Jena Parker Returns

CHAPTER ONE

N o! Jake screams. Two bullets hit him, one in the chest and the other in the head. Stop, Jena! It wasn’t me! She hears Jakes voice echo in her head as she tosses and turns.

Wake up, Jena. Jake shakes her. Wake up. You’re dreaming. Jake pushes Jena. She opens her eyes.

Jake? Jena stares at Jake in disbelief that he is still alive. She’s breathing hard. Oh, Jake. Jena looks around the room. The gun she used to kill Mr. McNeil is on the table next to her. She looks back at Jake, and then she gets out of the bed slowly. You’re alive, but …

Jake removes the covers. Yes, you killed Mr. McNeil … and possibly a few other people.

Jena shakes her head. My mom? she asks.

She’s dead, Jena, Jake replies.

Tears run down Jena’s face. No! God no! Jena looks at the bed, blankets, and sheets. Did we? she asks.

Yes, we made love last night and, Jena, it was perfect.

Jena sits on the bed. I killed you last night, Jake. She looks back at Jake.

You were dreaming, Jena, Jake says. Jake touches her on the shoulder. He tries to hug her.

No! Stop! Get away from me, Jena screams.

What’s wrong, Jena? Jake asks.

What’s wrong? I’m a damn killer, Jake. I killed my— Jena stops. I killed my mother … Why would I do that?

Jake rubs his hands through his hair. I don’t know, Jena, and I don’t care. I love you.

Oh, you love a killer? A person who could kill her own … mother.

Jena begins to remember her father’s horrible death. She gets angry and remembers why she killed Mr. McNeil. He deserved every bullet he got, she thinks.

Jake walks over to Jena’s side of the bed. He sits down next to her. Jena, I don’t have all the answers, Jake says. I don’t know what happened to make you do the things you did. What I do know is that I love you and I’ll do anything for you. Jake kisses Jena on the cheek and then tries to kiss her on the lips.

Don’t! Jena gets up from the bed. I have to go, she says quietly.

Go where? Jake asks.

I don’t know, Jake, just away from you. From this place. Jena picks up the gun.

Jake stands up. Jena, please put the gun down.

She points the gun at Jake. You don’t know who I am, Jake. Who I’ve become. Jena has both index fingers on the gun’s trigger. Jake steps toward her. Stop! Don’t move, Jake, she says.

Jena, you don’t want to do this, Jake pleads.

Really? I don’t? You don’t know what I want or what I care about. Jena walks closer to Jake. She puts the gun to his head.

Jena, I love you, Jake says.

Love. Me. You love me. I don’t think you do. I think you’ve been obsessed with me since we were kids. I think you’ve wanted to have sex with me, but you don’t love me. How could you love someone who has killed her own mother and is capable of killing you? No, you don’t love me … and that’s why you have die.

"Jena, no!"

Yes, Jake, with everything that’s happened, you have to die. I can’t have you constantly reminding me of the things that I’m not proud of.

Jena, please. Don’t, Jena, please— Jena fires two shots into Jake’s head. He falls backward to the bed.

Jena suddenly wakes from her dream. Jake is lying next to her, still asleep. She pulls the covers back and realizes that they are both naked. She looks around the room, fearing that this moment is also a dream. The blowing wind from the hotel room window convinces her that this moment is real. The gun that killed Mr. McNeil is still on the table next to her bed. She slowly gets up and dresses, staring at Jake the entire time. She grabs the gun from the table and places it in her bag and then slips on her shoes and coat. The wind blows her hair from side to side. She reaches back into the bag for the gun and points it at Jake. With the wind still whipping at her hair, she stands firm and continues to point the gun at Jake. Exhausted from the night before, Jake doesn’t stir. Jena puts the gun down.

Jena remembers spotting Mr. McNeil at the dance club. She remembers how she flirted with him in the cab and in the hotel room—and how she killed him just before Jake rushed into the room. The look on his face. The look of love and fear.

