Chapter 56 Blurring lines of affection
JAXON’S POV
“Not him…” Nancy whispered into the stillness. “…You.”
I stared at her with a dazed look on my face, so much so that one would have thought I was the one drunk and out of it.
Yes, that was it.
She had only said those words because of her drunken state; it didn’t mean anything.
Yet, I couldn’t help my eyes from moving to her, and deep down, I realised a part of me was seeking assurance that what she’d just said was true.
A part of me hoped it was true.
I realised what I was thinking, then shook my head and mocked myself with a cold smile,\\ then made to leave.
Once again, the sound of her voice stopped me in my tracks, louder this time. “Maybe Mason is the problem…Why…Why wo…Would he try…try…”
Her voice trailed off in a drunken slur, but my gaze had already snapped back.
“Try what?” I echoed into the darkness.
Nancy’s gaze lifted to me, still dark and unfocused.
Her lips parted, and her face squeezed into a small frown, making it appear redder. She shut her lips again, then parted them once more until it became a repetitive movement, looking as if she was trying hard to find an answer to my question.
I waited for the eventual response, but none came. What happened instead was her lips pulling into a pout right before her head slammed back into the pillow.
Curiosity, however, was already etched into me, with a partial mix of surging annoyance.
Albeit drunk, Nancy wouldn’t say that if it hadn’t happened. The missing piece was what Mason had tried to do, and beyond what I intended, my mind had already begun to conjure various scenarios that matched her words.
And, I could tell you, none of them were good, nor appropriate.
Just imagining Mason Kravitz touching her was beginning to make my blood boil.
I crossed the small space to her bed, then dropped to my knee and grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to look at me.
She stared at me through a small crack in her lips, muttering unintelligibly.
“Tell me,” I commanded. “Did he touch you?”
Nancy stared at me for a good minute, then nodded.
My grip on her tightened, and my teeth clenched so hard I could hear them gnashing against each other.
“Where did he…?”
I was cut off when she suddenly shook her head vehemently in response to my previous question.
But she’d already given me an answer, so now, I was thrown into confusion.
“Which is it? Did he touch you or not?”
Nancy’s speech was slow, and it required all of my focus to make out what she was saying.
“He…He…tou…ched me. Carried me…to…the car?”
I pieced those broken strings of words together and finally got the message.
When she said he touched her, she probably meant when he had taken her and Diana to the car to bring them home.
In an instant, I realised I had gotten worked up for nothing, and then, my pupils enlarged when it sank in that I had gotten worked up over her.
My hold loosened, and I immediately stepped back, while Nancy’s body wavered onto the bed again.
“You got worked up,” I repeated silently to myself, as if I needed to say it to understand the implication of my action.
I didn’t linger after that, but walked straight to the door before she could say anything else that would keep me in place.
Just as I reached the door, a knock rang out.
Without hesitation, I pulled it open, revealing Mason, who instantly looked over my shoulder, “Is she okay?”
I held his gaze without responding, then stepped out the door and closed it behind me. “She’s fine.”
Mason’s gaze swept to it again, his lips flattened, but he didn’t say anything.
Similarly, I didn’t speak either but began to walk forward. His footsteps picked up a few seconds after.
“Diana’s settled in. She struggled with me, so it took a while for me to get off her shoes, but she’s fine now,” Mason explained as though I’d asked him.
However, I nodded in acknowledgment, because the information was welcome.
We got to the living room, and he gesticulated towards the door, “I’ll…I’ll head out now.”
My mind pushed me to say something, to at least appreciate him for getting the girls home safely or maybe even for staying sober and responsible, but the words just wouldn’t come out, and I tried to think, to figure out if it was because I was angry, but then, I realised that I wasn’t.
Although I was earlier, I wasn’t now.
While I pondered, Mason studied my face hesitantly.
“What is it?” I asked, staring at him.
“Um…sir,” he lifted his hand and scratched the back of his neck. “About what I said earlier, this was on me. Don’t…”
“Don’t bother yourself with that,” I cut in with a clipped tone.
“But…”
I snapped my gaze towards him. He got the memo and pressed his lips together, keeping mute.
He nodded once, then muttered, “I’ll take my leave now.”
I gave him a single nod, too, then watched as he walked out of the house. Until I heard the sound of his engine fading in the distance, I didn’t move.
When I finally did, I was stopped by the sound of a voice replaying in my head.
“I don’t want Mason, I want you.”
Strangely, the effect those words had on me now was appalling because my stomach gave a violent flip and my heart thumped harder than usual.
A couple of minutes later, I let out a silent scoff, then questioned myself, “Do you really believe that?”
The truth was, I did.
I believed Nancy wanted me, and the truth that had also become unavoidable was that I wanted her too.
And it wasn’t even a thought that arose in the spur of the moment.
I wanted her, and the lines of my affection were beginning to blur.