Fabricating Jada

by Marie, Vanessa

  "Here," Jesse said from my doorway, holding out a black hat.

  I reached out to accept it, but he didn't let go once it was in my hands. "Thanks."

  His eyes were dark, but compelling. "Please be careful." With that he let go.

  "I will, I promise."

  "If anything happens and you need me—call."

  Nodding to pacify him, I knew deep down I had no intention of calling him.

  "Do you even have my number?" he demanded, not willing to let it go.

  I pursed my lips trying to remember if I did or not. "I don't know?"

  He grunted at me and held out his hand. With an annoyed huff, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, unlocked it, and dropped it in his awaiting palm. After a minute of tapping the screen, he handed back my phone, and I slipped it in my pocket without giving it a second look. "Happy now?"

  "Happy is a foreign concept for me." His mouth was twisted into his occasional smirk.

  I rolled my eyes. "Shocker. Maybe you should try it some time. Your face is actually tolerable when you smile." I reached forward and pushed the downturned corners of his mouth up.

  He smacked my hands away as he fought against a grin. "Shut up and go see your friend."

  "Aye-aye, grumpy-butt," I said and saluted him as I squeezed out the door past him.

  Jesses's low chuckle followed me as I headed down the stairs.

  When I got to the bottom, DeAnna was waiting. I took a minute to slide on the hat Sir-Pouty-Lips-Super-Frown let me borrow and twisted my hair into a low messy bun at the base of my neck.

  I snorted to myself at the nickname I'd just made up. If only I had the guts to call him that and then watch his reaction. DeAnna arched that all knowing brow of hers. "Isn't that Jesse's hat?"

  I groaned as her lips pulled into an assuming grin. "Yes. He told me to wear it. Besides, I didn't have anything that didn't have huge logos on it anyway."

  My defenses were already on high alert, and I worried my earlier transgressions would show on my tell-all of a face.

  "Mmmhmm," she said and winked at me.

  Crap. I hope she’s just being cheeky.

  With a huff, I grabbed my wristlet, checked for my phone again, and was ready to go.

  "You all set?" she asked.

  Dipping my chin, the way Jesse always did, I replied, "Yep."

  "Let's go."

  As we walked between the houses, she laid out a few ground rules of her own, if you will. "All joking aside, be careful. I didn't want to say anything in front of Jess because he would have been all macho about it—but these paps can get aggressive if they find you."

  Worry etched across my face. "Do you think this is a bad idea then?"

  She gave her head a quick shake as she pushed the gate open to their mom's yard. "No. I just think you need to be aware. I'm sure you're going stir crazy in the house. Where did you guys decided to meet?"

  I shot her a sideways glance. "I am and I hate being stuck somewhere. Remember the night of the party when I ran out?"

  "Yeah …"

  "Well, Carter came to get me when I realized I was lost. Anyway, there's a Denny's we went to that night off South Harbor."

  "South Harbor? How'd you end up all the way over there?"

  Unfamiliar with the area, I shrugged not having realized it was that far. "It's just where we went, so that's where we're meeting again."

  DeAnna opened the door to the house, and we stepped inside. "Well, at least one of us knows where you're going if you get into any trouble. Call us if anything happens."

  I turned to face her, my stomach now twisted into knots. "Dee—you both keep saying that. Is this a scare tactic or are you seriously saying I could get hurt?"

  She sighed and gave me a pointed look. "I'm not trying to scare you, but you're not used to this kind of lifestyle and I just don't want you to get into a situation because these people have zero boundaries."

  "I'll be careful."

  We walked into the garage with no sign of Drew or Debbie in the house. "So is this actually your mom's car or Jesse's?"

  "Technically, it's your boyfriend’s—"

  I glared at her. "He's not my boyfriend."

  DeAnna gave me rueful smile, her lips still painted cherry red. "Miguel will be crushed when I tell him you said that."

  Whipping around to face her, I tried to process what she'd just said. "Miguel?"

