Love's an Electric Storm.
Hey Guys! It has been forever and a day (shall we say 2 and half years!) since the conclusion of Love Hurts. Owing to some start-stop fails and no time at all to write I've been away and YES I know I said I wouldn't return but I just couldn't leave Andy, Jay, Lauren and everyone else alone! So here comes the official 4th book of the series – Love's an Electric Storm. This book is set after Andy and Jay got married but before the big time jump. Welcome back to the drama, welcome back to the love, but most importantly welcome back to the mystery that will be Love's an Electric Storm!
Chapter One – The Graveyard Incident.
It was an incredibly warm summers day in Australia. According to the latest weather report, the temperature had hit what Aussies referred to as 35 degrees Celsius, which everyone knew translated to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The resort with which they had all been staying at Unity Cove however, had been more then well equipped to meet all their needs.
So, while Linds and Mel took some time to work on their tans, Andy and Jay could be found in their more than adequately airconditioned room, lying in each other's arms and watching a movie called Heat Wave.
As the movie came to an end, Andy took a quick sip of his slurpee before looking deep into his husband's eyes.
Husband he thought to himself. It was still something he had to get used to. It was only 2 months ago that Jay and Andy had finally gotten married. However, as Andy recalled quite clearly, if not for 2 hellish years they might've been married already. Then again, they also might not have.
6 months before the ceremony took place Andy, Jay, their friends Mel & Linds – also married, Lauren and her daughter Rein as well as Andy's assistant Spencer and friend Jason had all been held captive at Lauren's boyfriend's café thanks to one of the most insidious villains to hit Connecticut.
T.E.
It had been a tough time for all involved including everyone being stalked, bribed and threatened by text before Andy and Lauren were taken to T.E's lair – a former hospital, separating them from the group. The things that T.E. had done had affected everyone greatly. Physically and Psychologically.
But the worst part of it all had been that T.E. had killed people along the way. Carmita, Andy's friend a spicy Latina singer. Richard, Lauren's father and Rein's grandfather. Emmett, everyone's friend and William, Carmita's butler who had become very useful in helping them when it came to things T.E. had taunted them all with.
But no Andy resigned himself to realizing. That was not the worst part. Nor was the worst part that T.E. had been a copycat to Linds – Mel's wife, who 2 years ago had done the same thing, though to a much lesser extent.
No.
The worst part of it all, was who T.E. had turned out to be.
Yes, many had been shocked when Linds had revealed herself as the Queen of Team Evil and yes, she had served out her time in the New Haven Sanitorium, but this T.E. This one was worse then most could ever imagine. Despite having a league of her own minions T.E, it turned out, had been none other then Andy's husband Jay's own mother – Jenny.
"*"
By half past nine it was clear to see that Andy was the only one still thinking about T.E. At least from the way the others had been acting during their final meal before leaving the country.
"And then Linds suggested we go and talk to her!" Mel was saying laughing drunkenly.
"You can never have too many connections," Linds replied a little shyly as though wishing Mel hadn't admitted to whatever she was about to plow into.
Everyone, Andy noticed – except for Linds, seemed to be leaning in, intent to hear every word over the way too loud over-the-top blaring of music coming out from the restaurant they were at. Indeed, it seemed that this place wanted to come off as some sort of cross between a club and a restaurant. The funniest part being there was no room at all for anyone to get up and dance. Not that table 3 was considering that as they were using every inch they could to sloppily dance with those around them.
Not that this wasn't the norm, Andy had supposed.
Ever since Emily had died and Alison & Palmer had run off everyone had seemed to do everything they could to act as though anything to do with T.E. hadn't even occurred. Any time anyone had even dared to bring it up they'd be shut down with a 'yeah, let's not go back there yeah?' It had been incredibly infuriating for Andy especially when the 1-month anniversary of Emmett, Carmita and Richard's death had come up and not one of them had agreed to go with him to their graves – including Lauren and Rein.
"I'm just trying to get over it dude," Lauren had said that day. "I love my father and I pay my respects to him every week in private. But I can't let what T.E. did to him…to all of us…ruin the rest of our lives."
