Disclaimer: ::looks in mirror:: Damnit, still not Meg Cabot....
Summary: I started this after reading most of the series 1-800-WHERE-R-U, so, this is right after the fourth, and so far final, book. If you haven't read these books, or at least one of them, you probably won't have any idea about half of what I'm talking about, though I try to give some background to all references of past events.
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Everything was perfect. Well, OK, almost perfect. My suicidal brother, Douglas, was getting better. He's even been eating with the family on an almost daily basis. My other brother, Mike, was happily dating Claire Lippman, a neighbor from two doors down. My parents weren't fighting anymore, and were into the process of rebuilding Mastriani's, one of my dad's restaurants. And me? My boyfriend and I were finally official, with him introduced to my parents and everything. That part, my parents weren't too happy about. I can see why. Rob is 18, 1 ½ years older than me, and has already graduated, whereas I am only a junior. But those things seemed pretty ok... that is until he had to go and open his big mouth and tell them. The other things were totally acceptable, since both my older brothers had graduated and were dating girls that were still in school. But, of course, neither of their girlfriends are on probation, are they? Nope.
Rob and his big mouth. Well, OK, a totally big mouth, that I **really** like, especially when it's kissing me. Thankfully, Rob's mom works for my dad, and my parents are still letting me go to the wedding on Christmas Eve. No, not ours, unfortunately. Rob's uncle is getting married.
Anyways, as I was saying, everything was perfect, or darn close to it. Don't ask me what happened, because I really don't know.
One day, everything's goin' great. The next, Rob's paranoid... or at least I think he is, he keeps looking around //everywhere//, then, Doug starts getting all depressed again, breaks up with his girlfriend for no reason, and all but refuses to socialize with the family. The thing with Doug sets off a chain reaction, a domino effect. Mom and Dad start fighting again. We barely ever see Mike anymore.
I start spending as much time away from home as I can, wherever I can. Seriously. At my best friend's house, which is conveniently located right next door to my house, at Rob's house, which is kinda bad, because I've started looking at everything wherever I go, trying to see what he's looking for, and, finally, the place I spend most of my time, Chick's Bar and Grill. Weird, I know. Me, a sixteen-year old, 5' 2", psychic-psycho, in a bar. It's way cool though, I know Chick personally. And it's not like I drink or anything, usually I just have a Coke along with a burger. And why should I be worried about getting attacked? I have feds tailing me everywhere I go, and I know all the Chick's regulars pretty well. OK,OK, I'll admit it, they all just kinda worship me because I led then on this kick-ass raid to stop a local religious group from killing anyone who wasn't a white Christian, and even white Christians who sympathized with nonwhites or non Christians.
But, that was /weeks/ ago. But, I'm a little glad that they worship me anyway. It keeps all the out-of-towners from me.
But all this is way off topic. After all this had been happening for a couple weeks, I started to notice. Ya, I know what you're thinking, "It took you two weeks to see something that drastic?" Ya, it did.
It went on for awhile. Christmas Eve was amazing. Then, it happened.
Christmas morning. We were almost finished opening presents (there was one left for everyone). There was four, one to mom and dad together, then one for each of us kids. Mom and Dad opened theirs first. It was a set of keys and a title to someplace downtown. Upon further inspection, we found that the title said "12814 Main St" as the address. At the bottom of the box there was a note.
Dear Mr. And Mrs. Mastriani,
I know you are having a lot of trouble rebuilding your restaurant, Mastriani's, and I hope this helps out.
Sincerely,
A Friend
We were all excited, because we now had a mainstream location for our most popular restaurant.
Mike opened his next. Brand new laptop computer, fully decked out with all the top-of-the-line accessories. He immediately plugged it in and booted it up. There was a message on the screen.
Dear Michel,
I made this computer myself, and there is only one other like it in existence, which I have. If you're wondering why I gave this to you, it's because you're obviously a computer techie, just like me, and you deserve only the best.
Sincerely,
A Friend
Mine came next. I, much like my parents, got a set of keys, a title, and a note. I went for the note first.
Dear Jess,
For a free spirit, I give a free gift. Look outside.
Sincerely,
A Friend
P.S. You break Rob's heart, I'll break your neck.
