Forever and Always

Chapter Two: Tristian

“Dad, are you sure you don’t need me to come?” Archer asked when Austin put him on speaker phone while we were on our way to the tarmac. Yeah, we could drive the four hours to her place, but why would we when we can fly in a fraction of the time, “Whatever is going on, you know I’ll take care of it. I know…I haven’t been me but family will always come first.”

“Aiden needs your help.” Austin sighed, “Just…for once please, do as your told and help him get the house set up for new, potential tenants.”

“I don’t get why I have to.” He grumbled, “It’s already decent. Hell, I offered to rent it from him but…”

“Just…do it.” He rolled his eyes before hanging up on Archer.

Last week was a shock and I couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation with Tony. With every word he said, our body tensed, our memories all going back to the last time we saw him, the day of the state championship when Raegan was rushed to the hospital when the twins were on their way.

“I need you to know, I did this because I care about all of you.” He sighed and shook his head, “I’ve been following all the assholes in your kids lives as they get arrested to make sure they are locked up or at least watched.”

“Which one…” Eli whispered as his eyes shook a bit, looking down at the table. Bella reached over and grabbed his hand, linking their fingers. Austin pulled Hannah closer to him as she started to tear up. Sarah looked at me, confused, as my entire body tensed, “Which one and how bad is it?”

“What happened?” Sarah asked, “Why is everyone getting emotional? Did I miss something?” She had a right to be confused. She wasn’t around for most of what happened and everything the children faced. I’m glad she wasn’t. I’m not sure she would have survived it.

“We didn’t say anything because it was supposed to be in the past, but there were a lot of bad people involved with our children and a large handful of them got arrested or…well, passed on.” Bella whispered, wiping away a tear, “Tony…”

“It’s Frank.” And Eli’s head snapped up, looking right at me as I froze, “He…” and I cut him off before he could finish his statement. That’s all I needed to know and hear, was that one name. My blood pressure shot through the roof, my face, I’m sure, turned cherry red, and my hands were shaking, trembling with anger.

“It’s time.” I said, pissed off. Determination laced my voice but the guys knew, there was fear hidden in the meaning, “I’ve waited for her to come home for over five years. I have regrets. I should have adopted her when I had the chance and maybe I could have protected her better. I let her live her life…”

“Trist…we don’t even know what’s happening with Frank…” Hannah said, “Maybe…maybe he’s gone?” she looked up at Tony, hopeful, but he shook his head as he winced. We wanted nothing more for this piece of s**t to be gone but I knew things wouldn’t be that easy.

“Tell me everything you know. Now.” I demanded, Eli and Austin nodding their heads in agreement as Gage and Aiden sat down with us, listening, but just as confused as Sarah was.

“They were transferring him to Rikers because they needed room in the facility he was in. There was an accident and the bus crashed and he was able to escape. He was in Pennsylvania the last time they were able to track him but he slipped away.”

“What the f**k! How the hell did this even happen?” I slammed my hand on the table.

“There’s more you need to know.” Tony sighed, leaned back on the chair and shook his head. He ran his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated, “I don’t know what to make of it, but one reason why he was picked for being transferred was because he got into an altercation at the facility he was in. He was severely hurt and well, he was supposed to have a court date to review everything due to his good behavior and after that happened, it was postponed…”

“Good behavior? You have to fuckin’ kidding me!” I gently put Sarah on the chair as I stood up, starting to pace. My body was trembling with anger. I needed to get a grip, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t listen to anything else. I needed to go to her, now, “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

Once Austin got off the phone with Archer, we all just sat there in complete silence. There were so many thoughts running through my head and I didn’t know how to comprehend everything going on. I couldn’t understand what Tony was saying, or at least, I didn’t want to. When I think of the asshole, I think of the terrible things Jo had witnessed and delt with, growing up with him in that piece of s**t, rundown house. I think of the times she went home, scared, terrified that something was going to happen. I remember the fear she had in her eyes when we took her in and that is something I could never forget.

Never.

And in a blink of an eye, we were in her town, driving in two rental cars. One with us guys and the other with Bella and Hannah, following us.

“Are you sure about bringing Hannah and Bella?” Eli asked as he hit skip in the playlist, not being able to listen to a whole song without changing it, “I mean…what happens if Jo isn’t there? They have their hopes up and everything and well…”

“If Jo is still at that address, then maybe having the girls there will help. I mean, they do have a softer touch than we do.” I grumbled as we pulled into the driveway of a cute little house. It was well kept, but still needed some work. It was well lived in. Paint was chipping off the siding a bit and there were toys scattered all over the front lawn.