Andy could understand what she meant but considering he and Mel had come up with the funds to have tomb stones engraved out of respect for all 4 deceased friends, including Emily, and placed into plots next to each other – it did seem a little offensive.
But even Mel, the other financial contributor had acted the same way.
"No offense Andy," she'd said. "But I didn't really know any of them that well. I mean I got to know Richard and Emily during the whole…thing…that went down, but still they weren't my family, and neither was Carmita. As for Em, I'll of course go to Babylon on the 1-year mark. But otherwise, let's let sleeping dogs lie yeah? I mean…" Andy recalled her leaning in to whisper to him at this point. "Who knows if someone else is gearing up to do…that…to us again?"
That.
Thing.
Moments.
All these were words that most had used in order to separate themselves from the events of the respective T.E. 1 and 2.0.
Granted, Andy had to admit, Linds had done incredibly well since coming out of the sanatorium. And Jenny, if things had gone a little differently – been given the chance to do the same thing – might've been on her road to recovery by now also.
But Andy couldn't help but think back to the saying people often used in times like these.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.
Though, his over analytical mind had also added a 3rd part to that saying.
Fool me three times, you must be T.E.
Was it any wonder that all the little things that had occurred from out of nowhere since their arrival in Australia - though gone unnoticed by others - had Andy very much on edge.
Like the Vase that Andy loved and planned on buying a copy of until he saw the company logo Terracotta, graffitied with marker to look more like TEracotta. Or the square of pavement he'd walked over that somehow had the letters TE on them in black paint.
He hadn't dared to say anything to any of the others at the risk of being shushed by them once more. But the tally of these little things had increased over the last week and Andy couldn't help but continue to look over his shoulders every 2 minutes in case someone they knew was taking a picture or sending them some evil text.
"You okay?" came a whisper from next to him.
Andy turned to see his husband looking at him with a great deal of concern on his face.
Ah no! Andy thought to himself. No I'm not ok Jay! I'm sitting here looking around to see anyone that might have their phones up preparing to take snap shots of us. Or worse! Waiting for one of us to get up and go to the bathroom alone so they can text that person's partner with a – 'ooooh look who's found someone else' text.
"I'm fine," he replied at last. "It's just…it's just the music. Why do they have to have it so loud? This is a restaurant, not Babylon."
Jay smiled in agreeance.
In all honesty he couldn't wait to get back to New Haven. Back to his job, back…to some sense of normalcy. He knew that Lauren felt the same, having discussed it with her the night before. Indeed it seemed only Mel and Linds wanted to be here and truth be known, could they swing it, they'd probably stay much much longer.
"What time do you have to pick up Gus and Lorraine from Bliss?" Andy asked Mel, taking Jay out of his thoughts.
"They said 9 to be safe, 9:30 if we 'have to'," Mel replied with a little disdain in her voice. "I mean come on! We're paying you by the hour. If they stay till 2 past 9 we still owe from 9 till 10. What's their issue?"
Andy took out his cell and looked at the time. 8:30pm. Well 8:30pm Australia Eastern Standard Time anyway.
Right now back at home it'd be 5:30 in the morning. He'd be prepping for work and Jay would be trying to succeed in another of their tug of war moments entitled 'come back to bed, can't you miss one day?'. But this was not New Haven. Far from it. Granted the coffee was much better and he wasn't surprised that Lauren had set up some possible deals with companies she'd referred to as The Place Coffee Comes To Celebrate Being Coffee, but other then that and granted the general public being so overwhelmingly nice and polite – Andy was ready to pack his suitcase and leave.
"You know what?" Jay asked from out of nowhere. "Let's just go. We can get a head start on packing and then enjoy one more summer night out in the pool together before going home tomorrow."
At once Andy agreed and stood-up so quickly that even Lauren – who followed a few seconds later – looked a little taken aback.
"I agree," he said. "I mean, it's been great and all. But I really need to start getting back into Shawner's gonna grill us mode".
It was upon hearing her new bosses name that Mel agreed and stood herself.
"Agreed," she said. "He may have been happy for us to extend our stay, but jet-lag will be no excuse when it comes to lack of billable hours."
