Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
J USTIN
When I leave my parents’ house, I call Freya right away.
After yelling at me for bothering her with the same question (even though I remind her of the similar questions she asked me when Alex was gone) before listening to my story about Jake and his stupidity, she says, “I’m sorry, Justin.
That’s awful. I don’t know why Jake would do something like that. ”
“Yeah, that makes two of us. Can you give me her address?” I don’t need anyone’s apologies now; I need information.
“I don’t have it.” She sounds defeated.
I bite back the harsh remark I really want to yell and calmly say instead, “Freya, I thought you were my friend.”
“Justin, I don’t have it. I swear. And I don’t think Alex does. Hold on.” She yells so loudly I almost lose hearing, “ Alex, do you have Archie’s address?” I hear a grunting noise, and his ‘ no ’ comes through.
“How the fuck doesn’t he have his address?” I growl at Freya. But I feel bad. I know she doesn’t deserve my anger.
“They just reconnected, so chill.” Freya’s voice takes a defensive tone, just like every time someone talks ill of Alex. “Alex is saying he can ask for his address.”
“Please,” I beg.
There’s silence on the other end.
“Freya?” Please, don’t tell me it got disconnected.
There’s a gasp. “D-did you just say please?” she stutters slightly.
“Have Alex text it to me when he knows it.” And I hang up.
The next stop is Marina.
By the time I pull into her driveway, I’m a sweaty mess. I thought she didn’t like me, and I’m still convinced she doesn’t, but her unexpected friendship with my mom gives me hope.
I take a deep breath before raising my fist to knock on her door. I have to admit, I’m scared of Marina. Like, really scared. I never know what’s going on in that woman’s head.
The door swings open, and Marina appears, a smug smile plastered on her face. She’s cutting an apple with a small sharp-looking knife. I swallow—it’s better than a shotgun, at least. “Your mother called and said you might be coming by.”
“Yeah.” I meet her eyes and hold them. “Did she tell you why?”
“She might have mentioned, yes.” She smirks, chewing her apple.
“Will you help me?” I ask hopefully .
“Why would I do that?” she asks, eating another slice of the apple.
I stare into her eyes, praying she’ll believe my words. “Because you love Kayla, and I love Kayla, and we both want what’s good for her.”
She stares back at me. “And you think you’re good for her?” She quirks her brow.
I answer with a nod. “I’ll do my best to be good for her.”
She shakes her head. “Trying your best is not enough. You’ve been making her miserable for a really long time.”
“I can promise it’ll never happen again.” I place a hand on my heart, meaning every single word.
“Can you?” She pops her hip, eyebrow quirked.
“Yes, ma’am.” I nod firmly. I genuinely believe it.
“Alright.” She turns around and walks back to the living room, leaving the door open. What am I supposed to do? Follow her? Wait for her here? I decide on the latter.
She returns with a piece of paper, an address scribbled across it.
“She hasn’t changed her phone number, just blocked you everywhere, so I don’t really have good news for you there,” she says with an apologetic shrug. “You can try texting her from a different phone number, maybe. This is Archie’s address and the place she works at.”
“She’s already working?” I thought she was only studying there.
“Archie’s teaching her. She’s very talented. She needs five times less practice than her peers do.” Genuine pride shines in her eyes, and I understand how lucky Kayla got when she met Marina. She’s more of a mother to her than I ever thought, and their connection runs deep.
“Thank you, Marina,” I say with as much sincerity as I can muster .
“I’m not whooping Jake’s ass only out of respect for your mother.” She levels me with a stare.
“I’ll do it for you.”
“I expect nothing less. I got money to bail you out of jail.” And then she closes the door in my face, leaving me to wonder if she was joking.
Now that I have the address, I decide to get my shit together and figure out what I want to say to her.
I want nothing more than to go to her right this second, but I can’t show up looking like this.
That’s if I even make it to Boston. So I go home and drink all the alcohol I have left in an attempt to knock myself out.
By the time I’m out, I’m pretty positive my liver is about to say bye-bye.
In the morning, I feel like shit, but I force myself to get it together.
I take a very long shower, shave off the lumberjack beard I have going on, and go to Marina’s diner to get a ton of coffee for the road.
I can go to Donna’s, of course, and get the good stuff from her, but I feel like I need to see Marina to connect to Kayla through her.
