My name is Jenny Lennonfield, and I have the weirdest story you could possibly imagine.
I live in Orange County, California with my dad, my older brother Tony, and my little cousin Jackson. My mom and Jackson's parents had died in a car accident when I was 5. A freight trucker's headlights weren't on, and he tried to turn a corner too sharply, ran right into them. They never saw it coming. That was 11 years ago. Tony had been 7, and Jackson was barely 2 years old. Last year was the craziest year of my life, and it all started with a ruby amulet I found in the library.
"Hey, Jen! C'mon, my book's waiting!" I laughed at my older brother's eagerness to get his book. "Okay, I'm coming! Jax, c'mon." Jackson groaned, and sprinted to me. "Why do we have to come here again?" I shook my head. Jax hated the library because he said it was too weird, and it spooked him out. I didn't understand why a library, of all things, scared him. He was practically fearless when it came to other things, but when we went to the library, nope. He wouldn't do it. "Oh, quit being a scaredy-cat, Jax. You know we have to stay with Tony when Dad's on a business trip." Jax whimpered as we approached the library building. I put an arm around him, and we went inside. The library had always been a favorite of mine, because I could just pick up a book and be in another world. Tony was always getting books on monsters and mythical creatures, and he would read them to me and Jax.
Tony, born Anthony Jacob Lennonfield, was my second favorite man in the whole world. I say second favorite, because my dad is my first favorite. He was 6'3", with choppily cut dark brown hair, and hazel-brown eyes with flecks of gold. He had a single strip of green in his hair, which I thought made him look super cool. At 18 years old, he was a really fit guy, mostly because he liked going for runs in the morning. I would always go running with him before school, but that was just because I wanted to be faster than him. Jax, Jackson William Lennonfield, was 13 years old, with dirty blonde hair and steel blue eyes. He was a skinny kid, but extremely active for his age. He loved biking, and when he wasn't biking, he was begging me to go biking with him. And then there's me, Jenny, born Jennifer Lucas Lennonfield, 16 years old. Tony says I look like Mom, with platinum blonde hair, and, curiously, purple eyes with streaks of auburn. As you could probably tell by the activities listed before, I'm pretty active, and do my best to keep as fit as my brother. But back to the story.
"Aw, yeah! Manticores, Cyclopes, and Others. You guys ready for stories tonight?" Tony asked. I couldn't help it; I jumped up and down while clapping. "Yeah!" Jax grinned at my child-like enthusiasm. "Geez, Jen. Overexcited much?" I laughed, and then turned to the librarian. "Hey, do you have anything in for me?" The librarian, Sally, smiled and looked around in her desk for anything that might be in my name. "Ah, here it is. Medieval kings and their stories." I took it from her, we checked out our books, and left. "History again, sis? Really?" "Hey, I read other things! I read Eragon!" I protested. Tony laughed, and started flipping through his book. Jax just walked beside me, keeping absolutely silent. He was planning something, I knew it. By the time we got home, I was completely bored. And I had to use the bathroom bad, so I dashed upstairs to the bathroom. Once that was done, I headed to the kitchen to start dinner. Jax came up behind me as soon as he heard the stove turn on. "Hey, coz. What's for dinner?" I chuckled, shaking my head. "Everyone's favorite. Spaghetti with Alfredo sauce and Italian style meatballs. Hey, could you get the garlic bread out of the freezer, Jaxie?" Jax is a great help in the kitchen, because he likes working with food. Anyway, Tony had gotten in the shower after I'd gotten out of the bathroom, and by the time he finished, we were almost done making dinner.
We have this family joke, that whenever Tony comes in while I'm cooking, he'll say "Hi honey, I'm home." And I always reply "And what time do you call this, darling?" We always have fun with that. Sometimes what he says varies, but he still gets the same meaning across: hey sis, you remember I love you, right? Tony's the best big brother I could ever have.
