CHAPTER 78

JORDAN.

AS THE JET BEGAN ITS DESCENT BACK INTO PUERTO RICO, I REALIZED I'D MISSED IT. Puerto Rico was home to me and no hotel, no matter how pricey or comfy, comes even close. Paris had been a welcome distraction due to Melanie's situation, but now that it was taken care of and we were sure the feds wouldn't be descending on our heads, we were coming back.

By we I meant Melanie and I. Taylor had dipped out at the last minute, saying that she wanted to start a new chapter of her life and she needed to do it in a place surrounded by solicitudes. I don't know what she meant, but I welcomed anything that got her away from me with open arms. It's not like it was the first time.

“Man, it's good to be home”, Melanie drew my attention but I refused to look her way or reply. Melanie had never done so before, but in the past few days, she'd been acting like a lady PMSing. Recently she'd shown up with her eyes red like she'd been crying. I don't know who or what could make her cry, but my initial urge was to find it and punch it in the face.

But she'd snapped at me and Taylor and locked her door. Now she was acting like everything was fine. She even had a small smile on her face. I'd considered having someone tail Melanie wherever she went because I hated not knowing, but she could probably spot a tail from miles away and then call me out on it. I hadn't found the need to in the last few days, though.

She had been back in her cheery mode after the fashion show. I'd almost choked when I saw a picture of her headlining the news. She was wearing a skintight dress in fuck-me red with a dangerous slit up her leg and stiletto heels on her feet. Her face was mostly covered with an elaborate mask, but there was no concealment. At least to me. I‘ll recognize that stubborn head tilt from anywhere.

We exited the jet and stood on the private runway watching Blaine's black Audi speed towards us. He opened the door before the car had wheeled to a stop and got out, walking towards us and scooping Melanie off her feet, which made her squirm and giggle. I kept my face neutral, but watching them brought a burning in my chest so intense that I didn't say anything to him and just got in the car.

I wondered when Blaine was going to find out she was not really his. After they'd both gotten it, Blaine fixed me a grin.

“Hey, loser. Paris looks good on you.”

I mumbled a greeting in return then immediately started asking business in my absence, not that I hadn't been following all the while we were in Puerto Rico.

Soon enough we were pulling up into my driveway and I got out of the car before anyone else. I stepped into my house and closed my eyes, breathing it in. That didn't last long, as I was grabbed into a hug and kisses were rained all over my face by Lauren.

“Andresito, you're home and safe,” she said, beaming. I took both her hands and kissed them.

“How have you been?” I asked. Lauren made a sound and a dismissive gesture then cooked her arm through mine.

“Why don't I fix you a snack and tell you everything? It'll be just like old times…” She said, guiding me towards the kitchen.

I paused in the doorway when my eyes landed on the demon creature standing on the table and swishing it's tail. It looked considerably less like a demon since the last time I'd seen it, what with being bathed and petted and fed.

He was getting all the preferential treatment. “What is it doing here?”, I asked slowly. Lauren walked over and gathered it into her arms with the kind of smile people usually give to babies.

“Blaine brings him back here sometimes, so that all the females in his house won't suffocate the poor thing with too much affection”, she said. Solid point.

I heard Melanie and Blaine come in with the luggage while talking. They called out a greeting to Lauren and then disappeared up the stairs. As advertised, Lauren set a tall glass of lemonade in front of me then bustled around while talking about everything. The people who had annoyed her at the farmer's market, her granddaughter's high school graduation, somebody's broken engagement.

I listened with one ear, twirling my drink, but inside I was remembering the vulnerable look on Melanie's face the day she came back with red eyes. It wasn't my place to, but I couldn't stop the helplessness and anger at knowing that whatever made her cry was still out there, not reaping the consequences of his actions.

Blaine poked his head into the kitchen. “Yo, Jordan. I need to- ooh lemonade”, he made a beeline for the jug after kissing Lauren's cheek and poured himself a glass. He scooped up the cat with his free hand and turned back to me.

“Jordan, I need to see you in the study” he said, his face turning serious. I got up without any questions and walked upstairs with him to the study.

Melanie was already in there and she held out her hands for her cat, which Blaine dumped in her lap. She hugged it close while it squirmed a little, then declared. “I finally have a name for him.”

“About time. I was getting tired of calling it 9 or Puss in Booties, since he isn't big enough for actual boots”, Blaine murmured.

Melanie smiled and lifted the cat up, looking soberly into his eyes. “From now on, your name is Soul”, she said.

Blaine tilted his head. “Soul?” he repeated.

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same”, she quoted.

When Blaine still looked lost, I supplied. “It’s from a book, Wuthering Heights. Not a bad choice”, the last part was directed at Melanie and she beamed.

I allowed myself a few seconds to revel in the warmth of her smile then cleared my throat.

“Don’t tell me this was the reason why you dragged me here”, I raised an eyebrow.

“Actually, no. He said he had something to tell us, that's also why I'm here”. Melanie replied, her gaze on Blaine as she stroked Soul.

“Right, yeah”. Blaine rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking nervous. “So the thing is, I started having these headaches a couple of days after you guys left. Small ones, so I never gave it much thought. Then they started getting bigger, and I started having these flashbacks”, he stopped rambling and took a deep breath.

“What I'm trying to say is, I remember everything.”