Chapter Fifty-Seven
Jade
I didn’t sleep. I don’t even remember trying.
My eyes burned, and my head throbbed from crying, but I still reached for my phone when the alarm went off.
Work.
Right.
I stared at the screen until the shift reminder stopped flashing. My thumb hovered over the call button before I finally pressed it.
“Hey, it’s Jade,” I said when Allie, the charge nurse, picked up. “I’m not feeling great tonight; I’m not going to make it in.”
A pause. Then she softly replied, “Okay. Feel better.”
I hung up before she could ask what was wrong.
The phone landed somewhere near my pillow. Penny Lane crawled up beside me and settled against my ribs, her purr rumbling through the blanket. I rested a hand on her fur and tried to breathe around the tightness in my chest.
The video kept looping in my head—Sylvia’s voice, the reporter’s question, the silence that followed. His silence. Then the look in his eyes outside my door, the one that almost made me open it again. Almost.
Every time I thought I was out of tears, more came anyway.
I dragged the comforter over my head, hoping that would block out my thoughts.
It didn’t.
Penny Lane kneaded against my stomach, a small, steady reminder that I wasn’t completely alone. I managed a whisper. “Guess it’s just us again.”
~~~~
“Jade!” I heard Lainey’s voice call from the front of the house.
Instead of answering her, I rolled over and buried my head deeper under the covers.
The echo of her footsteps grew louder as she came down the hall, and when she said my name again, I could tell she was standing in the doorway.
“Jade?”
I still didn’t answer.
The next thing I knew, my little warm cocoon was ripped away, and cold air nipped at my skin.
“Hey!” I protested as I tried to grab the covers back.
“Oh good, you’re alive,” Lainey replied, moving the blankets to the foot of the bed.
I snatched them back and wrapped them around me.
“I’m alive,” I grumbled. “Why are you here?”
“Wow, good to see you, too.”
With a guilt-ridden sigh, I sat up and looked over at her sheepishly.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just not having a good morning.”
She glanced at her watch and retorted, “Well, since it’s one in the afternoon…”
One in the afternoon?
Groaning, I dropped to the side and flopped back onto the bed.
“What day is it?”
“Wednesday. Why? How long have you been in bed?”
With another sigh, I sat up. “Since Monday.”
Lainey sat down on the bed and stroked my ratty hair. “Yeah, that makes sense. That’s probably when you saw the video of Brian and Sylvia.”
I nodded, picking at a loose thread on my blanket. “I should’ve turned it off when it started playing, but I just… kept watching. Like maybe if I listened long enough, it would make sense.”
Lainey’s voice softened. “It’s not going to make sense. I don’t think it makes sense even for him.”
My gaze snapped to meet hers. “What makes you say that?”
“He came by.”
My chest tightened. “What did he want?” I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.
Lainey offered a sad smile. “To explain what happened—and get advice about how to talk to you about it.”
I huffed out a humorless laugh. “Of course he did. Now that the whole town’s watched the video on repeat, he suddenly wants to explain.”
“He said it wasn’t what it looked like.”
I looked down at my hand in my lap. “It never is, is it?”
Lainey hesitated, then said quietly, “He looked wrecked, Jade. Whatever happened, I don’t think he’s fine either.”
I wanted to believe her. But all I could see was that video burned into my brain—Sylvia smiling for the camera, the reporter’s question hanging in the air, and Brian just standing there saying nothing.
And underneath it, the comments—people saying they knew it couldn’t be true that he was dating me.
A few added that guys like him always go back to their type.
“You don’t have to defend him. I get it. He didn’t mean for it to happen and feels bad.”
“I think it’s more than that. Whatever’s between you two—it’s not over for him.”
That made my heart skip a beat. Then, because my reaction pissed me off, I bit out, “Well, it sure looks over from here.”
Lainey gave me that look—the one that meant she could see right through me. “Were you in love with him?”
I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead. “I don’t know, maybe? I just know it hurts. And yeah, maybe he told himself he was doing the right thing, but he did it while she smiled for the camera and I became the punch line. Everyone saw it, Lainey. The whole damn town.”
“You were humiliated, Jade. You’re allowed to be angry about that. Even if he thought he was doing the right thing.”
My shoulders dropped. “I just hate that he stood there and didn’t say a word.”
For a long moment, neither of us said anything. Then Lainey reached over and squeezed my hand with a tiny grin. “I say this with love, but… you need to take a shower. While you’re in the bathroom, I’ll make you something to eat. Then we can talk about your next move.”
I managed a small nod. “Yeah. One thing at a time.”
Penny Lane stretched beside me, flicking her tail like she agreed.