Chapter 23
Getting stabbed hurts like a motherfucker, and that’s saying something; I’ve been through some shit.
Didn’t help that we had to drag an unconscious Jayden back to the house.
At least it was just him. It was a risk, trying to disarm him that way, but I wasn’t ready to do more damage to my best friend until I got more information, which is what I intend to do when he wakes up.
In the meantime, we wait on the other side of the two-way mirror, observing him.
“You should be lying down,” I argue for the third time as Sol sits in the chair, elevating her leg on the desk and icing her ankle. We’ve both seen better days.
“Yeah, I could say the same about you. But here we are.”
“Fine. Tell me again what happened.”
She sighs and tilts her head to look at me.
“He just showed up. Of course, I invited him inside to wait for you. We were talking in the living room, and he just started spewing hatred at me. He turned violent; I ran. He hunted me down; I hid. Then you know...” She swallows thickly.
“But the weird thing is that he was covered in dirt when he got here. Not just his clothes, but his nails, like he’d been digging or something. ”
“Digging?” I pause my pacing. That’s new information. “Well, that’s fucking weird.”
“It’s all fucking weird,” she agrees. “But you have to admit, it was clever, using Jayden to get to me when he couldn’t.
What a way to really hit you where it hurts.
Taking me away and implicating your best friend.
If you hadn’t found us, you would have had to spend the rest of your life thinking it was Jayden’s hand that took my life, not realizing that it was Ivan who forced him to do it. ”
“You’re sure it was Ivan?” I hate that I have to ask, but I need the reassurance so we can move past this. So I can forgive my best friend without wondering.
“Yes. I’m absolutely sure.”
It never ceases to amaze me, the cruel lengths this son of a bitch is willing to go to get what he wants. “I can’t believe I almost lost you. I barely found you in time.”
“But you did. You saved my life, both our lives probably.”
Jayden stirs, and we both fall silent.
“I’m going in there.”
“I’m coming too,” she insists even though she gasps in pain with the slightest movement of her injured ankle.
“Give me just a minute to talk to Jayden alone. Please?”
Sinking back into her seat, she nods her agreement.
My footsteps ring ominously as I approach where he’s restrained in the chair.
“What the hell happened?” Jayden groans, rolling and stretching his neck.
“You tried to kill Sol?”
“What?” His shock is genuine. “No. I came here to warn you guys…”
“Warn us?”
“Yeah, I had this weird, like, flashback, I guess, of the last time I was here. Except the memories, they weren’t mine. There was this tangle of seething hatred and jealousy that didn’t belong to me. It scared me. I needed to make sure you two were okay, that I hadn’t…fuck.”
“That’s why you’d called a bunch of times?”
“Yeah, but when you didn’t answer, I thought maybe something had happened to you, so I drove right over.”
“Sol said that when you came to the door, you were covered in dirt. Do you remember why?”
“Dirt?” He shakes his head, but his gaze is distant. “All I remember is getting out of my car; after that it’s all just…dark.”
Leaning back on the table in front of him, I study my best friend, searching for any hint of betrayal or insincerity, but Jayden is the most open-book of a person I’ve ever known.
He wears his heart on his sleeve for better or worse.
The same goes for all of his emotions. The remorse and bewilderment are plain as can be. I believe him.
“I don’t really think there’s any easy way to say this, but you were possessed by Ivan. He used you.” I take a deep breath, trying not to get wound up again by what I saw. “He used you to chase her down. He almost killed her. You—he—had a knife ready to plunge into her.”
“Hawthorne, you have to believe me. I would never do that. I would never take her from you. I would never hurt her.”
“I know.” Even though this entire situation has been terrifying and horrific.
There’s a sense of peace that settles over me, the last few interactions we’ve had making so much more sense.
I thought I was losing him. And maybe I had, in a way.
But I’m determined to exorcise whatever hold Ivan’s established over him.
I’m determined to protect him from this, both of them.
“What now?” Jayden asks. “How do we prevent this from happening again? I don’t want to hurt her. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I won’t let that happen. We’re not going to let this motherfucker harm anyone else.”
The soft click of the door grabs both my and Jayden’s attention. Sol locks eyes with Jayden, her mouth opening and closing before she thinks better of it and simply approaches, a limp in her step.
