36. Adam
ADAM
Ihear the raised voices from inside while parking my car. It comes through my open window audibly, and seeing as James’s truck is in the driveway, I can pretty much already guess what’s going on.
He caught her and Jake together.
I sigh. Well, it was bound to happen anyway.
It's not like we could keep the secret forever, and a part of me is somewhat relieved. This sneaking around shit isn’t for me.
I tend to be pretty straightforward and honest with people, and I’ve always thought that keeping this particular secret for too long would lead to an even bigger blowout.
I guess I was right. As Jake says something else, I hear Chelsea's voice rising above his, and I smile.
That's one of the things I love about Chelsea: her feistiness. It’s easy to miss because she can be pretty shy and easygoing, so some might assume she would be a doormat.
That is, until you try to push her. Then she digs in her heels and shows you exactly who she is.
She proves it every time we fight or do something she regards as stupid.
Like Sam being his usual irritable self the other day. He never directed it towards her, but when he said something rude to me, she raised an eyebrow at him, and he was back in line by the afternoon.
She's the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, shy yet brazen. She's the woman we met all those weeks ago; at the same time, she's someone totally different.
It's a good thing she knows exactly how to deal with us. Those other two can run a sane person ragged, but she gives it back as good as she gets and doesn't let them get away with shit.
I sigh and get out of the car, readying myself for the fight that’s going to meet me. When I enter, it’s to find Chelsea standing between a conflicted Jake and her brother.
She’s pointing her finger at James' stunned face.
“...You don't get to tell me what I can and cannot do with my life,” she said.
“Yes, I'm dating him and Adam and Sam. I'm with three men all at once. And yes, I have feelings for all of them, so now what are you going to do? I’m not a little girl anymore, James. I appreciate your concern and everything, but you don’t get to dictate who I am and who I’m not with.
Making a mistake with Eric doesn't mean I'm going to be wrong about every single guy I date, and I don't appreciate you throwing that in my face. "
"Jesus, are you hearing yourself?" James sneers. "Do you have any fucking clue what people will say about you once they find out what you're doing? Do you know what it's going to be like at work? The construction guys, do you know what the fuck they say about women these three toy with?"
"That's their problem. If there’s a scandal, I’ll deal with it. If there’s a fallout at work, I’ll deal with that too. If you want to fire me, go ahead. But don’t ask me to choose between you and them… because I’m not sure you’re going to like my answer."
James is stunned by her response, and so am I.
I know how close she is to her brother. Through all her stories about her family, their closeness has always been the one marked constant, the shade of light in an otherwise messed-up tale.
He's the one who took care of her and didn't let their parents simply neglect her.
Now, she’s telling him to his face that she would choose us over him. Hurt flashes in his eyes, and her expression softens, but she doesn’t take back the words. She doesn’t immediately apologize or say anything to appease him. Instead, she simply stands there, regretful but firm anyway.
James turns his eyes to me.
Betrayal flashes in their depths. His cheekbones stand out starkly on his cheeks, and for a second, I think he's about to take a swing.
But then he turns sharply, storming out of the house.
I follow him.
"Jake. Wait."
“What have you done to my sister?’
"Nothing. Just listen–"
“Fuck off." He gets into his jeep and glares at me through the window. "You told me you would take care of her, and now you’re treating her like she’s a common-"
“Careful,” I say, my voice dropping an octave. I have a lot of sympathy for his situation right now, but the second that he starts calling his sister names is when all my goodwill disappears. "Let's relax before we say something we regret."
“Go to hell," he mutters as he fumbles for his keys, pulling them out of his pocket and sliding them into the ignition.
I stand there and watch him start the car, then I move closer to the window and place my hand on it to prevent him from rolling it up.
“Your sister loves you,” I say
“Of course I know my fucking sister loves me," he snaps. "I don’t need you to tell me. Now back off before I slice your fingers off."
I stare at him. On one hand, I don’t want him to leave here angry, but on the other hand, I know that anything I say right now is only going to make it worse.
I back away, and he rolls his window up all the way before driving off. I head back into the house and find Chelsea biting her lip, the guilt bleeding out of her eyes. Jake has his hand around her waist, and she leans her entire body into his.