Jena puts the gun back into her bag. She backs away, slowly opens the hotel room door, walks out, and gently closes the door. A couple is kissing in the hotel hallway as Jena passes. The girl stops and stares at Jena as she walks past. Jena gives her an evil look. She stops.

Is there something wrong? Jena asks. The couple just stares at Jena, and then the girl shakes her head.

Get out of here, the guy says to Jena.

Jena pulls out her gun. You talking to me? Jena points the gun in the guy’s face. I don’t think you’re talking to me.

No, I wasn’t talking to you, the man says. I was talking to myself.

Jena looks at the girl. Are you scared? Jena asks. The girl looks at the man, afraid to speak. I asked are you scared? Jena raises her voice. The girl nods her head. What’s your name?

Candy, she reply.

Candy, Jena says. Your name is Candy?

Yes.

Well, Candy, get the hell out of here. Jena points the gun at Candy and pushes her. Candy runs down the hall. Jena points the gun at the man. What’s your name?

My name is Paul.

Paul … Well, Paul, today is your unlucky day. Jena fires a shot at Paul’s left leg. Paul falls to the floor. People begin peeking out of their hotel rooms. Jake opens the door. Jena sees him and runs.

Jena! Jena come back! Jake yells and tries to run behind her, but Jena is gone. Jake goes back to help Paul.

Candy is standing over Paul. Don’t help him, she says. He’s an asshole. Candy kicks Paul.

Well, talk about kicking a person when they’re down, Janice, one of the guests, says.

Jake rushes back to the hotel room. I have to find Jena, he thinks. He frantically gets dressed, quickly grabs his things, and leaves the room. Jena, my love, I know you’re confused and I know you’re not yourself, but I will find you. Jake stops. I will find you.

Jake rushes out to the New York streets and screams Jena’s name. Jena! He cries out. Jena! Where are you? People pass Jake by and stare, but he doesn’t care. He is desperate and willing to do or say anything to be with Jena again.

*     *     *

Jake searches for Jena for days, but there is no sign of her anywhere. He passes a police station and stops, but he realizes he can’t report Jena as a missing person because of the murders she has committed. He doesn’t know what to do. Just then he looks up and notices a flashing sign advertising a psychic palm reader. Jake contemplates his options as the flashing lights blink back and forth. He finally walks in the door.

A lady with a wrinkled face and a scarf wrapped around her head is sitting at a table. She looks at Jake, glaring at him with her dark eyes. My name is Jaslin. How can I help you? Jake just stands there and doesn’t say a word. As if she could sense Jake’s desperation, Jaslin stands up and gestures to Jake with one of her arms. Please, have a seat. Jake sits down in the chair.

The two of them sit and stare at one another for at least a minute. I know why you’re here, Jaslin says. Jake looks away to avoid Jaslin’s eyes. Please look at me, she says. Look at me and know the truth, she continues. Know the truth about the one you love. Jake’s eyes widen. That’s what you seek? she asks quietly. You seek the one you love … and the one you fear. Jake doesn’t speak. Your lips don’t move, but your eyes, Jaslin glares at Jake, yes, your eyes tell me all the truth I need to know. You want to know where she is, don’t you? Jake shakes his head. You want to know if she is, Jaslin pauses, bad? Jake swallows. I must tell the truth, Jaslin says. You may not be satisfied, but the truth is all I know and is all I will tell anyone. The truth in itself can be a lie. A lie and the truth can be one in the same. She is good, and she is bad. She is a woman scorned and a woman who has no path. The pain in her is deep … too deep for you to reach. She is falling—falling slowly. Just like a bird flying through the sky, she is free.

Will I find her? Jake asks.

Yes, Jaslin answers. You will find what you want to find, but it may not be real.

Jake stands up. Oh, come on. You haven’t told me anything, he shouts. Just a bunch of nonsense. He slams his fist on the table. Where is she?

Jaslin stands. I’ve told you a lot, but you are not open to listening. She is here.