“I’m so sorry,” Jayden starts, but Sol holds up her hand.
“It wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Still, I’m sorry for what happened to you. I would never want you dead.” There’s no denying the sincerity in his voice.
“Thank you.” She joins me against the table. “And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry you had to experience that. I can only imagine how violating it must be. I know how much he can take in a short period of time.”
“Yeah, I’m definitely going to need some therapy for this shit.” He laughs, and it’s a pathetic thing, but it’s a start.
A loud vibration interrupts the moment of camaraderie.
“They’re here. I’ll be right back.” Rushing to the front door, I welcome in Ozzie, Zoey, and Hale. We can use all the backup we can get.
“Where is everyone?” Ozzie gets straight to it.
“In the workroom.” They file in, and I shut the door behind them, following them to where Sol and Jay wait. An awkward silence passes as we enter, and everyone approaches Jayden, where he’s still restrained.
“You haven’t untied him?” Hale asks as she takes a seat in one of the empty chairs.
“Not yet.” I fight the guilt that gnaws at me. “We need to make sure he’s not going to come back just yet. He’s a determined son of a bitch if I’ve ever met one.”
“Better safe than sorry, for sure,” Ozzie agrees.
“Hey Dash,” Zoey greets him as they sit in the other empty chair. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.” Jay laughs nervously and sits taller in his chair.
“Yeah, I bet. I hate to do this, but we don’t really have any time to waste. Do you think you all could take turns running us back through what you remember?”
“All three of us?” I interrupt.
“Who knows what details will stick out from one of your perspectives. We need every detail we can get.”
“Fair,” I concede. “Let’s start with Jay; seems like he remembers the least.”
“Sounds good. Can you two wait in the living room?” Zoey requests.
Sol’s brow furrows, her gaze meeting mine. Zoey catches it. “Just to make sure there’s no influence that might misconstrue details. You all aren’t on trial or anything.”
Nodding, Sol follows me out of the room without further question. There’s nothing to do but wait, so I busy myself with the fireplace. That proves harder when I reach, and a lancing pain cuts through my torso. The knife only grazed my side, but the slash runs from my hip to my upper rib cage.
“Let me see your bandages,” Sol demands.
“I’m okay,” I say through a wince. “I’ve had worse. It’s really more inconvenient than it is serious.”
I can tell she wants to press me for more by her intake of breath, but in the end, she decides to let it go.
It’s a miracle she has the energy to be standing here at all.
She’s been through so much—tonight, over her lifetime.
The urge to coddle her is strong, to carry her upstairs, to hold her close while we shut out the rest of the world.
I almost lost her. If I allow myself to hold onto that thought, I could spiral.
We don’t have time for that right now, though.
“Are you hungry? You never got to eat.” Neither did I, but I’m not the one who looks half out of it. Her silence is my answer. “Come on. Let’s grab something while we wait.”
“I don’t have an appetite right now.”
I believe it, but she always struggled with interoception. I can’t have her passing out when she’s already so vulnerable. I also know better than to insist that she eat. Telling her what to do only makes whatever it is become enemy number one.
“Okay. I’m going to grab a snack, then.” In the kitchen, I search the fridge for something she’ll be likely to pick at. Settling on a quick spread, I cube a few pieces of cheese, cut up an apple, scoop some peanut butter, and add a handful of pretzels.
Sitting next to her on the couch, I set the plate on the table, taking an apple and cheese for myself. Sol stares into the fire, barely taking notice of my presence other than the natural gravitation of her body toward mine.
“When do you think it started?” she asks abruptly.
I field through the possibilities to narrow down what she’s most likely talking about. “Jayden?”
She nods and turns to face me.
Now that I have her attention, I take another apple. “I’d assume the night we brought you back.”
“Was he acting weird that night?”
“No. Not that I can remember. But like you’ve said, it starts little by little, an entity’s hold on you.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“Plus, it doesn’t need to be a true attachment for him to have influence, especially not here.
This is where he’s strongest. It’s not surprising his energy is more impactful on this property.
” I’m more talking myself through the rationale.
Taking another bite of cheese, I re-evaluate all of my and Jay’s recent interactions through a new lens.
“The signs were there, we just didn’t realize it. ”
“How so?” She finally picks up a cube of cheese.
“He’s been jealous and combative. Cruel, even. That’s not him.”