  "Yep. Jesse bought the car for him, so it's in his name—and not as easily traced back to us. But it was bought with the purpose of what we use it for and it's never been parked in front of our house."

  It was kind of sad to think of the lengths they had to go through for privacy. "Makes sense, I guess."

  She sighed. "It's a pain in the ass, but necessary once in a while. Anyway, the keys are in the ignition. It has built in GPS, the garage opener for this garage door is a part of the visor here," she said, leaning in and showing me where. "And this one is for the front gate to get into the subdivision."

  I slid into the driver's seat and couldn't reach anything. The seat was back way too far. The hum of the electric seat pushed my stubby little legs forward until I was able to reach the pedals.

  "I guess I never realized just how little you are until just now," she laughed from the open driver's door.

  "Shut up."

  Tapping on the door, she pursed her lips. "I think that's everything."

  A warm glow flowed through me as I glanced up to Dee. Even though my nerves were still wound tight, I was excited. "Thanks for this."

  "Anytime. Now get going so you can get back. If you're not back in three hours, I'm sending a search party."

  "Yes, Mom."

  She shoved the door closed and moved to hit the button to open the garage. The GPS was as user-friendly as they came and only took a minute to set my destination. Just as I was backing up, she rapped on the window. Hitting the break, I rolled down the window. "Yeah?"

  "I forgot to tell you, Rick—at the guard shack—knows it'll be you in the car. So for whatever reason, if something happens at the gate, trust him."

  My mouth parted in surprise. "Are you sure about him?"

  DeAnna nodded. "He's a retired cop and all around good guy. We buy him something for his birthday every year and give him a huge Christmas bonus. He takes care of us."

  That made me feel a bit better as I rolled the window up and backed out.

  I'd never had a clandestine meeting before. It all made me feel like some sort of undercover agent.

  As I pulled up to the restaurant, I was surprised at how busy it was for eight o'clock at night. I pulled the bill of my hat low and kept my eyes on the ground as I ducked inside. Carter was sitting in a booth in the back corner and because I was more paranoid than I'd ever felt before, I searched for all the exits and where the bathroom was as soon as I slid into my seat.

  "I want to attack you with a super hug right now, but I know it will draw too much attention to you. So this is me, hugging the shit out of you," she said and squeezed my hand.

  I laughed. "Duly noted."

  She glanced down at my arm which was wrapped in some light gauze. "It's healing?"

  "Yeah. He forced me to go to the hospital and it's been getting better ever since."

  Surprised by that knowledge she stared at me for a moment. "Well, I'm glad he did. This is some crazy shit, huh? I thought being semi-famous would be cool, but I didn't think it would be like this," she said and glanced around.

  Even though I was on edge, I tried to play it off otherwise. "I'm sure it's not as bad as they're making it out to be. Outside of the house and the shop, I'm sure no one cares about me. I'm nobody."

  Carter dropped her voice to a whisper. "For the rest of this meal, I'm going to refer to him as Rex—as in Sexy-Rexy … and her as Anna because well, that's just obvious."

  I snorted and shook my head. "And who am I?"

  "Jane," she said with a smug smile.

  It was obvious she'd put way too much thought in
to this. "You're so stupid."

  She laughed. "I know, but what else have I had to do in the last few days?"

  Guilt gnawed at me for taking so long to call her back. "I'm sorry I took so long to answer you."

  "It's my fault. Don't feel bad. If I were you I'd probably still be mad."

  I gave her a dismissive wave. "It's not worth the stress. There's already so much going on—I can't have fighting with you, DeAnna, and my parents hanging over my head."

  She cringed. "Speaking of … have you uh—talked to your parents?"

  The guilty look on her face told me she had. "No. I've tried to call my mom, but it says her phone's been disconnected."

  I didn't add the part about my dad hanging up on me as soon as I said hello.

  Carter huffed in frustration. "I wonder if they paid the phone bill or not and it got cut off?"

  I lifted my shoulders in a helpless shrug. "Wouldn't be the first time."