Jake looks around the room. Here? Where?

Wherever you are, Jake, that’s where she is.

How did you know my … Jake pauses.

Jaslin continues. Wherever you are, Jake, she is with you. You will always be able to find her. Find your Jena.

Jake is shocked. He reaches in his pocket.

Don’t, Jaslin says. I don’t want your money. You will pay a price, but it will not be here.

Jake stands with his head down for a moment. I don’t know what price I have to pay. I love her, he says. Love has no price.

Everything has a price, Jaslin says.

Jake rushes out of the building. He walks down the deserted street. I will find her, he thinks to himself. I will find you, Jena.

CHAPTER TWO

J ena sits on the city bus with her bag in her lap. She stares out the bus window and flashes back to a memory from when she was five years old.

So, Daddy, what kind of animal is that? Jena asks her father.

Oh, Jena, this isn’t an animal. This is just a ladybug. Mr. Parker picks up the bug and hands it to Jena. "Here—see, it won’t harm you," he says.

Jena slowly reaches for the ladybug. Are you sure, Daddy? Jena asks. Mr. Parker smiles at her and nods his head. Jena holds the ladybug gently in her hands. She grins at her father. It’s just a little old tiny bug looking for a friend. I’m holding it, Daddy, Jena says. I’m holding it! The young Jena smiles at her father. I love it, Daddy. It doesn’t want to harm anyone. It’s just a little old bug. Suddenly she’s back on the bus.

Do you mind if I sit here? Jena looks up and discovers an old lady with a cane staring at her. Jena shakes her head then turns back to stare out the bus window.

My name is Joan, the old lady says. What’s yours?

Jena turns to her. Jena, she says.

Jena, Joan says. I like the name Jena. It sounds so sweet. Jena turns away. I bet your mother was just beside herself trying to come up with a name for you, Joan continues. I remember when my daughter was first born. I didn’t quite know what to name her, but as soon as looked into those big baby-blue eyes I knew. I knew she had to be called Lucille. You know, like Lucille Ball? Jena continued to stare out the window. Joan got quiet. I lost Lucille about six years ago. Jena turns back to look at Joan, whose eyes begin to well up with tears. Yeah, she left me. Here. She was such a nice young lady, although she wasn’t really young at all. She was sixty-five.

The bus stops, and Jena stands up to get off. So this is your stop? Joan asks. Jena stares at her. You don’t say much, do you? Joan asks.

No, Jena replies, and then she walks down the aisle of the bus and steps off. Joan stares out the bus window as Jena walks away. Just as the bus is getting ready to leave, Jena turns around and looks back at Joan. She walks up to the bus window so Joan can read her lips. Jena whispers, Lucille is better off. Joan moves back from the window with a surprised look on her face while the bus pulls away.

*     *     *

Papers! Anyone need a paper? How about you, ma’am—would you like a paper today? Jena walks past without saying a word. Scott, the paper guy, gets upset. Oh, what does a guy have to do these days to get someone to buy a paper? he yells.

Jena stops, turns around, and walks back toward Scott. Shut up! she yells. Scott looks shocked. Do you think that anyone wants to buy your pathetic paper? Jena asks. Why would anyone want to read this paper? It’s depressing and loaded with columns of bad news and poor advertising. Someone’s always trying to sell you something—someone like you.

Look, lady— Scott tries to speak.

I said shut up! Jena says.

Scott stares at the coldness in Jena’s eyes. He quickly packs up his newspapers. I’ll just find me another corner, Scott says.

Yeah, you do that, Jena says. Scott hurries up and leaves.

Jena reaches in her bag for a piece of paper with an address on it. This is it, she thinks. In front of her is a cathedral church. Jena stands in front of the building and stares for a moment. She begins walking up the long steps of the church. Statues of angels and godly figures surround the church entrance. When Jena walks inside, she sees it is full of beautiful paintings of Christ, angels, and other holy figures. There is a red carpet leading up to the altar. Two altar boys stand at the front entrance.