“I should have said that differently, shouldn’t I?” she asks.
“Maybe, but there's no use dwelling on it now. It's not your fault. Emotions were heightened for both of you."
She shakes her head.
“I didn’t mean…he just kept bad-mouthing Jake and demanding I leave with him. I was just trying to let him know that I wasn’t going to abandon Jake just because of him, but then it sounded like…”
"Shh, it’s okay.” I draw her forward, meeting Jake’s gaze.
It’s a curious mix of guilt and amazement.
He clearly didn’t expect her to say what she said, didn’t expect her to choose him in front of her brother, and the fact that she did makes him both sorry and a little gratified, which only enhances his guilt.
And love.
He loves her. The tenderness with which he stares at her makes it obvious, though I think I've probably known for a while that he's in love with her. And so am I. And so is Sam.
We can’t keep playing this game anymore and pretending like what we have here will end at some point, because none of us are willing to let her go. And it appears that she’s not willing to let us go either.
“Just give him time,” I murmur into her hair.
“I should talk to him.”
“Yes. But let him calm down first. I’ll talk to him as well.”
“He might try to pull out of the contract."
“That’s the least of our concerns right now. I doubt he can, but even if he does, it’s not going to bankrupt us.”
"Yes, but...but..." Her voice breaks, and I hold her while she sobs, and Jake rubs her back.
“I hate fighting with him,” she mumbles. “Hate it.”
"I know, baby," I croon. "I know."
"I should tell him that I love him."
"He knows. It's the first thing I told him, and he told me he knows. Just give him some time to come around, and I'm sure he'll be more receptive to the conversation."
She nods into my chest but keeps crying.
Sam eventually returns, and when he hears the story, he only holds her silently, taking his turn to cuddle with her on the couch.
We make her some hot tea, and I finish up the Paella for her and give her some.
She has a few bites before she decides to send her brother a message that reads, “I’m sorry for what I said.
I wouldn’t choose him over you, but I also wouldn't choose you over them. So please don’t make me have to make the choice. ”
She sends it and waits for a response. It doesn't come by the time she falls asleep in Jake's arms.
I catch his eye. He seems to understand what I mean implicitly without my saying anything, getting up and carrying her to bed.
Then he returns to say, “Something happen?"
Sam, whose eyes were on the TV, also turned to regard us.
I sigh. “I got called into the station today. It seems that their investigation brought about some suspicion of foul play.”
“What?” Jake's eyes widen, and I nod.
“Yeah. According to them, it looked like the excavator thing wasn’t just an accident. There was no problem with the engine or anything. Someone must have driven it into the scaffolding.”
“And no one saw it happen?”
“Everyone was busy, not to mention no one was really around that area when it happened. They wanted to know if we knew anyone who would do something like that.”
“Do we?” Sam asks, staring at me with anger stoked in his eyes.
“There’s Ken.” Ken is the owner of a construction company that was also bidding for the project.
“Nah. This is shady even for him. He would be more likely to talk to someone and try to smarm his way into the proposal rather than physically harm us.”
“I’m pretty sure he tried that already, and maybe it didn’t work, which is why he continued to sabotage us by creating negative publicity."
“Maybe. Anyone else?"
“That one guy I fought at the bar," Jake says.
“And what, he waited a few months to get back at you? Not likely."
We keep brainstorming, but each possibility seems more unlikely than the last. Sure, each of us has one or more people who probably want to kick our ass for various reasons.
A disgruntled employee. A jealous boyfriend.
A business rival. But to go as far as to sabotage our business was a whole other thing entirely.
We don’t get very far with that, as we have a drink. We're silent in thought for some time before Jake blurts out, “I told her I loved her today.”
That makes Sam freeze in the process of pouring himself another drink.
"She didn't say it back," he says. "But I think it's because...I think she loves all of us."
Sam's eyes widen, and he meets my gaze. Shock and the burgeoning hope that he almost doesn't dare to have. I know we're thinking the same thing, even if we know it's far too early to be.
Is there a chance that she would choose us all?