CHAPTER 38-IN THE AIR TONIGHT
The next day went completely normal for Smurf. She had gotten up, sent J on some errands and had the day off from Lena. She wasn't aware of what Jessica and Baz were planning against her so she carried on her day without a second thought. Later in the afternoon, she hadn't been prepared to be faced with her only, living daughter and the news that she was about to bring.
As Jessica tried not to feel the knot in her stomach all day, she couldn't help it. She had no idea how she had even gotten into the mess with Baz to begin with. It felt like it was a far-fetched dream that she was in, that none of it even seemed real. Smurf had to be knocked off of the throne, but Jessica didn't think that's she'd be the one helping. While making her way to her childhood home, she blasted her music loud in order to distract her thoughts.
Since Baz was the one who had orchestrated the entire mess, he had less to worry about. He was confident with what was going down but there was a slight sense of worry on Jessica's part. Knowing she wasn't going to back out was one thing but there was still a pinch that she might. Even though Jessica and Smurf never got along, Baz knew that she was feeling guilty about it due to their phone call early that morning. He needed someone at the house to make sure none of the Boys showed up and that they could witness what was going to go down.
When the Cody sister had reached the gate to Smurf's home, she turned the radio down until it produced silence. Her nerves were a mess but she was trying to do what they taught her in rehab and that was to keep control of the situation. She couldn't' go in looking nervous because then her Mother would get suspicious. It was bad enough that Smurf already accused Jessica of stealing the money and questioned Lena. Neither Baz or Jessica had seen her in the last week which was going to make this visit more of a surprise.
Luckily for Jessica, the gate was unlocked so she drove in and noticed no one else was there, not even J. As she held her breath in, she shut the engine off and unbuckled her seatbelt. This moment was not only going to change her life but it was going to affect the entire family. Even though she had been giving Baz her doubts, she believed this was the right thing to do to secure her future.
Getting out of the car carefully, Jessica walked up to the front door, trying to ignore her veins pumping energy and her legs feeling like Jell-o. She'd rather Baz be in her shoes but they both agreed that she could hold Smurf's attention longer since he had too much anger towards her.
Knocking loudly on the door, Jessica ruffled her hair before opening it slowly. It was quiet which was a good sign and as she made her way into the living room, she heard noise coming from the kitchen. It always seemed like Smurf was I the kitchen whenever Jessica showed up but that wasn't a surprise as she spent a lot of time there too. She loved watching her Mom cook but things had stopped once she turned into a preteen, the same with Julia.
Poking her head around the corner, Jessica saw Smurf at the sink who raised her eyes to see her. "What are you doing here?" She asked in a questioning but irritated tone.
"I can't come visit my lovely Mother? I know you wanted to see my beautiful face" Jessica spoke with a playful tone and walked the rest of the way into the room. Resting her arms on one of the kitchen stools, Jessica spoke again. "I just wanted to stop by if that's okay? I didn't get to stay that long when I picked up Lena the other day"
"What do you want? You never come here unless your brothers are here or you want something. Is it money? I don't have nay to give since most of it has been stolen"
Smurf had been in the middle of washing a couple of dishes and Jessica noticed she had been baking a pie by the smell of it. She usually made them for jobs but sometimes she decided to give everyone a treat here and there. Pulling out the stool, Jessica sat down watching her.
"Doesn't it get old? Constantly accusing people, you always think someone is against you. I really don't know what makes you so paranoid I also don't need money, I'm not Julia" She hated saying that last part but that was the only time she would come around.
"Everyone around here gives me reason, including you" Shutting the water off, Smurf reached for the towel on the isle in the middle and wiped her hands. "So are you going to tell me why you're really here?"
"Okay, I didn't come here to start a fight or to get into an argument because honestly I'm sick of fighting with you. I just want to know why you keep doing this to me"
Jessica had to keep Smurf distracted as she knew Baz was going to make the call. It was to test the waters and make sure she had no idea about what was going on. Things weren't going to go smoothly and even thought the two women didn't get along, Jessica could tell there was unnamed tension.
"What am I doing to you Baby?"