"Hey, sweetie." He called, walking into the kitchen. "Hey, babe." I replied, smiling in amusement. This time, he did something different. He slipped his arms around me, giving me a hug from behind. "What's for dinner?" He whispered. I felt a little confused, but I played along. "Oh, nothing much. Just your favorite." Tony straightened up a bit, and held me closer. "Cool, I'll set the table, huh?" He kissed my head, and headed to the dish cupboard. I shook my head, and pulled the bread from the oven. Dinner was always fun because we always made up stories while we ate, and each of us would give input and improvise when somebody got stuck. Tonight we were telling an adventure story, and Jax was really into it. He added Mayan temples, mummies, booby-traps, and traitorous companions. Tony added location, description, and scale. I added the fantasy, such as curses, hexes, and one dragon. Komodo dragon, though, because Jax said a real dragon wouldn't count. After dinner and stories, we all headed for the living room for Tony's story. I had my book with me, and decided to quickly flip through it before Tony started reading. As soon as I picked it up, something fell out of it into my lap. "What's that?" Tony asked, sliding off the sofa to sit next to me on his knees. "I don't know." I replied, picking it up and turning it over in my hand. "Looks like some sort of necklace." I held it up to show them. "Huh, looks old. Just don't lose it." I nodded, and Tony started reading.
Next day, I got up earlier than the boys. I do that sometimes. I did some laundry, started breakfast, and got the boys' stuff ready. Tony came downstairs, wearing just a pair of pajama pants, his hair in a mess. I turned away quickly, trying to grant my brother some privacy. "Tony, go get a shirt on, jeez!" Tony scoffed a bit. "C'mon, sis. Nothing you haven't seen before." "That's not what you said last week. Go get a shirt, please." I still wouldn't look at him, and kept working on breakfast. I didn't hear him leave, so I turned around to check. "Tony, you okay?" He walked over to me, just smiling. "Are you?" I nodded, turning back to the stove. "So, what's for breakfast, sis?" I laughed softly. "Ah, pancakes, omelets, bacon, some hash browns, and orange juice. Except for me, I'm just gonna have cereal and a glass of water." Tony laughed, shaking his head. "If you're not eating any of this, why make so much?" I turned to my brother with a small smile. "Well, you guys need to eat, don't you?" Then, without warning, Jax's voice boomed out from the top of the stairs. "I SMELL BACON! JENNY, I FRICKIN' LOVE YOU!" Tony and I busted up laughing as Jax ran downstairs in his favorite Spider-Man PJs.
"Jennifer Lennonfield, please come to the High school office. Miss Lennonfield, to the high school office." I blew out a huge sigh, hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders, and headed up to the office. "Ms. Graneth, is something wrong?" I asked as soon as I opened the office door. "Miss Lennonfield, there's a phone call for you. It's your father." I bobbed my head in a quick bow, and dashed to the "call room". The "call room" was a specially designated room in the office where students could take calls. The person who was calling would call the office first, then that student would go to the "call room" and call the person back. I whipped out my cell, and hit my speed dial. Ring, ring. "Hello?" "Daddy, is everything okay?" "Hey, honey. Listen, um, this deal is gonna take longer than we thought. I'm not gonna be home for a while, at least a week." My heart sank. A week? That was way too long! "But, Dad! Can't you get someone else in to close the deal for you? You can't stay in Asia for a whole WEEK!" Dad sighed. "Sweetie, I would if I could, but I'm the only expert on the dynasty that the artifact is from. I'll try to come back as fast as possible, okay?" I sighed, and then grumbled my consent. "Alright, baby. I'll try to be home soon, I promise. I love you, sweetie." "I love you too, Daddy. I'll tell the boys, yeah?" "Yeah. Bye, sweetie." "Bye." I hung up, thanked Ms. Graneth, and went back to class. When school ended, I picked up Jax, and we went home.
"Dad's not coming home yet, huh?" I nodded. I never asked how he knew, I just let him guess. "How long?" Jax asked. I ran my hands down my face wearily. "Another week at most." I muttered, tired of thinking about Dad. "What do you guys want for dinner tonight?" I asked, desperate to change the subject. Jax scooted closer to me, he face apprehensive. "W-wanna make meatloaf?" I smiled. Jax knew how much I enjoyed making meatloaf. "Tony?" Tony smiled too. "Sounds good to me." Jumping to my feet, I clapped my hands together. "Meatloaf it is, then. C'mon, guys."
