Water Ch. 150 - I'll Take This One On The Chin

 

 

The night was long for Jon,  restlessness and anxiety kept him up, tossing and turning.  Throughout the night he ran all possible scenarios through his mind and cannot come up with the answer that Beth did.  How does anything that went on or happened equal up to walking away?  His math doesn't match hers, and he's exhausted trying to figure it out.  He understands that they have been through alot and he hates that it's all happened, but what did she really want?  A life of seclusion, in bubble wrap?  He's a rock star, a man of importance - he has things that he has to do.  Laying on her side of the bed, he looks out the window and watches the sun rise, through some trees, over the ocean.  It's a beautiful start to the morning, and the end of him trying to sleep.  He tells himself that he'll go to bed early. 

 

Dragging his ass out of bed, he pulls on a pair of shorts and heads to the kitchen.  The staff isn't there yet, so he made himself some coffee.  With his coffee in one hand and cigarettes in the other, he headed out the the river's edge. There was a little chill, but it was perfect.  The air was crisp and fresh, the air was new and so was his attitude.  He stood on the river bank and smoked the first cigarette that he had had in over a week.  Made him a little light headed, but he didn't mind.  Standing there watching the ducks and the geese, with his nicotine and caffeine, Jon was slowly on the road to happiness - he thought.  He also stood there and wondered what he was going to do with the day. 

 

He noticed as he walked by the waters edge, that some fans knew that he was back in NJ.  There was a car in the driveway, and at first he thought it might be Beth, but it wasn't.  They seen him outside and got scared, backing out of the driveway and screeching tires up the street.  He laughed.

 

He decided that he didn't want to be home when Beth came to get her things.  He wasn't ready to see her, and he knows that she is expecting him to be there.  He devised a plan to have Pete (Lupetta) to come hang out with the kids for a while.  He needed some him time and he decided he'd run down to Philly and watch the Soul practice.  It'd been a long time since he stopped in, the boys would love to see him. 

 

Back in the house, refilling his coffee mug he notices the time.  'Shit, it's 7:30, I better call Pete and get out of here.  Beth is probably up and almost ready.' he says to himself.  Knowing that Beth was a very early riser, he also knew that she wouldn't come over too early for fear that she might wake someone up.

 

Grabbing the cordless phone, he speed dials Pete and she agrees to head to Jersey to sit with the kids.  She hasn't been around because Beth was, so she naturally jumped at the chance to hang out with them.  School will be starting in a little over a week, and all of the time she's had with Stephanie and Jesse will be done, cause they will be gone all day.  She tells Jon, "I'll be there as soon as I can."  And as she says that, Maria walks in the door. 

 

Jon knows what he can and can't get away with, so he says to Pete, "Maria is here, so be careful.  I'm going to head down to Philly.  If you need anything, call me Pete."

 

"Okay, Jon.  I'll call you or Beth." she replies, knowing what she's supposed to do if she ever needed anything.

 

"Don't call Beth.  If you need anything, call my cell.  I'll see you when I get back."  He's now rushing to get cleaned up so he can leave.  He really doesn't want to see Beth.  "Thanks, Pete." And he hangs up. 

 

He stopped to talk to Maria, feeling as he just threw her under the bus, he winks at her and says, "You don't mind do you?" 

 

She smiles, shakes her head no and tells him, "GO! Before I change my mind."  Maria has been with Jon from the beginning and she was like family.  He loved her and she loved him and his family.  When she sees Jon excited about something, she knows not to get in the way of it.  "Do you and Beth want breakfast?"

 

With a content look on his face, he says, "None for me and Beth isn't here, but thank you.  Going to shower." And he disappears.  Maria is left there wondering what the hell happened to Beth?  Where is she?

 

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In Manhattan, Beth is woken by the sound of her door buzzer.  A steady annoying pattern that has her pissed off before she gets to it to find out who it is.  Pushing the intercom button, she says, "WHAT?"

 

A voice comes over the intercom that she doesn't recognize, of course no one sounds normal through those things, "Hey, it's your brother.  Let me in."

 

"Dillon?"

 

"Yeah, let me in."

 

Beth pushes the button to let him in.  The doorman must not be in yet.  She looked at the clock.  It's 7:30, she's amazed that she slept that late.  She never sleeps late like that, her body was just as exhausted as her mind.  She goes in to her bedroom and grabs her robe.  A couple minutes later, there is a knock on the door.  She opens it and lets her brother in.

 

"Good Morning sunshine."  Dillon says to his sister.

 

"Good morning.  What are you doing here so early?  Is everything okay?"  Dillon hands her a cup of coffee.  "Thank you."

 

"I have an interview down the street at 8:30, I thought I'd swing by and see if you were here.  I'm surprised that you are."  He sits on his sisters Italian leather couch and plops his feet on the ottoman. 

 

"An interview for what?  How did you find out where I live?" Beth asks her brother, that she has only seen a few times.  'Why is he here?'

 

"I figured out where you lived from the news reports and Jon told me when we were talking after your car accident.  Where is Jon?" 

 

"Jon is in New Jersey.  I'm going to California today, so I don't have alot of time to visit, sorry.  I wish you would have called before you stopped by.  Good luck with your interview, I hope you get the job, specially if you want it.  What is it?" she asks her brother, again.

