Steamed 3 (Steamed #3) (2 page)

“I doubt it Gemma, a cocaine addiction is kind of a hard
thing to hide. You would have seen signs of it by now. I think that's why he's
falling apart right now. He's not used to stuff like that.”

“I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I'm losing
him. I can't lose him Link, I just can't.”

He kissed me on the forehead, “You won't Gemma. I'm so sorry
that this is happening to you because you don't deserve it at all. You are a
sweet girl. I feel terrible that you have to go through this but you're not
alone. I'm here with you. I will help you through anything.”

I was overwhelmed by his compassion. I wasn't entirely sure
what I had expected but he responded in a way that made me feel less alone. I
guess that had been the point. My heart flooded with love for Link. I had never
expected such things from him, I had never expected things to get so serious between
us but I was so happy that they had.

“How about I try and help Jared. Maybe there is something
that I can do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well let me talk to him. Maybe I can get through to him. We
used to be buddies after all. Let's go back there right now and talk to him.”

“Oh god Link, that would mean the world to me. Thank you,” I
gushed. I couldn't believe he was willing to put himself out there. He knew
what Jared was like right now and what he thought of him and yet he was willing
to go over there and talk to him anyways. That said a lot about who Link was; I
knew it couldn't be easy for him to want to help someone that had spent weeks
trying to bad mouth him and who called him a crook at every turn. I certainly
wouldn't want to help someone that has systematically started a smear campaign
against me. That's how I knew that Link must really love me. None of it made
any sense. I didn't understand why Jared was spiraling out of control. How
could one small recipe cause this much damage?

“Okay love, let’s go and get this figured out.”

I kissed him firmly on the lips.

My heart was pounding when we arrived back at Jared's house.
I didn't know what kind of condition he would be in at that point but I knew
that he didn't want me there. He would be even less thrilled that Link was
there too. I wasn't sure what we would be walking into and it scared me.
I had to try though.
I just
had to. I couldn't leave him in that mess without first trying to get him out.
He was my brother, the closest one to me in our family and I couldn't just sit
back and watch him fall apart without doing everything in my power to stop it.

I looked over at Link in the car and smiled weakly. He
smiled back and me and squeezed my hand. “Are you ready?”

I nodded. I still had the key for the back door but I
doubted he had taken the time out of his drunkenness to go back and lock it
again. We went into the back yard and up the porch steps. Just as I had thought
the back door was unlocked.

Link and I enter Jared's home and headed straight for the
living room. Thankfully Jared was still awake and he watched us as we entered
the room. Daggers came out of his eyes as he stared at me.

“Hey Jared, I know you are going through a rough time right
now. May
be it's
because I left the rest.
I'm not sure. But surely we can work things out
like old friends. We used to be buddies and things have got way out of control,
don't you think?”

“Go fuck yourself Link.”

I gasped. “Jared, what is wrong with you? Link is here to
help you and is willing to work things out with you in a civil manner. Why are
you behaving like a fool?”

“You think because he's your boyfriend he actually cares
about me? You're just as much of a traitor as he is.”

“That's bullshit and I'm sick of you blaming everyone else
for your problems. I didn't do this,” I said as I motioned around his room.
“You have made a mockery of your business and you only have yourself to blame.
Link and I together has nothing to do with this stupid recipe.”

“He's a crook!” Jared yelled.

“Where did the recipe come from Jared? I sure as hell know
it wasn't something passed down through the generations. So, if it's yours
where did it come from?”

Link looked over at me and smiled with pride.

“Ummm...it's been around for a while Gemma...probably a few
years. I made it up myself.”

I shook my head. “You're a liar. I can't believe you are
sitting there lying to me. You need to let this vendetta go. Link's success is
not your failure. You're restaurant is its own success with or without Link
being a part of it.”

Link jumped in, “Look Jared. Let’s just forget this whole
thing. I have no intention of getting lawyers involved; just pull your teeth
out of
my business
and me
.
We can go back to the way things used to be, we
could
still be friends. Your sister loves you a lot;
nobody wants to see you like this. I don't hold grudges Jared. I just want this
thing to end between us. You need to stop beating yourself up about all this
and do the right thing. What do you say, Buddy?”

Jared looked up at us and I couldn't read his expression. I
wasn't sure if either of us was getting through to him. I thought that link's
speech had been genuine and I found it surprising how easily he was willing to
forgive Jared for me. After everything that Jared had done to him it was a
wonder that he would be willing to forgive him at all, but there he was doing
just that. He was doing anything he could to help get Jared out of that fog and
back into his old life again. I could have kissed Link for all that he was
doing, but I restrained myself.

“Get the hell out of my house, both of you.” Jared looked
straight at me, “This is now the second time I've told you. I want you to leave
and never come back.”

I turned away from him immediately and fled his house. Link
was right behind me as I ran back to his car. I was crying by the time I
reached Link's car and I flung myself inside. He came around to the driver's
side and let himself in.

“I'm sorry Gemma, you did nothing wrong. We did everything
we could. It's time to let him fend for himself for a while.”

I nodded, not saying a word.

Chapter
Four

Link drove me back home and
when he parked in front of my building he turned to me. “Gemma, I need you to
go upstairs and pack yourself a bag.”

“What
do you mean?”