After dinner, I headed up to my room, complaining of a headache. I flopped onto my bed, feeling completely drained. I looked over to my nightstand, and my eyes lingered on the amulet that'd fallen out of my book. It was a ruby set in gold hanging from a silver chain thick enough to be a gate chain. I sat up, and picked up the amulet, turning it over in my hands. There was something engraved on the back, but some of it was worn off. I looked at the writing, trying to figure out what it said. In terram miseriae et tenebrarum ubi umbrae. I slipped off my bed, and headed to my bookshelf. I grabbed my Every Language You Need to Know, and headed back to my bed. I sat back, scanning through the book to find what the language might be. Finally, I found it. It was Latin, and it didn't sound too happy, either. "In the land of darkness, where the shadows lie… Yeesh, that's some dark stuff." I put the book down, and picked up the amulet. The ruby was a little clouded, so I picked up one of my bandanas and started rubbing it. The thing got red-hot super-fast, and it burned my hand. I screamed from the pain, causing Tony to burst into my room, ready to kill. "Jenny, what happened? Are you okay?" I jumped off my bed, my eyes stinging from unshed tears. I held out my burnt hand, wincing when he took ahold of it. "I'm okay, Tony. Really." Tony shook his head, and took me to the kitchen. Grabbing a washcloth from the cupboard, he got it wet, filled it with ice, and put it on my hand. I gasped in pain, squeezing my eyes shut, causing the tears in my eyes to fall. "Hey, what happened? Why's she crying?" Jax asked, shooting his questions at rapid fire speed. I clenched my teeth in pain, seething from the sting. "I'm okay, Jaxie. Just a small burn, that's all." I doubt I sounded very convincing, but he didn't ask any more questions. "How did you burn yourself like this?" Tony asked, looking concerned. "I told you, I'm fine, okay? I'll be good as new in the morning." Tony looked serious, something that rarely ever happened. "Jennifer Lucas, how did you hurt yourself? I don't want you to lie to me. If you start shrugging me off now, you're gonna shrug me off for the rest of your life if you get too used to it. I want to know what happened, okay?" I looked him in the eyes, and could tell he was just worried. "Okay. I was polishing that amulet thing that fell out of my book, and it just started heating up. I'm not making it up, either." Tony lifted my injured hand, and held it gently. He just nodded, and let go off my hand. "Okay. Just don't touch it anymore, k?" "Okay. Let's go to bed, guys." Jax was the first to head up the stairs. "C'mon, tomorrow's Saturday, Game Bash Day!"
Jax wasn't wrong, either. Saturday at our house had been Game Bash Day since I was little, and it had grown into a tradition. Every year, we upgraded our gaming systems. This year, we had Xbox, Wii, Ps4, and a large assortment of computers. "Which one are we using this time?" Tony asked. Me and Jax answered at the same time. "Xbox!" Tony laughed, and switched on the Xbox. We played GTA V, Minecraft, and TellTaleGames. "Ha, I told you! You just can't beat me at MarioKart!" I whooped as Tony's character came in second, just two paces behind mine. "Ah, shoot. Well, I can still beat you at Wii sword fighting." Tony grinned, shoving that well-hated fact in my face. I rolled my eyes, and set down my controller. "Yeah, well… Peace hug?" Tony shrugged, and gave me a hug. Jax coughed awkwardly, and pointed to the other room with his thumb. Tony let me go, and followed him to Daddy's office. Jax shut the door almost all the way, so I couldn't see or hear much. But I, being the nosey Parker I am, crept over to the door, took out one of my earrings, and put it on the floor in front of the door, an old trick my friend Alyssa taught me in third grade. "…still need to tell her. If you don't, it'll only get worse. Pretty soon, you're not even gonna be able to grab her arm without getting chills." "I know that, Jax, you think I don't feel cruddy every time I hug her and think about how I can't do what I want to with her because she's my sister?! *sigh* Look, I don't know what to do. I can't tell her because… Well, what if she freaks? What if she starts avoiding me? What if…. What if she never wants to see me again because of it?" My mind started racing at a thousand miles per second. What are they talking about? Why would I ever hate Tony? I heard Jax sigh, and I could picture him shaking his head. "Look, you'll never know if all your what ifs will be right if you don't tell her. So, just tell her