Abandoned but Not Alone (19 page)

“
Jason, look who I found, your brother. I
’
m sorry; I didn
’
t think to ask your names
…”
  Aviva trailed off as she glanced at the men standing together,
a look of stunned surprise on their faces. Looking back at Jason she realized
he too had the identical look of surprise on his face. Aviva had no idea why
they all remained so silent and still. Something was going on
–
something felt very wrong. A tension
surrounded the three men, mounting moment by moment. She didn
’
t understand what it meant. There it was
again, that nagging thought, something she should remember, but she couldn
’
t think, the tension emanating from the
men pulling her in, muddling her thoughts.

Jason was
the first to recover, grabbing hold of Aviva
’
s arm, pulling her towards him as though frightened the
strangers might snatch her away.

“
Who the hell are you people?
”
Jason rumbled his voice as low as Aviva
had ever heard it, menace written all over his face.

At exactly
the same moment, Jason
’
s lookalike
asked the same question.
“
Who are
you?
”

“
Don
’
t do that
”
Jason said
to his double,
“
don
’
t answer my question with a question, I
don
’
t like it. So I
’
ll repeat, who the hell are you people?
”
By now Jason, if it were possible,
looked even more menacing than he had moments before.

“
You need to calm down buddy and, for the
record, you don
’
t get to
give me orders, you got that?
”
Jason
’
s lookalike said taking a long step
forward.

The brother
with the black hair chose that moment to step in between Jason and his
lookalike who were both leaning towards each other.
“
You both need to calm down, you
’
re causing a scene, people are beginning to look at us, not to
mention you
’
re both
scaring the little lady.
”

As if just
recalling her presence, Jason turned and looked down at a confused Aviva
standing by his side.
“
I
’
m sorry Angel, it
’
s okay, these men were just leaving,
”
he said pointedly.

“
The hell we are, I want some answers!
”
The lookalike rumbled through clenched
teeth.

“
For the record, you don
’
t get to give me orders, sound familiar,
well right back at ya,
buddy
.
”
Jason
taunted.

Aviva had
had enough; this ping pong of verbal taunts was inane, and she wouldn't let it
continue. She also felt the need to attempt to rectify the situation after all
she had been the one to invite the men over to their table, albeit with no idea
that that they were strangers. The thought that had been nagging at her mind
finally come to the fore while the men threw barbs at each other. Steve had
told her that Jason had been brought up in foster care until he came to live
with him and his parents
–
he had no
living relatives. Yet standing before her was obviously his twin brother and a
younger sibling.

The blonde
giants had reached an impasse, neither of them appeared willing to back down,
neither of them listening to the dark haired giant. Well she was going to make
them listen to her, all five-feet-four of her.
“
All of you sit down, at once!
”
Three pairs of black eyes widened in identical stares of
astonishment.
“
Yes I
’
m talking to all of you. I want you to
stop embarrassing yourselves and me. Now sit down! Do it now! Anyone would
think you were children throwing a tantrum. I
’
m here to tell you, tantrums coming from your over grown asses,
and take my word for this, is definitely not a good look. Therefore, I suggest
we all take a seat and discuss this situation as the adults your size suggests
you all to be.
”

The dark
haired brother snapped a salute, flashing a cheeky smile. Oh Lord, she thought,
this one
’
s got dimples too. She
couldn
’
t help it, she
blushed. Noticing their byplay and her reaction, Jason stepped in front of
Aviva severing their eye contact.

“
So, who the hell are you supposed to be,
Casanova? Back the hell off before I do it for you,
”
he threatened, not liking that Aviva had fluttered her
eyelashes and he would bet good money she was blushing. The tension in his
shoulder raised another notch; he was on the verge of losing it. The younger
man must have recognized Jason was close to the edge and took up a defensive
stance. Just as an almost uncontrollable urge to throw a punch overtook him,
Jason felt a gentle hand rubbing over his back. Closing his eyes, he took a few
deep breaths, in through his nose, out through his mouth. When he reopened his
eyes the man who looked so much like him was standing at his brothers
’
side, a united front. Aviva took hold of
Jason
’
s hand; her silent
show of support, his united front.

Drawing in another
breath, Jason turned back to the table and held out a chair for Aviva to be
seated while the brothers removed chairs from an empty table and placed them
opposite them. Once seated, the men who moments before had had so much to say
all fell silent, sizing each other up. Aviva shook her head and rolled her eyes
in exasperation at their continued stand-off.

Deciding
she would have to be the one to break the silence she said the first thing that
came into her mind.
“
Well this
is so much more civilized, don
’
t you
think?
”
, her British accent
evident, a tell-tale sign of her nervousness. At her comment and the sound of
her accent the brothers looked over at her, leaving off eyeballing Jason for a
moment. Jason didn
’
t bother,
he had heard it before, he just continued to throw daggers of hostility at the
other men seated at the table.