“I
think you need to get away from all this for a while. You need a break from
what's going on with your brother. I would like to take you away for the
weekend to clear your head.”

“Oh god
Link, that's so generous of you but I couldn't possibly leave right now. It's
just not the right time for me. This thing with Jared, I just can't leave.”

“I'm
afraid that I'm going to have to insist. You are falling apart and this thing
with Jared is no longer in your control, you have to see that. There's nothing
that either of us can do about Jared at this point. You need a break, and to be
honest so do I. We both need a break from this whole mess.”

“Okay,
maybe you're right.”

“That's
my girl. I'm going to tie up some loose ends at the restaurant and then I will
be back to get you baby, okay?”

“Sure.”

He
kissed me goodbye and I got out of the car. I headed upstairs to get packed for
his return.

Chapter
Five

After
packing a small bag for the weekend I headed into the kitchen to open some
wine. I wasn't sure when Link would return but I needed a moment to relax. I couldn't
have been more stressed out in that moment and I could barely think straight. I
just kept picturing my brother passed out on the couch in the middle of the
day. The sight of that cocaine would haunt me forever. I didn't know what
happened to my fun-loving brother and I worried that I would never get him
back.

I
opened the bottle and poured myself a glass of wine. I took it outside onto my
balcony and sat down in a lounge chair. I took a deep breath and prayed that
Jared was going to be okay.

Sipping
the wine, I closed my eyes. How did we get to that point? It was obvious that
Jared had lied about the recipe this whole time. He had behaved in a manner
that was not only unprofessional but unethical and I felt like strangling him
for it. That wasn't how our parents raised us and I couldn't believe he had
gone and done something like that. He already had a successful restaurant so
why go through all this trouble over a recipe that wasn't even his? It was such
an unholy mess and I couldn't understand how Jared had done all this stuff to
himself. He was clearly beating himself up about the mistakes he had made, but
so what? We all make mistakes. He needed to wipe that cocaine off his table,
clean himself up and start over. It wasn't that hard to do and the fact that
Link was offering him forgiveness without retribution should have brought a
smile to Jared's face. Instead he had lashed out at us again. I was totally at
a loss as to what to do with him. Maybe Link was right; maybe there really was
nothing I could do. Jared would have to make his own decisions on where he
wanted his life to go from this moment on. He could continue spiralling or he
could pick himself up and get back to his life before his business started
failing.

I put
in a call to my brother and wasn't surprised when his voicemail kicked in
automatically. I sighed deeply and waited for the opportunity to leave a
message.

“Look
Jared, I'm just calling because I love you. You know I do, we are so close that
I can't believe these things are happening between us. I love you so very much
and I hope that you do the right thing. I miss you and I want you to come back
to me. Your restaurant needs you.”

I
clicked off the phone and sipped at my wine again. I wasn't sure if he was even
going to listen to the message but it was there just in case. It could pull him
out of this mess…you never knew.

“Hey
sweetheart.”

I
turned to find Link behind me. I smiled as I got up off the lounger.

“Hi, I
was just trying to have a moment to relax.”

“Well
you definitely deserve it.”

I
continued to sip at my wine. I was in no rush. “So where are you taking me?”

“I’ve
rented us a beach house. It's one that I have used regularly so I know it will
be perfect for us.”

“So you
mean you have taken other women there?” I said with a chuckle.

“No! I
definitely didn't mean it that way. I've had a family weekend there once and a
few of my friends and I rented it for a week to party. No ladies Gemma, I
promise. You are the first lady that I have ever taken there with me.”

I
smiled, “Okay I believe you.” He came to me and kissed me. He tasted warm and
inviting.

I
finished off my wine and Link grabbed my bag. We headed out to his car to go to
the beach house.

Chapter
Six

It took
almost two hours to get to the beach house but not before we stopped at a local
market. We needed supplies for our weekend away. Link when around the market as
if he was on a mission. He picked up ingredients for a recipe he wanted to
serve me that evening for dinner and he picked up five bottles of wine. I perused
the market as well and picked up the latest best seller from my favorite
author. There would be times when we would be relaxing on the beach and I
wanted to have something that I could drift in and out of and this book sounded
exactly like what I needed to disappear into for a while. I imagine us snuggled
up on the beach, wine in hand as I read my book and Link luxuriated in the sun.
Yes the weekend away had been a great idea. I don't know why I even tried to
fight it. Even just being out of the city right now felt great. I could forget
the mess that we had left behind even if it was just for the weekend. I was
going to let go of Jared and forget about the mess that he was in. I didn't
want to focus on it at all. It was a mess plain and simple and it wasn't even
of my own creation.

I
grabbed some snack items as well and met Link up at the register. He took care
of paying for everything; he was a true gentleman.

When we
got to the beach house, I started to settle in while Link went about cooking
his recipe. I unpacked my bag and tried to settle in with being at the beach
house. Once that was completed I went out onto the large porch that surrounded
the beach house. The air was still warm even though it was now evening. The
wind smelled salty and I breathed it in deeply. The ocean looked inviting and
the stress seemed to dissipate from my body just standing out there on the
porch.

I went
back into the house to see if Link needed any help. He was opening a bottle of
wine as I entered the kitchen. A man after my own heart. “Do you need any help
Link?”

He
looked up at me and smiled, “No, I think I have everything under control.” He
poured two glasses of wine and handed me one.