about it. If she freaks, then take it slowly. If she doesn't, then you're good, right?" There was a few moments silence, then another sigh from Tony. "Okay. I'll… Try. But don't expect much." I picked up my earring, put it back in my ear, and dashed silently over to the couch. Tony and Jax came out of the office, and I sat up. "You guys alright? Is everything okay?" They exchanged nervous glances, and then Tony took my hand, leading me to Dad's office. Once we were inside, he shut the door behind us, and then turned to face me. "Sis, uhh... There's something I gotta tell you." I sat down, and he dragged a chair across from me. "Uhh, I'm not sure how I'm gonna say this. I kinda… Have a complicated problem. I, uhh…" I rolled my eyes. I'd kinda pieced together what he wanted to say, anyway. I leaned forward, and took his hands in mine. I stood up, pulling him to his feet. Tony kept trying to stammer out some explanation of what was wrong until I just put one finger on his mouth. I shook my head, smiling. "You know, you never were very good at admitting something. So save yourself some trouble, and kiss me already." Tony looked both confused and relieved. "Whoa, what? You mean you don't think I'm being weird?" I shook my head again, and then stepped closer. "So, you gonna kiss me or not?" He looked at me for a few seconds, like he was trying to make up his mind. I finally just rolled my eyes, leaned forward, and kissed him. Tony squeaked in surprise, which was really weird to hear. It took him a few seconds, but he finally kissed me back. I pulled away after a while to study my older brother's face. "Better?" He nodded. "Yeah, better." I smiled a little, took his hand, and lead him back to the living room. Jax stood up from the couch, his eyes inquisitive. Me and Tony looked at each other, and then back at Jax. I nodded at him, and he let out a huge sigh and then collapsed on the couch. "Finally! Now let's get back to MarioKart!" Me and Tony started laughing. Then we sat down, and picked up our controllers.
That afternoon, I picked up the amulet again. My hand was still a bit sore from being burned. I turned it over again, looking at the engraving in the back of the amulet. At first I thought my eyes were fuzzy, but I rubbed at my eyes, and it was still there. There was more writing. "Keep to the light, stay on the path, and never go far from home. Danger awaits ye who hold me if you intend to roam. Geez, why is all the writing on this thing so dark?" I turned it over again, and the jewel was more clouded than last night. I couldn't sleep after that, so I put on a pair of sweatpants, a jacket, and my running shoes, and went for a walk. Flipping through the things that had happened this week, I couldn't see any certain order to it. After letting my feet take me where they would, I finally stopped somewhere I felt was perfect. I was in the park, by a street light and a bench. I remembered this bench. It was the same bench I'd ran to when I'd heard that Mom had died. Tony had found me here that day, and sat with me until I felt okay enough to go home. I sat down, my face in my hands, thinking of Mom. After what felt like forever, I heard footsteps coming towards me, and stop in front of me. I didn't bother to lift my head when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I thought I'd find you here. You okay, sis?" I didn't say anything. I just sat and waited. Tony stood up, and sat down next to me. "Hey, c'mon. You know me. I'm always here for you to talk to. What's wrong?" I stayed silent for a few more seconds. Then I lifted my head, and turned to look at my brother. Finally, I laid my head against his shoulder, and whispered, "I miss Mom. I miss Dad. I'm confused about everything. I have a weird necklace that tells dumb riddles, my younger cousin is now my little brother, and I'm in love with my older brother. Is that bad? Am I doing something wrong?" I started crying quietly. Tony put his arms around me in an attempt to cheer me up. "No, I don't think so. I mean, it doesn't sound any weirder that mine. I'm 18 and still live at home. I have no interest in the girls at school, which confuses my friends. I enjoy mythology more than smutty magazines, I don't go skateboarding on the weekends, and I refuse to go drinking with my friends. I think I've got you beat in weirdness." I choked out a laugh. "I didn't know this was a competition." I said, wiping my eyes. Tony chuckled. I moved closer to him, my eyes closed. After a few minutes like that, Tony sighed and said, "Let's go home, sis." I nodded, and we went back to the house.