Jessica scoffed in amusement. "You know what you're doing, please don't act like you don't"
Smurf had her suspicions about the money and she knew that's where the awkwardness was coming from. "You did the same thing with my sister except she was far worse than I was. I could stay clean, and I still can"
"Julia needed someone to teach her a lesson and I had no choice but to do that because your brothers wouldn't. You were lucky to have Baz and Pope watch over you. I had to be cautious of her, considering she constantly stole money from me" All of what she was saying was true and Jessica couldn't argue with it. "What made her leave this family? Hm? What was the reason for her doing drugs in the first place?"
As Smurf's daughter opened her mouth to answer, Smurf turned away from her swiftly and walked over to the oven. It was clear that their talking wasn't going to be easy or go in a direction that Jessica may have wanted. She was doing her best to stay in a collected manner but she could tell that Smurf was trying to pick a fight. It wasn't an uncommon situation but for once Jessica had hope.
"Are you seriously trying to pin her drug addiction on me? She had me watch outside the bathroom door for her when she was fourteen because she was popping pills and doing coke. I was seven, I had no idea what she was doing. You always say my Dad was a drug addict, are you sure he wasn't the one that got her into it? Better yet, why don't you tell me about him? How there is a family picture of you, me, Deran and him. Why can't you ever tell me anything about him?"
"I've told her more than enough that the guy was a real piece of work and didn't need to be around any of you, including Craig, Pope and Julia" She pulled the oven door open, reached inside and pulled out her famous apple pie. Throwing it onto the counter, Smurf took a glance at Jessica. "I wasn't implying you either, I would never do that. I'm sure you have your own reasons for wanting to go to rehab six times"
"God, can you not be so condescending towards me? I came over here to talk to you, it would be nice if you could just be honest with me. I want to have a grown conversation without you trying to belittle me after everything I say"
Jessica could never understand what the big deal was about her Dad. Smurf went to such great lengths to keep him a mystery but none of it ever made sense. Granted, she did the same with the others but they didn't seem to care or even bothered by it. At least in their case, they all had a parent to count on whereas Jessica felt she didn't have either.
The two women locked eyes momentarily until the younger woman looked away. Jessica rolled up the sleeves to her bright pink sweater, a color that she didn't wear that often. It was a color that Smurf used to dress her in when she was younger and even though it showed off her tan, it wasn't something she was fond of anymore.
"Fine…Lena told me how you got her a new dollhouse. I also hear that she wanted you to be her Mom" That made Jessica's heart race pick up again, wishing Lena would have kept that detail quiet. It also made her worry if she knew about her being pregnant. "Yeah, she told me when we were playing with her Barbie's"
Quickly hiding her surprised face, Jessica crossed her arms across her chest. "Well someone's gotta do it"
"You're the Aunt" Smurf reminded her as if she were scolding a seven year old for manners. The coldness that lingered in her voice meant that she had been attacked over Lena picking Jessica over her.
"And you're the Grandmother…I'm glad that she had you to count on the months that I wasn't here" Jessica couldn't help but use sarcasm because if this was the game they were going to play, both would try to win.
Smurf had let that comment slide due to the tone that she received. It was normal for one of the Boys to argue with her, particularly Pope and Baz always had something to say when things went wrong. However, Jessica and Julia could battle her down to anything, even if it were something trivial. That was why no one win the argument would always fail, no one could ever get to an agreement.
"That's a nice-looking watch you've got around your wrist, it almost looks like one I used to have. Did Baz give it to you? Better yet, did he take it out of my jewelry because he used to do it all the time for Julia"
Smurf was digging through one of the cabinets when she noticed a familiar, sparkling watch on her daughter's wrist. Jessica had forgotten momentarily that she was wearing it but it was nice to show that she had the upper hand. It caught Smurf by surprise despite her face not showing it, it also angered her to her core. Smirking slightly, Jessica looked down at her arm then looked at her Mother.
"It was a gift actually…Why would you think this belonged to you and who even said it came from him?"
"You know how much of a thief Baz is…" Smurf lingered on her sentence even though the entire family was a group of thieves. "What's the next step, an engagement ring?"
