Planning on Forever

CHAPTER 8

Vanessa had been gone for ten minutes leaving Jonah alone with the Brady's. Were it not for Clive jumping into agent mode, Jonah imagined the atmosphere turning awkward very quickly. Rather than being left to stare at one another, Clive and the elder Brady's dived into talk about their situation. He should have trained all his attention on them; they were discussing his future after all, but he couldn't turn his eyes away from the passage Vanessa left through. He hoped she were okay; despite how much he wished he didn't. 

"You should go talk to her." Jonah slowly turned his eyes to the front of him, away from the corridor. Annabelle stared at him, her head nudging to the left. He frowned. "Go," said Annabelle. 

He looked at his lap. "Best not to."

"You're in this together. It's best you try handle it together."

"No." The sudden bark surprised everyone. Jonah's eyes lifted again, this time colliding with sea blue irises. 

"Nick -"

"None of this is right," he snapped towards his wife. 

Annabelle sighed heavily as she reached for his hand. Nick looked furious yet he grabbed onto her like his only lifeline. Jonah's chest tightened. "We can't undo what has happened. We need to support Jonah and Nessa as best we can right now." Nick grumbled, his jaw moving quickly. He looked like he'd bit into a ripe lemon. "Go talk to her," nudged Annabelle again, her eyes focused sharply on Jonah. He looked around the room before standing slowly. He didn't want to talk to Vanessa but he wanted even less to stay in Nick's line of vision. 

Jonah took his time along the passageway. He didn't know where he was going. The walls were covered in picture frames and Jonah took the time to scrutinize each photo. There were candid images of Nick and Vanessa, their smiles alight with youthful innocence. Jonah found his lips mirroring them. There were images of Nick and Annabelle, their arms always around the other. He envied their connection, one that showed clearly. 

As he neared the bedrooms Jonah found frames filled with pictures of children. Many showed an adorable little girl with light hair and an infectious smile. The baby had the same doe eyed expression as her mother. Right at the end of the wall was a picture of Nick with a young boy in his arms with auburn hair and wide brown eyes. Jonah's hand moved on its own. His fingers traced the image; his eyes stiff on the little boy. 

"What are you doing?" Jonah jumped, pulling his hand to his side quickly. 

"He looks so much like Cole." It was all Jonah could think about. Vanessa didn't comment. She stared at the photo with Jonah, each of them lost in a pool of memories. Most were good memories for Jonah though tarnished by betrayal. 

"Why are you here?" whispered Vanessa. 

Jonah cleared his throat as he shuffled on his feet. He moved to the opposite wall and leaned against it. He kept his gaze on the floor. "You didn't come back."

Vanessa copied his stance opposite him. "I needed a moment."

He nodded, humming softly. "How do you feel now?"

He looked up in time to see her shrug. She was quiet as she played with her fingertips. He waited. "Logically I know what to do but-"

"Your heart doesn't agree," he finished. The simple dip of her head spoke volumes. "I'm sorry." 

Her eyes collided with his sharply. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"You're being forced to play in this charade just to protect my image. I never intended for this; for you having to be around me this much."

Her frown surprised him. "I'm not upset." He stared and she dropped her head quickly, returning to pull and twist her fingers. "I'm scared."

"Of what?" he asked.