"*"
The next day all 6 could be found at the Melbourne Airport preparing for their trip back home. Despite this normally being a time to reflect on their time away, Andy couldn't help but notice the little groups that everyone seemed to end up in. Jay was sitting with Lauren and Rein and Andy with Mel and Linds.
"Aaaand another text from Taylor!" Lauren said to Jay, not helping the disgruntled tone in her voice. "I mean how many times do I have to tell him three o'clock, if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times already!"
Jay smiled.
Recalling their place of work was like recalling a fairy-tale story read to you as a child. The holiday away had him completely forgetting about work. Back in New Haven Lauren ran a hotel called The Détendez-Vous. It did a really good business and it hadn't taken Jay long to secure employment there after meeting his boyfriend's best friend.
Jay couldn't help but think back to the first time they'd met:
He'd walked into the Détendez-Vous after Andy – nothing more then a friend at the time – had rather unceremoniously told him that he could not stay with him after he'd come down from Pittsburgh. A 20 minute cab ride later that had taken him around the entire block twice because the driver had refused to use his GPS had Jay in a worse mood then he'd already been when he'd left Andy's.
In a very frustrated manner Jay stormed into the hotel lobby wanting nothing more then to put his bags down and drink himself silly.
"Hi! I'm Lauren! And Welcome to the Détendez-Vous!" she had said in such an over the top chipper voice that Jay had come to know was reserved for customers. "Can Taylor help you with your bags?"
"No!" he snapped, not caring for anyone in this strange town to touch his stuff.
"Oh-Kay!" Lauren had replied rather quickly.
"I'm Jay and I believe you have a room booked for me? I can only pay in cash, I hope that's ok," he huffed.
"Um, well, yes," Lauren began awkwardly. "We have a room booked for you and no, we don't need your money. The room is already paid for."
"Fine!" Jay huffed once more. "Can I get my keys? It was a long flight."
"Certainly," Lauren said. "Ah, Rein-"
She went on referring to her daughter.
"-Why don't you take…? Jay was it?"
Jay nodded.
"Upstairs and show him his room? And ah Taylor-" she continued without really breathing referring to the bellhop nearby. "Why don't you take his bags? After a long flight I'm sure you could do with some good old customer service!"
Unbeknown to Jay at the time, the moment Rein, Taylor and himself had gone out of sight, Lauren had phone Andy and quite unceremoniously had told him that Blondie mk-b had arrived.
So much had happened since then. For one thing Lauren and Jay had gotten to know each other quite well when only the very next day Andy's Papa Micah had wound up in hospital and Andy, having gone through a wide range of emotions, had done a full 180 and asked Jay if he'd be able to house-sit for him till he returned. While Andy was away, not only had Lauren and Jay gotten to know each other, but she'd grown to love the kid so much that she offered him a job at the hotel as an all-rounder and Jay had accepted right away. From that moment on their friendship blossomed and Jay knew, even if only on a slight level, that it was the blossoming friendship he'd ended up having with Lauren that helped him to not only have a fantastic relationship with Andy but also lead to the proposal he'd made in the foyer of the hotel a year and a half later.
"This journey we have been on," Jay was saying in front of family and friends – referring naturally to T.E 1 and 2 point 0. "Has helped me to realize that I don't have to live without you anymore. Not now…that I have…this."
In a moment of collective joy from the their family and friends Jay knelt down in front of Andy producing a sterling silver diamond men's wedding band inside a black box.
Andy's face had filled with tears as Jay took his partners hands into his own and Lauren – the pairs number 1 fan – rushed around to grab the mike, holding it close to Jay's mouth so that everyone could hear what he was saying.
"Andy, you have made me the happiest man I have ever been," Jay had said. "And when I look back I realize the reason I was never truly happy in love was because I'd never met someone like you. You've seen me through my good times and my bad. You've seen me at my highest and my lowest. You've seen me shine white and you've seen me shine black. And now here I kneel before you asking you…Andy Thompson…will you marry me?"
It was a heart stopping couple of seconds that followed with everyone including Jay holding their breath. These 2 were always meant to be married, but what if Andy – after all he'd been through – said no?