"We were actually thinking about getting a dog" She joked, keeping a smirk on her face. Jessica knew that it was rub Smurf the wrong was that she was taking it lightly and not answering her questions. "Did you want to help plan the wedding those? I was thinking a cream colored dress, down on the shore. You'll be the matron of honor of course but I know you wouldn't do that, you wouldn't for Cath so you won't do it for me"
When Baz had proposed to Catherine, all of them knew but Smurf. Baz wanted to keep that a secret for as long as possible, but she ended up turning him down and they just stuck together. The Boys hadn't said a word since nothing came out of it but they also didn't want to be the ones in the middle. Jessica quietly hid her hurt and anger, but she wouldn't dare tell Smurf. It's the same scenario now, she wouldn't dare tell her about the proposal or the child.
"Everything I do, I do for this family. I have protected you from day one and don't ever think that I haven't. I've kept all of you in line and the first one to step out is the first one to go. You know Baz has always wanted more than he could take. First it was Julia, now it's you and my money"
"I'm glad you care for my well-being and concerned that he's taking advantage of the family or more importantly me" Jessica said quickly to counter her attack coming. Smurf was going to pounce at his point, but she was going to be prepared for it. "Did it ever occur to you that I'm part of it, that it isn't just Baz? I've been in love with him since I've been sixteen and this was m decision to make. I know you never wanted this to happen with me or even Julia but it did"
"That's why you two would never survive without me. You let him come into this family, turn you against me and somehow it turns out my fault? You see what happened to Julia and you were walking that rope plenty of times. You should be glad that I was able to pull you back from that but let me guess, Baz gets all the credit for it, right?"
Jessica had to laugh at her entire speech that she went on. It was beyond ridiculous that she had even compared the sisters because Julia was always worse than her. Sure, Jessica had traveled many times to rehab but she never lied, stole or tried to get the upper hand on Smurf until now. She was at the point where she had enough, and Baz was the one who made her see even though she knew it deep down. If he had been the one to help her through everything, Jessica would credit him because Smurf was always good at manipulating the truth.
"You know, I would think you were jealous of him, or even me. You can't keep him on the leash you want, and I took him from you, your own daughter" This felt like the right time that she could be angry back, Jessica knew Smurf would be gone for a while after today. "I'm not sorry or guilty for it…And I'm not sorry for what's going to happen" Jessica practically said the last part above a whisper as she glanced towards the small screen in the kitchen.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes at the young girl before following her gaze.
As both women started at the screen that showed the cameras protecting the outside of the house, two men, both dressed in black uniforms had been walking towards the back entrance. It was clear that they were the police and Smurf slowly turned her head to see her daughter. "Jessica, what did you do?
The younger Cody cast her eyes over to the sliding glass do while trying to avoid her Mother's look. She wasn't going to admit what they did but it was clear from what was going on. It was also risky bringing them to the house but Baz made sure things were either gone or hidden so the plan would be fine. As of now, Jessica was the decoy to catch the villain who didn't even see it coming.
The cops had walked through the back gate and as they walked towards the house, they looked in every which way to check out their surroundings. Smurf quickly backed away from the kitchen counter and knew she couldn't run, she was caught no matter what. Jessica silently watched them approach the house.
"Are you Janine Cody?" One was far taller than the other as he stood outside of the home. The other cops had his hand ready to grab his cuffs at any moment. Smurf looked between the officer and Jessica, who still would not look at her. "You're under arrest…"
"Under arrest? What do you mean I'm under arrest? I didn't do anything" She told him while placing her hands on her hips.
"You're charged with the murder of Javier Cano. You need to come with us Ma'am"
Smurf couldn't believe what she was hearing, despite it being the truth. She did have one of Javi's guys to murder him but that wasn't what this was about. Someone was framing her for something else because she had been so careful, Smurf knew what she was doing. Yet she knew who that someone was or better yet, who they were. It was clear that Jessica knew it was coming and she if had a hand in it, so did her boyfriend.
"Jessica?..." She called out to her daughter which didn't get a reaction at first until she lifted her stormy eyes at her.
While walking over to the cop, Smurf put her hands behind her back. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law…"
"I didn't kill anybody…He was a friend of the family" Smurf told them while they began to lead her out of the house.
Jessica watched silently as the two police officers guided Smurf to the entrance of the backyard. She couldn't say anything, nor did she want to as she felt a weight come off her shoulders. She had always felt held down with her presence, it was a life changing experience. All of the Cody's were going to feel different once the truth came out but Jessica was going to be celebrating.