  "Well, the night you left, she called me."

  That surprised me. My mom and Carter were close, but I didn't expect that. "How much did she tell you?"

  Her mouth pulled into a frown. "She just said you came home with Rex and when they saw your arm, that he and your dad got into it, and then you lost your temper in a way she's never seen before and then you left."

  "I guess that about sums it up, doesn't it?" My lips pulled into a hard line at the over simplification of events.

  Something about the look on her face told me there was more she wasn't saying. "What else did she say, Carter?"

  "I know she feels bad about how they basically use you as their cash cow, and I don't think before the fight she ever realized how unreasonable their expectations were—but …" she trailed off and stared out the window.

  "But, what?"

  She chewed on her bottom lip as if she was contemplating telling me or not.

  "Spit it out," I snapped in a low voice.

  "She's worried you don't want her in your life anymore. That after the check thing and your fight that you'll cut her out of your life completely."

  I jerked back as if I'd just been slapped. "Is that how little she thinks of me?" I yelled.

  "Shhh," she hissed, trying to calm me down.

  Anger burned through me like wildfire. "That's total crap. She acts like I'm not allowed to be upset. Maybe I didn't have much of a backbone before I met Rex, but I don't think standing up for myself is something I should be condemned for."

  Reaching across the table, she squeezed my hand. "I know and that's why I didn't want to tell you. I think your mom feels stuck between you and your dad and she doesn't know what to do."

  I pointed to my chest. "I'm her only child. She should have my back. I guess I was stupid enough to think she always had."

  The waitress chose that moment to appear with food. Food that I hadn't ordered. "Who has the short stack with a side of bacon?"

  I narrowed my gaze at Carter.

  "She does," she replied and pointed to me.

  "Thank you," I muttered, keeping my eyes down.

  After she asked if we wanted refills on our coffee, she disappeared.

  "You ordered for me and drank my coffee?" I asked with an amused smile.

  She shrugged. "Well, mine was all gone and yours was just sitting there. Besides, I know your go-to food when you need to stress eat. It's not exactly rocket science."

  We ate in silence, even though I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take for me to digest what she'd said about my mom. I know I'd yelled and gotten upset, but it hurt to think she believed I'd just disown her. My relationship with my dad on the other hand was always messed up, and I wasn't sure there was any repairing that. He'd never be willing to change his abusive ways. And the saddest part was I think it took Jesse being there for us both to realize what an abusive and manipulative jerk my father really was. That was something else Jesse and I seemed to have in common. Dealing with the outcome of the abuse our mothers had lived in.

  "Hey, where's your head at?" she asked with concern in her eyes.

  I gave her a passive shrug. "All over the place."

  With her fork halfway to her mouth, she stopped and narrowed her gaze at me. "Something happened with him, didn't it?"

  My cheeks flushed pink. I hated how transparent I was. "Kinda."

  Carter dropped her fork on her plate with a clank. "You better spill, heifer."

  "If this ends up in a tabloid somewhere—so help me God—"

  A hurt look crossed over her face. Immediately, I felt like a jerk. "I won't say anything, Jada. I promise on my life."

  "Jane," I corrected with a small smile.

  Her eyes perked up. "Spill it, Jane."

  So I did. In hushed whispers and a code we'd developed when we were kids, I told her everything. It felt good to get it all off my chest. It was a heavier burden than I realized to carry so many secrets.

  She sat back against the booth in shocked silence.

  "I know," I said to the look on her face.

  "So, he just acted like nothing had happened?"

  I nodded with my mouth pulled into a hard line. "Yup."

  Shaking her head, she leaned over the table. "How do you feel about that?"

  "I don't know. In a way I'm happy it didn't happen but a lot did—and at the same time, it was so intense—" I closed my eyes and could clearly see his sculpted body as he stepped out of the shower. Chills shot through me remembering the way he'd touched me and the feel of his lips.

