Chapter Six #2
Janice gave a scoff. “You know what? I’m surprised you’re even bringing this up. I’m surprised you’re so bothered all of a sudden. This is probably the most open and expressive you’ve been with me.”
She might as well have kicked him in the gonads.
Theon ground his teeth, biting back a retort.
Could he really blame anyone but himself?
He could’ve told her a firm no when she came asking for help.
He could’ve even avoided bringing up this subject.
At least then they wouldn’t be having this argument.
He expelled a breath. “That isn’t—”
Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud bang as the barn doors slammed shut.
***
The sound reverberated through the barn, and several frightened moos traveled into her ears from the unsettled cows. Thinking quickly, Janice rushed forward, trying to force the doors back open, but they wouldn’t budge. She shoved harder. No such luck.
“What the hell...?” she heard Theon mutter next to her.
Her heart thundered in her chest, although whether it was from panic or excitement, it was almost impossible to tell. Someone had locked them in the barn. But who? Their culprit? Could her suspicions about Svenson be correct, after all?
Just then, she heard laughter.
It wasn’t a single laugh. Not even two. Multiple giggles carried into the barn from outside. And not a single one sounded like it had come from an old man.
“Kids?” she muttered. What in the world was going on?
“It’s those teenagers, the same ones that TP’d my barn.” When she glanced at Theon, he had a scowl on his face. He banged on the doors. “Hey, let us out of here! What are you kids playing at?”
More laughter. Theon banged harder on the doors, but that did nothing to help their situation. Janice thought she heard a faint rustle outside. What were these teenagers up to?
“Are you sure?” said one of the voices. “Maybe we should just let them out.”
“Just do it, George!” another snapped.
“Hey! You’re not supposed to say my name, Brad! What if they hear us?”
“Now you just said my name, you dimwit.”
“Quit bickering, both of you, and let’s get it over with,” said a third voice. “We gotta get out of here before someone sees us.”
There was more rustling, and soon Janice heard the sound of footsteps retreating. She and Theon shoved at the doors again to no avail.
“They’re gone,” he said. “But I don’t see why—”
“This is on you,” she said, rounding on him. “We wouldn’t be trapped in here if it weren’t for you.”
He looked visibly taken aback. “What are you even talking about?”
“If you hadn’t decided that this was the best time and place to bring up the matter of us, maybe we wouldn’t have gotten so distracted and ended up stuck in a barn that smells like cow dung.
” A cloud of anger filled her insides, and her chest tightened a little.
“Now we’ve been ambushed and trapped by a bunch of kids. ”
If Svenson had heard or seen them, he’d have shown up or sent someone over by now. How long would it be until someone realized they were stuck in here and came to help them? The thought of being stuck in here with Theon wasn’t exactly appealing, and for more than one reason.
Janice stepped away from the doors, pacing away for a moment before turning back to face him. “Since we’re already trapped in here, we might as well talk.” She folded her arms across her chest. “So talk, Theon.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this upset. Up until a few minutes ago, she hadn’t even realized how much anger she’d been holding in.
Theon simply stared at her, his lips unmoving. Wasn’t he going to say anything? Frustration bit at her insides.
“There you go again,” she muttered in spite of herself. “Refusing to open up like you always—”
“I did care about you, Janice.”
His words stole her next breath from her lungs. She gulped, blinking at him, unable to form a response. His jaw was tightened, but there was something different about his tone.
“I did,” he went on. “If I didn’t, we wouldn’t have been together. You weren’t just a hookup, and I think I made that clear to you the night you broke up with me. But you didn’t listen.”
She found her voice then. “You could never even say you loved me. For someone who claims to have cared, you had a funny way of showing it, Theon.”
“Janice—”
“You think I wanted to leave you?” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Breaking up with you was hard for me. I wanted to be with you so badly. I was in love with you, for crying out loud. More than anything, I wanted to make things work between us. But it wasn’t going to happen.
Not with you being emotionally unavailable and basically shutting me out.
I simply did what I had to do, even if I didn’t like it. ”
She stepped even closer until she was right in front of him, and jabbed him in the chest with her finger.