She stood up from the stool and walked over to the sliding glass door, wanting to get a closer a look. This was a long time coming in her mind and Smurf looked behind her shoulder to see the house once more. Baz had come out from the hallway and stood next to Jessica, neither of them saying a word to each other. It was clear right then and there that they were the ones who planned it all, and Smurf was the victim in it all.
"She's watching us…" Jessica said, practically under her breath, a moment of shock hitting her. "She knows"
"She knew the second she started asking questions. The call won't be traced back to me, I used a burner phone so all they have is the evidence stacked against her.
When Deran had approached the Cody home hours later, he didn't realize what was going on. Whenever they had a party, it was always on a weekend, and this was Wednesday night. The house was packed with people, and he wanted to find one of his siblings to figure out what was going on. He walked through the garage and out into the backyard mostly looking for Craig, but God only knew where he was.
He started wandering around, taking his time by the pool, and then heading to the lounge chairs where a lot of people were. He caught Jessica at the corner of his eye couldn't believe what he was seeing. He hesitated going over there but Deran had found her first.
"Hey... I didn't realize we were having a party, and why are we having one"
Baz had been sitting on one of the lounge chairs with Jessica straddling him. They had been laughing and kissing occasionally but stopped once he stepped over.
"Just bored, something to do. I know Craig usually is the one to throw them, but I felt like having one tonight"
He placed his arm behind his head to get a better look at Deran. Jessica leaned back slightly on him to see her younger brother as well, apparently, she didn't care this time if he's seen anything. Now they didn't have to worry because Smurf wasn't in the picture anymore but of course no one else knew that.
Deran shifted his eyes for a moment between the two of them wondering why they were being so bold. If Smurf had been lurking around the house, she was bound to see how they were, just like at the bar. Placing his hands in his pockets he glanced around the backyard before turning his attention back to them.
"So, what have you guys been up to? Is anyone else here?"
"We've just been chilling over here; I think Craig is lurking somewhere you know how he gets at these things. You know who showed up though? Trey, you should go talk to him"
"Seriously Jess?" Deran had a moment of panic inside as he still hadn't told the others that he was gay. He trusted Jessica and Craig with the secret but wondered at times if the others even knew.
"He's still pretty hot so what's the issue? Threesomes aren't my kind of thing, but I'm not opposed to it" She joked with him trying to lighten the mood because she could tell he had gotten angry. It even made Baz give her a curious look, but she quickly brushed him off. "It's a party, lighten up because no one died. Anyway, he's over by the pool, you should totally go over there"
Baz thought he should jump in, so he commented, "I know all about the situation, it's cool"
He had been referring to the fact that he was gay, but he didn't want to say it out loud since there were others present. Baz had no issue with it, but Deran was still afraid that everyone was going to judge him or look at him differently.
"Did you tell him?" He had thought Jessica kept quiet on the matter, but her face told stories. When Deran asked her that, she looked away to a couple of people that were in the pool. "God, you have such a big mouth Jessica"
For a moment, Jessica had felt a sense of guilt because she did slip while talking to Baz before. She didn't know why though Deran was making it such a big deal because she was pretty sure Smurf already knew as well. Deran said loudly and walked away from them not even wanting to be at the party anymore.
"Just ignore him, he'll get over it sooner or later" Baz her as she looked back down at him. "I haven't seen Pope anywhere so I'm going to go look for him"
"He's probably at that church thing doing whatever he does there. You know he's always the life of the party"
"I know he hates these things, but I haven't talked to him lately. Whenever he picks Lena up he completely ignores me and I can't help but wonder if something's wrong. I'm going to go to his apartment, and I'll be back"
"You know what's going to be like pulling teeth to get him to come to this, right?"
The Cody family and everyone else knew that Pope could end a party in a matter of seconds he wasn't afraid to kick everybody out and that was something Jessica didn't want to happen. They were having a good night and while it was bound to come to an end hope could make that happen sooner.
Baz leaned up to kiss her one last time before Jessica got off of his lap. The exchange a couple more words before he headed out, leaving her there to figure out her next move. The babysitter had dropped Lena off earlier and both of them had no idea she was supposed to be there.
She thought to go check up on her to make sure she was okay or if she wanted anything to eat. She knew the others wouldn't bother so it was up to Jessica to make sure she was fine. It wasn't even two minutes later when she noticed a familiar face walking out of the house.
