j*a*d*e*s 5 - different seasons
j*a*d*e*s – wake up lil suzie
Beep! Beep! Chris Wheaton reluctantly came awake from his peaceful and deep slumber. His hand shot out to the night stand on the left side of the bed, but he came up empty handed. The alarm clock kept right on ringing in his ears, stopping him from going back to sleep.
He moaned and pulled his pillow over his head, maybe he was dreaming and it would go away soon. He waited a full sixty seconds, until he could stand the sound no more, and let out a bellow to his sister, who's room was adjacent to his by a connecting doorway.
"Jo would you turn it off already?!" When no reply came and the alarm did not cease its endless ringing he got up and out of bed. He grumbled loudly in his deep voice. He went over to the door that connected the two bedrooms.
It was, much to his dismay, locked from Jo's side of the room. He growled in contempt, he didn't believe in locks on bed room doors.
It was going to take some getting use to, having a sister who relished her privacy, who loved it, and made sure everyone else left her alone when she wanted to be left alone.
Locking the door was one thing, leaving the blasted alarm ringing was another all together. He quickly made his way to the hallway; tripping over the sleeping cat on his way to Jo's other door. Spirit the cat gave him an unfriendly look, and then went on his way, but not before giving Chris a good swipe for waking him up. Chris stuck his tongue out at the cat, reaching down and rubbing his leg where the cat had gotten him, thankful that he was de-clawed.
Chris pushed the door open and swiftly found the alarm clock and turned it off; he closed his eyes, happy that the noise was finally gone. He briefly contemplated throwing it out the window, but he thought better of it, not wanting to see what kind of reaction Jo would have. His sister had a volatile temper.
Chris stood in the middle of the room and looked around in utter dismay; his sister's room was cluttered and messy. The complete opposite of his room, which was neat and orderly. He knew in his heart that they were twins, but they were such opposites of one another in certain ways that is scared him, making him wonder if one of them had been switched at birth.
Her bed hadn't been slept in, it was the only thing that she ever kept orderly, and every morning she made the bed. Something that he found very amusing since the rest of the room looked horrible. He took a deep breath and rubbed his chin, he needed a shave, he thought to himself.
He'd been there for over two weeks and they had yet to spend any real time together. He was beginning to realize that his sister was always busy either with her friends, or with one thing or another. She was never around, and when she was, she was writing, or doing something else. Yet there was always food in the fridge and home cooked meals.
Something else that he had learned was that she could cook, and she was good at it, she was good at everything that she tried. Another trait of her's that frustrated him to no end. Everyone had always assumed that Kate always left food or came over to cook. They were wrong Jo actually did most of the cooking in the house. It was true that Kate did leave dishes once in a while, when she saw that Jo was to busy with something else for cooking to garner her attention for long enough to cook a meal.
He now understood why their father had allowed her to get her license at such a young age. It was that, or he would have had too hire a full time driver for her. Even then whoever was driving her around would be on call twenty four/seven.
He and his father had gone car shopping earlier during the week Chris was leaning toward a sports utility vehicle. He knew that he and Jo could never share a car, so his father had suggested that a day of car shopping was in order. His father had told him that he could choose whatever he wanted money didn't seem to be an object. Chris was holding off for a week or two, making sure it was the one he wanted. It was odd having a father who bought you things on a whim. He'd learned that his father had also made a rather substantial investment in land once, and he had slowly sold it off, giving him a large nest egg to play with.
He had stayed in California after his father's engagement party two weeks earlier. He had finally gotten to spend some time with him also. It had been awkward at first, but they soon realized that they had a lot in common. They'd had a really good time Chris was also getting to know his soon to be step-mother. She had been in Jo's life since she'd been six, so to her this marriage was not too much of an adjustment, just that Kate would move back into the house. Jo was just moaning about having so many people living in the house all the time. He, on the other hand, had just met the woman. To his surprise and to this father's delight, they had gotten along quite well. She wasn't a real mother figure, since she was a few years younger than his father. She was smart and funny, and she always saw both sides of an issue, a real lawyer in the making. With her psychology back ground she was also a wonderful sounding board when you happened to need one.
Jo on the other hand, had been spending time with her boyfriend, Wesley Cyr. He was in the progress of moving to California to attend the local college. He was also one of Chris's best friends from Maine. At first that had taken some getting used to, but it was all right now. His new sister and his best friend were going out, an adjustment that had come slowly. They seemed like and old married couple together, sometimes Wes didn't even have to say something and Jo knew just what he was going to say.
Lately though, things had been different with Jo, and he had yet to figure out what it was. Wesley had gone back home to Maine three days before to do some last minute things then he was back to attend college here in California. Wes too had noticed a subtle change in Jo over the last week.
Chris went back and lay down on his bed, and thought about his sister and her overly complicated life.
He missed his simple life in Maine, but he wouldn't give her or his father up, not in this life time. His mom had agreed to let him finish out his senior year in California, she had taken an assignment in Michigan and thought the time with his father and sister would do him some good.
