by Emily Rose
But I was the one who had been selfish, only to realize Chase was with someone, which was exactly what I deserved.
I hurried to my car, unlocking it in the process and jumped in. I didn’t wait on Chase or Gayla to come outside and started the engine. I skidded out of the parking spot, leaving both them and my job behind. I had no idea what I was going to do for income now, but I wasn’t about to go back to that place. I headed across town; toward the only place I could call home right now.
Miles’.
I knew Ray had class today, so she wouldn’t be there until later this evening, but I didn’t care. I would just wait on her. It was the only choice I had.
When I pulled into the driveway, I parked next to Miles’ car and shut mine off. I sat there, hearing my own heart pound in my ears as I held my keys in my hand.
I couldn’t believe how upside down my life has become. It was all so damn confusing, and I wasn’t sure what I needed to do next. I could feel myself on the verge of tears, but I refused to let them fall as I pulled my phone from my purse and turned it on.
When the screen finally lit up, I unlocked it and opened my contacts. I scrolled down until I found his number. I didn’t dial it. I just stared at Jax’s name. There was no way I could call him and explain things. He wouldn’t care. I knew that for a fact.
Jax was done with my shit, but he wasn’t the only one.
I was done with my shit too.
My heart ached at the thought of not having him, but I shoved that pain aside. I didn’t deserve to feel that kind of heartache. It was my fault I didn’t have him.
I closed my eyes and breathed in through my nose. I willed my heart to slow down, but it shot through the roof when my phone suddenly started ringing in my hand. It caused me to jump and I dropped it on the floor as it continued to ring.
“Damnit,” I said to myself and reached down to grab it off the floor.
When I finally had my hand around it, I leaned up and saw who was calling.
Miles flashed across the screen.
I sighed heavily and then answered. “Hello.”
“Hey,” he said.
I pulled my eyebrows together, “Uh hey?” It came out as a question.
Miles didn’t say anything for a minute, but then I heard him take a deep breath. “Can I talk to you about something? I know what happened between you and Jax, so I’m sorry I have to ask this.”
Now I was confused.
“Uh, what about him?” I asked.
“Have you, I don’t know, noticed anything different about him?” he asked.
I had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
“No, why?”
“Just curious,” he said.
“Miles?” I pushed for more, because I could tell there was something he wasn’t saying.
I heard something on the other end of the phone, like he was moving. “I don’t know. I just feel like he isn’t telling me something. I didn’t figure Ray would answer me and I knew if anything was off about Jax, you were the best person to ask,” he said.
“Not anymore,” I said.
He sighed. “I’m sorry, Danny. I know we aren’t close or whatever, but I still consider you family. I hate to see my family hurting.”
His words were meant to make me feel better but considering what he has done to my best friend, they did the exact opposite and I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Miles, you left Ray. Your wife, without any answers and then you tell me that you hate to see your family hurting. You hurt her. Isn’t she your family? More than any of us,” I asked, frustrated.
I hated men. Period.
“Yes, she is the most important person to me. I know I fucked up and I’ve been trying to fix it, but she won’t let me,” he said.
I sighed. “You don’t need to fix it over the damn phone, Miles. You need to get your ass back home and fix it in person.”
“I won’t be back until sometime this weekend,” he said then.
I laughed and shook my head. “Ok, well good luck telling Ray that. You really have no idea what the hell you’re doing,” I said.
“Danny, I get it. I don’t need you to jump my ass. I know I’ve been an asshole and I want to explain myself. I just need to get through this shit with Mia first,” he said, and I could hear the annoyance in his tone.
“Whatever, is that all you needed?” I asked, done with this whole conversation.
“I just wanted to check on Jax. That’s the only reason I called you,” he said.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about, so I guess I can’t help you,” I said.
He was silent then.
“Miles?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I’ll let you go. I just thought I would check,” he said.
“Ok, see you around then,” I answered and then we hung up. I threw my phone into my lap and closed my eyes again.
Miles had called us a family, but right now, all it felt like was a broken piece of glass. I didn’t want to admit it, but I could feel it deep in my bones.
It was just a matter of time before those pieces were lost for good.
At that point, we would all be back at square one. We would all be back to before me and Ray ever walked into Twisted. It was all happening before our eyes. Like an invisible line being drawn between us.
Me and Ray on one side.
Jaxson and Miles on the other.
A family divided.
Chapter Fifteen
Ray
I saw Danny’s car in the driveway when I pulled in. I pulled my eyebrows together and checked the time on the radio clock.
It read 3:15pm.
She wasn’t supposed to be off work until 4pm. I shook my head as I put the car in park and took the keys out. I grabbed my book bag from the backseat and then got out, heading up to the front door while I shoved my keys down inside my bag.
When I walked through the door, I saw Danny sitting on the couch. She wasn’t watching TV or really doing anything.
Oh shit. Something happened.
