Broken Dreams, Broken Love - Part 5

In the past......

Mandy was lying on her back, her legs spread apart and screaming her head off. She still couldn’t believe that this was happening. She was finally having her baby and she couldn’t wait. Although she wished she didn’t have to go through all the pain. She closed her eyes and prayed that her husband would make it in time. She knew her sister was in the waiting room. Mandy was breathing hard. She was smiling when she decided on what to call her beautiful daughter. Jamie. It was a pretty name and she was already imagining calling her little ‘Jamie’ to come eat, to go bath, to do her homework. She was looking forward to raising a family. It was something she had always wanted. Her smile faded when she thought about her sister. Poor Amanda couldn’t have children. She and Bob had been trying since the day they had gotten married and they had just recently found out that Amanda couldn’t have children. Depressing. She couldn’t imagine what that must have felt like. Being told that you won’t be able to be a mother. She shuddered.
"Right Mandy, stay with me here. I want you to push."

Back to the present....

Jamie pulled out of Max’s arms. She shuddered. What the hell
was wrong with her? Why had she attacked Max like that? Did she kill her parents and not remember doing it? Something was very wrong and the feeling was getting worse. She could feel the insanity slipping away. She stood up and looked down at him. He was staring up at her.
"I’m so very sorry Max. I don’t remember doing that." She whispered. He got up and took her into his arms. She grabbed him and held him close. She started to cry. She didn’t want to think of the possibility that she was the one that had killed her parents.
"Sshh…don’t worry we will figure this out, one way or another." His voice was calming and she pulled away from him. As she did this she felt overwhelmed with hatred. She screamed and fell to the ground.
"Jamie!" Max fell to his knees and tried to pull her to him but she had started kicking. He got up and ran to his car, opening the boot he pulled out a blanket. He ran back and threw the blanket over her and grabbed her. He held her tightly and rocked back and forth.
"Jamie, it’s me Max. Come back to me. Come back to me."

"Max?" Jamie woke up, finding herself laying on a bed. She wasn’t at home nor was she at the asylum. This room was fully furnished. She looked around her. She was alone. Her memory came flooding back to her in a wave of pain. She closed her eyes tightly and sent up a silent plea, asking for help. The door opened and she saw Max standing there. She opened her arms and he came rushing in.
"Oh Jamie, you’re awake." He said as he held her. She could feel him breathing hard and she realized that she was calm.
"Max, we need to find out what is happening to me."

"I’m glad you brought that up. There is a bathroom through there." He pointed at another door on her left. "Why don’t you freshen up and then we can have a cup of tea and talk." He got off the bed and left her alone once again. A cup of tea? Disgusting. She thought. She got up and went into the bathroom. On the counter she saw a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in her size. Bless Max for thinking of everything. She relaxed in the shower. And lathered her body in the lavender scented shower gel. When she was done she felt like she was in a luxurious hotel with the thick and soft towels. After getting dressed she looked herself over in the mirror and was shocked to see how she looked. Her eyes had horrible bags under them. Her lips where swollen. And she had a nasty yellow bruise just above her right eyebrow. She touched it with her fingertips and winched in pain. Finally she turned away and walked out of the bathroom and bedroom, into the hallway. On the walls hung family pictures. She couldn’t help but stop and look at them. She immediately found out that Max was in every single one of the photographs.

"Jamie?" she jumped at the sound of his voice. She looked at him, guilty, as if she had been caught taking a cookie out of the cookie jar. He was standing at the end of the hallway and she rushed over to him. He took her hand and smiled at her. She felt her knees go weak. He led her to the lounge and they sat down. Before she could say anything he jumped up.
"Look, Jamie, there is something that I need to confess." He wouldn’t look at her and she tilted her head to the side.
"Okay, what is it?"
"I am not a lawyer." He said and then closed his mouth and looked at her. Jamie shook her head and laughed softly to herself.
"I thought as much."

"You did?" she nodded. "But how? What gave me away?" he sat on the other couch opposite her and leaned forward.
"I don’t know. I think I just knew when you broke me out that you couldn’t be a lawyer." She smiled at him and suddenly a wave of terror overcame her and she gasped for air. He jumped up and was immediately at her side. He took her hand and stroked it.
"What’s wrong?" She didn’t say anything and he started to panic. "Jamie!" he screamed and shook her slightly and then she looked at him.
"I don’t know. This horrible feeling just took hold of me." She started shaking and he took her into his arms and held her tight.
"Something is very very wrong with me Max." she whispered.

Jamie was sitting on the couch waiting for Max to come back. He had left her to get her something to drink. She silently prayed that it wasn’t a cup of tea. He came back with two glasses in his hand. She signed in relief and she took the glass from him. Taking a sip she realized that it was iced tea. She groaned. Even worse.
"Something wrong?" he questioned her and she shook her head no. "Good. Now its time for me to explain." He looked at her curiously.
"Yes. Please do."

"Okay. Your next door neighbor is my uncle and he called me on Sunday afternoon, asking me if I’d please take him to the airport to fetch his grandson. I couldn’t exactly say no so I got in my car and helped him out. When we got back, he explained to me that he was worried about Bob, your dad, because he was suppose to take him but that nobody was answering. He mentioned how unusual it was because Bob had never let him down before. Anyway he asked me if I’d like to stay over for dinner. And since I hate cooking, I accepted." Jamie was listening to every word he was saying, holding her breath, waiting for the bad part of the story.

"By the time I was ready to leave it was dark out and he noticed that there wasn’t any lights on at your house. We walked over there together and knocked a couple of times. I tried to look in through the window but it was just as dark inside. That’s when I told him that the car was in the garage and I even joked about it. Saying that maybe they are avoiding the old fart. He didn’t laugh, of cause." Max laughed and Jamie smiled up at him. Loving his laugh. It was carefree and honest.

"Anyways, I left and he called me the next day. Saying that he wanted me to investigate the house next door as he was really getting worried. He told me that Bob and Amanda left seven o clock every morning and that they hadn’t. So once again I got in my car and that’s when I decided to break in." he paused. "Jamie, what I saw. It was shocking. I had never in my life seen anything like it. And my Uncle kept saying ‘Jamie!’ and eventually he told me that I must go and look for you as he was going to call the police. That’s when I searched the house. It was odd to find a door locked and then I broke it down and there you where." He reached out and touched her on her check and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her but then he broke the tension by looking away.

"You looked so beautiful and peaceful. Honestly I don’t know how long I stood there because the next thing I knew, there where cops everywhere and we tried waking you but nothing. They had you in the hospital for awhile and then they figured it was you that killed them so they put you down as a nut case." Jamie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They had put her down as a nut case? Without speaking to her first? Without a medical examination? That couldn’t be right. Could it?
"How did you manage to visit me and such?"
"Oh…I um…I told them I was your…um…husband…" Jamie laughed. "That’s the only way they would let me in." he said quickly.
"So to them you where my husband and to me you where my lawyer. So who are you really?"
"I am Max Andrews. I am a English teacher, currently unemployed. And you?" Jamie smiled. An English teacher? Cool.
"As you know I am Jamie Watson and I am fashion designer." Jamie smiled to herself. So had come along way and just as that thought crossed her mind her smile faded, so much for her big career.

"So Max, the English teacher, please can you tell me why you hung around and why you lied to me?"
"I know that it wasn’t a good thing to do but you caught me off guard and that’s what came out of my mouth. And the reason why I hung around was because…" he paused. "I’m a good person!" he finished quickly.