Chapter 19
Jason
Jason gawked at the woman he’d fallen in love with. She was deflecting. On some deep level, he could understand that. This was one of the surefire ways that she used to change the subject when she didn’t want to talk about the hard stuff.
“Isabelle—” he started, but she cut him off.
“Whatever. Clearly, I’m right. You don’t want to talk about whatever went on between you and your friend. I don’t want to talk about Charlie and me. So, let’s leave it at that.”
He took a step toward her. “Will you stop that?” His voice was sharper than he’d intended and she flinched, putting some distance between them. No. He wasn’t going to let her do that. Not here. Not now. She’d sought him out, not the other way around.
His arm reached out, and he wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “Talk to me, Isabelle. You’re never going to figure this out if you don’t work through it.”
Isabelle ripped away from him. “When did you become a therapist?” she snarled. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. This is my business, not yours. When it involves you, I’ll let you know. Stop trying to fix me!”
He scowled at her. Isabelle’s words were making contact with the weakest parts of him. Was it possible that she was right? He’d been so intent on trying to help her through her trauma that he’d prioritized that part of their growing relationship.
There was some part of her that must have taken note.
Their standoff resembled two predators sizing each other up. He was on edge. She was wounded and refused to accept his help.
“Fine,” he said.
“Fine? You’ll leave me alone?”
“Yes,” he snapped. “That’s what you want, right? Go on. Destroy yourself little by little. Because what do I know about healing from trauma?”
Her shoulders slumped slightly as if all the tension fled. “Jason—”
“No. It’s my turn to talk. You’re self-destructive. You’re never going to get to a good place if all you’re going to do is drown yourself in your pain and refuse help. That’s it, right? You and Charlie got into an argument about something you’re too scared to talk about. And your claws came out.”
Her scowl returned.
“So, go. Run off and hide. Just remember, there are consequences to every choice you make.”
She scoffed but surprisingly didn’t argue. Instead, she spun on her heel and stormed off toward her house.
He growled, raking both hands roughly through his hair. His jaw clenched so tight it ached. This was the first big fight they’d had. The worst part was that he didn’t know what it meant for them. Were they broken up? Was she going to call him later and apologize?
“Yo, you coming back to help finish dinner?” Mark’s face appeared around the edge of the building. To his credit, he looked worried. There was no telling how much he’d heard. Hopefully not much.
Jason gave him a sharp nod and charged toward him.
Apparently, Isabelle was as interested in talking out their argument as she was in discussing what had caused her change in behavior. The following morning when Jason had shown up for their run, she arrived all smiles as if nothing had happened.
Jason hadn’t had the courage to point out that they needed to talk.
Yes, he was a coward.
But until he could figure out how to best bring up such a topic without sending Isabelle off the deep end, he refused to add to the conflict. So he went for the run without mentioning it, then met his brother for lunch.
“You look terrible,” Mathew said before taking a bite of his sandwich.
Jason dragged a weary hand down his face. “Gee, thanks.”
His older brother smirked. “I aim to please. Would your appearance have anything to do with a certain girlfriend?”
They were once again at Sal’s. It seemed to be the best place to meet up when Mathew was between shifts.
Jason wasn’t terribly worried about bumping into anyone who might overhear.
He’d practically pleaded with his brother to meet him.
After bumping into the man of Isabelle’s literal nightmares, Jason wasn’t sure what he should do.
“So. Why have you dragged me out here again? So soon?” Mathew said before taking another bite.
If Jason could wipe the smug look off his brother’s face, he would do so. The truth was that Mathew was probably within his rights to be smug. He’d been the one to tell Jason that he was walking the ledge of something dangerous. He hadn’t said it in so many words, but the message was there.
Jason was teetering.
And he couldn’t exactly bring up his issues with Isabelle with anyone in her family.
Mark wasn’t happy with him.
Mathew was all he had.
He sighed again and leaned forward so he was close enough to his brother to whisper. “He’s here.”
Mathew arched a brow, his smirk never leaving his face. “You’re going to have to expound on that statement.”
“Her attacker.”
