Chapter 39
As I wait, I maintain my position tucked away in the thick, protective greenery and lose myself in the sight of the sunlight reflecting on the shimmering surface of the lake. I am wound so tight that I nearly jump out of my skin when my phone buzzes with a text from Jason letting me know he is nearly here.
Though I have been sitting out here for what feels like hours by this point, Caleb and his cadre of self-proclaimed *Guardians* have stayed suspiciously out of my way, not even attempting to look for me. I can’t decide whether I should be grateful or afraid that they are plotting my demise.
As I hear the crunching of gravel beneath the rubber tires of Jason’s car approaching, I take a single deep inhale, filling my lungs with a steadying breath, willing courage into my limbs as I slowly heave myself out of my hiding place and move cautiously to meet my rescuer. Jason spots me almost instantly, climbing out of his car and moving towards me. His long legs eat up the distance between us in no time, and he grabs my arms in greeting, asking me, “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I am fine,” I mutter before biting my lip and admitting, “No, not really.”
“God, you are *freezing*,” he tells me, dragging his hands up and down my arms to try and create some friction to warm me.
“I’ll be fine. Can we just get out of here? Please?” I don’t have to fake the pitiful tone of my voice this time, it comes all too naturally.
“Bree, what happened?” His voice oozes with concern, and I am so grateful to have a friend like Jason that is willing to drop everything and come to the rescue when I need him. When I ran away from Andrew, I had no one. Now, I have friends. My life might be the shitshow of all shitshows, but dammit if the realization that I am no longer alone in this world doesn’t knock the breath out of me in this moment.
Tears flood my eyes, and I choke out, “Thank you so much for coming. I swear I will explain everything, but can we please just get out of here first?”
“Of course. Yes. Yeah, of course,” he tells me, then guides me the short distance to his car in the driveway, opening the passenger side door for me and securing me inside before rounding the front of the car and opening his own door. He freezes before climbing in, and I open my mouth before I swear I can *feel* Caleb approaching.
I catch motion out of the corner of my eye, and turn in time to see the front door of the house flinging open and the man himself stepping out onto the porch. I tense, my pulse racing even as I think to myself that he has no right to look so damn good, knowing how insane he actually is. His button down shirt is rumpled and loosened around the collar, and his normally well-styled hair is messy and sticking out in all directions, as if he has been incessantly running his hands through it. He has his hands resting on the back of his head now, adding to the air of distress that is surrounding him.
For a few tense moments, I am terrified that he is going to storm down the porch steps and refuse to let me leave. Instead, he stops at the edge of the porch, eyes locked on Jason in a hardcore staredown. Caleb’s head tilts ever so slightly to the side, and my eyes swing to Jason just in time to see him return the gesture with a terse nod. Caleb’s posture drops, his arms dropping limply by his side as if all of the fight has gone out of him, and he slowly turns before trudging back into his house. *Thank god*.
Jason lowers himself into the car, closing and locking the doors behind him. We sit in awkward silence for a moment before he bursts into laughter. His reaction is so unexpected and out of place that I can’t even react, I just sit there floundering, trying to make some sense out of what the hell he is laughing about.
“You and Reed, huh? Damn, I should have seen that one coming.”
He shifts the car into gear, and I jostle slightly as we begin moving down the picturesque drive.
“I know, I know. I was an idiot. You have no idea. But please, promise me that you won’t tell anyone!”
“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me, you little slut,” he teases.
“Shut up,” I roll my eyes and chuckle as we reach the end of the driveway and pull out onto the main road, grateful for the little bit of levity after this hellish morning. I couldn’t have picked a better friend to call to save me today.
Without even asking, Jason stops for coffee on our way back to his apartment. My heart warms when he knows my order without asking, although we have taken turns buying each other coffee before work plenty of times. That little bit of normalcy brings me hope that I might survive this day, just like I have survived all of the other hard days in my past.
My first sip of white chocolate mocha warms my soul, and I let out a small sigh, allowing a bit of the tension tightening my shoulders to release with the air. Jason, bless him, catches the small motion and gives me a small smile across the small space separating us in the vehicle.
“It’s going to be okay, Bree. It really is,” he tells me, he sounds so sure that I almost believe it too.
“I really hope you are right,” I admit. It is the best that I can give him right now. Maybe after a good night of sleep I’ll be more confident, but right now I am just so drained that all I want to do is sink into the sweet oblivion of sleep. As soon as I give that smallest bit of acknowledgement to the exhaustion, it washes over me, and I lean my head back against the fabric of the head rest and allow myself to close my eyes for a moment.
I stay that away, aside from taking the occasional sip of my coffee, until we pull into the parking lot of his shockingly nice apartment complex.
“Damn, Jace, I thought we made the same amount of money, but this is boujee” I tease.
He rolls his eyes before saying, “You say that now. After a couple of nights on the couch you’ll be whistling a different tune.”
“Trust me,” I snort, “I have slept worse places.”
“We’ll see about that.” He looks skeptical, but opens his door and steps out of the car while I do the same.
“Welcome to my *boujee* home,” he teases as we step inside and he closes the door behind me.
His apartment is nice, but most definitely the definition of a bachelor pad. Bare walls and minimal furniture greet us, and I decide that maybe I’ll buy him some wall art or a plant or something as a thank you gift for letting me crash with him. He gives me a quick tour of the place, which I am pleasantly surprised to see includes a second bedroom that is currently unoccupied, meaning he was just joking about me sleeping on the couch. I really would have taken the couch without complaint, though. I just need a good night of sleep and a day or two to come up with a plan of action. I can handle anything after a good night of sleep.
After the world’s shortest house tour, we settle on opposite ends of his couch in companionable silence, until he finally decides to speak.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened that freaked you out so badly?”
“He–” I begin, then hesitate and start again, “I–”
I am interrupted by two quick raps on the door. Jason’s brow scrunches in confusion, and he stands and makes his way to the door, peeking through the peep hole. He lets out a long sigh, and shoots me an apologetic glance before opening the door, letting Adam inside.