Confused about the PS, I looked outside, right into the driveway. Sitting there was a '72 Harley, a two-tone black and purple, with a bunch of shiny chrome. Hanging from one of the handlebars was a helmet, with leather biker gloves inside. On the other handle bar was a leather jacket. I couldn't help myself, I squealed like the girl I am and ran out to see my new baby. The rest of my family followed close after me, not having seen my present out the window. I looked at the license plate after a careful examination of the rest of the bike. It said "LTNIN-GRL". There was a sticky-note on it saying that it could be changed if I didn't want that, but that I should be proud of being one of the two "Lightning Girls" that survived. Strangely enough, I suddenly was. I have always been ashamed of having been dubbed the "Lightning Girl". Wow, the things that change when someone gets a Harley...
"Well, let's go back inside and let Douggy open his present," I heard my mom say. Nodding, we all did exactly that.
But when Doug opened his present, I could immediately tell that his wasn't good, at least for him. He opened the box, and pulled out a note and a jewelry box. Like me, he took the note first... and paled considerably as he read. His note was longer than anyone else's, two full pages, front and back. When he was done, he was white as a ghost and shaky as a leaf in a tornado. He looked down at the box, and I actually saw tears in his eyes. My brother, who tried to kill himself a year ago today, was about to cry. He seemed to notice this, for he grabbed both the note and the box and ran up to his room, slamming the door behind him. All anyone could do was sit where they were, stunned.
After a few moments, I found my brain again and went up to check on him... and make sure he didn't have any explosives, sharp objects, poisons, or weapons in his room. When I got up there, I did my usual 'bang three times then walk in' routine. Now, he was crying. He was sitting on his bed, with the now-open jewelry box in his hand, just staring at it... and crying. As far back as I can remember, I'd never seen Douglas cry. When he broke his arm, all six times, he would start laughing at the shape of it. When he fell off the garage roof that one time, he wanted to go up and do it again. Last week, when I decked him for calling Ruth "Chubs", well... he couldn't exactly cry when he was out cold...
It took him a minute to realize that I was there, but when he did, he just snapped the box shut, neatly folded the note back into the envelope, and put then both carefully in his pocket. After making sure I couldn't see either of them, he asked" What do you want Jess?"
"Maybe to know why you won't let me see what you got, for one. For another, how about why you were just crying? I've never seen you cry, Douggy, and... it kinda scares me..." I replied.
He walked over and gave me a hug, another very un-Doug-like thing to do. "I can't tell you, and I can't tell you, in that order." That said, he walked back downstairs to eat breakfast, not noticing the envelope in my hand.
As soon as I was in my own room, with the door safely locked, I opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
Dear Doug,
I told you I'd be back, but you apparently chose not to believe me. I know you know I've been watching you, but you couldn't figure out who it was. Surprise. I hope your family like their presents, it was a lot of work getting them all in the house without waking anybody up, but I managed. I'm giving this back to you, hoping against hope that you'll give it to me again one day, but I somehow doubt that, as you seem to have moved on in life.
I haven't been so lucky. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you where I was going or why, but I didn't want to put you in danger. I already got my brother in trouble with the law, I had hoped that leaving would keep you out of trouble. It obviously didn't work, since you tried to kill yourself. What I can't figure out is why you would try to off yourself. You still have a family that loves you, a roof over your head, clothes on your back (that one, I'm not too sure is a good thing, since I personally prefer you without clothes, but that's just my opinion), and food in your stomach. On top of all that, you finally had me out of your hair.
Well, now I can tell you where I am, but at a very high risk, and my asking you to a.) not tell anyone, and b.) not try to come find me. I'm out in the woods behind my mom's house. I'd tell you not to worry, but you're probably not anyway, so I won't bother.
Hopefully the feds'll give up searching for me, since they think I'm in South Africa right now, not to mention the fact that my hometown would be the last place to look for me. Just make sure that your sister doesn't see a picture of me, if you even still have any. Great, I just jinxed myself. Oh well, maybe they'll catch me and just put me out of my misery quickly. Not likely, since I'm another "Lightning Girl". Since I left, I've been struck 3 more times. I now use 87% of my brain. About 7 more and I'll have full control over my brain. Wicked.
I have to go now, but I want you to know, I still love you.
Jade
All of this was written in girly script that I never would've associated with her brother. "Well, that was interesting," I thought. "And this is the same person who wrote my note... meaning that she knows Rob. But how?"
