-Chapter 3-
"Awkward Moment When..."
Jayden battled with her mind on whether or not she should tell her parents about what she saw about them on the internet. After all, they held the highest integrity when it came to their profession...she knew they definitely wouldn't approve of a very personal video of them online. She wondered if they knew it was uploaded...they had to. It was the internet; everybody used the internet. Jayden's heart dropped in her stomach at her next realization; what if her parents knew it was on the internet and were into that kind of stuff...
That thought left her mind as soon as it entered it. Of course they wouldn't be into that kind of stuff...it was so unlikely. She couldn't understand why it was on the internet. Did her parents post the video? Why did they make a video in the first place? Did they know how many people could see it? After all it was a public. Maybe it wasn't a video of them after all. But then it had to be them...that's how she found the video in the first place. How could she be sure though? Jayden only got a glimpse of the video before she shut the internet off in shame, and from what she could remember, the video was dark and gritty, the camera was unsteady as if a third party was recording the entire thing –which immediately ruled out a tripod being used– which meant one of two things, they didn't know they were being recorded or someone was filming their little movie. Of course her parents wouldn't have someone film them, as private as they were, they would do it themselves, and since she already ruled that out, Jayden's first thought won over.
This startling revelation sent chills down Jayden's spine as goosebumps popped up on her arms. Was there a stalker in the area? What kind of people was he or she targeting in the neighborhood? Had this person videotaped her and her brother? Were they all targets? Did this have anything to do with the dead girl on the beach yesterday? Maybe she broke the case. Jayden had to tell her parents immediately.
Her thoughts were interrupted with the familiarity of light click of heels on the hardware floor. Her mom would make her way into the kitchen soon. Tucking her thoughts away, Jayden put a smile on her face. She would get through this.
"Hey sweetie," Calleigh said, cheerfulness evident in her voice. "How did you sleep?"
"Good," Jayden said quietly. She looked at her watch, noting the time at 7:25. This would be the moment that would change their lives.."Mama..." she began, but trailed off. Maybe it would be better if her dad was present too. After all, this included him too.
It was too late; Calleigh had already turned around and directed all her attention to Jayden. "Yes Jade." Calleigh had already picked up the concern and/or curiousness in Jayden's voice.
"Uhm," Jayden started. She looked to the window as if it held answers. "Well, Dad has to be here for this too."
No sooner that the words left her mouth, Eric walked into the kitchen. "Here for what?" He said, now as anxious and curious as Calleigh. A hint of worry was present in his voice as well.
Jayden looked from Eric to Calleigh; both sets of eyes deadlocked on hers. Calleigh frowned a little, urging Jayden to go ahead and say what she needed to say.
Jayden looked away; their glare was so intense, she couldn't take it. Maybe she shouldn't have opened her mouth to say anything. This could have been a normal morning. But if she didn't say anything and there was a stalker out there, what if somebody else got hurt? What if they were watching her? What if they came after her because she knew too much?
"Jayden," Calleigh said, touching Jayden's arm. "What's going on?"
Jayden swallowed. "Well...it's nothing." Her eyes fell to the floor as she searched for words. "I just wanted to tell you both that I love you." As much as she hated this situation, it needed some investigation. Plus, she was still too embarrassed to tell her parents.
Eric looked at his own watch, realizing that it was starting to get late and that they needed to be out of the house in five minutes. "Well..." he began, mimicking Jayden. "We love you too, but whatever it is, we're talking about it later."
Jayden let out a puff of air. With school taking up most of the day, how was she supposed to figure out what was going on in the short amount of time she was allowed?
…
. . ... The repetitiveness of gunshots and the empty shells dropping on the floor was just enough to put Calleigh at ease, just like old times. She was in the ballistics lab test firing and comparing bullets used in an open case that the team were currently in the process of solving. She didn't like the fact that Jayden was holding something back from her. Calleigh didn't know if it was because of built up emotions from yesterday or something else...and the unknowing was something that didn't sit well with her. She never wanted her children to experience the silent agony of not having anyone – let along their parents – to talk to.
She recalled her own past; there were so many secrets she kept from her parents...not that she wanted to, but who would listen? Whenever her dad wasn't working, he was partying, getting drunk, and her mom was right alongside him, never taking on any responsibility in the house. Sure it was nice at times, but the lack of authority and parental control ultimately took its toll on her.
The door of the lab opened, shaking Calleigh from her thoughts. Seeing that it was Ryan, Calleigh removed her protective gear to give the results of this particular case. "You know Ryan, I would have written the report, but seeing how you rushed down here to ballistics...well, I guess some things never change," Calleigh joked.
Ryan cocked his head sideways, in a way that he's always done when he was preparing a sarcastic remark. "You know," Ryan began, with a slight smile on his face, "I was going to say the same thing." He gestured his left arm around as if he were presenting a group of people. "We all know by now when Calleigh is upset."
Calleigh rolled her eyes playfully. Their friendly banter over the years had developed into a deep, meaningful friendship. It wasn't just Ryan though; Calleigh developed strong kinship with most of the veteran team and even some of the new trainees.
"What's bothering you?" Ryan said, breaking Calleigh from her thoughts once again.
In a matter of seconds, so many thoughts ran through Calleigh's head. She wasn't sure what was bothering her, and when she did, she would rather go to Eric with it more than anybody else. "I'm fine," Calleigh said, dismissing the fact that she was anything less. By now, she was good at it. Changing subjects, she turned her attention to the evidence. "Striations were a match, so I think we have a winner. I'll have the report ready later today."
