by Hart, Rebel
"Yeah, and you called me, and hang on because I want to get it right…" I cleared my throat. "A rat fucking bastard who you hope chokes on a football."
Jane held up a hand. "1. That was not my best moment. 2. I never said I was interested in you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you're not?"
Jane scoffed. "You're so arrogant."
"That didn't answer my question."
Jane went silent for a moment, closing her eyes and folding her hands over her stomach. She opened her eyes again and they landed in mine. "I am."
My body felt like it had just been charged with high voltage electricity. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to do more than that to her, but the trauma she'd been through warranted a more tenuous situation. I wasn't going to rush it and ruin it.
"Good." I placed my thumb over her bottom lip. "And, when you're ready. I'm gonna act on that."
Her small smile grew broader. She grabbed my hand and kissed the palm. "Thank you for being patient."
Jane closed her eyes again and I went back to caressing her head. Soon, her chest was rising and falling steadily, with small breaths blowing in and out of her nose softly. Carefully, I placed one arm behind her back and another under get knees and then stood up from the couch, taking her with me. I didn't know the layout of her house, but I made my best guess that her bedroom was upstairs. When I found it, I tiptoed in and carefully placed Jane in her bed. I reached over her to grab her blanket over her, and at that moment she stirred, opening her eyes, and noticing me hovering just above her. I didn't move. She was so beautiful and perfect that I couldn't quite understand what the hell past John was thinking. All I accomplished by pitching such a fit, was cost myself three weeks of getting to know, and maybe even getting to date, Jane.
"I brought you up to your bed. I thought you'd be more comfortable."
Jane looked up into my eyes like an angel straight from heaven. Her hand came up and settled on my cheek. I wanted more of her touching me. Not just sexually, but the absent-minded ways that she did. She lifted her face and guided mine down to hers and pressed my lips against hers. It was as if I'd won the lottery. It was like a cold glass of water on a hot summer day or pants right out of the dryer when they're still warm and the dryer sheet smell still clings to them. It was like fireworks on the Fourth of July or a full Thanksgiving dinner. It was overwhelming to have all the best emotions I had in me ping-ponging around. I couldn't get enough.
She pulled away from me and winced a little. "Sorry."
I shook my head. "Never ever be sorry for that."
"Will you lay with me?"
My skin prickled. "Sure."
I climbed into Jane's bed and she rolled over and snuggled up to me. I cradled her in my arms, petting her until she once again fell asleep. I struggled to bring myself to do the same. Jane's sleep was riddled with nightmares, and every hour or so, she would start to convulse and whimper. I would pull her as close to me as I could and whisper to her, telling her even in sleep that everything was going to be okay and that I was there. As I watched her, I made an oath to myself never to let anything happen to her again. In whatever capacity she would have me, I wanted to spend the rest of my life taking care of her and protecting her from anything that would dare threaten her. Eventually, it seemed like her spirit had calmed enough to allow her at least some rest. I pulled her as close to me as I could, kissed her on her forehead, and drifted off to sleep.
20
John
I stretched my arms above my head as I came to. I turned my head and saw Jane laying on my chest. My heart crashed around in my chest. She was so stunning, but more than that, she made me feel at home. I could get used to waking up next to her. I let my fingers skate across her back, being sure to remain at a safe height. I believed her when she said she liked me too, and I could only hope that me touching her was very different from Dax touching her, but I still wanted her to know that I would always respect her boundaries.
She wiggled around a bit and then stretched. Her eyes fluttered open and landed in mine and my heart started to pound a little faster. I had to do my best to play some cards close to the chest. It wouldn’t be very difficult for her to have me eating out of the palm of her hand. I had to try and keep her from learning that, at least immediately.
She smirked at me. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” She craned her head up towards me, and I dipped my head in to meet hers. I gave her a gentle kiss, not too demanding, but enough to translate my feelings.
Jane tapped me on my stomach. “Thank you for staying with me. I’m sure you would have rather gone home.”
I looked all around myself dramatically. “I just woke up in bed with a ten out of ten. Believe me, I’m doing just fine.” I rubbed her head. “Besides, I meant it when I said I’m here for you. I know that this isn’t easy.”
Jane’s expression hardened a little bit. “I had nightmares all night.” She shivered. “I keep feeling like he’s right behind me.”
I kissed her forehead. “You don’t have to worry about that. I won’t let anything else happen to you. That’s a promise.”
Jane smiled again. “Thank you.” She flipped the covers off. “Hungry? I have bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns.”
She climbed out of the bed, and I crawled out after her. “Oh no, I’m not one of those ‘you have to cook for me’ kind of guys. I’ll make you breakfast.”
She frowned. “Well that’s nice, but I feel like you’re already doing so much for me.”
“Yeah, because I know you need it right now.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I’m not some helpless woman.”
My eyes widened. “I know that. I’m just being nice.”
“I can be nice to you too, you know?”
“I never said you couldn’t, I just figured you may want to get more rest or something.” She scoffed and I sucked my teeth. “Why are you being like this? You think I can’t cook?”
