Danny stared at Jessie in disbelief. Why wouldn’t she tell him what was wrong? He didn’t understand. But Jessie couldn’t physically talk, she was choked up with fear and her throat felt as if it were closing up. It took all of the energy she had to raise her weak arm and point to her phone, purposely placed at the other side of the sofa, far away from Jessie’s fragile body.
Danny quickly grabbed the phone, he had to know what was wrong with her. 3 new text messages and 16 missed calls. All from the same phone number. Danny didn’t recognise the number but he was certain that Jessie did. And even if she didn’t know the number she must have answered the phone at least once; or she wouldn’t be choked up like this. Danny removed the calls and read the messages, he started with the most recent.
“I’m waiting for you…”
Then he read the second message, confused by the first. Who could this be?
“Jessica, you know you can’t outrun me for long. You’re mine, and you always will be, you belong to me. I suggest you answer the phone again, so that we can negotiate.”
This creature was talking to Jessie as if she were a piece of prey. But Danny was right, she had answered the phone. He prayed it had only been once because otherwise she could be so broken. Danny braced himself for the first text message, this was the first one she’d received and it must have prompted her to answer the phone.
“Baby, please answer the phone. It’s only me! I just want to chat, that’s all I’m asking for. If not, I wouldn’t be counting on that new boyfriend of yours to rescue this time. I’ll kill him and you know it. He’s dead.”
That was when it kicked in. Danny knew the culprit. Max. Jessie’s psychopathic ex-boyfriend. How dare he?! Danny pulled Jessie into a hug, he could barely speak himself.
“What did he say to you baby?” cried out Danny.
Jessie coughed and spluttered, she was trying to get her words out but her throat was so dry and hoarse from crying that it was almost impossible.
“Do you want to write it down, Jess?” asked Danny, taking her hand into his.
She just shook her head.
“He.. he.. said he’d kill you. He told me all the ways he’d do it…” started Jessie, tears around bursting out of her eyes, “He knew all this stuff about us, I don’t know how. He said next time you’d be sure to be dead. It was almost like he engineered the plane crash himself, the fact you didn’t have a seat belt,” cried out Jessie, tears pouring down her face.
Oh. My. God. Danny couldn’t think straight, his mind was spinning, he felt like he was going to pass out. Danny crushed Jessie’s phone in his hand and tossed it into the bin. He picked Jessie up and took her into his room because he didn’t want his Mum to see this when she got back. Rose would already be upset enough after visiting her dead husband’s grave.
Danny sat Jessie on the bed and stared into her eyes. She crossed her legs and started biting at her nails anxiously.
“I will do everything in my power to protect you from this man, I will keep you safe and unharmed at all times. Right now, we need to figure out what to do about him,” spoke Danny calmly, taking Jessie’s hands in his to prevent her from actually biting into her fingers.
A whirlwind of thoughts flooded through Danny’s mind. He was supposed to be in prison! How had this happened? How had he even known they would be on that flight? Impossible! They’d booked it an hour before it set off. He was messing with their heads.
“Jess, he can’t have known we would be on that flight, there wasn’t enough time to engineer that kind of destruction. The plane’s engine failed for fucks sake, he couldn’t do that!!” Danny screamed aggressively.
“Calm down Dan” whispered Jessie, it was all she could muster with tears still pouring down her face.
“He’s trying to scare you. When we’re back in London we’ll get you a restraining order and we’ll get him in prison properly this time. I promise, okay chick?” Danny smiled, he had to stay strong for his Jessie.
“Okay” she nodded. Danny had never called her ‘chick’ before, he cared for her so much and she wished she could somehow pay him back. She was forever in his debt for all of the things he did for her, even the little things like turning the light off on a bed or leaving a clean towel out for her in th morning.
“I love you Danny O’Donoghue” she said.
Danny’s face lit up. He smiled from ear to ear. Jessie had never told him she loved him first like this, she usually only said it after he had. There was something about this, that made him truly believe her and he loved her so.
“I love you too Jessica Cornish, soon to be Jessica O’Donoghue” he smiled.
Jessie just stared him blankly. Oh no. Was this too soon? He’d gone and blown it now. As always, silly Danny. Always jumping into things too fast. The one time he’d decided to hold back a bit was with Irma and even that had been the wrong decision. Not that he regretted this now, it had been fate because she’d led him to Jessie. His soulmate. He was sure of it, so why shouldn’t he propose?
“Hurry up and pop the question then” winked Jessie, she was smiling. She actually liked the idea. Although, she wasn’t sure what her mother would think.
“Babe, can we keep quiet about Max to my Mam? We’re going home tomorrow, so not too long,” asked Danny.
Jessica shuddered at the mention of his name. Max. It sent shivers down her spine, sent her on edge, her body shook. He was one of the only things which frightened her to her very core. She hated him for it.
“Yes” was all she could muster to answer. She pulled a weak smile but it wasn’t convincing anybody.
“Oh baby” said Danny, he felt scared for Jessie. He felt every emotion which she felt.
He pulled her into a hug and promised never to let her go. He vowed he would protect her until she needed protecting anymore. He could smell her strawberry shampoo and her soft cheek brushed against his bristly skin from his stubble. She was so gentle and elegant compared to him, she was perfect. They lay there for an hour, maybe two before Rose arrived home. By this time, Jessie had calmed down and she was ready to appear better but still slightly ill.
Danny walked downstairs to greet his mother, she looked mentally and emotionally drained. It was getting dark outside. Danny looked into her eyes and saw the pain she had relived from the death of her husband. He took her hand in his
“I’ll cook” he smiled.
“Are you sure that’s safe?” called Jessie from the top of the stairs. This caused the three of them to burst into fits of laughter, it wasn’t that funny but it had been a tough day for them all and it was a nice feeling to let go. Danny loved Jessie’s light hearted sense of humour, she could make an entire room light up if she so wished in so many different ways. He grinned up at her.
“I better stick to pasta” he laughed.
“You might even manage to somehow burn that” bounced back Jessie.
Danny smirked to himself and made his way to the kitchen. He cooked up tomato pasta and microwaved a garlic bread. It was nothing special, but it was the thought that counted. Rose knew Danny had a tough day and it was lovely to see him making such an effort. The three sat down to eat together, none of them spoke but one another’s company was enough to keep them happy.
Later that night, they settled down to watch television. There were a few films on, Danny flicked until he found ‘Homeward Bound’ one of his favourites as a child. There were some horror films which normally he would have preferred to watch but he wanted to keep Jessie and his mother calm.
Rose retired to bed halfway through the film, complaining of a long day looking after Danny. She laughed and kissed him on the cheek goodnight and returning to her bedroom. Jessie curled up into Danny’s arms and settled her head against his chest. She’s also had a long day, but she could see how much Danny still loved this film –even though he denied it- so she let him watch until the end.
Although Jessie had been planning on staying awake, she didn’t manage it and had already drifted asleep on Danny’s chest just like the previous night. Danny picked her up in his arms and carried her to bed. He’d done this so many times before that it felt like routine. He gently tucked Jessie into bed and kissed her goodnight.
“I love you beautiful” he whispered.
Within minutes Danny was asleep too. He dreamt of Max trying to harm his Jessie but he fought him of. Danny would make Max pay. He was sure of it.