by Grant, J. R.
I kissed her cheek, picked up the box, and then pushed open the door with my side.
“Let us know how it goes this week. I would like to have lunch when it’s all said and done. Then maybe you can tell me what the next step is and how I can help. I’m here too, sweets. Don’t forget what I said.”
“Thank you. I appreciate everything.”
“You’re in my prayers,” she held the door open for me, watching me walk out to my SUV.
I got inside, starting it up, and cranked on the heat. It was freezing. There was supposed to be a snowstorm coming tonight. I hoped to make it home before it started.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Brax
I should be home with my family, sitting in front of the fireplace, making love to my wife. Instead, I was seated out on the pier, staring out into the bay. It was a cold as shit. Flurries were starting to fall from the sky.
“What’cha doing out here by yourself?”
“Sulking,” I said, not bothering to look behind me. “Isn’t that what people do when they’re drunk?”
Bianca sat down next to me on the pier, swinging her legs over top of the water. “Why are you sulking? I thought life was good.”
I looked in the opposite direction of where she was sitting, not wanting her to get into my personal business. I didn’t need anyone else knowing why Jazz had left me.
“Life is good, just not right now. Things happen, people change.”
She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Does this have anything to do with Jazz?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Most of it, yeah. But it’s too complicated to get into.”
I turned my head to the side and studied her features. Surely, she had to have been asking for a reason.
“Why?”
Bianca knew me from high school. If she remembered, I had never been one to dwell on my problems with just anyone. However, the look on her face told me something was off. Bianca knew something but was afraid to tell me.
“I don’t know… Maybe because the scene inside of the bar right now is pretty intense. That cousin of yours has a mouth the size of Canada. And if Stone Walker knows what’s best for him, he should run while he has a chance. I just didn’t know if it had anything to do with why you were out here instead of in there with your boys. But when Brix was hollering Jazz’s name in Stone’s face, I just assumed—”
I downed the rest of my Jack and Coke.
“Stone’s here?” I asked, ready to take off back inside. His ass was mine. Bianca was right. If he knew what was best, he would be gone before I got back in there.
I started to head toward the bar, not bothering to say anymore. Bianca didn’t waste any time running behind me, calling my name. When I didn’t slow down, she grabbed a hold of the back of my jacket.
“Brax. Wait….”
“Don’t touch me, Bianca.” I pushed her hand off my jacket. “You have no idea what that asshole did.”
She took a step forward even though she looked freaked out. I felt bad, but it wasn’t time to console her. Bianca wasn’t my responsibility, anyway, Jazz was. And Stone needed his ass whooped for touching my wife.
“Sorry.” She held up her hands in front of me. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just don’t want you getting yourself in trouble.”
I unzipped my jacket and slid if off my shoulders, shoving it in her arms. “Hold on to this. My phone’s in the front pocket.”
I picked up my pace until I was back inside of Secrets. I looked through everyone in the crowd, pushing and shoving those who stood in my way. I reached the front of the bar and was stopped by a group of people, pointing and talking about the club area. They had to be in there. I inched my way through and then took off running,
In front of the stage where Vonage was playing rallied a swarm of people. I pushed through crowds on the dance floor, until I was able to spot the guys. Brody and Brayden were standing in the middle of a circle, pulling Brix away from Stone. Brix was howling in Stone’s face about something. It looked intense from afar.
I shunted my cousin to the side as I approached the middle where Stone was standing. Without wasting any time, I threw my arm back, clocking him right in the face. Stone lifted his hand, covering his nose, as blood trickled down the front of his white polo shirt.
Good. That asshole deserved to bleed.
“What the fuck, B?”
I jumped forward, grabbing a hold of his neck to choke him, refusing to let up on my grip. “Why’d you touch my wife, you fucking bitch?”
Stone’s eyes got big, only proving how guilty he was. At least now he knew he had been caught. I lifted my right leg and kneed him in the balls, watching his face cover with pain. He doubled over, covering his dick with his hands, grunting loudly.
“You put your lips where they didn’t belong and now you’re gonna pay,” I seethed, reaching for his head. I punched him once, then twice, watching him stumble backward.
Stone stood up, moving to the side, and then he swung at me, getting in a hit. Fuck that little bitch. I was just warming up.
I threw out my left arm and then my right going at him full force. I went in for the fourth hit again, when someone caught my arm. I was yanked back as both of my hands were locked behind me.
“Your ass is mine,” I yelled, my voice full of vengeance.” MINE.”
My knuckles throbbed from hitting him in the head, but I didn’t let it stop me. I was going to kill that motherfucker one way or another.
“Buckle down, bro, before you get locked the hell up,” Brody hollered over the loud music, hauling me toward the side door.
As I was forced outside, I stumbled over the dip in the ground.
“The cops are on the way. We need to bounce. NOW,” Brayden demanded, as he and Brix jogged in our direction.
Brody let go of my arms, nodding toward the parking lot. “Let’s go.”
We paced toward Brix’s truck, weaving in and out of parked cars.
“Wait…Brax…” Bianca hollered, stopping us from leaving.