" I'm taking back the crown! All dressed up and naked; I see what's mine and take it !" " Finders, keepers! Losers, weepers !" Sundays at our house were basically anything we could think of. Today was karaoke. Panic! At the disco, Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5, all kinds of music. " Oh, well imagine. As I'm pacing the pews of a church corridor, and I can't help but to hear, no I can't help but to hear an exchanging of words. " Panic! At the disco was an awesome band, and we had a lot of their songs on our karaoke machine. Jax and I were rocking out, and having a blast. "Jen, Dad's on the phone." I dropped my mic, and dashed to the hall. "Hello? Daddy?!" "Hey, baby." We talked for 15 minutes, I never once mentioning me and Tony. "When are you coming home?" Daddy sighed. "I'm sorry, baby. They still need me here. I'll be home as soon as I can, I promise." I kept silent, my eyes filling with tears. Daddy sighed again. "Don't cry, baby girl. You still have your brothers. They'll look after you until I come back. I know you don't want me to be so far away, but I'll be home soon. I love you, baby girl." "I love you too, Daddy. Be careful, okay? And come home." "Okay, sweetie. Bye." I heard the other end of the line click, and the dial tone rang. I hung up the phone, and went back to the living room, wiping my eyes. Tony jumped to his feet as I walked into the room. "Sis, you okay?" I could tell he was still gritting his teeth whenever he said "sis". I nodded, forcing myself to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." " LIVIN' ON A PRAYER! " Jax belted out, obviously trying to lighten the mood. I coughed out a laugh, and picked up my mic. "Betcha I can sing NateWantsToBattle better than you!" Jax shook his head, a mischievous grin on his face. "Betcha not!"
Monday morning rolled around, and it was more school for me and Jax. First period passed by slowly, so did second and third. Fourth period, everything started to seem unbearable. I had to ask to be excused to go to the restroom just so I could have a change of scenery. I decided that later that night, I'd need to spend "quality time" with my big brother. Thinking about that combined with the stress I already felt, I had to spend three minutes with my head over a toilet.
That evening, I told Tony what I had been thinking about, and he was a little, well, I wanna say repulsed about the idea at first. Then he consented to it, a little eager in my opinion. "Jeeeeeeeennnnnaaaaahhhh! WHAT'S FOR DINNEERRR?!" Jax hollered, obviously getting fed up about me and Tony taking so long with our "private talk". "Ugh, better get dinner started, then." Tony laughed, and we headed to the kitchen.
(No, I will NOT write any sex scenes in this. Sorry.)
Next morning proved to be sore, very sore. I decided to stay home that day. Tony was okay with it, so I just cleaned up the house until Jax came home. "Hey, why are you home so early, Jen?" Jax asked when he saw me putting up dishes in the kitchen. "Um, I…didn't feel well, so I stayed home." I muttered, glancing over to Tony. "Oh. Alright, then. You want some help with the dishes, cuz?" I was surprised. Jax was actually offering to help with the dishes? That was new. "Um, sure. Thanks." Jax smiled, and picked up a plate.
"Hey, Jen. About last night…" I turned around to see Tony rubbing the back of his neck, standing on one leg. "Are you sure you want to talk about this now, Anth?" I asked, feeling a little weird. "Yeah, I wanna talk about this now. Was that really what you wanted, or were you just trying to make me feel okay with liking you?" He asked, sitting next to me on my bed. I looked down at my clasped hands, spinning my thumbs around each other. Finally, I sighed. "No. I thought it would help me." Tony put his arm around my shoulders. "Help with what?" I shook my head. "I don't know. I thought it would help me clear my mind a bit." I hung my head, not sure what to think of myself. Tony pulled me close to him, running his fingers through my hair. "Hmm. Well, I can't get mad at that. Everybody needs to clear their minds every once in a while." I grinned slightly, hiding my face in Tony's shoulder. "Hmm. I don't know. I still feel bad." Tony chuckled. "Well, don't. I don't, and I know that it wasn't something we should've done." I sat up, my eyes stinging. "But that's what makes it so hard." I whispered. Tony shrugged, standing up. "Maybe it'll get easier. We'll just have to let it go where it will." I ran those words through my mind as Tony left my room. Maybe he was right. Maybe I just had to wait. The sound of a car engine broke through my train of thought. I knew that engine. The front door opened, then shut. "Hey, I'm home!" I jumped off my bed, and dashed downstairs. "Dad! You're home early!" I grabbed him in a hug as he started laughing. "Hey, sweetie. Where the boys any trouble for you?" I shook my head, still holding on to my dad. "Naw, they were fine. How was your trip?" Exchanging talk like this made everything feel like nothing was wrong. Like I hadn't done anything wrong while he was gone. Not true, of course. I had done stuff he wouldn't like. Before Dad could ask about what I had been up to while he was gone, Tony and Jax came in the room to greet Dad as well. So I said nothing.