“
Jason, why don
’
t you signal the waiter so we can all order something to drink
while we talk?
”

“
They can get their own damn drinks.
”
Jason responded, eyes cold with dislike.
Aviva couldn
’
t believe
his rudeness, so she kicked him under the cover of the table.

“
What was that for
–
what did I do?
”
Jason inquired, belligerent at her attack on his shin. Ignoring
him, she crossed her hands on top of the table, verbally reiterating her thoughts
about the need for everyone to have a drink, not because she wanted to, but
because the stubborn men refused to utter a single word, engrossed as they were
in their stand-off of suspicion.

“
Would you both like a drink, I know I
would, I
’
m parched.
”
Silence.
“
Is it warm in here or is it just me?
”

“
It
’
s just you.
”
Jason
responded without moving his eyes in her direction. Aviva huffed but remained
silent.

The dark
haired one signaled for a waiter, before turning back to Aviva with a twinkle
in his eyes. 
“
What would
you like to drink, Dear One?
”
Jason
’
s lookalike dropped his head into his
palms while the real Jason
’
s muscles
bunched as his arm shot out to grab hold of the dark haired brother. He never
made contact, Aviva gripped his extended arm, the force of his movement
slightly lifting her from her seat while pulling him back with all her might.
She didn
’
t try to fool herself,
she wasn
’
t strong enough to
stop him if he had really wanted to make contact, rather he stopped because he
didn
’
t want to hurt her.

“
Seriously man you need to relax, that
’
s some temper you got there.
”
The dark haired brother drawled, shaking
his head as though concerned for Jason
’
s well-being.

“
Will you shut the hell up you provoking
little turd.
”

“
Who the hell are you calling provoking
”

Aviva
laughed at the dark haired brother
’
s antics
and he gave her a wink to go along with his conspiratorial smile. Jason
stiffened at the wink but made no further attempt to go for him. The waiter
arrived and they placed their order for a round of drinks: Aviva ordered a
glass of white wine and a glass of water, Jason ordered a whiskey as did the
other men. When the waiter departed to fill their order, the dark haired
brother held out his hand to Aviva and introduced himself.

“
My name is Joshua Kingdom and this is my
brother Jacob. We already know your first name and a very pretty name it is
too, it is only surpassed by your beauty.
”
Jason and Jacob rolled their eyes at Joshua
’
s flattery. Seeing their reaction from
the corner of her eyes, Aviva feigned mock insult.
“
What, you both don
’
t agree
that my name is only surpassed by that of my beauty?
”
Looking back and forth between them, she was confronted by a
pair of singular raised eyebrows. Fascinated, she blurted out,
“
Jason, did you see that, he does the
exact same thing you do with your eyebrow.
”
Jason had seen but remained obstinately silent. Forced to push
the conversation forward, she once again took matters into her own hands in
order to complete the introductions.
“
My full
name is Aviva Johnson and this is Jason King.
”
The similarities of their first and last names not lost on any
of them.

“
Jason, our father is staying at the
Kingdom hotel just down the road, would you like to come and meet him.
”
Joshua
’
s questions carried with it a hopeful look on his face. Jason
pushed back his chair so fast it flew a good foot before coming to a stop.
“
I have to get out of here.
”
Without a backward glance he walked
rapidly past the waiter who was returning with their drinks without sparing him
a second glance. As soon as Jason had pushed back his chair, Jacob and Joshua
rose to their feet, watching him and then his departure. Unable to comprehend
what had been said to so rile him, it took a few more moments for Aviva to
process his rapid departure.

“
God, I never meant for that to happen. It
wasn
’
t my intention to hurt
him.
”
Joshua whispered, the
sparkle leaving his dark eyes.

“
I know little brother, it
’
s not your fault, it was just too much
information all at once. Not only was he presented with a twin brother, a pain
in the butt younger brother, but a father as well. If it were me, I
’
d be reeling too.
”

Pushing
back her chair, Aviva hurried after Jason. She knew he was confused,
disconcerted and probably hurting by the discovery of so much family when he
had spent his entire life thinking he had no blood relatives. Bursting through
the main door of the restaurant she looked up and down the street, desperately
searching for a sight of him.

At Aviva
’
s hurried departure Jacob took out his
wallet, withdrew a crisp hundred dollar note, and threw it on the table to
follow behind his already departing brother. He opened the door that led
outside to find his brother holding a crying Aviva in his arms.

“
Let me go Joshua, I have to find him, he
needs me, I have to find him!
”

“
We don
’
t know where he
’
s gone. You
say you didn
’
t drive to
the restaurant so he could be anywhere right now.
”