CHAPTER ELEVEN // SIARA LYNN DUPONT | PART I
[WORD COUNT: 2278]
[TOTAL: 29410]

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The restaurant Jacob brought me to was flawless. It was one of those all of fancy ones, where you had to reserve a few weeks back just to sit down and eat for less than two hours. There was a woman standing at the entrance hiding behind a podium, glancing at the tablet in her hands before staring at us. 

“Name?” Her voice was high pitched, prim and proper. I inwardly cringed, wondering why Jacob brought me here to eat dinner out of all places. I immediately felt out of place, since I wasn’t exactly wearing the clothing necessary for this type of scenery. I was wearing jeans and a button down shirt, while Jacob was wearing similar clothing but in different color. I bit my lip and avoided her disapproving stare as she glanced at our attire.

“Jobs,” Jacob nudged me and sent a grin in my direction. I couldn’t help but return it, holding back a laugh as the woman's facial expression flashed with remembrance.

“Right this way,” She gestured towards the entrance. “Just find yourself a table and one of our waiters will come and take your order.”

“How do you know this place?” I asked in wonder when we were a safe distance away from the woman, glancing at the chandelier that was broadly presented as soon as we entered. It was bright and centered in the middle of the restaurant, leaving the corners near the windows embarked in a dim lighting. The walls were a dark shade of burgundy, giving off a vibe I couldn’t pinpoint. People of all assortments sat at various tables, radiating a low hum of conversation I was slightly transfixed by. 

Jacob looked sheepish as he led her towards a table near the windows with a hand on her back. “My brother, Alan, owns this place.”  

“Really?” I didn’t mask my surprise. “I didn’t know that, this place seems very fancy and elegant.” 

He grinned, pulling out a chair for me. “I know.”

I sat down. “When you said dinner I expected something less…”

“Prim and proper?” He laughed, sitting down opposite of me. “I know. It’s obvious we don’t fit here but I thought that I should finally introduce you to this place after years, even if you don’t like it.”

I returned his inviting smile. “It’s not like I don’t like it,” I said. “More like this isn’t my type of place to eat.”

“Well that is not a problem,” He said, picking up a menu. “Since I’m related to Alan everything I order here is for free.”

“That’s generous of him,” I commented, mimicking his actions and glancing at the menu. The place seemed italian, since most of the dishes were named in the language on top of the english translations of what the meal was. I was thankful for the translation, since I only knew a few words in italian but not much to actually converse in a conversation. “Do you know how to speak italian?” 

Jacob winked. “Very fluently.” 

I laughed and flipped the menu over, briefly scanning through the dishes. “This seems good, the chicken parmesan with pasta on the side.”  

“That’s actually my favorite,” He sent me another wide grin. “Alan used to make that for me twice a week when we were kids. I could never get tired of his meals.” 

“He made all of these dishes himself?” I was impressed. “Must be an amazing childhood, to have all of those meals made for you.” I knew how to cook, well enough to be edible but it wasn’t anything to fawn over. I couldn’t help but imagine having Mason or Lisa being professional cooks. It was a pleasant sight to look at but I knew that it would never happen since Mason was gone and Lisa didn’t know how to cook no more than I did. 

Jacob’s face transfixed into a tiny frown. “I know you don’t like talking about your past, but I want to ask you something regarding your mother.” 

I couldn’t help it; I stiffened at the reminder of my mother. She was a subject I tended to stray off of, especially since I didn’t want to be reminded of the look in her eyes when she stared straight into mine and stabbed my father. “Ask away.” My voice broke midway and I cursed inwardly as my vision blurred slightly.

“Did you–” He paused. “I shouldn’t be asking you this now, I’m sorry–” 

“It’s fine, Jobs,” I insisted, rolling my eyes to make it seem like I was fine as I placed the menu on the table. The only reason why I egged him on was because I wanted to know what he was going to ask me.

Jacob seemed hesitant to continue, furrowing his eyebrows together in deep thought. “Did you ever find out why she did it?” 

I took a deep breath in and ignored the pang in my heart. Of course I wanted to know why she did it. The curiosity was eating me inside out, but I couldn’t do nothing about it. I didn’t want to see her again, not after what she did to our family. No amount of burning curiosity could cause me to willingly see my mother again. I felt my vision blur and I hastily wiped my eyes, not wanting Jacob to see me cry, or anyone else watching us. 

“No,” My voice was surprisingly strong as I answered his question, definitely not portraying the conflicting emotions inside of me. “I never found out why and I don’t–don’t plan on finding out.” My voice wavered and cracked. I inwardly cursed again.

Jacob nodded, accepting my answer when the tone of my voice made it clear that I didn’t want to tread on the subject anymore. Before he could reply the waiter came, holding a pad and a black pen. He seemed a bit short, landing just a few inches above my height. He had blonde hair with streaks of dark brown in it, combining with his bright blue eyes that shone in the dim lighting.

“My name is Tyler and I will be your waiter for the evening,” He introduced, nodding at both of us. “What would you like to order?”

“We will both be having the chicken parmesan with pasta on the side,” Jacob looked in my eyes for approval and I nodded slightly. 

“So you will be having two orders of the chicken parmesan with the pasta on the side,” Tyler confirmed. “What will your drinks be?”