"So, what if Uncle Dan finds out about you guys?" Jax asked, lying with his head hanging off the edge of my bed. "I dunno. I don't plan on letting him find out, either." Tony draped one arm over my shoulders, a sly grin on his face. "Neither do I. So, we just…don't tell him." He gently kissed my forehead, and chuckled. I rolled my eyes, then closed them as Jax started to argue that just not talking about it wouldn't keep it under wraps. I fell asleep listening to them argue.
" So I cross my heart anna hope to die… " RoomieOfficial at 2am… I have a phone call. "Ugh, what is it, Cindy?" "Hey. Freaked. Need to talk." I sat up, groaning. "Ohh, Cindy, you really expect me to come over at 2 in the morning?" "Nope. That's why I'm in the kitchen. I've got a pot of coffee going." I shot bolt upright, fear flooding my mind. "What?!" I hung up, threw on my robe, and dashed downstairs to the kitchen. "No, no, no, no, no." Sure enough, Cindy was there at the table, a mug of coffee between her hands. "How did you get in here?!" I demanded. Cindy shrugged. "Spare key's still under the doormat. So, heard some shit, need you to clarify for me." I sat down, my arms crossed. "Clarify what shit?" Cindy stared straight at me. "Your brother. The big guy." "What about him?" "You guys are dating?" I stood up so fast, my chair almost toppled over. "Who the fuck told you that stupid shit? And where would they get THAT dumb idea? Me, dating my older brother? *pish* Besides, you know how wrong that sounds? Ugh." I heard a noise from upstairs, and spun on instinct to see what was there. I only saw a pair of small blue slippers, but I still told Cindy to leave. She did, shutting the door silently behind her. "Jen, who were you talking to?" I blew out a sigh of relief. "Cindy." Jax looked confused. "How'd she get in?" "She knows where I keep my spare key." "Oh." Jax rubbed his eyes, yawning. "Well, I'm going back to bed. You coming?" I nodded, and followed him up the stairs with just one thought in my mind: How did she find out about me and Tony?
"Maybe she has some sort of surveillance on you?" Jax asked on the way to the bus stop the next day. I shook my head. "No. That's too much, even for Cindy." Jax's eyes narrowed in thought. "Well, maybe her brother found out. Y'know, Josh?" I gave it a little thought, and then shook my head again. "No, cuz how would he have found out? Tony hasn't told anyone, and neither have I." By now, we had reached the bus stop and waiting for a few seconds. "I didn't tell anyone either. Hey, did you let her borrow your cell at all since you guys started up your thing?" I groaned, pressing my palms against either side of my head. "I don't know! I can't think right now!" Jax raised his hands, an obvious sign of surrender to the topic. "Okay. Let's just get on the bus, alright?" He asked, motioning towards the approaching vehicle. I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Alright, let's just not talk about this."