Jo had not volunteered to go live with their mother. As a kind of trade, and he was hoping that the wall between the two of them would come down soon. It didn't seem very likely, but he could always hope.
He'd seen Jo's strong side, it was her only side really, and no one told her what to do. His mother had pushed her too far, and Jo wasn't going to let her do it again. They were getting along better, but not what most mothers and daughters had. They were different and alike all in the same breath. He wasn't sure that Jo would ever call her mom, but at least she was trying, they were more civil now. They'd even had a meal together with out one of them sniping at one another, though both of them had bit their tongues more than once.
His sister had been acting strangely since the party at Uncle Jon's not long ago. She and Amy, one of Jo's close friends, Amy knew Jo better than any of them did, both of them were sneaking glances every time the party was mentioned.
He hoped that it wasn't anything crazy like the last time those two were up to something. He was not use to the fast pace that his sister kept, and some of the choices that she made. He didn't plan on getting them used to it either.
He rolled over and got out of bed finally. No use trying to get back to sleep, once he was awake, he was up for the rest of the morning.
He was wondering where she was this morning, she hadn't slept here, and he knew that she was used to having the run of the house, but she could have at least called.
He walked into the tidy kitchen and was going through the cereal when the phone rang.
"Now what?" He sighed, wanting some peace and quiet this morning, and not getting any at all. Chris picked up the receiver on the fourth ring and said,
"Good morning, Wheaton residence."
"Well good morning to you too. I thought I was going to get that god awful Igor that Jo has hooked up to the phone line. You're up early this morning, aren't you?" His father Sean asked,
"Yes I am. Jo's alarm woke me up about half an hour ago." Chris answered as he pulled a bowl from the cabinet.
"It's not like her to leave it ring to long. Is she feeling all right?" She asked his son, he was tired and had yet to sleep. Hearing that his daughter might be sick was not going to make things easier on him.
He and Kate had been out most of the night and had yet to sleep. He felt like a teenager that was out all night. It was rather exhilarating being able to not worry about anything but himself for even just one night.
"If she would have been here to turn it off it would have been nice. Then I would have slept until at least ten or so, maybe even later. But she wasn't here. The mustang's not in the driveway either."
"Where is she, do you know? Have any ideas?" The whims of his daughter did worry him as of late.
"That's what I'd like to know, but I don't. She didn't sleep here last night. I don't remember her mentioning she was staying anywhere else. Then again she's use to not having to tell anyone anything. She may have forgotten to mention it." Chris said to her father.
"Did you call the girls?" Sean asked, his voice was laced with concern for his daughter.
"I didn't want to wake anyone, so I was going to call later. She's probably bucked down somewhere. I know she saw Uncle Jon yesterday, they were talking about buying some club?"
"Yeah, they ran it by me the other day; I think they did buy it. One way or the other, if she wants it she's going to get it. It could be a good distraction for Jon, he needs a good distraction. Look, I've got to go, if you haven't heard from her by supper, call me."
"Sure dad, take care. Don't worry about Jo; tell Kate that I said Hi." With that Chris hung up the phone and shook his head, this was one active family.
He sat at the kitchen table with his first bowl of cereal and thought of how he would have liked to have awake with Darci in his arms. Her mother was being very difficult about their relationship lately. She wasn't even allowed to sleep over unless all of the girls were there, and even then it was a fight. Emma usually had to charm her into it. He thanked god for Emma's charm with mothers, or he thought Darci would have blown up at her mother by now.
What bugged him even more was that they had been ultra careful all the time. She'd been with other guys, and he'd been with other girls. Her mom was blowing it out of proportion for some unknown reason. He didn't want any kids right now, neither did Darci. A few years down the road maybe but not right now, that was out of the question. First college then marriage and then the kids in that order, if it was going to happen at all.
He got up from the table and retrieved the paper from the front porch, it was sunny and warm already. He loved the weather here; the pool would be warm enough to dive into soon.
He went back inside and sat back and pulled out the sports page and began to read. He could not believe that his sister subscribed to the paper, but she did. She even read it, front page to back page, he just read the sports section. Things she did surprised him everyday.
He was pouring himself a glass of orange juice when Jo walked through the front door. Her short blonde hair was windblown, like she had the top down and looked to be in a bad mood. Her usual smile didn't pop up when she walked in and saw him there. Her eyes were filled with turmoil, dark and stormy.
"Well good morning my gracious hostess. I got up to your alarm clock this morning; it was ringing in my ears. Where were you this morning?"
"I'm sorry about that; I must have forgotten to turn it off. I had to pick up the Mustang this morning, the car needed some service. So is Darci here?" Chris made a face, she hadn't really answered his question, she had a way of doing that, and he hated it. It must have been something she was used to doing; she was so good at it.
"No, she's not here, you should know better than to ask me that. So where were you last night? Wesley is up home in Maine, so I know you weren't shacked up at his place last night. So exactly where did you bunk down last night?" Chris asked as he took a long drink from his glass of orange juice.