May we help you? they both say simultaneously.

Jena shifts her gaze back and forth between the two boys and realizes they are twins. Yes, she says, I’d like to see the priest. I’d like to attend confession.

One of the altar boys turns. Follow me, and I will take you to him. He walks slowly in front of Jena; Jena patiently follows. He takes Jena to a booth located near the front of the church. Here, the altar boy says. He is in here. The boy slightly bows his head and then slowly walks back to the front of the church.

Jena walks into the booth. There is a priest sitting inside, but Jena can barely see him. She opens the window to speak to him. She doesn’t say anything for a moment. The priest doesn’t say anything either. Jena blinks her eyes.

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

A deep voice echoes through the confession booth window, Yes, my child.

I have sinned, and I’m here to confess, Jena says quietly.

My name is Father John, and I will hear your confession, he says. Go on, my child.

Father, I committed a horrible act of revenge on the man who killed my father. Jena pauses. I don’t have a family anymore, Father. My father is dead. All of them are dead. Some by the hands of another, and … Jena pauses again.

Yes—go on, child, Father John says.

Father, will the Lord forgive me?

The Lord forgives everyone who confesses and ask for forgiveness.

Jena leans forward. She remembers the gun fire echoing in her head when she shot Mr. McNeil, and the feeling of contentment rushes back to her. She peeks through the confession booth window. Father, what if a person isn’t truly sorry?

Father John pauses before answering, You mean you aren’t sorry you shot me? Jena stares closely and realizes that the priest is Mr. McNeil. Mr. McNeil leans closer to Jena’s face. His nose presses against the confession booth window. Jena looks at him with fear. Of course you’re not sorry. You meant to kill me, and you’ll kill again and again because you’re a killer, Jena. You were a killer long before I killed your father.

Jena is eye to eye with Mr. McNeil. I killed you once, and I’ll kill you again.

You can’t kill a ghost, Jena. McNeil begins shaking the confession booth. You can’t kill me anymore. He is laughing—harder and harder. Jena suddenly wakes up on the bus. Old lady Joan is sitting next to her.

So see, dear, that’s my life summary in ten minutes, Joan says. Jena stares at her and looks around the bus with a startled expression on her face. She is breathing hard. The bus stops, and Jena rushes to get off. Still breathing hard, she hurries to exit the bus. The bus driver doesn’t say a word as he opens the door. Jena’s bag falls to the ground. She reaches to pick up her bag and glances back at the bus. Old lady Joan gives her an evil grin, and then everyone on the bus stands up and stares at her. The driver steps off the bus. Jena begins to run down the street.

She runs until she reaches a corner store. There is a Chinese woman working behind the counter. Jena goes inside. A bell rings. A man wearing a long leather jacket enters the store behind Jena. Jena walks over to the drink cooler. The man moves toward the counter and points a gun at the woman.

You give me everything you got! the robber says. The woman freezes in fear. Jena leans back against the cooler. The man turns to Jena and says, You better not move. The robber turns back to the Chinese woman and points the gun at her face. Move faster, lady. You’re in America. This is America, and you better give me what I want, the robber says. The scared Chinese woman scrambles to get the money out of the cash register. She is so nervous that she drops most of the money on the floor. Pick it up! the robber yells.

A gun fires. The robber is shot in the shoulder. He quickly turns toward Jena as she fires the next shot through his head. Blood spills over the store counter and on the Chinese woman’s face. The woman screams. Jena points the gun at her. Shut up! I don’t want to kill you, Jena says. At least not today. The Chinese woman continues to scream as she falls to the floor in fear. Jena puts her gun back in her bag, grabs a cola from the cooler, and walks out of the store.

CHAPTER THREE

J ena, where are you? Jake ponders as he desperately searches New York’s streets, stores, and alleys. He is physically and mentally exhausted, so he walks back to the hotel room, plunges onto the bed, and falls asleep.