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Andy had eventually cried out joyously, jumping up to give Jay a kiss.
It had been a beautiful moment and the moments after had been just as beautiful if not more so. But now Andy couldn't help but recall that overused phrase time waits for no man. There was work to get back to for everyone, mouths to feed for Linds and Mel and 6am alarms to be set the moment they all got home.
At least we'll have Latro-mare Andy thought to himself recalling his favorite coffee shop in the whole world.
"*"
2 weeks later everyone was not only back at home but surprisingly already back into their routines. Lauren and Jay had picked right back up from where they'd left off at the Détendez-Vous, Linds had been given a promotion after she'd managed to sell 20 paintings in Australia and Andy and Mel had gotten back into the swing of things at work. Things had been hairy for a while at Shawner and Shamerson with Liam giving Mel and Andy 3 cases at once, which had seemed to be the norm for everyone else while they were away. However, when Gladis Perkins – a new recruit had lost all 3 of her cases in one day Shawner had decided to impose a '1 case at a time' rule on his own former one making Andy and Mel feel much better, especially since Andy's case had been a civil 'he stole $250 from me' case which required next to no research.
It was owing to this that on that Tuesday Andy could be found at the grave-site that he'd tried to get everyone to visit – not surprisingly – on his own.
After paying his respects to his dad, his blood mother and father, Emmet, Carmita and Richard Andy finally made his way to the last one. Emily Gilbourne. There were so many things he could say about her and her…ways, but the fact of the matter was that Lauren's mother had been the one to end Jenny shooting her moment's before Jenny could shoot Andy's newborn child Lorraine.
"Emily!" he beamed as though at a gala rather then a graveyard. "Oh, I love the ficus in the hall! Asian?"
He could only imagine the woman's response.
"Asian?!" she'd cry. "You think we'd import anything from that side of the world Andy, really? No, it was actually given to us as a gift from one of Richard's associates from upstate! Isn't it divine? Martha Stewart always did say Nature indoors, breeds eternal joy! Richard! Andy's here!"
Andy chuckled slightly at how easily his mind could carry out this conversation with her.
The Ficus, which in reality stood next to her grave, had been from Rein after shed discovered that it was Emily's favorite. The Peonies which sat in front of them were from Lauren which Andy remembered well.
"I never knew she liked Peonies!" Andy had said to his friend the day she bought them. "Then again we never really did get around to botonny discussions."
"Count yourself lucky," Lauren replied rolling her eyes.
"Well at least your doing something nice," Andy said.
Lauren had chuckled at that, which hadn't surprised Andy considering just how unusual it had been. But Andy figured he'd humor her.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"I never said she did like them," Lauren replied, paying for the flowers before the pair exited the store. "In fact Peonies were her least favorite of all!"
You had to know Lauren and Emily's relationship to get why she'd done it but he'd laughed along with her at the time. Naturally the Peonies had long died since then, but for some reason the bunch that sat in front of the Ficus now looked completely brand new.
Andy bent down to give them a sniff.
Not being a botanist he had no issues with this type at all and the scent they gave off was beautiful. But that was when he spied the note and couldn't help but sigh smiling. Clearly Lauren had come here on her own to refresh things for her mother's grave – maybe as an after thought to seeing her father Andy supposed. But to leave a note attached seemed very much Lauren going out of her way.
Not being able to help his curiosity Andy opened the envelope attached to the flowers and pull out the letter.
He imagined all sorts of things – Hi Mom, ah no idea what to say, enjoy the flowers haha! Came to mind. But maybe Lauren had gotten in touch with her sensitive side and written something beautiful. After all, love her or hate her, Emily had been the one to ultimately save them all.
But as Andy peered down at the note his jaw dropped!
The note was not sad at all, nor Andy realized, was it from Lauren!
2 sentences written in black ink sprawled across the page said:
Thank you for getting Jenny out of my way.
Trust me it will not have been in vain – T3 .
So this is where I'm going to leave the chapter. Please let me know what you thought. I will update as often as I can so a heads-up to all here, but if you'd like to see more please let me know xoxo.