26. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jax
S age stands by my pickup outside her house the next morning while Allie sleeps inside. We decided that Allie should stay with Sage for a little while longer while we're getting reacquainted, but she wants to see me every day still. That's improvement, and after I screwed up majorly, it's the least I can do.
"You really think Laura put a camera in your bedroom?" Sage asks.
"I would bet just about anything on it," I say through clenched teeth. "The cops have it now, but we're also missing a picture from the living room. Something else I'm pretty sure Laura took, but I have no idea why."
Taking a sip of her coffee, she shakes her head. "She's definitely got an agenda."
"What do you mean?" I ask as I seethe.
I didn't sleep at all last night and spent a good portion of it checking the house for any other cameras or listening devices. The key is also no longer taped beneath the mat in the back. Security cameras have been ordered, and I will install them the moment they come in. Laura will get nowhere near my house again.
"The two times I've been around when Laura showed up, which I think were the only two times she's tried, it's like she's trying to plant the seed that you're simply settling for Allie. That what she can offer isn't what you want, but you'll deal with it anyway."
"Settle for Allie ? That girl needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror."
"It was obvious that everything Laura said was intentional. She wants a wedge driven between the two of you. You really fucked her?"
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. "Allie told you?"
"No... Benji, actually. Don't be mad at him. He was worried he'd given you wrong advice. He did, but his heart was in the right place."
"It was not really... sort of... it was barely anything," I say. "Just a physical reaction while my brain struggled to keep up with everything that happened the three days prior."
She taps her fingers on the cup I brought for her. "I wouldn't put it past her to do something drastic to get your attention. If she was recording you and Allie, there's a very good chance she would try and blackmail you to keep it off the internet.”
“You really think she’d do that?”
“I have my suspicions. Throwing herself at you didn't work, so it makes sense she’d turn her attention to Allie. She wants to make Allie think you're not happy. It’s simple: if you leave Allie, or vice versa, you go back to Laura. At least, you do in her warped mind. Probably figures it's easier getting into Allie's head when getting in your bed didn’t work."
"It ends today. "
"I really wish I could come with you. I'd love to see the look on her face."
"You'll hear all about it, I promise. Thanks, Sage," I say.
Tilting her head, she narrows her eyes. "For what?"
"Being such a good friend to Allie. I don't think she'd be where she is comfort-wise if you weren't around. You're more patient than I've been."
"I love her, too, Jax. Not in the same way you do, but I think that might be where I'm able to separate things a little more. Just remember, though, she was mine before she was ever yours. Make her cry again like that night, and I will kick your ass."
I smile and nod. "I went about it wrong. All wrong. But I see my mistakes now. I love her. That's never changed, and it never will."
"By the way, did you know invitations for your wedding were postmarked three days ago?"
I gape at her as I process what she just said. Wedding invitations for a wedding I called off over a month ago went out this week? "What?"
"Yes, my brother's best friend received an invitation the other day. Apparently, you're still marrying Laura."
"The fuck I am!"
She taps her hand on the door of my pickup, and I pull away as she walks inside. I drive the six blocks to the house I almost moved into. The house that was supposed to be my marital home if I married Laura. Something I'm more than happy never happened.
I jump out of the pickup and race up to the door, pounding on it for a full minute before Laura opens it.
"Jax? What's wrong? Do you want to come inside?" Laura asks, her hair a mess from sleeping on it as she holds a robe around her in an attempt to stave off the chilly morning air .
I can't stop but think that if she knew I was coming over that she'd have nothing on underneath the robe. "Stay the fuck away from Allie."
She looks surprised. "What's wrong?"
"I know what you're doing, and you need to stay the hell away from Allie. And the hell away from me. Don't come near either of us ever again."
She reaches out and catches my arm as I turn to leave, but I shake it out of her grasp. "Come inside, Jax. We can talk about this. There's been a misunderstanding—"
"I'll never step inside that house again because I don't want to give you even an inkling of hope there's anything left between us. And there is no misunderstanding. You lied to Allie. Flat out lied, and you did it to try and drive her away from me. Just stay away from us."
"What exactly am I doing? Huh? Since you seem to know so much even though you cut me completely out of your life the moment the mindless version of the love of your life showed up on your doorstep, why don't you tell me?"
Stepping forward, I get in her face. "Throwing yourself at me didn't work, so you're trying to plant doubt in Allie's mind about us. I'm sorry I hurt you, but you always knew how I felt. How much I didn't want to move on, but I gave into the constant nagging and pressure from everyone around me."
"You love me. I can see it when you look at me, and I know you want to come inside and do everything she won't let you do. I see it, Jax."
Telling her I know she's the one who put the camera in our house is right there on the tip of my tongue, but I decide to keep it to myself. The cops have the camera now, and I don't want to give her a chance to remove anything they could use as evidence .