Like, Marina’s known Kayla forever, and if I’m close with Marina, I can be close with Kayla too. Stupid, I know, but I’m desperate.
By the time I park my ass at her diner, she leaves me speechless by passing me a huge thermos already filled with coffee and a humongous sandwich.
“Drive safe” is all she says before walking away. I leave a fifty on the bar and go to my truck, ready for the long trip. Kayla’s waiting for me at Point B, which makes it feel even longer.
And I’m right—the drive feels never-ending.
I park and look at the building in front of me.
Am I sure it’s the correct address? I take a look at my GPS again, and yes, I’m in the right place.
The red brick house in front of me is enormous.
The columns, those colorful mosaic windows, and the landscaping make it a true work of art, I must admit.
Fuck, if Kayla’s been living here all this time, I better up my game. My dusty bachelor pad seems miserable compared to this.
I get out, walk to the door, and ring the bell, half expecting a butler to show up. But instead, I come face-to-face with the fuckface. Wearing only jeans. Is that how he walks around the house when Kayla is here?
“Took you long enough.” He smirks and opens the door wider, silently inviting me in. “Want a drink?”
“Where is she?” I walk past him, knocking into his shoulder. He lets out a chuckle.
“She’s at school. C’mon.” He gestures for me to follow him. His house is the size of the whole PTSD center in Little Hope, the downstairs just as spacious.
When we get to the fancy kitchen with new appliances and pristine white cabinets, he puts a pod in his fancy coffee machine and places a mug under.
I make a mental note to buy the same one for Kayla for my place, just so she has it there if she ever visits.
He repeats the same with another and takes a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet.
Pouring himself a hefty dose, he offers to do the same for me.
“It’s eleven in the morning, for fuck’s sake.” I’m a hypocrite, considering I’ve been drinking even earlier for the past couple of weeks.
“Yeah, I started late today,” he says with a sigh and takes a sip. “Heaven.” He takes a seat at the island bar and gestures for me to join him. Just to spite him, I stay standing. “So why are you here, Justin? ”
“I’m here to take Kayla back.”
“To do what exactly? To be a waitress for the rest of her life? To bury her talent?”
I swallow roughly and grab the mug. I just need my voice to return.
Fuck. He hit a sore spot. What will happen when I try to convince Kayla to go back with me?
Of course, she’d have to believe me. Because fuck, that story would be far too ridiculous to make up.
But what if she has feelings for this fuckface?
“I see your wheels are turning.” He leans back in his chair and places his mug on the table. “She’s in a good place now, Justin. She really is.”
I must be a selfish prick because it pains me to hear that.
Here I thought she’s been suffering from the abrupt ending to whatever we had like I was, but she’s really doing great.
I’m ecstatic for her success—I am. She has a rare raw talent that must be seen, but I was selfishly hoping I’d be by her side for it.
“Are you two…?” I let the question trail off, hating myself for asking him.
“God, no.” He pushes away from the chair. “She’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong. But she’s not my type.” He notices my scowl. “The unavailable type. She’s already taken, and I don’t mess with that.”
My nostrils flare, and I let out a loud exhale. “She’s dating someone?”
“Gosh, you are dense.” He rakes his hair with his hand. “She’s still hung up on you. Plus, Alex would rip my balls off if I ever went near her. I’m surprised you still have yours attached.”
My ass hits the chair on its own accord, and I grab my head with my hands, defeated. “Is she really doing well? ”
“Very well. She’s going to school and passing her classes with flying colors.
Fuck knows how, but she is. In the evenings and on the weekends, she works at my shop.
” He nods. “She clearly misses you, but if you show up right now with whatever story you have, whatever it is, she’ll drop her schooling in a heartbeat and move back. The decision is yours.”
Yeah, that’s a tough one. Coming here, I thought I’d be going back with her.
Even if she was dating him, I’d still be going back with her.
I’d kiss her senseless so she could see that I’m the only one for her.
Of course, after I knock the shit out of that guy.
But not when she’s happy, no. Not when she’s following her dreams and doing something with her life. Something that she always wanted.
Is he right? Would she really go back with me if I asked? It’s so tempting to find out. So tempting. But what if she does? What’s next for her?
“How is she doing with money?”