I put my stuff down and walked around the couch to see her face. She blinked up at me and that was when I saw the sadness in her gaze.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked and sat down beside her.
She didn’t say anything as she leaned over, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. I blinked in confusion but returned the gesture as I hugged her back. Danny didn’t say anything for what felt like forever and then she pulled back, meeting my gaze.
“Can you promise me something?” she asked.
I waited.
“Can we promise each other that no matter what happens, we will always stick by each other?” she asked, almost like she knew something would happen that would cause us not to be.
“What happened today, Danny?” I asked.
I didn’t answer her question. Not because I didn’t think that was possible, but because she was really starting to worry me.
Danny sighed heavily. “I quit my job today.”
I blinked, while that was a bit of a surprise, that wasn’t all of it. “Ok. And?” I asked.
“I also found out that Chase is with my co-worker,” she said.
Holy shit.
“What?”
She nodded and then shifted on the couch, curling her legs up and under her. “Yep, he came into the cafe today. I thought he was just coming to eat. I mean he didn’t know I worked there. We didn’t really share a lot of information during our one dance, but then Gayla came out of the back. She jumped on him like they had been together for a while.”
“Are you serious?” I asked, pissed off at Chase all over again.
“Yeah, but I got my revenge. At least some of it,” she said and then laughed weakly.
“What did you do?”
Danny looked up to meet my gaze. “I slapped him in front of his girl. I’m pretty sure she knew, so I would not want to be him right now.”
I couldn’t help it. A laugh broke free from me. “T
hat is great. He deserved it,” I said.
She nodded and smiled. We were silent then as I processed everything I had just heard. Chase really was an asshole. I couldn’t believe how some men could act. I knew he was bad news when we met him at Paradise and I tried to prevent it, but in the end, it wasn’t my place to stop it. That was Danny’s place and she had decided differently. I knew why too, but it made me sad that she thought being reckless with her life was the only way she could save those she loved.
And plus, she had wanted that dance and that told me that while she loved Jaxson, it wasn’t enough to stop her from looking in another man’s direction.
That was just the way Danny was. I had hoped that Jax could make her see life differently, but that hope died when their relationship ended.
I guess some people would never change.
“I just spoke to your husband,” she said after several minutes.
Well, that was an abrupt change of subject. “And? What did he say this time?” I asked.
I watched her eyebrows pull together in confusion. “He was calling to ask me about Jax. He said he felt like something was up with him, but I haven’t noticed anything. I mean I know I’ve been kind of out of it lately, but I think I would have noticed if something was up with him,” she said.
My heart picked up. I had no idea what Miles was referring to or if we were thinking the same thing, but I hated the thought of it. I had picked up on something with Jaxson the night we were at Twisted, something I wished I hadn’t seen, because now I would have to lie. It wasn’t my secret to share, but if Miles had noticed something was off with Jaxson from miles away, what else had he picked up on?
I almost feared the answer to that, but I couldn’t think that way.
“I haven’t noticed anything,” I said. It scared me at how easy that lie fell from my lips and I instantly felt the guilt from it settle over me.
“I haven’t either, so I don’t know what Miles is talking about,” she said.
I looked away. “Yeah, there’s no telling. You know how guys are.”
“I do,” she said and then, “Oh, and I might have torn your husband a new asshole while I was on the phone with him, sorry not sorry.” she went on.
I laughed. “I could see that. I’m guessing he’s just saying the same thing he’s been saying since he left.”
“Yeah, he wants to fix it and blah blah,” she said.
A totally different kind of guilt hit me. I missed Miles. So damn much. It had been days since I had heard his voice and I wanted to fix it as much as he was trying to. I just wasn’t sure I could trust him even after it was fixed. He had lied, but then again, wasn’t I also lying? That didn’t make me any better than him. I wasn’t to the point that I thought our marriage was over.
It wasn’t that at all. I was mad, but I wasn’t ready to give up on us.
“Is that all he said?” I asked.
Danny was silent then, which made me look at her. I could see there was more. “What is it?”
“I shouldn’t be the one telling you this, but I can’t help it. I tell you everything,” she said and then smiled, which only made the fact that I hadn’t told her everything that much worse.
“What?” I asked as I pushed those feelings aside.
“He said that he won’t be back until sometime this weekend. He didn’t tell me why. That was all he said,” she said.
And just like that, the temptation to call him and fix things went flying right out the window. I turned my gaze away and glared at the wall as if it were Miles. “Lovely,” I said.
“I’m sorry, girl,” Danny said.
I shook my head, laughed, and then stood up. “Whatever, that’s his choice. I’m just going to focus on the rest of the shit I have going on right now. I will deal with him when the right time comes, but for now, we are going shopping,” I said over my shoulder as I walked back to the bedroom to change clothes.
After I got ready and Danny changed out of her work clothes, we headed across town to one of the few shops we had here. I parked against the curb and we both got out to go inside.
