They are all here. The seven people suspected in my dad's murder. Roman, Bo, and John went looking for them and made them come to the hospital. Why? Jack Deveraux had been attacked and is now brain dead with life support keeping him alive. Jack had stated on live TV that he knew who my dad's killer was and that he was coming after him or her. And one of these seven people killed Jack and my dad.
I had came to the hospital to see my mom, then Jack had been brought in. He had been doing fine until he had suffered a stroke. I stand here now, with the seven suspects, outside Jack's room, looking through the window. Jennifer and her daughter, Abby, are crying. I can only imagine what that little girl is going through. I see Mom moving to turn off the machines. After the machines are cut off Jennifer and Abby hug Jack's lifeless body and I hear that long, monotonous beep.
Flashback
"Abe, what is it? Who shot you," her mother Lexie was asking her father. He struggles to get his words out and I bite my lip to keep from crying. He slowly raises his arm and pointed towards the window. "Ma--agi" he chokes out and we all turn to stare at Maggie Horton.
My eyes are torn from the window when my father's monitors stop beeping. I barely hear my mother as she calls out my father's name. "I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do," the doctor says and Mom lets out a heart-wrenching wail. I stand frozen in shock. The only thing I can think of is My father is dead. My daddy is dead. He's not gonna be there when I graduate from college, get married, or when I have kids. He's not gonna be there for Theo's first word, first step, or his first birthday.
It hits me real hard that my father is gone and that he isn't coming back. I feel tears sliding down my cheeks and feel my knees go weak. "Dad," I say softly, "Dad," I hear Hope saying my name and she crosses over and wraps her arms around me from behind. "Daddy!" I cry out and slowly sink to my knees and feel Hope do the same. She rocks me back and forth and tries to soothe me with her words. But the only thing I hear is the long, steady beep of the machines.
End Flashback
I am sad, but angry too. I look at the suspected murderers and wonder how one of them could take the life of another person. I am even more upset because my own uncle and cousin are two of the suspects. I am aware of my maternal grandfather's family history.
The Dimeras have a bad name here in Salem and I guess I can understand how my cousin and uncle are suspects. But if one of them does turn out to be the killer, how could they hurt my mom, how could they hurt me and Theo. The Dimeras are supposed to protect their family, not hurt them. But I guess my dad was someone who could hurt the Dimera family.
Before I can say anything to the suspects, Mom comes out of Jack's room. She looks at me and I know she can tell what I am thinking. She approaches me and tucks a strand of my shoulder-length hair behind my ear. "Sweetie, why don't you go home," she says to me. I don't wanna go home. I want to confront these people who could be responsible for my dad's death.
"There is no room for argument here, there's no point anyway," she says, sensing my thoughts. "No point," I say, becoming angry. "There was no point in Daddy being killed, was there!" I turn to the suspects. "Why?! Why take my father from us? Did you ever stop to think what it would do to me or my brothers," Mom is trying to calm me down, but I'm not listening.
"Most of you have kids. How do you think they will feel if they lost you?" At this point I feel tears on my cheeks. "My baby brother will *never* know his father. He will never know how kind he was, how funny he was, or how dedicated he was in protecting the people of this community. And now....now Abby Deveraux has to grow up without her father. She has to wonder why someone would want to hurt someone she loves so much. I wonder the same thing now, because my uncle and cousin are suspected in killing my father and now Jack Deveraux." "Jasmine." I look at Mom and she puts her arms around me and I begin to cry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I stride up the sidewalk to Jennifer's house. Mom and Grandma Celeste had left earlier and I had taken a walk to clear my head. I ring the bell and Jennifer answers the door holding a plant. She smiles warmly at me, but her eyes are filled with sadness. "Jasmine, hey, come in. How are you?" she asks as I'm taking off my jacket.
"I'm hanging in there. How are you and Abby?" She looks down at the plant and when she looks back up her eyes are even sadder. "I'm ok. But um...Abby's still upset. She still thinks that I let Jack die." "Mind if I talk to her later?" I ask. "Would you," she asks, "I think talking to you will be good for her." I smile softly. "I think it will help me to talk to her too." Her eyes water up and she hugs me tightly." Thank you, Jasmine. I really appreciate it." I nod and she excuses herself.
Mom's been telling me about how Abby's been accusing Jennifer of killing Jack. She's too young to understand that the body cannot function without the brain. I believe it'll benefit us both if we got together and talked. Even though she's young, she's the only person going through the same thing I am. A small part of me wanted to blame Mom for not taking part in the surgery. But I couldn't, because it wasn't her decision. She couldn't take part in my daddy's surgery. Being with him during his surgery was enough participation for me.
And now, Abby feels that Jennifer didn't do all that she could to save Jack. But there was nothing else she or the doctors could do. She tried everything she could to save her husband, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't going to reverse the brain damage. And so I have to try and help Abby understand all of this. And help myself understand.