 

"It's in commodities, something I know very little about.  They say they will train me, with an investment."

 

"How much?"

 

Dillon is embarrassed, but he tells her, "$5000.00, upfront."

 

"Do you have that much?" she wonders where he would get money like that.  He was a bartender and she didn't think they made that much.

 

Beth takes her coffee into the kitchen and replaces it with decaf that she made.  A big sip and she psyched herself into waking up.  "I hate to push you out of here, but I need to get in the shower and get ready to go.  I have to go to Jersey before I catch my flight."  And she walks to the door.  Dillon gets up and follows her, asking her a question she thought she would never hear from him.

 

"Sis, I need a place to stay.  Can I stay here?  It will be close to work and it's nice than my dive in the Bronx.  I want to fit in if I get the job."

 

Beth is puzzled by this.  She doesn't know him anymore, how dare he ask something like that.  She's borderline comfortable with him there now, feeling even more uneasy now.  But she has to be honest and draw the line for the long lost brother.

 

He was nervous, she could see that.  She thought it was because he was with his successful sister and maybe he was intimidated, she'd later find out differently.

 

"I don't think that it's a good idea.  We hardly know one another and I wouldn't feel comfortable with it.  I hope you understand."  She opens the door, hoping that would end this conversation, but again, she was wrong. 

 

"I'm your brother and I need your help, Beth."

 

"I understand that Dillon, but I know nothing about you.  I have alot of expensive things in here and I would hate for anything to happen."

 

He gets in her face and yells, "What the fuck do you think I will do?  Steal your shit?"

 

"Dillon, I don't know.  I don't mean to sound so insensitive, but I just don't know.  I would hate to think that my brother would steal from me or have friends over that would steal.  I'm going to have to say no."

 

Dillon's reaction shocked the shit out of her.  Instead of getting in her face again, he hauls off and decks her in the face.  "Fuck you bitch.  You selfish bitch."  Beth falls back onto the foyer table and holds her cheek.

 

"Get out.  Get the fuck out now before I call the cops."  She gets up and heads toward the phone.  Dillon follows her and beats her to her cordless phone. 

 

Smashing it on the floor, he yells, "Who you gonna call now bitch?"  And throws her on the couch.  "Where's your purse?  Where is your money and jewelery?"

 

"What?"

 

"Give me your wallet and your jewelery, now."

 

"Dillon it's not here.  It's a Jon's in New Jersey."  he walks over and grabs her by the arm, dragging her into her bedroom.  "Get it, give me what you have her or I'll trash the place."

 

She walks over to her dresser and hands him $1000.00, that's all the cash that she has on hand, for emergencies.  ""This is it?  You got more.  Give it to me."

 

"Dillon, that's it.  I swear.  The only jewelery that I have of value is on my wrist."  He walks up, looks at it and rips it off her wrist.  He's pissed that he didn't have a windfall with his rich sisters things.  He should have done his homework, he would have known that she had nothing there, it was all at Jon's.

 

Holding her cheek, that hurts really bad and has ballooned to twice it's size - she asks him, "Please leave.  If you go now, I won't call the police.  Go Dillon, just go!!"

 

He does a walk through of his sister's house and grabs a vase and a painting that he think have value, and he leaves.  As soon as he's out of the door, she runs over and dead bolts the door.  With her back against it, she slides to the floor.  She was just assaulted and robbed by her own brother.  After a few minutes of crying on the floor, she makes herself get in the shower.  If Jon wasn't enough to make her leave, Dillon just sealed the deal for her.  She showered and left her apartment, for the last time.  She's listing it as soon as she gets back to California.

 

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It's about 10:00 am when Beth gets to Red Bank.  She parks her car in the driveway and rings the bell.  She didn't feel right about walking in anymore.  A few minutes later, Maria answered the door.  "Good morning Miss Beth, come in." And she steps back to let her in. 

 

"Good morning Maria.  Is Jon home?"

 

"No ma'am, he just left for Philadelphia."  Maria sees the big bruise and fist print on Beth's face.  "Come in dear, you need ice.  Come." and she leads Beth into the kitchen.  Beth sits at the island and takes the ice from Maria.

 

"Are the kids here?"

 

"Nope, they left with Lupetta about an hour ago to go school clothes shopping.  Did Jon know you were coming?"

 

"No, I just came to get my things."

 

"Oh."

 

Beth hands Maria the ice pack, thanks her and heads upstairs.  She quickly grabs her things and leaves Jon a note.  All it said was 'Goodbye.'

 

Crying all the way to the airport, she can't believe that she has had the morning that she did.  Her own brother, and then when she goes to get her things - the whole family is gone.

 

She's at the airport boarding her flight, before she gets situated, she checks her phone.  Nothing.  No call, no text or email.  The tears flow again. 

 

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Jon is in Philly, loving watch the practice.  He missed his team and almost forgot how great they were.  They were a great distraction and he's thankful that he had this place to come too.  It helped ease his mind and helped him relax.  Beth was a memory, but she wasn't his first thought.  He knows this attitude won't last long and that he will need to at least talk to her, but he's going to be as strong as he can.  Jon needs Jon back and so do his children.