Past Due by Elizabeth Seckman Page A

I didn’t know how to get in touch with him.”
    “Oh, Jenna. You poor thing.”
    “Well, I did have Jake. He came to me after Dad banned him from the funeral. I snuck him some of her personal things. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He loved her so much, you know.” Jenna shook her head slowly. “Jake was a really decent guy and I was lucky to have him. And he needed me. It broke his heart to be blamed for Angel’s death. And boy did my dad blame him. He would never tell me why he blamed him, or why he hated Jake so much, but he did. He told me to stay away from him, but who else did I have? It felt good to have someone to talk to. Dad was in his own little world of grief, so I wasn’t sure how to reach him. You know, he closed the door to her room after the funeral, and as far as I know, he’s never opened it again. It’s probably still just as it was, after all these years like some strange unvisited shrine.” Jenna shivered. “Anyhow, everything I know about my sister’s death, I learned from Jake. ”
    “So, that’s how you and Jake got together?”
    “Well, no. I still loved Tres. I tried to get in touch with him, but for two weeks after he left, I heard nothing. Three weeks went by, still no call. No letter. Nothing. I should have gotten the hint right then. You know what, Lois? That’s the worst of it. He didn’t even care enough to dump me, he just disappeared. I didn’t even warrant a ‘Dear Jane’ letter.”
    “You never talked it over?”
    “No. I did go to his house in Virginia, and he was there with another girl, so I left a letter with his mother.”
    “Maybe she didn’t give it to him?”
    Jenna shook her head, “Jake went up there and told Tres what was going on, and he got a broken nose and a night in jail for his troubles. Tres told Jake I was a liar and an opportunist and assured him I’d never get a penny from his family. I didn’t want his money. Honestly, if I had had any clue just how much money those people had, I never would’ve dated him in the first place. Oh my gosh, when I saw that house? I knew I was way out of my league. I didn’t belong anywhere like that. I don’t belong with those kind of people. I gave Mrs. Coulter my letter and I took off without a clue about what I was going to do. I couldn’t even think of options. And I couldn’t ask for help because I didn’t want to tell anyone.”
    “Why Jenna, why not?”
    “I was ashamed. I don’t know what shamed me more: being pregnant or having been used like some playboy’s little toy. How could I be so damned stupid? And I worried about the added stress on my dad. My poor dad spent his whole life trying to do right by his daughters and look what it got him?”
    Jenna exhaled hard and bit her lip. Lois wrapped a protective arm across her shoulders. “You were just a child. I’m sure your father is proud of you.”
    “I always wanted to make him proud. I really did. I mean I owed it to him for all he had lost for me. And how did I repay him? I got myself knocked up. And to make matters worse, I couldn’t even be honest with him. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t tell him.” She wiped at her eyes again, “I felt like the only friend I had left in this world was Jake. He was always there for me. He was a good guy and I knew it. He wasn’t what everybody thought he was. He didn’t drown himself in alcohol and women until after Angel died and he was implicated in her death. Jake swore he didn’t give her the drugs she overdosed on. I tried to tell Dad, but Angel was dead, so she was suddenly perfect. As far as Dad was concerned, Jake stuffed the pills down her throat and made her swallow. But, Lois, my sister was just crazy that summer. Completely irrational. Angel had this new boyfriend and she was simply obsessed. When he broke up with her, she fell apart. She wouldn’t speak to me, unless she was yelling at me. Somehow she blamed me for that loss too. I’d never seen her so