Jordan
As soon as Jordan heard Luna’s news he knew they had to leave Reedhaven and get on with facing their problems. He wanted the whole shitty ordeal over and done with so he could get on with planning his life... their lives.
Luna went back to work, and the first thing Jordan did was visit Everett.
The kitchen window was already replaced. It was as if nothing had happened. But a lot had happened.
“Your buddy Owen had some interesting news from the coroner’s office,” Everett explained before even sitting down. “Turns out, they had a visit from Sheldon just after Jonathan’s autopsy. They said he was quite unstable and refused to believe his brother was dead.”
Jordan listened in silence, his brow furrowed and his arms folded.
“They gave me some addresses, which I’ve used to track down his current address.”
Jordan stiffened and locked eyes with Everett. “Shall we?”
Everett nodded gravely. “232 Sanderson Drive, Davidson.”
Jordan called Luna to explain where they were going. Something drove him to tell her every detail... in case something happened to him.
“I’m coming with you,” she said on the other end of the phone.
“No, Luna, it’s not safe. Not now that... you know. I don’t want to put you in any more danger.”
“I’m coming,” she demanded. “I’ve been with you every step of this. I can help. I know the story so far. Plus, it might help to have a female with you, another dimension to the visit, maybe he’ll behave differently, or open up more to me.”
She had a point.
They went to pick her up at the shop. When Jordan arrived there, Luna was waiting, already changed into jeans and a shirt.
“Hey,” Owen said casually. “Be careful on this visit. You don’t know what state he’ll be in.”
“We will,” Jordan said gravely. “Has Luna told you our news?”
Owen frowned and looked from Jordan to Luna, who was burying her face in her hand.
“What the hell?” she muttered under her breath.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered. “I can’t wait to tell people.”
She looked at him with narrowed, scornful eyes.
“Surely, we can tell Owen,” Jordan continued, in hushed tones. “No one else, until you’re ready. I promise.”
She sighed and looked at Owen with hesitation written all over her face. “We have some pretty big... news. Damned big.”
Owen’s eyebrows shot up in wonder. “Well... who’s gonna deliver it then?” He looked at Luna, then Jordan, then back to her. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging.”
“I’m pregnant,” Luna said flatly, looking at the ground.
Owen leaped two feet backward. “Oh my God, that’s amazing, Loon. Wow. I... I can’t believe it.” He looked at Jordan with a wide grin. “Congrats, man. You have no idea what’s about to hit you.” He began laughing and rubbing his hair with one hand.
Luna scowled and crossed her arms, which made Jordan feel terrible for blurting out their secret when she clearly wasn’t ready.
He nudged her arm and ducked down to peer into her eyes with a meek smile. “Come on, he was always gonna be the first to know, wasn’t he?”
She smiled at Owen finally. “Yeah.”
Owen embraced her with a huge hug. “I’m so happy for you. I really am. I think you’ll be great together... even jumping right into the deep end like this.”
“I’ve asked her to marry me too,” Jordan said.
“Jeez, you can’t keep that shut, can you?” Luna said, looking at his mouth with a laugh.
“Wow. So, when’s the wedding?” Owen asked.
“I haven’t said yes yet,” Luna said scornfully.
“But you will,” Owen said, with a questioning tone, then turned to Jordan and said with authority, “She will. I know it.” He suddenly began dancing around the garage, calling out:,“Whoop whoop, there’s gonna be a wedding, whoop whoop, there’s gonna be a baby.”
Owen’s wife Karen appeared at the door. “What? Oh my God!” She ran towards Luna with arms outstretched. Jordan watched as Luna’s face burned red as she sent him a furious look. He mouthed the word “sorry” but couldn’t help laughing at the same time.
Karen launched into a monologue of advice about choosing a dress and moved right the way through birth to breastfeeding at lightning speed.
“Hey, sorry, but we’d better go,” Jordan interrupted, which judging by the look of relief on Luna’s face, was the most sensible thing to come out of his mouth since he’d arrived at the shop.