At first, his brother’s brows furrowed. Then they shot up and he looked around the diner. “He’s here? As in—”
“No,” Jason bit out, “not in the diner. He’s in Copper Creek. He’s a new firefighter.”
Mathew’s eyes widened and a low growl escaped his throat. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah,” Jason gritted. “He’s a firefighter. Works with Isabelle’s best friend’s husband.”
His brother fell back in his seat and shook his head. “Wow. I take it Isabelle knows?”
“Why do you think I wanted you to meet with me so bad? Seeing him brought on a panic attack. I don’t know what exactly his presence triggered besides the physical attack, but…” Jason shook his head, the fury from that day returning. “She’s not doing so great.”
“No, I’d imagine she wouldn’t be.”
“What do I do?”
Mathew snorted. “Now I know you’re kidding.”
Jason’s eyes narrowed.
“Jeez, Jason. You make sure she talks to someone. Confronting one’s attacker isn’t something to brush under the rug. She needs closure.” He scrubbed his jaw and glanced away, his expression reflective. “I don’t suppose she could press charges now. It’s been, what? Five years?”
Jason nodded. “Yeah. And you’re right. The statute of limitations is up in Colorado. Even if she wanted to do something, she doesn’t have any proof besides the tox screen, and that could easily be disregarded if the guy got a good lawyer.”
Mathew frowned, his expression pained. “I’m sorry, man. It really doesn’t seem like you can do much.”
“I was afraid that’s what you were going to say,” Jason muttered bitterly. “The guy had intent. He was going to—” He cut himself off, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach.
“Maybe you could talk to his boss. Her friend’s husband? These days people don’t put up with past indiscretions. Just look at how they go after people on social media for saying something ridiculous in their teens.”
Jason mused over his brother’s suggestion, then shook his head. “I don’t think she’d go for it.”
“Why not?”
He gave his brother a pointed look. “She’s kept this wound of hers a secret for five years. What makes you think that she’s going to suddenly confide in her friend’s husband? She wants it all swept under the rug, remember? That’s the problem.”
Mathew nodded knowingly. “I guess you’re right. Doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
“I didn’t say it was,” Jason snapped defensively. “But she’s in a fragile state right now. Anything could tip the scales and send her into a tailspin.”
“Even more reason for her to get hel—”
“That’s not going to happen.” Jason glowered at his brother. “I need ideas to help her. Ideas that make sense to her. Something that won’t trigger her.”
Mathew glared right back. “I work in the medical field. So does Penny. You know what we’ve studied. And you know what our suggestions will be. Right now, you’re enabling her.”
Jason stiffened. That sounded a lot like what Mark had said.
“I’m sorry to break this to you, but the way you’re treating her isn’t helping.
You’re trying to put a Band-Aid on a leaky pipe.
Eventually those cracks are going to get deeper and splinter wider.
I might be a physician who works with the physical body, but even I can say that mentally, she needs help. ”
“Don’t you think I’m doing that? I’m helping her.”
The only way to describe the look in his brother’s eyes was pity.
And for some reason, it only stirred the rage that hadn’t had an outlet.
Jason wanted to yell, to swing his fists into something until his knuckles bled.
Isabelle was slipping through his fingers.
She’d been doing so great—until Dillan was back in the picture.
Now, she was deteriorating at a faster rate than he thought possible.
“I’m helping her,” Jason repeated with a rasp. “She needs me.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Mathew said quietly.
“But there’s only so much you can do for her.
You’re too close to the situation. You need to be her support.
Keep being there for her. But eventually she’s going to need to speak to someone who can get her through the worst of it. And she’s going to need to want it.”
Right now, that was the last thing Isabelle wanted.
“When will that happen?” Jason hated the way it felt like he was on the verge of tears himself.
“I think she has to hit rock bottom first.”
Jason flinched. That sounded dangerous. Sometimes people who hit rock bottom made bad decisions. “I can’t lose her,” he whispered.
His brother didn’t speak for a long moment. Then he rose from his side of the booth. The cushion at Jason’s side shifted as Mathew took a seat beside him. He draped an arm around his shoulders. “I know, brother. But you can get through this. And I’ll be here to help you.”