After putting the letter back in the envelope, and the envelope on Doug's desk, she told her parents that she was heading over to Rob's house for another gift exchange.
"But, Honey, the roads are so slick..." Her mom had said. Her dad then pointed out that "...Jess wouldn't have gotten her license if she wasn't a responsible driver..."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"God, I love the feel of the wind on my face..." I thought as I got out of town and started going faster, anxious to get to Rob's house. "I wonder what he'll think of my present. Oh, and I can't wait to tell Mrs. Wilkins that Mastriani's will be open for business again soon, I know she loved working there."
She hadn't gotten Rob much, but it suited him...literally. She'd had to ask his mom for his measurements. Leather jacket with an elaborately-sewn "Hell's Angels" on the back. In the background was a picture of his totally cherried-out Indian. She'd been wondering what he'd gotten her for weeks, and it was bugging her to no end.
She'd been so busy thinking about the possibilities that she didn't even notice that she was at his house until she was turning off the engine and putting the kick-stand down (Wouldn't want to scratch any of the perfect paint job would we?) Rob, Mrs. Wilkins, and Just-Call-Me-Gary all came out as she was storing her helmet and taking out the presents. They were obviously surprised to see her on a '72 Harley, much less one in mint condition. Well, Mrs. Wilkins was surprised to see her on it. Rob and Just- Call-Me-Gary were drooling over it. Then she remembered... only 200 had been ever been made in the design she had (short handlebars, as opposed to longer, more chopper-like handlebars.).
Mrs. Wilkins smacked both of them upside the head to get them to stop staring. They both managed to shut their mouths and return her "Merry Christmas". As they went inside to open gifts, she was bombarded with questions. "Where did you get it?" "When did you get it?" "How did you get it?" and "How did you afford it?" were among those questions.
After fifteen minutes of this, she looked at her boyfriend and said," Hon, don't take this the wrong way, but SHUT UP!!!!" His mouth shut with an audible snap. "Thank you. Now, I will answer all your questions after we open presents." Then stuffed the box with his jacket in it into his hands. "Open."
"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!" he answered with a mock salute. Watching him tear off the wrapping paper and take his present out of the box, Jess was reminded of a little kid. Rob never showed the little kid in him, but she knew it was there, and was happy that he at least let it out on Christmas.
Not even stopping to thank her, he went upstairs, presumably to get her present. While he was gone, Jess handed Mrs. Wilkins and Just-Call-Me- Gary their gifts (a personalized apron for Mrs. Wilkins and a new shop coat for Gary, you know the ones with the name embroidered on the front. His said "Just-Call-Me-Gary" where the name should've gone.).
"So...... do you two know what he got me?" Jess asked, looking at the stairs expectantly.
"Nope, but he sure is nervous about givin' it to you," Mrs. Wilkins answered with a small smile, which jess tried (almost laboriously) to return.
As Rob came downstairs, he looked at his mom and Gary, who said," That would be our cue to leave." They both got up and went into the kitchen, closing the door behind them.
Jess raised one eyebrow as rob nervously came over and sat next to her on the couch. "Who are you, and what have you done to Rob?" she asked.
"Huh?" he said dumbly.
"Well, the Rob Wilkins I know doesn't get nervous about anything, especially giving his girlfriend a gift that she'll love, no matter what it is," she said with a small smile, trying to get him to relax.
It worked. He gave a soft chuckle and seemed to relax a bit. Then she saw the jewelry box in his hand. He handed it to her without saying anything. She opened it to see a ring with small purple, black, and blue stones around the perimeter. Jess looked at him questioningly, as if to say" Is this a proposal, or just a really nice ring?"
"It's a promise ring. Promising that, one day, it will be replaced by an engagement ring, just not yet," he told her, carefully taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her left ring finger. After a few minutes of silence, he asked," Are you going to say something, or just sit there?"
Well, she didn't do either. Instead, she moved closer to him, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him before he could object. Rob was shocked at first, but quickly recovered and kissed back, putting his hands on her waist, and was still, somehow, surprised when she smiled against his lips and moved so that she was on his lap.
Then his mom walked back in. Neither noticed her until she'd gone back to the kitchen, and, once again, closed the door behind her. They broke apart, but she remained on his lap. Jess laid her head on his shoulder, moving herself to a comfortable position.