It really didn't make sense to her why this person was here unless they wanted to start trouble. Jessica wasn't in the mood for a fight, nor did she want to get into one. Standing up slowly, she looked around the backyard before taking steps towards the house.
Lucy had stood near one of the tables looking through everybody, in which Jessica figured she was looking for Baz. If he had invited her there, she was sure to get on him for it once he came back. Lucy spotted Jessica right away so there was no way getting around it. Taking in a deep breath, Jessica approached her.
"Hey..." Lucy shouted over the music, hoping that she heard her.
"Hi...Uh, if you're looking for Baz, he just left. He's on his way to find Pope"
Jessica pointed over to the bar, which was away from the loud music. Whoever was in control that night turned it up extra loud and there was no way they were going to have a conversation next to it. Waving Lucy over, the two women walked over to a quieter area.
"I was invited actually so I thought I'd come check it out" Lucy told her, making it clear that she was not looking for Baz. "Craig invited me. I was up here with Marco on some business, and he filled us in. I'm not really looking for him" obviously Jessica knew who him was.
After her last running with Marco, Jessica did not want to see him, or she probably would get into an argument. She still had no idea how he knew all of this about her, and she knew little to nothing about him. She took another glance around the backyard but didn't see him anywhere. Then again if you were hanging out with Craig, they were probably in the living area snorting cocaine.
"What is it you exactly do again?" Jessica asked, making sure no one else was listening.
"I'm not into stealing like my brother is if you were wondering. I work for a company down in Mexico that has ties to places here" there is no way that Lucy was going to tell Jessica exactly what she did. The only ones who knew were Craig and Deran and it's so far, they hadn't said a word to Baz which meant she wouldn't know either. "I meet with clients in order to get our products into the U.S. Not all of us can be doctors like you are"
Jessica couldn't tell if she had been joking on the last part, but it was clear that she wasn't going to tell her much. "I'm just a nurse. Well, I actually quit my job so technically I used to be. How did you know that?"
"Baz told me before... It's still something to be proud of, right? You're out saving lives while everyone else fights for the scraps"
Since Lucy had been associated with Baz, there was a good chance that she also did something illegal, but Jessica couldn't put her finger on what. Even though Catherine didn't have anything to do with jobs, she was still in association which could mean she wasn't accomplice.
"Oh, I still fight for the scraps, believe me" Jessica joked even though it were the truth. There was no way that she would live on her nurse salary if her brothers got thousands all the time. "I'm hardly saving lives; I mostly treat flus and chicken pox. I'm not performing brain surgery or giving people kidneys which, I wouldn't even know how to do by the way. You don't just stick a knife into someone's side and hope for the best. TV gets it wrong all the time"
She didn't know why she was rambling, but it was probably out of nerves. This had never happened to her before especially when it came to someone Baz was dating. It was strange that they were having a simple conversation as if they were friends considering they would be fighting over the same man.
Lucy smiled for a quick moment. "Look Jessica, I know you and Baz are together. I know you know our history and how he cheated on Cath with me. As much as I love him...I'm not going to be the side chick forever. I'm also came here to talk to you"
"Okay?" Jessica questioned still finding this whole ordeal confusing. "If he put you up to this, I'll kill him personally then you'll never have to worry" She wondered if Baz said anything to her.
"Things didn't end well between us and Mexico and I didn't have the chance to talk to you. When Baz got the call that you were taken, I could see how much he cared about you. Cath was a different story; it was like he had to make himself care or else. This isn't me backing away from Baz but I am stepping away. If he really wants to be with me, he is only being with me"
The two women had something in common unbeknownst to each other. Both of them wanted Baz but they were going to make sure that he could only be with one woman. They both were not going to be played like Catherine was. It seemed like they had more in common than they thought, maybe they were the same person underneath.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for going off on you down in Mexico. Let's just say I'm not that great when I'm high on pills" Jessica was never shy to acknowledge her drug addiction in fact she wasn't ashamed of it, it was part of her personality. I appreciate you coming and telling me this to my face instead of going behind my back. Personally, I thought that he was going to be with you. It wouldn't be the first time that he chose someone else over me"
"Tell me about it" Lucy commented, meaning it in a humorous way. They both didn't know each other's history with Baz, so it was left in the open. "I didn't come here to get into a cat fight or Petty argument"
"Thank god, I think we're too grown to act like children. Then again, I did get into a fist fight with Catherine last year and which I got my ass kicked by the way" Jessica had no idea why she told her that, but it was just something that came out. "I don't want to get into another fight with a woman over Baz, believe me"
"I can tell you first off that I did not come here to fight you, Jessica. I just want to make it clear that I will step away from him while you are together...But if he comes to me wanting anything, I'm not going to turn him down"
The blonde had nodded her head in agreement. "Fair enough, I guess I shouldn't expect any less because I used to do the same" Lucy gave her a questioning look so Jessica continued on. "When Cath was around, I didn't mess with him, I kept my distance. The second they broke up; I took the chance but nothing could come out of it with her around or smurf. I have to say I like you much better than her"
"Cath or Smurf?"
