I once again jogged to catch up to him. “How do you know that?”
“Because he’s exhausted. He hasn’t slept in days.” Jax held open the door for me, and my steps faltered.
This whole being nice to me thing was really throwing me off, especially when I’d threatened to kill him. Twice. I liked it better when he constantly scowled and didn’t speak to me, like he’d done back when I knew him the first time.
I stepped inside and was greeted with a blast of cool air. “He hasn’t slept in days?” I asked.
Jax shook his head. “He’s been too worried about you. C’mon. Bathrooms are this way.”
Guilt stabbed at me. Trent hadn’t been sleeping because he’d been too worried about me, but if I just told him the truth… I shook my head. I’d only just found out. I couldn’t do anything about what had happened prior to that.
After using the bathroom, I walked out to find Jax leaning against the wall, hands tucked in his pockets. His gaze met mine, and he smiled.
My breath caught at the sight of him like that. He looked so much like Trent, and I hated myself for even thinking it, but… Jax was hot when he smiled. I shook excess water from my hands and approached, my heart in my throat.
“Where do you want to eat?” He pushed off the wall.
“I don’t care.” Why was my voice suddenly so squeaky?
“Burgers and fries it is.” He nodded for me to walk with him, and I fell into step beside him.
I still couldn’t make sense of Jax’s sudden change in attitude toward me. Was it possible he felt guilty for what he’d done—contacting my dad, splitting up me and Trent? Or was he simply being nice because he had to, because he was stuck babysitting me?
Or maybe he was trying to make amends for spending the past several weeks lying to me. Though, I doubted that’s what was going on here. Jax didn’t seem like the type to do something without first thinking it through. He’d known what he was doing, and he hadn’t cared about the repercussions.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
Jax
THE REST AREA WAS EMPTY THIS time of night, so we had the place to ourselves, save for the employees and janitors milling about.
Jax found a table near a wall of windows that gave us a clear view of the car. I took a seat across from Jax, eyes wide, as he dug into his mountain of food. And that was no exaggeration. He’d ordered six bacon cheeseburgers, a large fry, onion rings, a jumbo soda, and a milkshake. He unwrapped the first burger and ate half of it in one bite.
“You’re seriously going to eat all that food?” I asked.
He washed down his food with a drink of his soda, then said, “You don’t think I can?”
“No.” Vampire or not, that much food would make anyone sick.
Jax grinned, and my stomach dropped in that way it did when on a rollercoaster. “What do I get if I do eat it all?” he asked.
“What do you want?” I asked before I could think about the implication of my words. Averting my gaze, I busied myself with opening my chicken sandwich.
“I want answers from you. Honest ones.” He slurped his drink.
Lifting my head, I met his stare. “You don’t need to stuff your face for that. I’ve never lied to you, Jax. Unlike you, who has spent the past few weeks doing nothing but lying to me. You really should win an award for your performance.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, sincerity ringing in his words. “I know you’re angry at me and—”
“Yes, I am. And I’m hurt. I trusted you. I told you things.” My gaze darted around, my nerves and emotions too edgy to look directly at him. “Everything I told you about Trent…” I shook my head, refusing to break down in front of him. “You could have told me the truth, but instead, you let me drive myself crazy.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again, this time a little more forcefully.
“Does Trent know we were meeting every week?”
Even before Jax nodded, I knew that was going to be the answer. A new wave of betrayal burrowed into my gut.
“Like he said before we left… nothing went according to plan.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, frustrated.
“I was supposed to look out for you, become your friend, make sure you were okay, that you were safe. Make sure there were no witches lurking in your life.” He unwrapped another burger. “You were never supposed to see Trent, but I made the mistake of telling him about the concert, and he insisted on going, just so he could see for himself that you were okay.” Jax shook his head.
“But then I was almost crushed in the pit and—”
“And he couldn’t let that happen,” Jax finished my thought, then nodded. “We knew it wasn’t going to take you long to make the connection between me and him.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?” I asked.
“Because Trent was adamant that as soon as we took care of the witches we were going to disappear again, let you have the life you wanted,” Jax said with a frown. “Our arrangement was only supposed to be temporary—until you started to remember. Neither of us expected that.”
I sat silently, staring at him, my mind reeling. Clearly, they hadn’t been able to find the witches or learn why they wanted me in the first place, but what if they had? I could still be in Malibu right now. My life could be totally different.
“Don’t be too hard on him, okay? He just wanted to make sure you were okay, to have someone to talk to should things have been going badly, someone to give you advice that wasn’t completely terrible.”
“Yeah, well you sucked at that.” I leaned back and crossed my arms.
The corner of his mouth lifted in an almost smile. “I’ll take whatever punishment you want to dish out, providing it doesn’t have anything to do with fire or pointy sticks.”
I threw my napkin at him. “You’re a jerk.”
“Fair enough.” His voice was sad and defeated. “So, are you going to give me some answers now?”
I shoved a fry into my mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “No,” I said after a moment.
“No?” Disbelief dripped from that single word.