"So... do you like it?" Rob asked.
"No," she replied calmly. At his surprised look, she continued," I love it."
"Well, I love you," he said. Now it was her turn to be surprised. Before now, he'd refused to say it.
"Once again, who are you, and what have you done with Rob?"
"Sorry, Rob's out admiring your new bike," he said with a smile.
"Ya, well, my new bike is pretty admirable, if I do say so myself."
"Will you answer my questions now?"
"Of course. Shoot."
"When did you get it?"
"This morning."
"Who gave it to you?"
"I don't know?"
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Well, it's weird. We were done opening presents this morning when four more seemed to, like, materialize out of nowhere. My mom and dad got a new location for Mastriani's, Mike got a custom-made laptop, I got my bike and jacket, and Doug... well, Doug's was weird. We all got notes with our presents, but Doug got a full out, four-page-long letter, along with a jewelry box. The rest of our notes were signed 'A Friend', Doug's was signed by some chick named Jade, but there was no last name."
"Are you sure it said Jade?" Rob asked frantically.
"Positive."
"Do you still have your note with you?" At her nod he continued," Can I see it?" Shrugging, Jess took it out of her pocket and handed it to him. He quickly took it and read it... then read it again. Abruptly, he moved her off his lap and almost ran into the kitchen, Jess following eagerly, anxious to see what the fuss was about. As the pair went into the kitchen, Mrs. Wilkins and Gary both looked up, surprised to see them surfaced so quickly. Rob sat down in the chair next to his mother's, note in hand. "Ma... she's back."
"What? Who's back?" Mrs. Wilkins asked, seeming worried. She read the note gravely, focusing in on the P.S. "They're backwards..." she whispered.
At that point Jess looked to Gary to see if he knew what they were talking about. He seemed as confused as she did over the whole matter."Someone wanna clue me in here?"
"You said that your brother's note was signed 'Jade' right?" Rob asked. She nodded tentatively. "Did you read it?" Another nod. "What did it say?"
"Well, I can't repeat it word for word, but something along the lines of "I'm sorry I left, but I had already gotten my brother in trouble with the law and didn't want to drag you down with me" then she told him, vaguely, where she was hiding, and to not let me see a picture of her. Then she chewed him out about trying to kill himself,"she answered.
"Where did she say she was hiding?" Rob asked eagerly.
Before Jess could answer, Mrs. Wilkins interrupted," I don't want you in any more contact with that... thing, and I certainly don't want you bringing her back here!"
Ignoring his mother, he said," Where did she say, Jess."
"All she said was "In the woods behind her mom's house." I don't think she wanted anyone to find her." Rob stood up and quickly ran into his room upstairs, coming back down a few seconds later with something in his hand.
Upon closer inspection, the thing was a photo frame. The picture in it showed Rob, 13 or 14 years old, riding a big black and white horse bareback. Beside him was a girl of about the same age that looked like a cross between Rob and his mother, she was riding a snowy-white horse that seemed to have black highlighting it. It was beautiful, the horse, the girl, and the picture itself. "I need you to find her." Rob's pleading voice caught her attention. "I promise to tell you everything afterward, but, please, I need to find her." He now seemed to be holding back tears.
"Can I take this?" Jess questioned, indicating the photo. He nodded." Should have the results by morning then." She smiled, trying to calm him down. Looking out the window, she saw it was getting dark, and realized that it must already be nearly 5:00."I should get going, but I'll be by almost first thing tomorrow." She said goodbye to Mrs. Wilkins and just – Call – Me – Gary, then walked outside with Rob.
"In the letter.... she mentioned that she was another "Lightning Girl"... is she?" Jess queried.
"Yep. Struck by lightning 14 times," he answered distractedly.
"17."
"What?"
"She told Doug that she'd been hit 3 more times. 14+3=17. Then she said something about 87% of her brain is in use." Jess answered. They stopped beside her bike. Looking at it, she noticed something. The chrome looked like a lightning storm. And the colored part was painted in a way that made it look exactly like the Indiana countryside in the middle of a storm. "Wow, she went through a lot of trouble to get me this..."
"Probably not. More than likely, she painted it herself. She always was a good artist," Rob told her, also looking at the paint job.
Kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, Jess put her helmet on, started her bike, and headed for home, knowing that the next morning, this Jade person would be found.