She dragged herself over to his side and apologized to Karen. “You’ll have to tell me all your best secrets when the baby’s closer,” she added politely.
Karen and Owen hugged and grinned at the new parents-to-be, which caused Luna to let out a groan as they turned to leave.
“First thing I’m going to do is buy a padlock for that mouth of yours,” she joked to Jordan as they got to the car where Everett was waiting.
“What was going on in there?” he asked. “Looked like fun.”
“Don’t ask,” Luna said immediately.
He shrugged and smiled. “OK.”
Jordan smiled apologetically at his friend before they all hopped in and drove off towards the small town where Sheldon lived.
They arrived soon after in a small, ordinary-looking street of modest one-story houses. The three of them exchanged nervous glances.
“Let’s see if we can talk this live wire around and end this once and for all,” Jordan said, opening the driver’s door and stepping onto the sunny street.
They walked up the path together, Jordan ushering Luna to the back.
He rang the bell, and after only a few seconds they could hear someone approaching the door on a hardwood floor. It opened, and there stood someone who looked exactly like Jordan’s former colleague Jonathan.
He had on camouflage pants, a dark green T-shirt, and heavy leather boots, as though he really was a soldier. But he wasn’t built like a soldier. He was skinny and pale. His pale blue eyes fixed immediately on Jordan, and he clenched both fists.
“I think you know why we’re here,” Jordan said calmly.
Sheldon said nothing. He looked past his visitors onto the street suspiciously, before moving to one side to let them in.
Jordan glanced at Everett in surprise. They hadn’t expected this.
“Go through to the right,” Sheldon said in a flat, emotionless voice.
Once they were all in the living room, Sheldon stood in the doorway awkwardly. “It’s hot out. Do you want sodas?”
They all shook their heads. “No thanks. We just want to talk to you. We’re here as... friends,” Jordan said.
“Friends?” Sheldon said, shuffling his boots from side to side. “You’re not my friends. You let me down.”
Jordan stood up. “Listen, it’s OK. We just want to talk. We can help you… before someone gets hurt.”
“Before someone gets hurt?” Sheldon asked, punching his fist into his palm.
“Sheldon...” Everett began.
Sheldon paced up and down in frustration. “I’m not Sheldon. I’m Jonathan,” he said. “Sheldon’s my brother. He died.”
Jordan swallowed hard and said softly, “Why are you following us? And more importantly threatening us?”
“I’m not. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Everett spoke again. “Listen, it’ll all be OK if you stop now. If you get some help. We know you took Jonathan’s death badly, we understand. But you need to stop blaming us. You need to move on.”
“I need to get something,” Sheldon said and turned to run down the hall.
“Sheldon, wait,” Jordan said, rushing to the doorway.
Jordan, Everett, and Luna looked at each other with wide eyes.
“A gun?” Luna whispered.
Everett got up and pushed past Jordan quickly to run after Sheldon.
Jordan called out, “Everett! No! Stick together!” But Everett was already halfway down the hall when there was an almighty blast. Jordan carefully forced Luna to the ground as the hall was engulfed in flames. They lay on the floor in silence for what felt like a long time, just staring into the inferno with desperate pain in their eyes. In reality, it was just seconds before Jordan’s survival instincts kicked in and he jumped to his feet, scooping Luna up with a fireman’s lift, and ran out the door.
On the lawn outside, Luna buried her face into his chest. “Everett. Oh my God. Everett,” she kept repeating in a whisper. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Jordan could feel the warmth of tears on his own face too as he watched the fire sweep into the living room, where they’d been standing only moments before, and burn one of his heroes with its ferocity.
Jordan slammed his fist down on the roof of his car in anger. “Why did he have to take Everett with him? He was a great man.”
They hugged and watched the flames in stunned silence until the police and fire service arrived. At least this mess was over with Sheldon out of the picture.