  Carter's voice cut through the images in my mind. "I don't know much about him, but I'll tell you this. If he can act as if nothing happened, when something obviously had—then I think you need to just stay away. It's only going to lead to you getting hurt and it could screw up everything you've worked for."

  I dipped my chin in agreement. "I know."

  Her gaze caught mine. "Do you? Because the look on your face right now, says you're not so sure."

  Groaning, I dropped my head onto my hands. "He's just so confusing. Like the master of mixed signals." The mixed signals that came from him were of the epic proportion variety. I never really knew where I stood because of the way his moods tended to swing. Then again, mine were probably just as bad.

  She pursed her lips. "Guys like him usually are."

  We caught up on everything that we'd missed by not speaking for almost a week and lost track of time.

  Three screeching cars came to a halt in the parking lot right in front of the door drawing our attention to them. Men with giant cameras ran to the window where we sat and swarmed inside yelling at us as they flashed cameras in our faces.

  “Jada! What’s it like to have captured the heart of Jesse Valentine?”

  “How far along are you?”

  “How long were you in the hospital after he first hit you?”

  “Show us your tits!”

  They all screamed the obscenities at the same time. I ducked my head and looked to Carter wide-eyed with fear.

  She threw cash on the table and grabbed my hand, pulling me from the booth. Using her body as a shield for me, she tried to shove past the small crowd of men. "Move!" she yelled.

  A camera lens collided with the side of my face causing me to reel backwards. "Ow!" I cupped my cheek, just below my eye.

  Carter wheeled around and shoved the guy's camera to the floor.

  "You're going to pay for that, bitch!" he yelled and grabbed me by the arm. My bad arm. I cried out in pain and elbowed him in the gut, trying to break free.

  Fear and panic swirled around me as they all seemed to crowd around us more, pulling and tugging in each direction.

  "Jada, hold on to me and don't let go!" she cried out and dropped her shoulder like a linebacker. We plowed through them and out of the restaurant, with me still holding on tightly to the back of her shirt as my face throbbed and my arm ached from the attack.

  Once outside, we ran past the people still outside and sprinted to our cars. "G
et in your car and drive home as fast as you can!" she shrieked.

  "What about you?" I cried.

  "I'll follow you, just go!"

  There was no way to stop anyone from seeing what kind of car I got into. As soon as I was able to get the car unlocked and slip inside, they were already on me. I locked myself in just before they started hitting on the glass and trying to pull the doors open for another picture.

  I fumbled with my phone trying to dial Jesse's number. The contacts page was still open, but instead of Jesse it read Cliff Jumping Pig.

  My snort came out more like a cry as I hit call and started the car.

  It rang once before he answered. "Hello?" His gruff tone echoed through my ear.

  I cried out in relief hearing his voice. "Jesse!"

  "What's wrong?" he demanded on high alert.

  I tried to keep my head down as I talked, but the banging continued on the glass and hood as cameras flashed all around me. "They found me. I don't know how they found me! And now they're surrounding the car and I don't know what to do!" My voice cracked in panic.

  "Goddammit!" he yelled. "Are you okay? Where's your friend?"

  Lifting my head just enough to see past the bill of the hat, I saw Carter waving to me furiously from her car to back up. "She's in her car and I'm in yours. Oh God, they know about this car now. I'm so sorry."

  "I don't give a damn about the car. Answer me—are you okay?"

  My face throbbed from the impact of the camera lens. And my arms would probably be covered in bruises by the time I got back to the house, if I ever got there. "Yeah. But I can't move the car. They're everywhere."

  "Listen to me, put it in reverse and back up. They'll move and if they don't run their asses over. I'm not kidding, Jada. Do it!"

  My hands shook violently as I cradled the phone against my shoulder and ear and did what he said. True to his word, most of them moved. As soon as I was able to, I hit the gas and sped out of the parking lot—hoping to God Carter was right behind me.

  Breathing heavily, I sucked in a sharp breath trying to keep myself calm enough to drive.

  "Did you get away?" he asked in a low rumble.