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Summary: I started this after reading most of the series 1-800-WHERE-R-U, so, this is right after the fourth, and so far final, book. If you haven't read these books, or at least one of them, you probably won't have any idea about half of what I'm talking about, though I try to give some background to all references of past events.
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Everything was perfect. Well, OK, almost perfect. My suicidal brother, Douglas, was getting better. He's even been eating with the family on an almost daily basis. My other brother, Mike, was happily dating Claire Lippman, a neighbor from two doors down. My parents weren't fighting anymore, and were into the process of rebuilding Mastriani's, one of my dad's restaurants. And me? My boyfriend and I were finally official, with him introduced to my parents and everything. That part, my parents weren't too happy about. I can see why. Rob is 18, 1 ½ years older than me, and has already graduated, whereas I am only a junior. But those things seemed pretty ok... that is until he had to go and open his big mouth and tell them. The other things were totally acceptable, since both my older brothers had graduated and were dating girls that were still in school. But, of course, neither of their girlfriends are on probation, are they? Nope.
Rob and his big mouth. Well, OK, a totally big mouth, that I **really** like, especially when it's kissing me. Thankfully, Rob's mom works for my dad, and my parents are still letting me go to the wedding on Christmas Eve. No, not ours, unfortunately. Rob's uncle is getting married.
Anyways, as I was saying, everything was perfect, or darn close to it. Don't ask me what happened, because I really don't know.
One day, everything's goin' great. The next, Rob's paranoid... or at least I think he is, he keeps looking around //everywhere//, then, Doug starts getting all depressed again, breaks up with his girlfriend for no reason, and all but refuses to socialize with the family. The thing with Doug sets off a chain reaction, a domino effect. Mom and Dad start fighting again. We barely ever see Mike anymore.
I start spending as much time away from home as I can, wherever I can. Seriously. At my best friend's house, which is conveniently located right next door to my house, at Rob's house, which is kinda bad, because I've started looking at everything wherever I go, trying to see what he's looking for, and, finally, the place I spend most of my time, Chick's Bar and Grill. Weird, I know. Me, a sixteen-year old, 5' 2", psychic-psycho, in a bar. It's way cool though, I know Chick personally. And it's not like I drink or anything, usually I just have a Coke along with a burger. And why should I be worried about getting attacked? I have feds tailing me everywhere I go, and I know all the Chick's regulars pretty well. OK,OK, I'll admit it, they all just kinda worship me because I led then on this kick-ass raid to stop a local religious group from killing anyone who wasn't a white Christian, and even white Christians who sympathized with nonwhites or non Christians.
But, that was /weeks/ ago. But, I'm a little glad that they worship me anyway. It keeps all the out-of-towners from me.
But all this is way off topic. After all this had been happening for a couple weeks, I started to notice. Ya, I know what you're thinking, "It took you two weeks to see something that drastic?" Ya, it did.
It went on for awhile. Christmas Eve was amazing. Then, it happened.
Christmas morning. We were almost finished opening presents (there was one left for everyone). There was four, one to mom and dad together, then one for each of us kids. Mom and Dad opened theirs first. It was a set of keys and a title to someplace downtown. Upon further inspection, we found that the title said "12814 Main St" as the address. At the bottom of the box there was a note.
Dear Mr. And Mrs. Mastriani,
I know you are having a lot of trouble rebuilding your restaurant, Mastriani's, and I hope this helps out.
Sincerely,
A Friend
We were all excited, because we now had a mainstream location for our most popular restaurant.
Mike opened his next. Brand new laptop computer, fully decked out with all the top-of-the-line accessories. He immediately plugged it in and booted it up. There was a message on the screen.
Dear Michel,
I made this computer myself, and there is only one other like it in existence, which I have. If you're wondering why I gave this to you, it's because you're obviously a computer techie, just like me, and you deserve only the best.
Sincerely,
A Friend
Mine came next. I, much like my parents, got a set of keys, a title, and a note. I went for the note first.
Dear Jess,
For a free spirit, I give a free gift. Look outside.
Sincerely,
A Friend
P.S. You break Rob's heart, I'll break your neck.
