Chapter 113 - The Story of OUR Life

Familiar with his tone, Beth knows that she shouldn't push the issue but she's confused about his mood change and cannot even guess who he was talking to on the phone as they prepared for bed.  

She can feel it in his body, hear it in his tone and she knows it in her heart that there is something bothering him.  "Who was on the phone?"  she asks him, sitting up reaching over to turn on the bedside light.  The moon was beaming in through the open french door, but it didn't cascade enough light so Beth could see his face.  "Who was it and what's going on?"

Jon rolls over onto his back, rubbing his face he sighs heavy and says, "It was Sunshine."  He rests his arm over his eyes.  

"At this hour, what did he need?"  Beth reaches over and rests her hand on Jon's arm.  "What did he need that has you this upset?"  Beth can feel her own heart rate increase, her mouth is getting dry.  It's rare that Ken calls, and him calling at this time of night is starting to concern her.  

"He's just doing his job."

"Never this late.  Is there a change in your schedule?"

He rolls his head back and forth, lifting his arm to look at her, "No, no change to the schedule that's in place."

"What does that mean?  The one that's in place.  Is he adding stuff?  Adding dates?"  She can feel herself getting a little heated with just a split second thought that he may be gone even longer now.  

Jon sits up, fluffing his pillows behind him.  He leans against the headboard, resting his hand on her leg.  "Nothing yet, but we need to take care of something before I go."

"WHAT?"  Beth hates when he talks in riddles, she hates when she has to pry things out of him.  She has learned over the years that if she has to ask multiple questions, hound him until he caves in, it's never a good thing.  She can tell that a bomb is about to be dropped on her lap.  

For the moment that he has, for the brief period of time that is between her question and his answer he tells himself that he has to tell her - he has to face this WITH her and they need to do it with a swiftness.

"Dalton's book is being released."  he hold his breath and waits.  From the corner of his eye, he watches her expression go from one with scowl to nothing.  Not a wrinkle, not one muscle tense.  

Beth turns and looks at Jon.  Calmly she asks, "When?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"The one that he tried to release before?" she asks, slowly siding to the edge of the bed.  Jon grabs her and tries to keep her in bed, but her robot like demeanor is too strong for him to want to fight.  As she plants her feet on the floor, she looks back at Jon and asks, "Why does Ken know about this and we don't?"

"I don't know, Beth."  Jon sits up in bed, tucks his feet and watches her.  He watches her walk to her chaise lounge and pick up her robe.  She slides it on one arm at a time.  As she looks down and ties it in a knot, she catches a glimpse of Jon in the mirror.

"How am I supposed to react to this?"  She turns and returns to their bed.  With her knees resting on the side of the mattress she asks, "What am I supposed to be feeling?"

"How are you feeling?" he reaches over and grabs the tie of her robe, giving it a gentle tug he follows with, "What are you thinking?"

She pivots and sits on the edge of the bed, "I feel like we can never get a break."  She takes a deep breath, "I feel like this man will never be out of our lives."

Jon doesn't have a response to that.  In the last hour, he's had the same thought and shares that exact same feeling.  All he can do is sit there and be there for her when she starts to talk about it.  He's never happy that he gets to break the news to her, but he knows that if she was blind sided and caught off guard, that would make it worse for her.

Beth sits with Jon and thinks about what's about to happen.  She knows that there are two ways of dealing with this and she wants to make the best decision regarding it.  "How did Ken find out and we know nothing about it?"

Jon slides over next to her and sits at the edge of the bed.  His hand finds her and he explains, "Apparently he knows someone that's in the publishing field.  Apparently Dalton is self publishing and word is on the street that it's a tell all."

"Tell all?  Self publishing?  How can he afford to self publish?" now she's getting upset.  She knows that he can't profit off the sale of the book, so why is he even bothering?  

"I don't know how he can afford it.  I do know that it's not cheap."

"Do you think Dorothea is involved?  Do you think she gave him the money?"  she frantically asks him.

"Babe, that doesn't matter."

"Jon!"

"Beth, he's releasing the book.  That's the fact of the matter here.  How he got the money doesn't matter.  What matters is what we do about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...."  Jon slides closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder he adds, "Our business - the good, the bad and the ugly are going to be out there for the world to read."

Beth just about had heart failure.  Not even thinking down that route, it suddenly hits her.  "oh my God."  Her hand goes to her mouth as she gasps for the breath that was just stolen.  

"How do you want to handle this?" he whispers, rubbing her back, 

She looks up at him and he can see the tears well in her eyes.  That breaks his heart.  For the last several weeks they have been blissfully happy.  They have been a team, undivided and whole heartedly united.  This sucker punch was on that no one expected.  "What should we do?"  She drops her head, thinking of the affect that this was going to have on their family.  "Oh my God Jon, what should we do?  Everyone will know.  Everyone will know all details of my assault, of my rape."  

His arms wrap her tight.  His lips rest on the top of her head.  "We are going to do all that we can and whatever you want."

"We can't stop him!' she reminds him of the past book attempts.  She reminds him that there are a million Bon Jovi experts out there and that anyone can write a book.  It doesn't mean that the facts in the book are accurate.  "There's nothing that we can do."

"Ken suggested that we get ahead of it.  You know like we've done in the past."

"Meaning?" she can't lift her head.  She can't look at him.  

"We can release a statement regarding the book, it's content and the writer or we can do an interview prior to the release."

"You leave in a couple of days Jon.  There is no time for either."

"I can make time."  

There is a long silence between them, as they sit on the edge of the bed.  Beth's head is on his shoulder.  His arms are holding her in place.  As Beth sits there and thinks about the bomb that has dropped she keeps having one thought over and over again.  "Jon?'

Squeezing her, "yeah babe?"

"Let's do nothing." she tells him point blank.

"Nothing??"  he's a little confused by her statement.

She slowly lifts her head, and with a small smile that he can barely see, she explains, "Doing anything about it will only fuel him and the books popularity.  If we react, that's what he wants.  Let's do nothing."

(this has been edited to make 2 chapters)