“If you get honest answers from me, then I get them from you, too. I think you owe me that considering…” I ate another fry and waited for him to agree, not that I really expected him to.
“Fine, but then what do I get for eating all my food like a good boy?” He grinned, and heat rose like flames up my neck.
“I’ll buy you ice cream,” I offered.
He held up his milkshake. “Already got that.”
I shook my head but couldn’t stop from smiling. “A candy bar?”
“Nah, chocolate rots my teeth.”
“Seriously?” I didn’t realize vampires had to worry about dental issues.
“No.” He laughed.
I threw a fry at him, and he laughed harder. When I’d first met Trent, it was no secret Jax didn’t like me—and that was putting it mildly—so to be sitting here with him now, knowing everything I knew, including our not so pleasant past, laughing and having a good time, was surreal. Because now that I remembered him, everything was different. My reactions to him. My ability to trust him.
He finished his first burger, then ate his second one. “So, you really have all of your memories back?”
“Yes.” I took a bite of my sandwich and chewed slowly. If that was what he considered a tough question, then his inquisition was going to be easier than I thought. “You really made my father promise I’d never step foot in Keene Valley ever again?”
Jax cringed; it was fleeting, but I hadn’t missed it. “Yes,” he said.
He offered no apologies or explanations, and I didn’t push for any. For now, it was enough to know my father hadn’t lied to me.
He started in on his third burger. “Why did you leave with us so easily?”
“What else was I supposed to do?” I nibbled on a fry, which was now cold. “Stay in Malibu and hope the witches didn’t find me? Believe it or not, I kind o
f like my life.”
“Kind of?” He raised a brow.
“The whole parent thing sucks, but…” I shrugged. “Why are you being so nice to me? Not even three months ago, you hated me.”
“I didn’t hate you, Chloe. Not then, and definitely not now.”
“You scowl and threaten and lie to everyone you like? I’d hate to see how you treat people you don’t like.” My appetite vanished. I wrapped up what was left of my sandwich and tossed it on the tray.
He sighed. “You’re the first girl to seriously come into our lives since Hannah.” His voice dipped low at the mention of her. “I was only trying to save my brother the same heartache I’ve had to live with.”
My posture softened. I reached across the table and placed my hand over his. “I’m really sorry about Hannah. Everything that happened to her was bad enough, but what Isach did… that was just cruel. I never had a chance to tell you that before, so I just wanted you to know.”
“Thank you.”
I’d never heard his voice so sincere, and it made me pause.
He pulled his hand from beneath mine, then proceeded to draw circles on the back of my hand, his touch featherlight. Goose bumps spread like hives up my arm. Every instinct I had screamed at me to pull my hand away, but I couldn’t. Instead, I watched his fingers, mesmerized.
“You’ll find someone else, Jax,” I whispered.
“We can’t just forget and move on. It’s not that easy for us.”
I remembered him telling me that, or rather, shouting it at me one of the times he’d tried to convince me to leave Trent.
“I know, but that doesn’t mean you can’t love again, right? Just because you find someone new doesn’t diminish what you had with Hannah,” I said.
Shaking his head, he jerked his hand away from mine. “You still don’t get it, do you?” He narrowed his eyes, and they darkened several shades right in front of me. “How can I possibly give my heart away when it already belongs to someone else?”
I was no longer sure if he was still talking about Hannah or someone else entirely. “Have you even tried?” I asked.
“What’s the point?” He laughed bitterly. “We’re cursed, remember? I won’t put anyone else through what Hannah went through.”
I frowned. Now was my chance. I could tell him that the curse could be broken, that I could give him a chance at happiness again, at love. But the words wouldn’t come, and I wasn’t exactly upset about that.
“You love Trent, right?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“Good. Think about how much you love him and multiply it by a million. Throw in some heightened emotions, and then imagine having him ripped away from you.” Jax folded his arms on the table and leaned forward. “And you have to live with that pain every single day for an eternity. It never lessens. It never goes away. It’s just always there.”
I mimicked his position so our faces were inches apart. “I don’t have to imagine that. I did have Trent ripped away from me, remember?”
“It’s not the same thing. You didn’t even remember him. But Trent?” He shook his head. “He never forgot you, and he was unbearable the entire time you were gone. He barely slept, rarely ate. He was a shell of himself. But that’s nothing compared to what we feel when we lose the person we love more than anything. And it’s even worse when we lose our soulmate.”
I gritted my teeth. It was on the tip of my tongue to remind him that none of this would have happened if he hadn’t hunted down my father and dragged him back into my life. Instead, I leaned back and crossed my arms.
“I get it, okay?” Tears burned my eyes, and I blinked them back.
Everything would be so much simpler if I just came clean and had Trent change me. He and I could be together, and Jax would be free to find someone new, if he wanted.
“C’mon. We should get back on the road.” He stood, gathered our trash, and dumped it into the nearest can.
I followed him out of the building and across the parking lot. I hated the grumpy, pessimistic Jax. But the fun Jax who laughed and joked, the Jax from the bookstore? I liked him. A lot.
“Told ya you wouldn’t eat all that food,” I said.