"You were convenient," I spit at her instead. "You were a constant in my life, and yes, I thought one day I could maybe love you. But no matter what I felt towards you, I was never in love with you. Never could be. I forced everything that happened between us. And I didn't tell you before because I didn't want to hurt you, but you clearly don't have a grip on reality. No matter what you do, no matter how big of a wedge you could drive between Allie and me, I will never be with you again."
Her face falls, and if I didn't know she broke into our house to record Allie and me in our most intimate moments, I'd feel a small twinge of guilt. But remembering the lies Laura fed Allie in an attempt to push us apart helps turn that guilt into pure rage.
"You refuse to accept that we're done, so this is me telling you to let it go."
"Was the sex forced? Because you never seemed to need any help in that department to get ready. You stood at attention anytime I whipped out my tits. If I did that now, I bet your body would still react the same way."
Fat chance. "You're a woman, and I was lonely. It's not that hard of a word problem to solve."
"And what if I told you I'm pregnant?"
"Are you?" I ask, standing upright and taking a step backwards.
"Would it change anything? Because I think it will for Allie. To know you knocked up the woman you were fucking while she was locked in a damn basement."
My eyes narrow. "If you're pregnant, I want to go to the doctor to see proof because you're nothing but a liar these days. And if, IF , the test came back positive, I'd do what I needed to for the child. But we will never be together. "
"You think Allie would just go along with it? Be a stepmom to a bastard child?"
Her hands tighten around her robe, and I know it's not because she's hiding herself. She's hiding what she's wearing. It's not attractive enough in her eyes for me to see. She is a bona fide loon.
"I'd explain it to Allie, and she understands what I went through, the desperation I felt. But at the end of the day, you and I have no chance. Ever."
"Allie doesn't even remember you!" she shouts. "Don't you see how pathetic it is to try and force her to be with you? To make her into what you want instead of accepting her for who she is?"
Taking a step back onto the top step, I shake my head. "You might want to try looking in the mirror when you start talking about being pathetic, Laura."
Her jaw drops. "Excuse me?"
"I do accept Allie for who she is. What's pathetic is a woman who can't accept the fact she's not getting married. The woman who tries to worm her way in and create problems because she’s diluted and thinks it will bring a man back to her. Newsflash, Laura... Even if Allie and I decide not to be together, which I'll never let happen, there is no chance in hell of you and me ever doing anything again. Not even for a night of comfort. Not if we were the last people on earth. Never."
"You're an asshole," Laura says, tears falling as her hands shake while she clutches her robe so tightly I’m surprised she hasn’t torn it. "You led me on for decades, and now you're just throwing me away after using me for what you wanted at the time. Like I don't matter. As though I didn't do everything for you!"
"You did things for me," I admit and nod my head. "And I'm grateful, but it's over. It's all over, Laura, and you need to stay away. "
I turn to walk away, but she grabs my arm, turning me around. "We have mutual friends. You can't just tell me to stop being friends with them, Jax. You don't have that power."
"How many times have they reached out to you recently? Because I know they haven't. You were a tagalong, Laura. They're not your friends. You were allowed around because of Allie and me, and now we don't want you near us. You need to get a grip on reality because this isn't healthy."
Her tactic seems to change as she falls to the ground, gripping my hand tightly. "I love you. I'm sorry for going behind your back. I just love you so much that I was desperate. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I'll do anything for you. You know it's true."
Yanking my hand back, I stare at her completely dumbstricken. "Are you desperate enough to stalk me and get information to show up places you're not invited?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Where have I been that I wasn't invited?"
Again, I want to mention the missing picture and the camera, but I don't want to let her in on the fact I know it was her. "My parents' cookout?"
"I was told about it—"
"No one told you about it, Laura."
"I'm in a group chat—"
"Stop lying!" I shout at her. "We all checked, and it wasn't a group chat. Sage was missed in the invite process, and there is not a single group chat you're in that she isn't. You found out somehow and weaseled your way in. It ends now," I say, walking to my pickup.
She runs down the steps, tears streaming down her face. "Jax! Wait! We can work this out! "
"And send something out letting everyone know the wedding invitations you mailed this week were a mistake. The wedding isn't happening. It was never happening, and you sending them out is just proof you're off your fucking rocker."
"There must've been a mistake at the post office—"
"Just stop! I'm done with your lies, and I'm done with you. As of right now, I don't ever want to see you again," I say and climb into my pickup.
Screams of protest call out, but I don't pay any attention. I drive away and pray she gets the message. I don't like being cruel, but she cannot seem to accept what's actually going on. She creates a world of her own, and she doesn't seem to understand that what happens in her head and what happens in real life aren't the same. I'm never going back to her. I never should have been with her to begin with. In fact, I never should have allowed her to be part of the group for anywhere near as long as I did. That should have ended when high school did.