"Hey, sweetie. Are you okay?" Dad asked as I walked through the door after school. I gave him a small smile, and nodded. "I'm fine, Daddy. I'm just gonna head up to my room for a bit, okay?" I left without waiting for a reply. I threw my backpack onto my desk chair, and sat on the edge of my bed, my face in my hands. Dad came in slowly, and sat down next to me. "I've known you your whole life, sweetie. I can tell when you're not okay. What's wrong?" I shook my head, afraid to speak. "I can't. I can't tell you. It's not my place." Dad sat with me for a few minutes, but when I still refused to say anything, he sighed, stood up, and left. Tony came in a few seconds after that, and sat next to me like Dad had. Putting his arms around me, Tony let me lean against his chest, my eyes closed. "I don't think I can do this, Sam." I muttered, quoting Lord Of The Rings like we used to whenever I had run out of will. Tony smiled, and recited Sam's line. "I know, Mr. Frodo. By rights, we shouldn't even be here. It's just like in those stories, the ones that really mattered. The ones that were filled with so much danger and darkness, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end, because how could the end be 'appy? Those were the stories that stayed with you, the really important ones, even if you were too young to understand. Because they were 'oldin' on to something." I looked up at my brother, this time saying Frodo's lines and meaning them. "What are we holding on to, Sam?" Tony grinned, and held me closer. "That there's some hope left for us, sis." I giggled slightly. "I don't remember that line." Tony laughed. "Ah, c'mon. Let's get downstairs. You know we can't let Dad cook." I nodded. We kissed briefly, then dashed down to the kitchen. "DADDY! I'm cooking, don't touch the stove!" I heard Jax snort, and tell Dad, "Told you that Tony could get her out of her room."
"Triple layer four cheese lasagna, done." Putting the dish on the table, I served up dinner, then sat down as Dad told us about his latest dig. "We didn't want to ruin the structure, but we didn't have the key. So we didn't get to go inside." I made a mock pouty face. "Aww, poor Daddy." Dad chuckled lightly. "Yeah. So, what did you guys do while I was gone?" I heard Tony choke on his milk when Dad said 'do'. "We went to the library, we went to school, and we went to the park. That's about it. Oh, and Jenny took a midnight walk." Dad's head snapped up, his face showing concern. I hadn't gone for a midnight walk since I was little. I used to have trouble sleeping after Mom died, so several times I'd gotten up at midnight exactly, and gone to the graveyard to see Mom. I would fall asleep on a bench across from her headstone. Once it had been raining, but I had fallen asleep anyway. My dad found me the next day with a bad case of hypothermia. "Really? Did you go anywhere in particular, sweetie?" I shrugged. "I went to the park." Dad visibly relaxed, and continued eating. "Alright. Find anything interesting?" I pulled the amulet out of my pocket, holding it up for Dad to see. "Ruby, set in gold. Round about the time of medieval England's end. Latin engraving on the back." Dad looked at it strangely, his eyes narrowed. "Where did you find that?" I told him I'd found outside the library, which wasn't lying exactly. "It burned her." Jax said. I quickly dropped it into my lap, and glared at him. "Jaxie." I hissed. Dad was looking at me with an almost scared look in his eyes. "Jenny?" I rolled my eyes, sighed, then held up my left hand, wrapped in Ace bandages. Dad nodded at my hand. "Take them off." Without moving my left hand, I took the edge of my bandage, and pulled. The bandages fell off, revealing a white mark in the center of my palm. Dad's face drained. He hates it when I get hurt, but his reaction was way overdoing it. "It's not as bad as it looks, Dad. Really." Dad shook his head, and kept eating. I didn't say anything until Dad asked if he could see it again. I placed the amulet on the table, and slid it across to him. Dad picked it up, examining it closely. "The writing on the back, is it…" He trailed off, waiting for me to fill in. "Latin. Pretty weird stuff, though. It says stuff about a land of shadows, er summit." Dad looked at me again, a growing expression of triumph coming over his face. "A land of shadows, huh?" I nodded, a mixture of fear and excitement causing my stomach to turn itself in knots. "Does that mean that you have to leave again, Daddy?" Dad's face fell as he realized what I was asking: That's the key your team was looking for, and now that you've found it, you have to take it back to your dig site in Asia, huh? As he tried to think of a good excuse, my mind went back to when I was 7, and