“Why’s she following you?” Brix jogged up out of breath, pulling his keys out of his pocket.
I shook my head, taking a pull from my cigarette, not wanting to deal with my cousin’s mouth. Whatever Brix was insinuating, he was wrong. There was nothing going on between Bianca and me.
“Here,” Bianca said, and handed me my jacket. Shit. I had forgotten I left it with her.
“Thanks.” I took it from her hands. “I’ll see you around.”
She went to say something else, but I hopped in the cab of the truck and waited for Brix to take off. I had to get out of there. I wasn’t getting arrested. I couldn’t get myself in any trouble. I would see Stone around eventually. This was far from over.
Brix pulled onto Coastal Highway, following behind my brothers.
“You gonna tell me what that shit was about?”
I flicked the bud out the window and then rolled it back up. “She came out to the pier and told me you were in Stone’s face. I threw her my jacket and ran inside.”
“You sure about that?” he asked, and it pissed me off.
“What are you getting at, Brix?”
Besides Stone, my cousin was the closest person to me. And Brix, of all people, knew better than to misconstrue me talking to another girl. Hell would freeze over before I went out on Jazz. Together or not, that would never happen.
Brix released a long breath, keeping his focus on the road. “Nothing, man. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t doing anything out of anger or being a stupid drunk. I know shit’s been hard on you. You’ve had us all worried.”
I laid my head back on the seat and laughed. “Yeah, well, if it’s any consolation, I’ve been worried about my damn self, cuz.”
He pulled into my driveway, twenty minutes later, not bothering to shut off his car.
“I’ll call you tomorrow. Sleep that shit off.”
I hopped out of the truck and reached in the back for my jacket. “
Later, man.”
I was glad Brix didn’t try to come in. I needed time to myself. I still had to process everything I read on the computer earlier this afternoon. I hadn’t given myself a chance to breathe after I trashed the studio and then went to the bar to drink my sorrows away.
Dammit. I was going to have one big fucking mess to clean up tomorrow. I fucked my girl’s studio up bad. But before anything, I needed to sleep off all the alcohol I consumed. I wasn’t going to get anywhere feeling like this.
**
It was too early for this shit. Whoever was pounding on my door had a death wish. I rolled my sore, achy body over and looked at the clock. It was only nine in the morning. Dammit. I must have turned my alarm off yet again.
I forced myself out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Grumbling, I walked through the house and to the front door. Whoever it was continued to pound, not letting up with their fist. I didn’t bother looking out the peephole and jerked back the handle, ready to kick some ass.
“What the fuck is—”
My dad was standing on the porch with a coffee in his hand. “Were you asleep?”
I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
“Uh. Yeah. It’s been a long night, Dad,” I said and took a step back, opening the door.
I didn’t feel like talking. I was too tired to deal with anyone this early, especially him. If he started popping off at the mouth about Stone, it was going to cause a war. I was certain one of my brothers went back to my parents last night and ran their mouth, but it wasn’t something I felt like hashing out. I needed to wake up.
Dad followed me into the kitchen and took a seat at the island. I grabbed a bottle of water and sat down on the other side of him.
“Is something wrong?”
“I tried to call you yesterday afternoon, but you never returned my call,” he said watching me closely. “I just wanted to let you know that Dr. Aimee from Indian River Counseling Services contacted me after you left.”
“Who’s Dr. Aimee?” I asked, trying to remember where I had heard that name before. It sounded familiar.
“Dr. Aimee is Jazz’s counselor. She’s been seeing Jazz for a few weeks now.”
Dad set his coffee down on the island and then continued. “She asked to meet with me this morning. I just left her office and came straight here.”
“You…you met with Jazz’s counselor?” I was surprised. Why would he meet with her and not make me aware of anything? I got that he tried to call me, but he could have blown my shit up until I answered. I couldn’t even remember where my phone was yesterday during that time.
“Why?”
Dad gripped his hands around his coffee.
“She’s been working closely with Jazz, and apparently, I was part of the problem. Dr. Aimee wanted to sit me down and fill me in on as much as she could. When she told me everything, I agreed to take a DNA test this morning, so the girl can have some closure.”
“Wait…you’re what?” I had to be hearing things. Dad agreed to take the test? How in the hell did all this come about?
“I agreed just to prove Jazz wasn’t my daughter, B,” Dad repeated, his tone showed frustration toward me. “Dr. Aimee’s staff also got a hold of Teto. He’ll be there this afternoon and we’ll meet back up to get the results together. The three of us.”
I couldn’t believe everything was happening without my involvement. Why wasn’t I called? Why didn’t Dr. Aimee reach out to me? I was her husband for fuck’s sake.
“Did you…did you see, Jazz? Have you talked to her?”
Dad shook his head. “No, but that’s another reason I stopped by. I wanted to let you know that I’m going to call and see if she’ll meet with me. I think her and I need to talk before this goes down tomorrow morning. It’s long overdue anyway.”
I didn’t know what to say. A part of me wanted to jump across the table and rip his head off for not informing me sooner, but I was stunned about this entire situation.