Confused about the PS, I looked outside, right into the driveway. Sitting there was a '72 Harley, a two-tone black and purple, with a bunch of shiny chrome. Hanging from one of the handlebars was a helmet, with leather biker gloves inside. On the other handle bar was a leather jacket. I couldn't help myself, I squealed like the girl I am and ran out to see my new baby. The rest of my family followed close after me, not having seen my present out the window. I looked at the license plate after a careful examination of the rest of the bike. It said "LTNIN-GRL". There was a sticky-note on it saying that it could be changed if I didn't want that, but that I should be proud of being one of the two "Lightning Girls" that survived. Strangely enough, I suddenly was. I have always been ashamed of having been dubbed the "Lightning Girl". Wow, the things that change when someone gets a Harley...
"Well, let's go back inside and let Douggy open his present," I heard my mom say. Nodding, we all did exactly that.
But when Doug opened his present, I could immediately tell that his wasn't good, at least for him. He opened the box, and pulled out a note and a jewelry box. Like me, he took the note first... and paled considerably as he read. His note was longer than anyone else's, two full pages, front and back. When he was done, he was white as a ghost and shaky as a leaf in a tornado. He looked down at the box, and I actually saw tears in his eyes. My brother, who tried to kill himself a year ago today, was about to cry. He seemed to notice this, for he grabbed both the note and the box and ran up to his room, slamming the door behind him. All anyone could do was sit where they were, stunned.
After a few moments, I found my brain again and went up to check on him... and make sure he didn't have any explosives, sharp objects, poisons, or weapons in his room. When I got up there, I did my usual 'bang three times then walk in' routine. Now, he was crying. He was sitting on his bed, with the now-open jewelry box in his hand, just staring at it... and crying. As far back as I can remember, I'd never seen Douglas cry. When he broke his arm, all six times, he would start laughing at the shape of it. When he fell off the garage roof that one time, he wanted to go up and do it again. Last week, when I decked him for calling Ruth "Chubs", well... he couldn't exactly cry when he was out cold...
It took him a minute to realize that I was there, but when he did, he just snapped the box shut, neatly folded the note back into the envelope, and put then both carefully in his pocket. After making sure I couldn't see either of them, he asked" What do you want Jess?"
"Maybe to know why you won't let me see what you got, for one. For another, how about why you were just crying? I've never seen you cry, Douggy, and... it kinda scares me..." I replied.
He walked over and gave me a hug, another very un-Doug-like thing to do. "I can't tell you, and I can't tell you, in that order." That said, he walked back downstairs to eat breakfast, not noticing the envelope in my hand.
As soon as I was in my own room, with the door safely locked, I opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
Dear Doug,
I told you I'd be back, but you apparently chose not to believe me. I know you know I've been watching you, but you couldn't figure out who it was. Surprise. I hope your family like their presents, it was a lot of work getting them all in the house without waking anybody up, but I managed. I'm giving this back to you, hoping against hope that you'll give it to me again one day, but I somehow doubt that, as you seem to have moved on in life.
I haven't been so lucky. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you where I was going or why, but I didn't want to put you in danger. I already got my brother in trouble with the law, I had hoped that leaving would keep you out of trouble. It obviously didn't work, since you tried to kill yourself. What I can't figure out is why you would try to off yourself. You still have a family that loves you, a roof over your head, clothes on your back (that one, I'm not too sure is a good thing, since I personally prefer you without clothes, but that's just my opinion), and food in your stomach. On top of all that, you finally had me out of your hair.
Well, now I can tell you where I am, but at a very high risk, and my asking you to a.) not tell anyone, and b.) not try to come find me. I'm out in the woods behind my mom's house. I'd tell you not to worry, but you're probably not anyway, so I won't bother.
Hopefully the feds'll give up searching for me, since they think I'm in South Africa right now, not to mention the fact that my hometown would be the last place to look for me. Just make sure that your sister doesn't see a picture of me, if you even still have any. Great, I just jinxed myself. Oh well, maybe they'll catch me and just put me out of my misery quickly. Not likely, since I'm another "Lightning Girl". Since I left, I've been struck 3 more times. I now use 87% of my brain. About 7 more and I'll have full control over my brain. Wicked.
I have to go now, but I want you to know, I still love you.
Jade
All of this was written in girly script that I never would've associated with her brother. "Well, that was interesting," I thought. "And this is the same person who wrote my note... meaning that she knows Rob. But how?"