He rested his arms on the roof of the car and shook his head, laughing.
“What?” I said. “You really think I’m going to pass up an opportunity to tell you I was right?”
He laughed harder, the sound echoing through the quiet night air. “Get in the car,” he said. His voice was all playful humor.
I climbed in and hooked my seat belt.
Trent was still sound asleep in the back seat. I took a moment to study him. His long lashes rested peacefully against his cheeks. His dark hair was mussed from moving around. The hem of his shirt was lifted just enough to show a thin strip of skin. The memory of running my hands over his stomach while he kissed me flashed in my mind, heating me from the inside out. My heart beat triple time.
“I love that sound,” Trent said, his voice husky from sleep.
“What sound?”
In a flash, he was upright and leaning between the seats. He swept his hand alongside my face and drew me toward him. “The sound of your heart racing.” Then, his lips were on mine in a searing kiss.
I barely registered the sound of the car door opening, but then Jax said, “Get a room.”
All the humor I’d heard a moment ago was gone. Was it hard for him to see me and Trent together? Did it remind him too much of what he’d lost, of what he claimed he’d never have again?
Trent released my lips and moved back so Jax could get in the car. “Come back here with me,” Trent said. His eyes were dark and full of longing, and there was no way I could deny him. I didn’t want to.
I unhooked my seat belt, got out of the front seat and into the back with Trent. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tucked me against his side. I sighed with contentment and snuggled closer. He placed a tender kiss to my forehead.
Could I really give him up a second time? Sure, the first time I’d had no memory of him, but I wouldn’t make that mistake again. If I didn’t let him change me, we had no future together, which meant eventually, I’d have to walk away. I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to do that.
I shifted to get more comfortable and caught Jax watching me in the rearview mirror. Our gazes locked. Emotion flickered behind his dark eyes as he held my attention captive. What was he thinking?
And why was he looking at me like… like he wanted to be the one sitting back here with me? My skin prickled with unease.
Still, Jax didn’t so much as flinch, and I was too afraid to look away. He gave me the faintest of smiles, then winked as if we shared some torrid secret. I licked my lips, and his eyes narrowed.
Trent rubbed his fingertips up and down my arm, and I finally broke whatever hold Jax had on me. I curled my arm around Trent’s stomach and snuggled up to him, refusing to think about how bizarre the past twenty-four hours had been.
I was finally exactly where I was meant to be—in Trent’s arms.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
Cabin in the Mountains
“HOME SWEET HOME,” JAX ANNOUNCED AS he shut off the car.
I straightened and yawned. I had no idea what time it was, but the moon was still high in the sky. How was that possible? Wasn’t it at least a couple days’ drive from California to New York? Dad and I had flown to California, so I really had no idea how long it took to make the drive.
I glanced at Trent, who was out of the car and holding the door open for me. I climbed out and stretched my arms over my head. “We’re here already?” I asked.
“Yeah, Jax thinks he’s driving for Nascar.” Trent gave his brother a dirty look.
Oh, yeah. I remembered how Jax drove. It was terrifying.
Shaking my head, I glanced up at the place that would be my new home for the summer—possibly longer—and a pang of sadness stole my breath. In less than a year, I’ve had three, now four,
different homes. Would I ever be able to truly settle down in one place?
The two-story cabin was nestled against a monstrous mountain. Made completely from wooden logs, the place looked like something straight out of a movie—one of those slasher flicks where everyone parties a little too hard, then ends up brutally murdered. I shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself.
“You okay?” Trent asked.
I nodded, though I wasn’t sure I was okay.
“C’mon, let’s go inside,” Trent said.
I took Trent’s outstretched hand and followed him up the steps onto a massive wraparound porch that was decorated with white, wicker furniture. How often did they stay at this cabin?
Jax held open the front door, and I crossed the threshold, unsure of what to expect but knowing full well my entire life was teetering on the precipice.
Inside, the walls and floors were all logs and hardwood. To my left was a living room complete with a large sectional sofa, an oversized recliner, and a flat screen television. Behind that was a dining room, the table situated in front of the biggest sliding glass door I’d ever seen.
To my right were overstuffed bean bag chairs and body-sized pillows arranged in front of a brick fireplace. Directly across from that area was a small kitchen with nothing but a bar-like countertop separating the two rooms.
Now that I took a moment to really look at the layout, I realized there were no walls in this room at all—every area was separated only by various pieces of furniture. Talk about cozy. Between the living room and dining room was a short hallway, though I couldn’t see to the end of it from where I stood.
The place smelled like it had been recently cleaned, and the lingering scent of vanilla candles hung in the air. It wasn’t at all what I’d expected, but it was homey and welcoming.
“Oh, good. You made it,” Sean said.
My head snapped up at the sound of Sean’s voice. What was he doing here? He stood above us on the second floor landing.
A winding, spiral staircase jutted out from the wall beside the fireplace, leading to another level of the cabin—which was just as open and spacious as the first floor. An ornately carved wooden railing circled the upstairs in place of traditional walls.
Eternal Choice: (The Cursed Series, Book 2) Page 19