into that school.”
“Grey, he freely admitted he’d had sex with her! These messages back that up. He didn’t try to deny any of it!” spat Lori angrily.
“Nicole’s been coming onto him at every turn, Lori.”
“Don’t say that woman’s name in my house!”
“Sorry,” apologised Grey calmly. “I do however think you should hear Jake out. There are two sides to this. I’ve heard his and, for what it’s worth, I believe him.”
“When we made our marriage vows, I took mine seriously,” replied Lori calmly. “I thought
Jake had too. Apparently, I was wrong. He knows how I feel about fidelity.”
“I know and that’s why he didn’t lie when you asked him if he’d had sex with her,” Grey paused. “He knows he’s done wrong. Knows he’s made a huge mistake. Knows he’s betrayed your trust.”
“Actions have consequences,” interrupted Lori sharply. “The consequences of his are that I don’t want him anywhere near me, the kids or this house!”
“Lori, if you’d only listen to his side of the story.”
“NO!” yelled Lori angrily. “I need space here. Need time to process this. I’m not interested in his excuses and lies!”
“He won’t lie to you.”
“You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
“Will you at least think about giving him a chance to explain?”
“Too soon, Grey,” said Lori quietly.
“Ok, I hear you,” sighed Silver Lake’s bass player. “He doesn’t know I’m here. He didn’t send me on a mission to save your marriage. This was my idea. I talked to him yesterday. I believe what he told me. I hope you can find it in your heart to at least hear him out.”
Grey got to his feet to leave. As he reached the back door, he paused and turned back, “He stayed with Jim last night. Just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.”
After Grey left, Lori remained seated at the kitchen table, wondering if she was being too harsh on Jake.
Tempers were fraying rapidly by mid-afternoon out at JJL. Progress had been slow since Grey had finally arrived late morning. They’d got two more bass tracks completed. Two more boxes crossed off on the whiteboard. While Grey had worked in the studio, Jake had sat silently in the control room with Dr Marrs, watching the screen on his cell phone, hoping for a message. It was a message that never came. He was only semi-aware of what was going on around him. He wasn’t paying attention and, when the door opened, he almost jumped out of his seat. With his heart pounding, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Shattered Hearts Page 27