I had thrown my biggest fit ever. Dad had had to go on a dig in Egypt, and I had had enough of Dads absentness from home. "YOU'RE NEVER HOME, YOU'RE ALWAYS AT WORK, AND YOU NEVER HAVE TIME FOR ME OR TONY OR JAX! WHY?! WHY DO YOU HATE US SO MUCH THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO STAY HOME?! DADDY, ANSWER ME!" Dad had gotten frustrated, and sent me to my room. I didn't. Instead, I had gone to his study, gotten his hand pistol, (which was loaded,) cocked it, and pointed it at my head, screaming, "I WANT MOMMY! YOU DON'T WANT ME, MAYBE SHE WILL!" Dad, scared out of his mind, took the gun from me, grabbed me by the shoulders, and held me close to him. His words rang through my mind, still as clear as the day he said them. "Don't do that, baby. Please. It hasn't been long enough for the hurt of losing your mother to dull down. Please don't do this to me. I do love you, I promise. I love you guys more than anything." I had to get up from the table and stand over the sink, silent tears streaming down my face as I thought of what I had asked in response. "Then why are you never home? Why are you always at work? It doesn't feel like you love me." I couldn't bear to keep thinking of it. I fell to my knees, my hand clasped over my mouth, sobbing my heart out. Dad came into the kitchen, and knelt down next to me. "Jenny, I know what you're thinking about. I'm sorry, but you know I have to go." I nodded, still crying. I couldn't speak, I was crying so much. Tony came over too. Sitting down on my left, he put him arm over my shoulders, and held me like a good "big brother". "Hey, hey. It's gonna be okay, sis." I looked at him, seeing the suppressed passion in his eyes. I took a deep breath, and managed to get myself to stop crying. I sighed, sniffling occasionally. "Better?" I nodded. "Better. Thanks." Tony smiled, then kissed the top of my head, and stood up. "Alright. Want me to get the table tonight?" Almost forgetting that Dad was next to me, I smiled and replied, "Sure. Thanks, b-" I stopped myself just before I said babe. I quickly corrected myself, and finished it as "Bro." Tony's eyes held a mixture of relief and fear as he walked off. I could feel my own heart aching to be with just Tony, but I had to wait. Just wait.
"Waddya mean, I'm going with you?!" Dad shook his head. "Just what I said; you're coming with me." I couldn't believe this. Why was I going too? This wasn't what I wanted. Dad sighed. "I thought you would've liked to spend some time with your daddy." He sounded tired and disappointed. I quickly shook my head. "No, no, I do! I just didn't think minors were allowed on the dig site. Isn't bringing me against the rules?" Daddy smiled. "Yes, but I'm one of the main archeologists on the dig, so I can do whatever I think is necessary for the dig." I didn't say anything, just stood there looking confused. Dad started laughing, and shooed me off. "Just go get packed." With a grin, I dashed upstairs to pack some things I might need. Halfway to my door, I stopped. I had to tell Tony. I turned right to Tony's room instead of continuing straight to my room. "Babe? Dad wants me to go on the dig with him." Tony fell back on his bed, groaning loudly. "Why? Why does he have to do this?" Tony whined mockingly. I chuckled, and sat down next to him. "C'mon, it's not gonna be that long. I'll be home as soon as I can, I promise." Tony laughed, still lying on his back. "Hopefully sooner than I think." I smiled, placing my hand on his knee. "Aw, I'll miss you, too." Tony sat up, a look on his face that clearly said 'seriously?' "What?" Tony moved his hand in a circle. "And?" I shrugged, trying not to laugh. "Ehh-ehh." Tony looked completely stunned. I started busting up laughing, and Tony shoved me playfully. "Okay, okay! I love you, too!" Tony laughed too. He kissed me, then stood up. "Alright, need help packing?" I nodded, and we both headed to my room.
"Jen? Stay with me." I ran up to Dads side, my eyes wide. "Wow. This place is so big, Daddy!" It was, too. Tents, crates, jeeps, tons of people, and dirt. Lots and lots of dirt. Dad laughed, taking my hand. "Yeah, it is. Just don't run off, baby." I kept looking around, and the one constant thing was… "Dirt." "What, honey?" I looked up at my Daddy, and simply said, "There's a lot of dirt." Dad started laughing, and showed me his tent. I felt my phone vibrate, so I took it out of my pocket. "Who is it, Jen?" I shook my head. "Just Jax." I lied. It was from Tony. I quickly typed back a reply, and put my phone away. "So, what are we doing now?" I asked. Dad took my hand, and led me to the ruins. "You're gonna have to go in there." I nodded. "Okay-" "Alone." I snapped my head round to face him. "What?!"
To Be Continued.