"I, eh, slept at Amy's last night. She had to get up to go to work early and I had to go get the car. So she drove me over there this morning." With that said she headed for the stairs, not elaborating on the bomb that Chris thought she'd just dropped.
"I'm going to take a quick shower, doing anything Sunday? We can do something if you want, go ride some four wheeler?" As she walked past him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward him. Her met her gaze and she lifted one eyebrow as a challenge.
"Jo, since when do you wear perfume?" Chris asked, his voice laden with suspicions. Jo clenched her teeth and pulled her arm from his grasp; she said nothing for a moment then climbed the stairs.
As an after thought she said to him, "I don't."
Chris put down his glass and shook his head he quickly climbed the stairs up after her. He was expecting the worst, and had every right to do so. He'd seen her and Amy together lately, and has seen the blow up they'd had also. With Jo and the rest of the girls of J*A*D*E, you expected the unexpected, then if you were smart, you expected something completely different, at least that was what Jo had once told him.
Even then, nothing was safe. It was a phrase that Jo'd muttered often enough, and it was very apt when dealing with these girls.
"Oh, Jo please tell me that you didn't do anything crazy? That I'm so out of line that I'm in a whole other state or something? You and Amy haven't jumped back on this sexual merry go round that the two of you seem so fond of riding whenever you get the chance." He stopped in front and watched as she went through her drawers and closet.
She came up with some dressy clothes, dressy for Jo that was. Dark jeans, a white shirt and a vest in a dark purple it was very unlike Jo to dress like that, he wondered what was really going on.
He shook his head; he didn't want this to start all over again. He didn't want Wesley hurt, or his sister either for that matter. Whatever it was between Jo and Amy it was something that seemed to transcend reason sometimes.
"What are you staring at?" Chris?" She asked as he stood there, blocking her path to the bathroom. She didn't want to have this discussion with him. Today had already been a bad day as it was. It was not going to get any better, it was going to get worse, and she didn't relish the thought of it.
"You didn't did you?" That's Amy's perfume, isn't it? Jo for the love of god, would you think about things before you jump in feet first. You just do it, you'd be the perfect spokesman for Nike, and you do know that?" Jo rolled her eyes, and turned her computer on, as he stood there and ranted about it. Her little brother had a way of blowing things out of proportion, then going on and on about them.
"Are you trying to ask me something more specific little brother?" She said, being a little more flipidly and sarcastic than usual.
She had spent the better part of the morning in doctor's offices and was heading over to another one, for a second opinion. She already knew what they were going to say, she just didn't like it. She had been looking for a way of breaking it off with Wes, and this was it, but she hated to do it. Being noble was one thing, hurting someone you loved was another.
"Jo, Wes is not going to stick around if you cheat on him. Particularly with another girl and if that girl is Amy it makes it ever worse you know. You know the only reason he over looked the first time was that it happened before you and him were even together. You can't keep doing this to yourself or to him, or to Amy, it's just not fair. What about Amy and Adrian? Ever think about that?" He asked as he stood with his arms crossed in her doorway.
"Since when are you my keeper? Did I ask you for your advice on my love life? No, I didn't. First of all, it is none of your business what I do, and who I do it with. I have lived on my own for a while now, and under the circumstances, I did an okay job of it. Second of all, I'm going to tell you anyway. I didn't do anything with Amy last night, or any other night since I've been with Wes." Chris gave her a look of utter disbelief.
"What about the perfume? You don't wear any, you said so yourself." Jo took a deep breath, not much of a detective this one, she thought to herself.
"I did sleep in her room last night, the spare room has wedding presents and clothes all over the place. So I bunked down in her room. She must have sprayed some on herself and it got on me, or my shirt. Calm down for once in your life, take it easy. You'd never make a very good detective you jump to conclusions pretty quickly." She moved to go to the bathroom, but Chris still stood in her way.
"Does Wes really know what happened between the two of you?" He asked quietly, hoping she didn't belt him a good on for having the audacity for asking.
Jo stepped back and leaned up against the desk and responded in an equally quiet voice.
"Yeah he does, you're pushing the sibling boundaries now, just thought I'd let you know that. He knew everything, every little detail before anyone else knew. Except for me and Amy that is. Amy and I didn't do anything, let it go, please?" Jo pleaded with him, she was too emotional this morning to do this, to justify herself to him.
"Okay, I'm worried about you is all. Plus we are having everyone over tonight. Plenty to eat, and to drink, I want to have some fun, and not to get out of hand. Weird things happen when you girls drink together, and I want a quiet evening, kind of quiet anyway. Then we have that thing for the Frat that Wes wants to pledge. I want things loose, we start school soon, and I want to enjoy the short weeks that we have left. No surprises."
"Adrian is coming you know, so that should put your mind at ease. I'm going to take a shower now. I have to be somewhere in a little while." He stood back and let her pass. Hoping that she wasn't lying and there would really be no more surprises.
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