After putting the letter back in the envelope, and the envelope on Doug's desk, she told her parents that she was heading over to Rob's house for another gift exchange.
"But, Honey, the roads are so slick..." Her mom had said. Her dad then pointed out that "...Jess wouldn't have gotten her license if she wasn't a responsible driver..."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"God, I love the feel of the wind on my face..." I thought as I got out of town and started going faster, anxious to get to Rob's house. "I wonder what he'll think of my present. Oh, and I can't wait to tell Mrs. Wilkins that Mastriani's will be open for business again soon, I know she loved working there."
She hadn't gotten Rob much, but it suited him...literally. She'd had to ask his mom for his measurements. Leather jacket with an elaborately-sewn "Hell's Angels" on the back. In the background was a picture of his totally cherried-out Indian. She'd been wondering what he'd gotten her for weeks, and it was bugging her to no end.
She'd been so busy thinking about the possibilities that she didn't even notice that she was at his house until she was turning off the engine and putting the kick-stand down (Wouldn't want to scratch any of the perfect paint job would we?) Rob, Mrs. Wilkins, and Just-Call-Me-Gary all came out as she was storing her helmet and taking out the presents. They were obviously surprised to see her on a '72 Harley, much less one in mint condition. Well, Mrs. Wilkins was surprised to see her on it. Rob and Just- Call-Me-Gary were drooling over it. Then she remembered... only 200 had been ever been made in the design she had (short handlebars, as opposed to longer, more chopper-like handlebars.).
Mrs. Wilkins smacked both of them upside the head to get them to stop staring. They both managed to shut their mouths and return her "Merry Christmas". As they went inside to open gifts, she was bombarded with questions. "Where did you get it?" "When did you get it?" "How did you get it?" and "How did you afford it?" were among those questions.
After fifteen minutes of this, she looked at her boyfriend and said," Hon, don't take this the wrong way, but SHUT UP!!!!" His mouth shut with an audible snap. "Thank you. Now, I will answer all your questions after we open presents." Then stuffed the box with his jacket in it into his hands. "Open."
"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!" he answered with a mock salute. Watching him tear off the wrapping paper and take his present out of the box, Jess was reminded of a little kid. Rob never showed the little kid in him, but she knew it was there, and was happy that he at least let it out on Christmas.
Not even stopping to thank her, he went upstairs, presumably to get her present. While he was gone, Jess handed Mrs. Wilkins and Just-Call-Me- Gary their gifts (a personalized apron for Mrs. Wilkins and a new shop coat for Gary, you know the ones with the name embroidered on the front. His said "Just-Call-Me-Gary" where the name should've gone.).
"So...... do you two know what he got me?" Jess asked, looking at the stairs expectantly.
"Nope, but he sure is nervous about givin' it to you," Mrs. Wilkins answered with a small smile, which jess tried (almost laboriously) to return.
As Rob came downstairs, he looked at his mom and Gary, who said," That would be our cue to leave." They both got up and went into the kitchen, closing the door behind them.
Jess raised one eyebrow as rob nervously came over and sat next to her on the couch. "Who are you, and what have you done to Rob?" she asked.
"Huh?" he said dumbly.
"Well, the Rob Wilkins I know doesn't get nervous about anything, especially giving his girlfriend a gift that she'll love, no matter what it is," she said with a small smile, trying to get him to relax.
It worked. He gave a soft chuckle and seemed to relax a bit. Then she saw the jewelry box in his hand. He handed it to her without saying anything. She opened it to see a ring with small purple, black, and blue stones around the perimeter. Jess looked at him questioningly, as if to say" Is this a proposal, or just a really nice ring?"
"It's a promise ring. Promising that, one day, it will be replaced by an engagement ring, just not yet," he told her, carefully taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her left ring finger. After a few minutes of silence, he asked," Are you going to say something, or just sit there?"
Well, she didn't do either. Instead, she moved closer to him, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him before he could object. Rob was shocked at first, but quickly recovered and kissed back, putting his hands on her waist, and was still, somehow, surprised when she smiled against his lips and moved so that she was on his lap.
Then his mom walked back in. Neither noticed her until she'd gone back to the kitchen, and, once again, closed the door behind her. They broke apart, but she remained on his lap. Jess laid her head on his shoulder, moving herself to a comfortable position.
