Triton's Bay

A Long Road Back

Without further ado,

Chapter 7

Lonnie picked up her phone. Her face paled as she read the message. Riley knew Jay was there. Lonnie assumed that he must have contacted her while he was gone. Her hands shook as she read the message again.

Send him home!

But this was once his home. Her tears came again. She couldn't keep going through this.

Jay leaned against the counter, still staring vacantly at the drink in his hands. Lonnie's sniffle pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he saw her looking at her phone with tears rolling down her face. Immediately, Jay set his coffee down and slowly walked over to Lonnie, concerned that she was getting more bad news. Jay gently took the phone from Lonnie and read the message.

Lonnie didn't look up at Jay as he scrolled through the messages she had received over the last several years. There had been one sent every few weeks. Jay kept reading each one until he stopped at the first picture he came across. Jay glared at the photo. He remembered this moment, but this photo was out of context. What actually happened was nothing like what was shown on the screen. The photo looked intimate. Romantic, even. But what actually happened was sad and depressing.

One Year Ago

Jay had walked out to the beach again. It was quiet and calm here. Jay really needed this. He was finally learning to control his temper and deal with his issues in much healthier ways. It took alcohol poisoning and the threat of being fired for him to get help, but with a support group, he had given up drinking. Going for walks worked best. He missed her so much. What he wouldn't do just to hear Lonnie's voice again. Or to hear her laugh, to hold her close. His eyes burned as the fist around his heart tightened. Jay hadn't figured out what went wrong between the two of them.

Riley and Melody had followed him since his apartment building. Riley had been making sure that Lonnie knew Jay's every move, but only from her point of view. Jay would be hers, but only if Lonnie was completely out of the picture and out of his mind. For four whole years, he was still holding on to the hope that Lonnie would come back to him. Riley was determined to make sure that would never happen.

She quietly walked over as Melody hid in the bushes, her camera ready to snap at the perfect moment. Riley sat down next to Jay and took his hand.

Snap. The first picture was taken. Jay looked down at their hands and frowned.

"I know you're upset," Riley said softly. "I just wanna help you through whatever you're dealing with, Jay. I really do care about you."

Jay swallowed hard and stared back out at the water. "You can't help, Riley. There's only one person that can fix this, and I screwed up so badly, I lost her."

Riley sighed and looked over her shoulder at Melody. Scooting closer to Jay, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Snap. Another picture was taken.

Riley slid her hands up and cupped Jay's face, resting her forehead against his.

Snap. Another picture. Leaning forward, she softly kissed Jay's lips.

Snap. Another one. Not a moment too soon before Jay pushed her off and stormed away.

"I'm here if you need me," Riley called after him. An evil smirk graced her lips as she walked to Melody and began heading home. "Did you get it?"

"Oh yeah." Melody smiled. "Lonnie will hate him before you're done."

"That's the idea." Riley laughed as she sent the first picture. Jay and Lonnie will never get back together if she had any say in it.