Wait...toys?

I furrowed my brows and looked over at Austin in the mirror as he leaned forward. His eyes widened as he took everything in. It wasn’t a mystery about Jo and Archer’s relationship. We were all there to see them blossom into young love, but I thought it would last the test of time. We all did but we were wrong.

And seeing the kid toys in the lawn did something to me. My chest tightened. s**t, if this kept happening, I might have to go into the hospital for an EKG scan to make sure I’m not having a damn heart attack.

“Ready?” I whispered as I looked at both my brothers. They did a slight nod before we opened the doors, standing by the car, waiting for Hannah and Bella to come to us. They looked even more nervous than we were.

We cautiously walked to the front of the house and knocked on the door. The sound of little footsteps sounded on the other side of the door, making all of us curious. We looked at each other, confused, until the door creaked open.

“Hi.” Some guy said as he answered the door, looking at the five of us with confusion laced all over his face, “How can I help you?”

I looked at the young man. When I looked Jo up, I don’t recall finding anything about a guy living with her. Hell, for all I know this could be her fiancé or husband that’s standing here. He turned and looked back into the house, “Jamie, can you go to your room please and play with some toys?”

“Okay.” A soft little voice said behind the door. I tried to peak around but the asshole slipped out the door before we could see anything.

“Hi.” Austin said, holding his hand out for the douche to shake. He took his hand with trepidation, shaking it, “I’m Austin Nicholson and my wife Hannah.” He said as Hannah came and stood next to us, “This is Eli Sanders, his wife Bella and Tristian Locke. We’re here looking for Josephine Foster.”

“She’s at work.” He said as he tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged, “She won’t be home for a couple of hours yet.”

“Where does she work? It’s important that I see her.” I said with as much steadiness as I could in my words. Every fiber of my body was one edge, tingling with anticipation. Something didn’t seem right and I didn’t know what it was.

“She works at the bar and grill in town. I think she’s tending bar today instead of waitressing, and it’s pretty slow usually on Tuesday’s so you should be able to go down there and see her if you need. If you don’t mind me asking, why do you need to see her?” He was too damn polite and it was making me cringe. I shouldn't feel like this but I couldn't help it. I just needed to let my eyes see her and make sure she's healthy, happy and okay before I drag her ass back home for good.

“That’s a family matter…” Eli grumbled with a scrunched face, “No offence.”

“None taken, but to be honest, I’m her only family. I’ve been in her life for the past five years and not once have I seen you five or even heard of your names to be honest.” That statement stung as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared, “So, if it’s a family matter, I think this is something I should know about.”

“If you are as close as you say you are, then she will tell you.” I snapped, “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but…”

“It doesn’t matter who I am to her. I’m the one that is here for them, every day. You know where she is and if you excuse me, I have a child in there that needs me.”

“How old…” Hannah whispered as she stood in front of us, “You said his name was Jamie?”

He nodded, “Four, almost five, and he’s the light of our lives." He have a soft smile, "Now, if you excuse me, he needs me.” He turned around and walked back into the house without looking back. I looked between all of us and I can see the hint of pain in Hannah and Austin’s eyes.

“Do you think…” Bella started to say but Eli shook his head.

“She would have told him if she was…I, we have to believe that. Come on, let’s go get something to eat.” He sighed and walked back to the car, shaking his head. Hannah and Bella followed while Austin and I stood on the porch.

“When you found her, did you find anything about a kid?” Austin asked me.

“No.” I shook my head, “When I searched for her, I only found her. No one else was traced or linked to her name. I know Taylor said she was engaged, but I didn’t find a marriage certificate with her name or signature on it and no children. Archer did mention that when he came to see her, she was holding a baby with a guy in her arms and Taylor said Jo was babysitting that night, so maybe, this Jamie is that baby?”

“I hope so…” he sighed, “Because if not…fuck, this is déjà vu all over again.”

“Come on, brother. Let’s go to the bar and grill and you can tell me more about what you’re feeling and while we go there, I’ll reach out to Gage and Aiden and see what they can find.”

And with one last look, we turned and looked at the house, bricks in my gut telling me not to walk away just yet and that there is more to everything than it seems.