"So... do you like it?" Rob asked.
"No," she replied calmly. At his surprised look, she continued," I love it."
"Well, I love you," he said. Now it was her turn to be surprised. Before now, he'd refused to say it.
"Once again, who are you, and what have you done with Rob?"
"Sorry, Rob's out admiring your new bike," he said with a smile.
"Ya, well, my new bike is pretty admirable, if I do say so myself."
"Will you answer my questions now?"
"Of course. Shoot."
"When did you get it?"
"This morning."
"Who gave it to you?"
"I don't know?"
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Well, it's weird. We were done opening presents this morning when four more seemed to, like, materialize out of nowhere. My mom and dad got a new location for Mastriani's, Mike got a custom-made laptop, I got my bike and jacket, and Doug... well, Doug's was weird. We all got notes with our presents, but Doug got a full out, four-page-long letter, along with a jewelry box. The rest of our notes were signed 'A Friend', Doug's was signed by some chick named Jade, but there was no last name."
"Are you sure it said Jade?" Rob asked frantically.
"Positive."
"Do you still have your note with you?" At her nod he continued," Can I see it?" Shrugging, Jess took it out of her pocket and handed it to him. He quickly took it and read it... then read it again. Abruptly, he moved her off his lap and almost ran into the kitchen, Jess following eagerly, anxious to see what the fuss was about. As the pair went into the kitchen, Mrs. Wilkins and Gary both looked up, surprised to see them surfaced so quickly. Rob sat down in the chair next to his mother's, note in hand. "Ma... she's back."
"What? Who's back?" Mrs. Wilkins asked, seeming worried. She read the note gravely, focusing in on the P.S. "They're backwards..." she whispered.
At that point Jess looked to Gary to see if he knew what they were talking about. He seemed as confused as she did over the whole matter."Someone wanna clue me in here?"
"You said that your brother's note was signed 'Jade' right?" Rob asked. She nodded tentatively. "Did you read it?" Another nod. "What did it say?"
"Well, I can't repeat it word for word, but something along the lines of "I'm sorry I left, but I had already gotten my brother in trouble with the law and didn't want to drag you down with me" then she told him, vaguely, where she was hiding, and to not let me see a picture of her. Then she chewed him out about trying to kill himself,"she answered.
"Where did she say she was hiding?" Rob asked eagerly.
Before Jess could answer, Mrs. Wilkins interrupted," I don't want you in any more contact with that... thing, and I certainly don't want you bringing her back here!"
Ignoring his mother, he said," Where did she say, Jess."
"All she said was "In the woods behind her mom's house." I don't think she wanted anyone to find her." Rob stood up and quickly ran into his room upstairs, coming back down a few seconds later with something in his hand.
Upon closer inspection, the thing was a photo frame. The picture in it showed Rob, 13 or 14 years old, riding a big black and white horse bareback. Beside him was a girl of about the same age that looked like a cross between Rob and his mother, she was riding a snowy-white horse that seemed to have black highlighting it. It was beautiful, the horse, the girl, and the picture itself. "I need you to find her." Rob's pleading voice caught her attention. "I promise to tell you everything afterward, but, please, I need to find her." He now seemed to be holding back tears.
"Can I take this?" Jess questioned, indicating the photo. He nodded." Should have the results by morning then." She smiled, trying to calm him down. Looking out the window, she saw it was getting dark, and realized that it must already be nearly 5:00."I should get going, but I'll be by almost first thing tomorrow." She said goodbye to Mrs. Wilkins and just – Call – Me – Gary, then walked outside with Rob.
"In the letter.... she mentioned that she was another "Lightning Girl"... is she?" Jess queried.
"Yep. Struck by lightning 14 times," he answered distractedly.
"17."
"What?"
"She told Doug that she'd been hit 3 more times. 14+3=17. Then she said something about 87% of her brain is in use." Jess answered. They stopped beside her bike. Looking at it, she noticed something. The chrome looked like a lightning storm. And the colored part was painted in a way that made it look exactly like the Indiana countryside in the middle of a storm. "Wow, she went through a lot of trouble to get me this..."
"Probably not. More than likely, she painted it herself. She always was a good artist," Rob told her, also looking at the paint job.
Kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, Jess put her helmet on, started her bike, and headed for home, knowing that the next morning, this Jade person would be found.
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