I was pissed Jazz still felt like she couldn’t talk to me. It’s been too fucking long. I wanted my wife. God, I needed to be there with her. I couldn’t imagine her going through all of this alone. Just reading her journal was enough to push me over the edge last night.
“You gonna say something?”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. As much as I hated my father for what he had done, I needed someone to listen, someone who wouldn’t judge me for being an ignorant asshole, and help me.
“I don’t know what to do anymore, Dad. I call Jazz almost every day. I backed off for a while, but yesterday, when I left your house, I went looking for her. I couldn’t find her anywhere. I went to her studio and turned on her computer. I searched her emails and found she had written in a journal every night. I read through each one until the power cut out and then I lost it. I fucked her studio up. All her equipment is damaged. Everything’s ruined. I don’t know what came over me. Fear, maybe. But that didn’t stop the anger from coursing through my body.”
I shifted in the stool and continued. “Just reading how badly she was hurting and yet there was nothing I could do to take away her pain killed me.” I looked him in the face and begged for his help. “Why wasn’t I enough? Didn’t I always treat her right? Because I thought I did. I put Jazz on a pedestal. I kept her first in everything. EVERYTHING, Dad, and she pushed me away. And when I found out Stone kissed her when she was staying at Kelly’s, I lost my cool. It’s like my entire world erupted before me. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was dying.”
“When did that happen? Stone kissing her, I mean.”
I didn’t want to tell him everything, but I did anyway. I couldn’t keep these feelings inside anymore. Someone had to know how I was feeling. Besides, you could spot my busted up knuckles from a mile away. My right hand was black and blue.
“One night when Kelly had enough of Jazz lying in her room. She called Stone and Tanya and had some kind of intervention on her. I read her journal. That’s how I found out. Stone took her out to dinner and then kissed her. Jazz apparently wigged out on him, but nothing else was said other than her praying and asking God why.”
I grabbed the edge of my stool, gripping it as hard as I could. “Stone has been my best friend since we were kids, man. There had to be more to it that maybe she just didn’t want to type it all out, but shit, Dad. He kissed my wife. My fucking wife.”
Dad sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what to say, son. The both of you didn’t deserve this kind of hell. If anything, the love you and Jazz have shared over the years has been admirable. It reminded me of your mother and me after I let Peyton go.”
Dad continued talking, but my mind tuned him out. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts; I could no longer pay attention to what he was saying.
I wasn’t sure if fighting for Jazz was what I was supposed to keep doing. I knew what she said in her journal about missing me, but maybe it was finally time to let her go. As much as it killed me to think that way, nothing I had done over the last couple of months had worked. I needed a change. I couldn’t continue living like this anymore.
“I’ll always regret that, B. I hope one day you can understand where I was coming from,” Dad said.
I nodded my head, not knowing what he was talking about, but did it anyway. I felt defeated. My marriage was a lost cause.
“Can I ask you one more question? And then I don’t think I can handle anymore today.”
Dad stood up, pushing his chair under the island. I followed behind him in the suite, doing the same.
“You can ask me anything, son.”
“Were you at the hospital when Peyton delivered Jazz?”
Dad tipped his chin, avoiding eye contact with me.
“No,” he shook his head. “It wasn’t me. If I were there, I wouldn’t have run off and left an innocent child alone. It had to have been Teto. That’s something my dumbass cousin would have done.”
> I exhaled the long breath I had been holding for months, relieved at what he said. I didn’t think my father was that heartless of a man, but then again, after hearing about his affair, I didn’t know what to think of him.
I walked him over to the door feeling somewhat better after getting everything off my chest. Dad turned around and reached out his hand. I extended my arm and then he pulled me in for a hug.
“I love you, B. I’m sorry for everything I have put you through.” He released his hold around me, and then took a step back. “But I’m going to make it right. I promise.”
He opened the door and walked outside, not bothering to say any more. I waited for him to pull off before closing the door.
What was I going to do? I had asked the same question over and over, and yet nothing good came from it.
If you had told me twenty-four hours ago that I was going to have a heart to heart with my father, I would have laughed in your face. But this…I needed to have this conversation. This had been building up for months, not leaning on anyone other than the walls in my bedroom. It was about time I felt some kind of relief. It might not have been much, but it was a start.
It was time I made some changes once and for all.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jazz
Tomorrow was the big day. Not only was I going to meet Teto for the first time, but I was also going to find out if he was my biological father. After doing the mouth swab, I was afraid he wouldn’t show up to do his portion of the test.
Needless to say, I was an emotional, nervous wreck.
Dr. Aimee called the phone she had given me this morning, informing me of her conversation with my father-in-law. Apparently, Anthony met with Dr. Aimee at her office, agreeing to take a DNA test on the spot. I was shocked, not believing he would actually follow through, until Anthony called my phone for himself, asking if we could meet this afternoon to discuss everything.
I didn’t know what to say. A part of me wanted to tell him no, but then I thought about the questions I needed to be answered. Questions that couldn’t wait until tomorrow.