"Well, you don't look at me with clouded judgment so I can't complain there" She figured she already knew about the issues with Smurf. Since Baz had been with her for quite some time Lucy had to know the trouble, their mother had caused. "I never got along with her, she always said I was a screw up and that I deserved everything that happened to me. Cath always seemed to think she was perfect compared to all of us, yet she didn't even know her own boyfriend was cheating on her"
It was clear and Jessica's voice that she had issues with Catherine. Everyone in the family knew it but what she said was not wrong. She stayed out of the family business and drama, mostly for Lena's sake but she wasn't as perfect as she made herself out to be. Obviously, Lucy also had her issues with her considering she was never the main prize.
"Who'd think we'd bond over sleeping with a guy" Lucy told her which got an amusing smile out of Jessica. "Well, it looks like we came to an agreement. I'll let you get back to the party"
Lucy turned away from Jessica ready to walk away and back into the fold. Jessica watched her momentarily before taking a deep breath. It was nice that there wasn't any fighting going on then again they didn't want to act like teenage girls. Once Jessica started to walk away Lucy turned around and called out to her.
"Hey... Congratulations"
"For what?" The Cody called back to her.
Lucy hadn't said another word, turn back around and walked past a couple party guests. Jessica wasn't sure exactly what had transpired but apparently Lucy knew something she didn't. She wondered if Baz had told her about Smurf because he had mentioned previously that he needed extra tools from her to break into the safe. This was something that she was going to have to ask him is it seem to Lucy was ready to leave the conversation.
She stood there a couple more minutes then decided to head inside. Jessica wanted to grab her jacket as the air started to get a little cool and grab a bite to eat. It took her a couple minutes to even get inside as Craig must have invited the whole country. It seemed like there had been more people at that party than she ever noticed before.
Finally getting into the kitchen, Jessica brushed past a young couple that were making out against one of the counters. She heard a panic voice in the distance, but didn't think nothing of it
"Where is Jessica at? Has anyone seen Jessica?"
J had shouted, asking the crowd in the living room and he hoped that one of them knew her. He was carrying Lena with him who had almost gotten into a horrible accident. Music was blaring so none of the people had answered him.
Marching into the kitchen J had been pushing past all the people while Lena was hiding her face in his shoulder, crying. Jessica had been walking down the hallway and J had quickly moved past everybody. "Jessica!"
"What? I'm over here!" She called out and spun in a circle to see who was. When she saw J and Lena her heart had sunk for a second.
"Where were you at? Lena's hurt"
"What do you mean Lena's hurt? What happened?"
"Maybe if you weren't making out with Baz outside you could have paid attention to her" He told her harshly, making Jessica raise her eyebrows in surprise. "She almost got hit by a car in the driveway"
"Excuse me? He isn't even here, and I didn't know it was a crime to get something to eat" she couldn't believe that he had said that while he had Lena in his arms. "Come on, let's go into the bathroom to bandage you up"
Reaching out for Lena, Jessica grabbed her slowly while looking her over. She noticed that she had scraped her knee pretty bad, and it looked like she had another scrape by her elbow. Luckily, it wasn't anything major and Jessica was holding in how much panic she had.
J had pushed some people out of the way Jessica could get through to Smurf's bathroom. No one had been inside, so she closed the door the second they got in. Slamming the toilet lid shut, she set the young girl on it while J began digging into the cabinets.
"I can handle this. It's not like I'm not a nurse" Jessica remarks sarcastically, with a little bit of attitude since he gave her some before.