“I never said you couldn’t cook. I just wanted to cook for you!” Her voice was rising. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing!” I threw myself down on the bed. “Fine. You cook.”
She pulled her head back a little. “You’re ordering me around right now?”
“You are impossible.” I stared at her with her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised, and the little pout on her lips, and I lost it. I started laughing immediately.
Jane chuckled a little bit and then started laughing herself. “What just happened?”
“I don’t know.” I was laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes. “It got so out of control so quickly.”
“I guess that’s what happens when you put two alphas together, eh?”
“So this is just our thing?” I asked.
“I think it might be.” Jane crawled up and straddled my lap. “We’re probably going to have to develop a system, or we’re going to go around and around for hours.”
I wrapped my arms behind her back and held her close. “Rock, paper, scissors.”
“You want to handle potentially relationship altering arguments with rock, paper, scissors?”
“No. I want to solve meaningless, ‘who’s gonna cook breakfast’ arguments.”
Jane furrowed her brow. “That’s stupid. When I said we should come up with a system, I meant—”
I pulled my hands up in front of my face in ‘rock, paper, scissors’ battle stance. Jane looked at my hands and then looked at me and then pulled her hands up as well.
“Rock, paper, scissors.”
We both smacked down our choices. I threw out rock and Jane threw out scissors.
“Shit!” Jane raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what was that one for?”
I smirked. “I don’t know.” We both started laughing and I brought my hands up to do another round when a litany of blings started screaming down out from the living room downstairs. “Oh, that’s one of our phones I think.”
Jane looked confused. “I
think it may be both. Do you think you can go check? I want to change out of this dress.”
“Sure.”
She stood up out of my lap and I skipped from the room. I went downstairs and grabbed our phones. Sure enough, both were blinging almost incessantly. I checked mine and saw a host of texts flying back and forth between Jim and various members of the team in a group message. It started with Jim announcing that the entire team was supposed to report to the training facility for a mandatory meeting. We typically had the Monday after games off. Many of the players on the team were complaining about having to come in despite the usual rule, but Jim was clear that it was required and was instructing everyone not to speak to anyone until they got to the facility. It seemed word about what happened with Dax hadn’t spread yet, but it was probably only a matter of time.
I took our phones and went back upstairs and when I got to the top, I could hear quiet sniffles coming from Jane’s room. She’d changed out of her dress into simple, understated jeans and a t-shirt. She was looking at herself in the mirror and crying. As I approached her, I could see that she was gently touching a spot on her neck that was visible due to the t-shirt’s scoop neck. It was bruised black and blue and was situated in just a perfect spot on her neck that there was no mistaking what it was.
I walked up on her side, making sure to keep myself in an easily visible spot. “Hey.”
Jane rubbed the spot. “He choked me.”
The statement filled me with rage. I wanted Dax face down in a ditch for what he’d done to her. “I’m so sorry.”
“I have to change shirts.”
“I have an idea.” I pulled my suspenders down off my shoulders and let them hang at my sides, then I unbuttoned my shirt and handed it over to her. “Take mine.”
She reached out weakly and took it into her hands. She sniffed it and smiled a little. “Thank you.”
I turned my back to her and my body got a little warmer as I listened to the rustling of the shirts as she changed. “Okay.”
I turned back around and my temperature doubled. She wore the shirt, which was pretty evidently too large for her, but she had it tucked into her jeans and buttoned up to her neck. The sleeves hung way past her fingertips and it fit her loosely, but still hugged her bust quite nicely. She looked better than I anticipated.
She grinned. “That good, huh?”
I smirked. “Uh, yeah. You look great.”
She touched the spot on the shirt beneath which the bruise was concealed. “Thanks, John. This is weird.”
“It probably will be for a while, but we’ll get through it together.” I held her phone out to her. “Jim has just ordered everyone to the training facility.”
Jane took her phone, looking at it sadly. “It’s probably about me.”
I wanted to tell her that it wasn’t and that everything would be okay, but I didn’t want to make a promise to her that I couldn’t keep. “It might be.
She took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s just get it over with.”
A short drive later, we were walking into the common area of the training facility, packing in with the entire team that was also gathered there. The common area was a fairly large space, and when it was just a piece of the team, it was more than enough space, but when we were all gathered there, it was a little too much.
I threaded us through the group until we were at the front, and as soon as Jim and Jane laid eyes on one another, they rushed at each other and collided in a hug. Jane started sobbing immediately, which caused all the guys on the team to sit up and start murmuring with concern.
Jim released Jane from the hug, but kept her close to his side. He looked at me and nodded and I nodded back at him.
“I’m sorry to have to call you all in, but something unfortunate has happened, and I needed you all to be aware of the situation.” He sighed, gave Jane and I each a look of deep concern and then continued addressing the group. “This morning, at around 3:14 am, Dax Cellius was declared dead.” My heart kicked into maximum overdrive and I could see in Jane’s face that hers was too. “Last night, he attacked Jane in an alley outside of the club, and when John happened upon them, in order to ensure Jane was safe, he beat Dax off with a pipe. Though Dax was not declared dead at the scene, the injuries he suffered to his head were so severe that he was unable to recover.”
