Chapter 7

Jessica slept for twenty straight hours. Healing at super speed took a lot of energy and sleep was needed to recuperate. She was finally woken up by the loud knock on her door the next afternoon. Still groggy, she stumbled to the door and opened to find Riley on the other side.  Like an old western standoff they eyed each other across the threshold sizing each other up. Riley looked away, took a deep breath and then looked back at her. “So I guess you’re my sister.” Jessica smiled, “looks that way. Sorry I didn’t stick around to be introduced yesterday. I was pretty tired.” “Yeah we noticed. You slept like the dead. Everyone has been waiting for you to wake up so we could talk…” Jessica rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Knowing that it couldn’t be avoided she agreed to meet everyone downstairs after she got dressed. When she was ready she found her way to the family room where everyone waited for her. James indicated for her to take a seat and Jessica sat on the chair, facing them all. James went to stand beside her and gave her a warm smile meant to reassure her. "Kids this is Jessica. And Jessica these are your siblings, Danielle and Riley." Jessica exchanged pleasantries with her new found siblings while managing to hide her emotions rather well. Or at least she hoped she had. Because even though she didn’t show it, their existence gave her heart a pang. She couldn’t help but realize that her mother hadn’t suffered her loss too much or too long. Right after the introductions it was decided to move the reunion to the breakfast room where brunch awaited them. By unspoken agreement they ignored the elephant in the room and stuck to lighter conversation. Jessica sat back and took in the interaction between them. And as she watched them the pang in her heart grew until it promised to tear her in two. They asked questions and tried to draw her into the conversation but her insecurities kept her tight lipped. Jealousy and resentment slowly began to boil up inside of her until she couldn't take it anymore. She felt like an intruder and she knew that no matter how hard she tried, she would never belong to this family. All of her life she’d grown up feeling like a discarded piece of trash. Looking at her brother and sister, it left a bitter taste in her mouth to know that someone else had grown up feeling the love from the family she had been denied. Without a word Jessica got up and turned away before anyone could see the tears swimming in her eyes. She forced herself to walk away, ignoring the calls and dodging the hands that tried to stop her. Hastily she wiped away the stupid tear that dared to drop and ran upstairs for her backpack. She made her way back downstairs and with her hand finally on the front door knob, the walk there had felt like an eternity, she turned to look at the family. Bitterness, like an awakened volcano, exploded through her whole body. They were a family, whole, complete, with no room or need for her. "I'm sorry. I have to get out of here. This is turning out to be harder than I thought. I need...I need to leave. I’ll come back when I feel more under control." Before they could argue she stepped outside and closed the door in their faces. Berating herself for the spectacle she'd just caused, she ran to her bike and took off.  She just wanted to be as far away as possible before the tears really started flowing. Jessica rode around with no destination in mind. It wasn’t long before she realized that someone was following her. She couldn't explain how she knew, she just did. It was like a sixth sense and it'd never led her wrong before. Deciding to test the feeling, Jessica shifted to the next lane, barely managing not to swerve into a car, and quickly turned onto the intersecting street.  At the next cross-way she took a left turn followed by another left. Keeping an eye on her side view mirror, she watched a car turn to follow her. For the next fifteen minutes Jessica kept making last minute turns, but no matter how fast she went, how many sharp turns she took, she couldn't manage to lose them. Slowly terror started to creep in. She felt as if she was in a horror movie or a nightmare. The kind where no matter how fast a person ran, the monster was always a couple of steps behind. No matter how long you held your breath, how well you thought you'd hidden, the monster always turned the corner and found you. She hated this! She hated this day and she hated feeling like a weakling. Fear was clogging her throat and it was making it hard to breathe. Nervously she toyed with her lip and took a couple of deep breaths; she knew that now was not the time to panic. If she was going to get out of this she needed to stay calm. As calmly as she could, she drove around until she found what she was looking for, a deserted dead end alleyway.  As soon as she spotted it, Jessica parked her bike, took of her helmet and left it on the seat, a block away and ran at top speed towards it. Once in there she went to crouch behind a couple of dumpsters all the way at the end of the ally. She dropped her back pack and pulled out her knife. She was done running. Jessica held her breath and strained her ears for the sound of running footsteps. When she heard them coming, she braced herself. Their lack of skills was proven when they turned their backs on her after only giving the ally a quick perusal. Silently she inched up behind the two men. She swiped her leg and tripped the one closest to her. Before he even knew what hit him, he was flat on his back. With the butt end of her knife she promptly knocked him out and turned to face his partner. She stood up promptly and flicked her knife open. She didn't plan on using it, but he didn't need to know that.  He raised his arms and started to back up, but it was too late. Jessica lunged for him. Knocking his arms to the side, she hit him under the chin with the heel of her hand and then struck the same spot with her elbow. Quickly she crouched and swiped her leg, effectively bring him down too. When he hit the ground she wasted no time pinning him down. She shoved her forearm across his throat and her knee into his chest. "Who are you?" she asked in a rough voice. He opened his mouth to speak but his eyes suddenly widened when he looked at something over her shoulder.  Jessica noticed it and she realized that someone was coming up behind her. Knife in hand, ready for battle, she pivoted on her toes in a crouched position and froze. "You!?"