"Okay," Ryan said, understanding that the personal side of their conversation ended.
…
"What are you doing?"
Jayden jumped a little and turned around. "Landon," she breathed. "You were supposed to be at baseball practice."
"I can tell you where you're not supposed to be," Landon retorted playfully, taking immediate notice at what was going on here. "Mom and Dad aren't here so you do this?"
"This is important," Jayden said, looking up once more at her brother. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Landon was only thirteen. For his age, he was somewhat mature, but Jayden associated that with the nature of their parents' job; it sometimes set them apart from other teenagers their age...life was always just a little bit more 'real' for them.
"Yeah right," Landon smirked. He tilted his head to the side, a smile forming at his lips. "So tell me. What is so important that you have to go through Mom and Dad's room. Because when they find out, you're going to be in so much trouble." He dragged 'trouble' out–almost singing it– as if he was six years old.
And then there were times like this when Landon, at least to Jayden, seemed very immature. Truthfully, she didn't care. Being older, Jayden liked to feel like the older sibling, but more often than not, that role was often given to Landon.
It might have had something to do with appearances; At thirteen, Landon was already taller than their mother and her; He was very athletic, which sped up most of his awkward puberty stage, his voice was pretty much normal, but when he was excited or nervous, his voice was high, which in many ways became the telltale sign that he'd done something bad, and that usually got him in trouble.
Landon nodded is head, dragging Jayden out of her trance.
Jayden knew Landon was right; she would be in trouble, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing so. She turned her attention back to the bedroom door. "Well its none of your business, and I won't be in trouble if you would just leave me alone for a sec."
Landon threw his hands in the air, silently stating that if anything happened, he would have nothing to do with it.
Jayden shook it off and checked her watch; she allowed herself ten minutes, hopefully less, in this room. She turned the knob on the door and it opened with ease. With a deep breath, Jayden traveled into the room, Landon right on her heels.
"For someone who doesn't want any part of this, you sure are nosy," Jayden jested, heading towards the computer desk. "If anything happens, I'm bringing you down too."
Landon rolled his eyes. "If you tell me what you're looking for, I can help you."
Jayden stopped and thought for a moment. Maybe she should tell him. After all, he was part of this family. This could affect him too. Plus, if he knew what they were looking for, it would speed up this process and they could just find it and get it over with. "Okay," Jayden started. "But you have to promise not to tell. Like you can't tell anyone because if you do, a lot of people could get hurt...like Mom and Dad."
Landon eyes lit up for a second, but soon curiosity overtook his mind. He began sorting things out with his hands, the way he always did when things were getting confusing. First, he couldn't understand if it was so serious, why hadn't his parents already known about this? Especially if it was something that could hurt them. Secondly, how did Jayden know about it already? "So let me get this straight. You think our parents are in danger?" he pulled out his cell phone, "because if that's the case, I think we should tell them immediately."
Jayden snatched Landon's phone from him, checking first to make sure he hadn't already dialed one of them. "NO, that's not what I'm saying." She thought over her words carefully. "I don't know if they really are. It's just that...online...there's...well somebody posted a personal video of them." She held her head down. "I don't know if they know about it."
"How personal?" Landon questioned.
"Very," Jayden said, grateful that at least somebody else knew. "I just need help-"
"What's the website?" Landon questioned.
Jayden frowned. "Why is that important?"
"Because, I want to see for myself. I mean, how personal can it be?"
Jayden looked down. "It's a sex video," she mumbled quietly.
Landon gasped more loudly than he intended. "Well..." he searched for the words to say. "How long have you known?"
"I just found out last night," Jayden said, sighing. "I don't know. We have to do something. That's why I came in here to see if there were any evidence that would lead to what I know."
Landon made a face, confused over Jayden's actions. "So you thought..." he began, searching for words. "So you thought if you found...Jayden you are not a criminalist. Exactly what were you going to do if you found this incriminating evidence?"
Jayden sat on the edge of their parents bed defeated. "I don't know." In all honestly, she didn't. She just wanted some answers to her questions before she told her parents what she saw. Maybe it was something they did before the kids were born. As distasteful as it was videotaping or being videotaped having sex, somebody had to pull this down, and the realizations that she couldn't do anything about it was disheartening.
Landon sighed. He wasn't intentionally trying to hurt his sister's feelings. He walked over to the bed, sat down next to Jayden and put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry Jayden. I understand. We're going to have to tell them, okay? I mean, if it's public, we don't want our friends to see it. I mean come on, its our parents..."
"I know," Jayden agreed. And right there, she inadvertently turned this situation over to Landon. She understood why her parents always coddled her and treated him like the oldest; she was too sensitive and over thought everything. Landon put things in the simplest prospective...she couldn't understand why she didn't think about it earlier.
"Maybe we should-" Landon spoke, but was cut off by the front door.
Jayden's mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was a burglar, but their mom's voice dismissed that idea. The way the house was built made it impossible to just sneak out their parents' room without being caught. It was the worst case scenario to be in right now.
"See," Jayden whispered. "We're busted, we're going to be in so much trouble. What are they going to think? What are they going to do?"
Landon rolled his eyes. "Be quiet, I have an idea."
x x x
A/N: I have begun to introduce some of the old team, yes I'm bringing back all of our favorites. Even the hated ones like Stetler, although he won't be as much of a pain as he was before. Landon is finally introduced in the story. This chapter is meant to be somewhat light. With Jayden's sensitivity, I'm attempting to shed some light to why she is. Everyone knows the traumatic experience she endured as a toddler and I'm trying to write what effect that has on her now. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review :)