Inside, the place smelled like apples. Like the shop owner had a candle burning somewhere and even for such a small place, the entire thing was crammed full of dresses. Shoes also lined the entire back wall and I saw the small counter to my right. No one stood there as we started searching for the perfect one.
Danny walked around, lazily perusing the options as I started going through one rack. They had every color you could think of and even though I wasn’t sure I’d find the perfect one here, my hopes were high. I stopped on a dark red dress, which was the color my mom wanted, and pulled it from the rack. It was beautiful, shorter near the knees so that those would be visible, but long enough in the back that it would barely touch the ground.
It had a split down the back too, like Danny’s black dress had and the split in the front matched, except it didn’t dip down quite as far, stopping just below the bustline.
“Danny,” I called her over and she took in the dress I was holding.
“Wow, that’s gorgeous,” she said and reached over to run her fingers down the material, “And it’s super soft,” she said.
I nodded, eyeing the dress. “I wonder if they have our sizes.”
She shrugged and then we started digging for the right sizes. Thank all the dress gods above, we both found the right ones, and I took it from the rack like someone might steal it straight out of my hand. I draped it over my arm, and we headed to the back where I had seen the shoes.
That was when I saw the changing rooms.
“Let’s go try them on,” I said.
Danny took one stall and I took the other. I sat my purse down and started ripping my clothes off. I heard Danny on the other side, cussing under her breath.
I laughed and unclasped my bra. “You okay over there?”
“Yes, I’m great. Just trying to wrestle out of these damn clothes without falling on my ass,” she said.
I laughed once at the image and then changed into the dress, pulling it up and over my shoulders. I was short, but the dress fit me perfectly. In the front, it fell to just above my knees, while the back showed off the curve there. I twisted as I gazed at myself in the full-length mirror. It possibly showed a bit more boob that I normally liked to show off, but I ignored that.
“What do you think?” Danny asked.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Let me see you in it,” I said and then opened my door to walk out.
She came out a second later.
“Whoa,” I said.
The dress looked a little shorter on her since she was a little bit taller than me and her boobs were a bit bigger than mine, so they filled it out on top a little better than mine did.
“You like it?” she asked and spun around.
I nodded. “Yes, how does it look on me?”
Danny stopped spinning and eyed me. “It looks perfect. I really think these are the dresses. Not that we have time to be picky,” she said.
I laughed. “Right, well let’s get these and go look at the shoes. Mom will just have to get over it if she doesn’t like them.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said and then we went back into our stalls to change back into our clothes before we headed over to check out the shoes.
It didn’t take us long to find a pair. They weren’t what I would normally pick out, but I knew they would look great with the dress. I hadn’t seen the woman who owed the shop come up to the counter, but when we went to check out, she was there. I paid for both dresses and the shoes since it was my mom’s wedding, we needed them for.
After we checked out, I followed Danny back to my car where we threw our bags in the trunk and then got back in. I started the engine and looked over at her.
“Do you want to go get dinner?” I asked.
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Fine, we are going to get dinner. I thought about heading to Florida tonight, but it’s been a long day, s
o do you mind if we leave early in the morning?” I asked as I shifted into gear and pulled away from the curb.
“No, the sooner, the better really,” she said.
That made me sad. It was obvious she wanted out of Hampton as quick as possible, but there was no way I could make that drive tonight.
We headed across town to a Mexican restaurant I had heard a lot about. After parking and getting out, I followed Danny inside where a host was waiting at the front.
“Just two tonight?” she asked.
I nodded and then followed her as she took us to one of the back booths. I took a seat as the host placed our menus on the table.
“Your waitress will be right with you,” she said and then darted off.
“I’m going to the restroom. Can you just order me water and tacos if the waitress shows up?” Danny asked.
I nodded and grabbed my menu.
“Thanks,” she said and then left me alone.
I sat gazing at the menu when I heard my phone chime from inside my purse. I put the menu down and dug through the mess inside my purse until I felt my phone. When I pulled it out, I lit up the screen again and saw a text message.
I half expected it to be Miles, but it wasn’t.
It was Jax.
Jax-What are you doing tonight?
I stared at his message, but before I could answer it, Danny returned. I turned my screen black quicker than I probably should have as she took a seat across from me.
“You alright?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said and then put my phone back inside my purse without answering him. There was no way I could text him back right now.
I picked up my menu again as the waitress finally came over to our table. I had no idea what I wanted, so I ended up ordering the same as Danny. Water and tacos. Couldn’t really beat it for quick and easy.
Once the waitress had our orders, she left only to return a few seconds later with our drinks and then left again. I grabbed the straw and shoved it into my drink, taking a long sip.
The cold water felt good as it went down my throat.
“You know, we should just ditch out on your mom’s wedding and just take the weekend for us,” Danny said a few minutes later.