Police officers begin to surround the corner store where Jena shot the robber dead. Jena manages to wave down a cab driven by a Middle Eastern man wearing a white turban on his head.

Where to? the cab driver asks. Jena hands the driver a piece of paper. Okay, the cabby says as he presses heavily on the gas pedal. He eventually pulls up to the hotel where Jena and Jake had stayed. That’ll be fifteen dollars and ninety-four cents, he says. Jena hands him a twenty, gets out of the cab, and closes the door without saying a word.

There are several people walking past the hotel. Jena quietly looks around to make sure there are no cops in the area. A man is entering the elevator. He sees Jena coming and holds the door, but Jena walks past the elevator straight to the stairs. The man gives her a strange look, shakes his head, and then lets the elevator door close.

The hotel is quiet. While Jena ascends the stairs, she remembers the night she and Jake made love, the horrible dream she had about killing him, and the moment she left him. She wonders to herself, Why am I going back to that room? Am I hoping that Jake will be there waiting for me to return? If he isn’t, is he out pounding the streets searching for me? Can he possibly understand why I killed?

Exhausted from searching for Jena, Jake is crashed out on the hotel room’s bed. Jena uses her room key to open the door. She sees Jake lying motionless on the bed. He doesn’t hear the door opening. She slowly closes the door and walks to the edge of the bed, puts her bag on the floor, and gently lies down on the bed next to him. Facing him, she watches him sleep. She studies his face, his lips, and the movement of his eyes under his eyelids. I wonder what he is dreaming about, she thinks. Her thoughts begin to wander back to when they were ten-year-olds playing at the lake; that was when she first knew in her heart that Jake loved her. In her mind, she is transported back to when the two of them were sitting near the lake, tossing rocks and talking.

Tim was a jerk today, Jena says.

Yeah, he’s always a jerk, Jake says. I never wanted to be his friend, but Mom was friends with his mom so … Jake pauses. Well, you know how that goes. Jake stares over at Jena. Jena looks away.

She sighs and then looks back at him. It’s not your fault, Jake. Jena reaches over to touch Jake’s hand. You didn’t know that he was going to tell the whole school your secret.

Jake throws a rock in the lake. Yeah, now the whole world knows. He throws another rock.

It’s not that bad, Jena says.

Jake stops throwing rocks. No, I guess not, he says. I mean, it’s not a real big deal that I accidently wet the bed, he quietly says.

Jena shakes her head and tries not to laugh. She moves closer to Jake. Jake, everybody wets the bed at least once.

Jake looks over at Jena and says, Yeah, but the whole school doesn’t know about it. I knew I should never have let him spend the night … He pauses again. Jena, have you wet the bed before?

Jena’s mind says no, but her lips lie. Of course, Jake, she says. Once I had this really weird dream that I was going, but in my dream I was on the toilet and when I woke up I was in my bed.

Jake smirks. You thought you was on a toilet?

Yeah, the dream seemed so real.

Jake begins to feel better. Yeah, yeah, he mutters and then turns to Jena. The sunlight beams in Jena’s eyes, and Jake can’t take his eyes off her. Jena stares back at him, and the two of them lock eyes for over a minute. Jake finally turns his head, and Jena puts her head down. So … Jake stands up and reaches for Jena’s hand, we better get back before your mom calls my mom, he says.

Jena stands up and brushes the dirt off her shorts. Yeah, I guess so, she says.

Jena, you know you’re my best friend?

Of course I know that, Jake.

Jake smiles at Jena, and Jena smiles back. They both begin walking toward home.

Jena shoves Jake. I bet you can’t outrun me, she yells and begins to sprint.

Oh, no fair! You’re cheating! Jake screams as he tries to catch up. They both run through the wooded field, leaping over flowers and zigzagging through trees.

*     *     *

Jake opens his eyes to discover Jena staring at him, smiling. He is shocked and mesmerized by her presence. Am I dreaming? he asks.

No, Jena replies. She begins to lean toward him.

Please don’t move, Jena, Jake asks. "I just want