“A hard lemonade will be fine,” I said, ignoring Jacobs questioning glance as it made my thoughts drift towards what might be happening this moment. While I am rejoicing and connecting on a closer level with Jacob, a group of four or five people might be having the life tortured out of them. It made the hunger in my stomach disappear for a few moments as nausea replaced it’s position. I found myself questioning for the millionth time today: Who would be responsible for such cruel murders? 

I felt someone harshly tapping my arm. “Lynn?” Jacob shook me again. “Siara?”

“I’m fine,” I insisted, subtly realizing that Tyler had long ago disappeared.

“Are you okay?” Concern was edged deeply in his tone and in his worried eyes.

“I’m fine,” I repeated. “It’s just that you kind of–well you did reminded me when I ordered hard lemonade about how some people are going through torture and we are just… having the time of our lives.” I couldn’t help it, a tear fell and I wasn’t quick enough to wipe it away. Jacob shook his head and slid his chair beside mine, wiping the tears that were suddenly falling down my face rapidly with his two thumbs.

“Lynn,” Jacob coaxed softly. “There’s nothing we can do at this moment. We’ve done everything we could, as harsh and brutal as that sounds. Right now we just have to pray for the lives that are going to be taken tonight and try to get our minds off of it until tomorrow.” I sniffed, desperately trying to hold my composure together but it was proving to be extremely difficult. The pang in my chest had grown to a full out throb, blinding my vision and my hearing as my heart beat frantically. Mason’s brutalized and mutilated face popped in my mind and this time I couldn’t hold back the sob that escaped my lips. 

“I–I can’t,” I choked out, digging my nails onto my palm as I edged away from his touch. “I feel–I feel like I didn’t try too hard. I promised L–Lisa that I was going to find out who did this a–and I found nothing, Jacob. Nothing. Do you know how stressful that is? I’m trying to–trying to enjoy myself by doing this with you but I can’t. I can’t act happy and shit knowing that people are dying when I could be doing something–”

“Lynn,” Jacob snapped, prying my fingers away from my swollen palm. He forced me to look at him, the pain in my chest expanding as I saw the hurt and grief in his eyes. He was grieving too, and I didn’t even notice. “You did everything you could, so spare me the bullshit. You and I both know that you worked your ass off trying to find out who did this. This won’t the first time when you won’t find any leads. I know that this pains you–it pains me to because people are dying but we can’t do anything about it because we don’t know where they are.”

My once squared shoulders sagged. I crumbled against Jacob and hid my face in his chest, sobbing out all of my pains, fears, and terrors. “It hurts so much, I–I don’t know how I’m going to do this, Jacob.”

His hand wrapped around my waist and tugged me closer to him while the other began playing with my hair. “I know you can, Lynn. I have faith in you, just like Lisa does.”

I sighed, instantly feeling regretful for crying in public as I pathetically wiped my wet face with the sleeve of my coat. “I shouldn’t have cried here,” I discreetly glanced around and hoped that no one noticed me.

“If you haven’t realized yet,” Jacob nudged me and sent me a small grin. “We are at the back of the restaurant. The lighting here is so low that barely no one can see us unless they come to our table.” I flushed and pushed him back, grateful that he changed the tense mood back to it’s playful one. The pang in my chest was still there but I forcibly pushed it back, along with the other dark thoughts that threatened to consume my mind and my sanity.

“Are you planning to seduce me, Jobs?” I smiled a small grin, rubbing my palms on my jeans in hopes to numb the stinging in them. “Is that why you brought us all the way back here?”

“Oh sure,” Jacob played along, winking. “Of course, I could never resist the opportunity to seduce someone as beautiful as you.”

I rolled my eyes. “In your dreams.” The playful banter between us continued for several moments and I found myself transfixed by Jacobs mesmerizing voice that succeeded in pulling me away from who might be dying tonight. Although I felt severely embarrassed for wetting his shirt and sobbing like an absolute child, he managed to get my mind off of things and I was grateful for that. I admired him for keeping his composure when I foolishly hadn’t. The food arrived between our playful and teasing conversations, looking extremely appetizing and somehow managed to push my nausea from earlier away. The aroma made my stomach growl and I smiled as Jacob immediately began to dig in, watching me intently for my reaction on how the food tasted. 

“You waste no time,” I commented, taking my time purposely as I slowly unwrapped the fork and knife from the napkin surrounding it. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve had this before,” Jacob admitted through a mouthful.

I laughed, taking my first bite of a combination between chicken and pasta. There was a spicy tang to it, changing to a slightly sweet and bitter taste after a few bites. It tasted absolutely delicious. “This tastes amazing, tell Alan that his food is marvelous. You are so lucky that you’ve managed to grow up eating this type of food.” I didn’t hide the envy in my tone as I spoke to Jacob, taking a few more bites. I managed to scrap ten years of the perfect childhood but that was all I ever had–ten years of good memories I would never hesitate on looking back at. His whole life had been perfect, as much as I hated to admit it.

Before Jacob could reply, both of our cell phones disrupted the mood. I immediately felt my emotions rise, as well as the lump in my throat. The appetizing food settled comfortably in my stomach now twisted and threatened to rise past the lump. We both exchanged looks, knowing that it already happened. The disturbing thoughts floated through my mind and I immediately pushed them away. I needed to stay calm and collected, for the sake of my own sanity. 

“So much for a dinner without talking about work, huh?” Jacob spared me a sad glance and I managed to nod without a word. We both ignored the persistent ring. I grabbed the untouched hard lemonade and swallowed it all in three huge gulps. 

It was going to be a long night.

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