"When I couldn't find you, I called Pope"
"You called him? You do realize he's going to freak, right?"
"What else did you want me to do? You said earlier that you were planning on watching her, so why was she on her bike out in the driveway almost getting hit by a truck?"
She understood the severity of the problem, and yes, she should have kept a closer eye on Lena. She was supposed to be staying in her room and Jessica plan on checking on her every ten minutes just to make sure she was okay. She had gotten wrapped up in her conversation with Lucy that she missed checking on her but that didn't mean J had to stand there and yell at her as if she were a child.
"Can you let me take care of Lena first before we get into this? Thanks"
Taking the items out of his hands Jessica grabbed a couple of tissues and blotted them with peroxide. She opened up the Band-Aids, put some Neosporin onto the pads so they were already when she bandaged her up.
"This isn't going to hurt, is it Aunt Jessica?" Lena asked her softly, with her tears starting to go away.
"No, I promise. This will just help so you don't get an infection and then I will put the Band-Aids on, and you'll be good as new. Is that okay?"
The little girl had nodded her head in agreement and Jessica gave her a smile. She knew how to with kids as most of them fought with her when they would come into the office. It also explained how she was so calm because she knew not to panic.
The bathroom had become quiet as Jessica fixed Lena up. She was really relieved that she hadn't broken anything, or they would have been in trouble, because Jessica would have hunted bass down over that. Jay had watched her without saying anything because he was irritated at how everything unfolded. It only took a couple minutes and Lena was all dolled up with four bandages.
"Is it okay if I step outside for a second to talk to J? I'll be right outside the door"
After a couple seconds Lena had agreed, and Jay stepped out with Jessica right behind him. Closing the door shut quietly J crossed his arms while looking at Jessica.
"So, what exactly happened?" She asked him wanting to get the whole picture.
"I don't know. I was looking for Nikki and I walked out into the driveway she was sitting on her bike and some guy in a blue truck started backing up, he didn't see her. I ran over and grabbed her before she got ran over"
"I was going to check on her she said she was tired, so I put her down in her bed, put Disney on her tablet and let her lay there. I was planning on checking on her every 10 minutes. I was talking to someone then I was coming in to grab something to eat and see if Lena wanted anything. Did I think Lena was going to go out? No, I didn't"
Even though Jessica had looked calm to Lena, she was very worried and panicked. Something were to happen to the young girl, Jessica would never let herself live it down. An actuality she wanted to blame bears because she had assumed his was not going to be there for the night. If he would have kept up on the things he would have known where she was at and that she had to come home.
"You were just going to let her sit in her room?" It was clear and J's tone that he was judging as his attitude was strong.
"Are you trying to school me on parenting or something?" Baz's influence must have rubbed off on Jessica because now she started sounding like him.
"I'm not but I would have thought you of all people would have watched her better" As he unfolded his arms he could now see irritated Jessica was becoming both of them were on the skirts of a fight and this would be the very first time they ever argued.
She could understand exactly where Jay's concern was coming from but why he was giving her an attitude was a different story. It was strange to her that he was calling her out over it because J had never had an issue with her before.
"Okay what is your problem?"
"Lena almost gets ran over and no one is watching her, that's my problem. My mom used to leave me in the house for days while she went out trying to score. I was probably around Lena's age; do you think I should have been by myself?"
"First of all, Lena wasn't by herself there are people here. Second of all I'm not Julia. I'm not high right now I'm completely sober so if you think that I would want to put Lena in harm's way then yes again."
Even though J and Jessica had hardly crossed paths until tonight, she had been hearing that he was getting a little cocky. He had been spending a lot of his time around Smurf which explain things easily, but he also helped steal her money. That put him in an interesting situation.
The two Cody's had stared at each other for a moment until Jessica opened the bathroom door. She stepped back over to Lena, picked her back up and was ready to take her into her room. As she walked past J she had one more thing to tell him.
"If I were you, I'd stop acting like Smurf because you're not like her" she had been referring to the judging because J was doing really good at that.
"Then stop trying to act like your Baz" it was now Jay's turn for a comeback and not only had he been talking about her having an attitude with him, but her being neglectful of Lena.
Snorting out a laugh she continued walking past him before turning slightly to mock a salute. She wasn't going to put up with J and she wanted to make it up to Lena.