Jane put her hands over her face in shock. I had no idea what to think. It wasn’t as if I’d known that Dax wouldn’t make it that it would have changed my decision at all, but I couldn’t believe that I had unintentionally taken the blame for someone’s death.
“An investigation is pending,” Jim looked at me and his expression was the most nervous I’d ever seen it, “with Sebastian as the receipt of Dax’s final words.” My heart shattered. God only knows what transpired between the two of them. I knew I was probably in some trouble, but more than that, I knew that Jane was. “At this time, John is considered to have been acting in a purely defensive manner and no action has been taken against him at this time. However, until the investigation has been concluded, Jane has been suspended.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
The team erupted into complaints and disagreements.
“That doesn’t make any sense. He attacked her, right? Why would she be punished?” Alvin asked.
Caleb stood up. “We all know that Dax was a molesting asshole. We can all stand up for her, right? They can’t do this.”
Jack pointed at me. “John saw it. John knows that she didn’t want it.”
Isaac threw his arms in the air. “We all know that. Not once since Jane started has she ever consented to him touching her or hitting on her all the time.”
Jim held up a hand. “Look. I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t all a farce. Sebastian wanted Jane out from the beginning, but I was blind to it.” Tears welled up in his eyes. “This happened to my sister and now there’s nothing I can do to fix it.” Jane squeezed Jim’s arm, crying herself. “Please, don’t rock the boat. Don’t make waves. My only goal at this point is making sure that nothing else happens to Jane.”
“She’ll be back,” Jack said. “They can’t keep her out when she didn’t do anything wrong, so all we have to do is wait it out, right?”
Shawn raised his hand. “The NFC Championship game is in two weeks. Will she be back by then? We need her.”
It made me equal parts happy and sad how much the team trusted her. They had realized so much sooner what I failed to see until recently. How lucky for all of them to have gotten to experience her brilliance this whole time.
“I don’t know.” Jim wiped his eyes. “We can only hope. Please, do not discuss this matter outside of this facility with anyone. You may go.” Jim released the team, but no one moved. Everyone was heartbroken. Alvin finally raised his hand. Jim pointed. “Yeah?”
“Jane, do you have my number?”
Jane furrowed her brow. “Yeah.”
“If you need to go anywhere ever. To the grocery store, to the doctor. Call me, and I’ll make sure you get there safely.”
Jack’s hand shot into the air. “Me too!”
Shawn raised his hand. “If you just want me to sit outside your house. I got you.”
One by one, all of the guys’ hands went into the air. Jane looked at me and I nodded. “I already told you. We’re in this together.”
Jane and Jim both started to cry. “Th-thank you all. I’m the luckiest girl on the planet.”
After saying goodbye to the team, Jim took Jane out to his car to take her home, with the entire team flanking them in the front and the back. I watched Jane sadly as the car drove away.
Dax may not be a problem for her anymore, but her torture was far from over.
21
Jane
I made my way towards the small shoe boutique not far from my house. I kept my head on a swivel as I walked, feeling like I should have called someone to escort me, but I didn’t want to send the impression that I was weak and helpless. I rou
nded the corner and accidentally ran smack dab into someone.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay.” I looked up and Dax was staring back down at me.
It wasn’t possible. “No.” I turned and started to run. “Leave me alone.”
“Come back. We have some unfinished business. I won’t fail three times.”
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I was so sure I was headed back towards my house, but every single time I turned a corner, it was like I was in a completely new place. I looked to my left and right and didn’t recognize the space around me at all. I just took off to the left. Eventually, I would find my way back to where my house was, right? I pushed through crowds of people who all seemed to be slowing me down, until all of a sudden, I burst through a group of people and came face to face with a brick wall.
“Nowhere to go.” I turned around, and I was down a deep, dark alley. How did I get down it? All the people I’d just passed were gone, leaving only Dax behind. He reached out for me and I let out a scream.
Suddenly, I was shooting straight up out of my bed. I jumped as my door flew open and Jim came running inside. “Jane?” I couldn’t catch my breath. My chest burned as I tried to get air into my lungs. “Jane.” Jim sat on the edge of my bed and put his hands on my shoulders. “Hey, look at me. I’m here. You’re okay.”
I tried to focus my attention on simply breathing. I was gasping for air. Jim put his hand on my head. “J, in through your nose, out through your mouth.”
I took a deep inhale. John’s scent that still clung to his shirt around me filled my nose and it immediately made me calmer. I let the breath out through my mouth, and then took another breath in.
“Good job. You got it. Just keep breathing.”
“He was right there. He was right behind me.”
“He can’t hurt you anymore.” Jim wrapped his arms around me. “It’s okay.”
I was so conflicted. I loved having my brother staying with me during my suspension to help me through what I was going through, but I really missed John and wanted him back. He just made me feel at home, and the more he was around, the more I felt like, with active effort, I could eventually get back to being myself.