“You ok?” he asked, concern written across his tanned face.
“Not really,” she sighed, taking a seat at the table. Silently, she indicated that the bass player should sit down.
“Bit of a mess, isn’t it?”
“Understatement of the day, Grey.”
They sat in silence for a moment or two as Grey tried to find the right words to say what he’d had in his mind on the drive over to the beach house.
“How’s Kaya?” asked Lori, breaking the strained silence.
“A handful,” admitted Silver Lake’s bass player. “Kola’s trying to get her into a routine but that young lady knows her own mind already. Lord help us when she’s a teenager!”
Lori smiled.
“Listen, Lori, this is going to come out all wrong no matter how I say it,” began Grey hesitantly. “There’s no easy way to talk about this.”
“Stop!” interrupted Lori firmly but calmly. “Can I show you something first? Something you can’t tell Jake or anyone else about?”
The Silver Lake bass player nodded.
Her hand trembling, Lori passed him her cell phone with the screen unlocked and open at her SMS messages.
“Read the ones from the unknown numbers,” she instructed quietly.
Eyes wide in horror and disgust, Grey read the obscene messages that Lori had been sent.
“Yesterday was just confirmation that these aren’t lies,” said Lori, watching the bass player’s reaction to the messages. “I have no idea how she got my private number.”
“I can guess,” said Grey, still staring down at the phone. “If these are from who we both suspect they are then she’ll have got your details from Jake’s staff file at the school. You’d have been listed as his emergency contact.”
“Of course,” gasped Lori, suddenly feeling stupid. “I never thought about that option. I assumed she’d taken the number down from his phone.”
“My money would be on the school records.”
“Adds up.”
“You should go to the police with these,” advised Grey, handing her phone back to her across the table.
“How can I?” asked Lori sharply. “If Maddy’s right then these aren’t lies. They’re nasty but not inaccurate.”
“Did you give him a chance to explain himself?” Grey spoke softly, nervous of how Lori would react to the question.
“Not exactly.”
“Lori, he’s been played,” stated Grey evenly. “I’ve known him long enough to know he’d never deliberately jeopardise his marriage to you or to ruin the kids’ lives. He’s been played by a pro and wouldn’t listen to the warnings. Thought he was in control. He’s not been the one in control there since he walked into that school.”
“Grey, he freely admitted he’d had sex with her! These messages back that up. He didn’t try to deny any of it!” spat Lori angrily.
“Nicole’s been coming onto him at every turn, Lori.”
“Don’t say that woman’s name in my house!”
“Sorry,” apologised Grey calmly. “I do however think you should hear Jake out. There are two sides to this. I’ve heard his and, for what it’s worth, I believe him.”
“When we made our marriage vows, I took mine seriously,” replied Lori calmly. “I thought Jake had too. Apparently, I was wrong. He knows how I feel about fidelity.”
“I know and that’s why he didn’t lie when you asked him if he’d had sex with her,” Grey paused. “He knows he’s done wrong. Knows he’s made a huge mistake. Knows he’s betrayed your trust.”
“Actions have consequences,” interrupted Lori sharply. “The consequences of his are that I don’t want him anywhere near me, the kids or this house!”
“Lori, if you’d only listen to his side of the story.”
“NO!” yelled Lori angrily. “I need space here. Need time to process this. I’m not interested in his excuses and lies!”
“He won’t lie to you.”
“You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
“Will you at least think about giving him a chance to explain?”
“Too soon, Grey,” said Lori quietly.
“Ok, I hear you,” sighed Silver Lake’s bass player. “He doesn’t know I’m here. He didn’t send me on a mission to save your marriage. This was my idea. I talked to him yesterday. I believe what he told me. I hope you can find it in your heart to at least hear him out.”
Grey got to his feet to leave. As he reached the back door, he paused and turned back, “He stayed with Jim last night. Just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.”
After Grey left, Lori remained seated at the kitchen table, wondering if she was being too harsh on Jake.
Tempers were fraying rapidly by mid-afternoon out at JJL. Progress had been slow since Grey had finally arrived late morning. They’d got two more bass tracks completed. Two more boxes crossed off on the whiteboard. While Grey had worked in the studio, Jake had sat silently in the control room with Dr Marrs, watching the screen on his cell phone, hoping for a message. It was a message that never came. He was only semi-aware of what was going on around him. He wasn’t paying attention and, when the door opened, he almost jumped out of his seat. With his heart pounding, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, son,” said Jethro softly. “We need to talk. No arguments.”
Once out in the lounge, Silver Lake’s white-haired manager gestured towards the exit.
“We’re going for a drive,” commented Jethro. “We need some privacy for this talk. No debate.”
Knowing it was pointless to argue with the older man, Jake silently followed him out to the car. They drove down the highway in silence. While Jethro concentrated on the road in front of him, watching for the exit he was heading for, Jake sat staring out of the window, not seeing the landscape that sped past.
He barely registered what direction they were travelling in and only realised that the car had stopped when Jethro declared. “We’re here. Let’s walk.”
“Where