"Can we go make sure my bike is okay? I don't want Uncle Craig to be upset if it's ruined" Lena asked while Jessica weaver through the crowd. She was trying her best to stay away from all the drugs and alcohol.
"He wouldn't be, you're his favorite niece. I mean you are his only niece, but he'd buy you one in a heartbeat if he were"
Slipping out of the glass door, Jessica parade that she wasn't going to run into something that Lena didn't need to see. She had been at the parties before with Cath and she did her best to protect her as well. Lena didn't need to know what went on with the family, that was something all of them had agreed on.
As she started making her way towards the gate to the garage, she noticed her older brother walking in their direction. Pope was looking in every which way, with a panicked expression written on his face. That may Jessica want to turn around and go back inside because she momentarily forgot that J had called him.
"What's going on? I got a call from J saying Lena almost got hit"
It was quieter out there then it was in the house, but Pope was still yelling. She shifted Lena to her other side when she approached him. He began to look her over quickly and noticed all of the band-aids.
"She's fine, just a couple of scrapes. I got her all bandaged up and I was just taking her to check on bike"
"Where the hell was Baz at?" He questioned harshly and was trying to keep it together in front of the young child.
"He's not with you?" It didn't occur to her that J called Pope instead of Baz, so he had no idea what had been going on. Jessica's phone wasn't in her pocket so she couldn't shoot him a text either. She had assumed that with Pope showing up that Baz would have been in tow. "You weren't here so he said he was going to your apartment. Are you okay? You don't look too good"
"Well then why weren't you watching her?" It was typical Pope that he was going to avoid any questions that were about him. He also wasn't going to tell her that he had been at Amy's and that he revealed he killed Catherine. She turned away from him which hurt him deeply but there wasn't anything he could do about it.
"I already went through this with J. I put her in her room and was planning on checking on her. Don't worry I'll stay with her"
She had always listened to what her older brother told her especially when it came from Pope. He was much more intimidating than J and with one glare, he could make Jessica do anything. She didn't want to argue with him because she would only go on circles but that meant he would go off on her.
"Why is Craig throwing another party? Where is Smurf?" He asked her to try to calm down.
"This was Baz's idea; Craig didn't throw this one" she ignored the last question and pondered if she should even answer it with an excuse because she couldn't tell him the truth. "She's um... You'll have to ask him that"
Pope narrowed his dark eyes at her, his expression even changing. Now he had a suspicious look, and confusion. He had no idea why he would have to ask Baz where Smurf was.
"Why? What did he do to her?"
"Can I go put Lena in her room and we can wait until he gets back to talk about this?"
"She nodded his head yes slowly and gave Lena a quick rub on the shoulder. She had been tired so Jessica was glad that it also gave her an excuse to get her out of there. At the same time, she'd rather Baz answer all of his questions because she wasn't going to tell him the truth.
Their luck had started right as Jessica was moving away because Baz had just stepped into the backyard. She had taken a glance at him but wanted to put Lena down first. When Pope noticed him however, he took large steps over to him, clearly showing he was angry.
"What the hell is going on your daughter just almost got ran over" He told him furiously.
"What?" Baz asked him, partially due to all the noise but also not understanding what he was talking about.
"Ask Jessica and J. Why were you not here?"
J had come outside to see everything that was going on Jessica had already disappeared into the house but both of the Cody's had surrounded Baz. He still had no idea what he walked into, but he shifted his attention between the two of them.
"Pope, I have no idea what you're talking about. I went looking for you. I went to Amy's, she told me you had left. What happened over there?" When he asked where his brother was, she has a terrified which led bears to a million questions. He knew Pope wasn't stupid enough to tell her about the church job, but he had no idea why the woman could seem scared.
"Where is Smurf, Baz?" J questioned, walking over to his uncle's.
Baz hadn't planned on telling them that night about Smurf going to jail, he thought he would wait until the next day. But more questions were popping up so he had no choice but to tell everybody.
"Find Craig and Deran and shut the party down. Smurfs in jail" He told them before walking away from them. Baz just wanted to tell Jessica that they were having a family meeting and that the truth was finally going to come out.
Pope and J exchanged looks both comprehending differently to what Baz just told them. For now, they had to gather the rest of the family, well what was going to be left of them. Now sides were going to be drawn and everyone was going to take the news differently.