Three hours later, we walk into my apartment. We called the group home on the way and Jen gave them her most convincing sick voice. They didn’t seem to be concerned about her at all, which made me furious. I wanted to rip the phone out of her hand and tell the person on the other side to get a new job since they clearly care so little. Jen looks around my place with a mixture of what looks like curiosity and maybe a little nervousness. I show her the guest bedroom with the attached bathroom and she drops her bag with a little unicorn patch next to the bed.
“Let me know if you need anything. My bedroom is at the end of the hall. The fridge is full if you are hungry or thirsty. Just make yourself at home.” The moment I finish the last sentence, I regret saying it. ‘like home’ is not much of an offer if you don’t really have a place to call home. Not a real home at least. A real home is a place where you feel comfortable and safe.
A place where you can be yourself and you are surrounded by people who love you. As a foster kid you don’t have the luxury of having a place like that. I know how Jen feels because I have been without a home before. Jen’s wounded expression tells me she is thinking the same thing. “Look, just make yourself comfortable here. You don’t have to ask for anything unless you can’t find what you are looking for. Okay?”
“Okay.” She nods and forces a smile. Good enough for tonight.
I turn and walk out, heading to my own room to take a shower. When I am done, I throw on a pair of boxers. I usually sleep in the nude, but since I have company, I figured it would be better to be clothed. I make a few calls to check on business. Donnie, one of my footmen collected a hefty sum of cash for me last night. I make a mental note to give him a bonus next paycheck. I send out three emails with names and addresses of people who owe me money and send them to my guys before lying down and turning the lights off. I wonder if Jenna knows what I do for work, really knows. I’m sure Eliza has told her something by now, but how much, I have no idea. It’s not something we talk about, mostly to keep people that aren’t involved in the business out of it. It’s safer for them if they don’t know anything.
I am almost asleep when I hear the door crack open. It’s pretty dark in here, but I can still make out the small figure wrapped up in a blanket. I wait for her to say something, but she just walks silently into my room, closing the door behinds her. The mattress dips next to me and she slowly gets into the bed. She plants her head on the pillow a few inches away from me. She is so close that I can smell her now. She smells like some kind of flower. Lavender maybe. I notice the smell earlier when she hugged me after I let her drive. I take a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of lavender that has just become my new favorite fragrance.
3
Jenna
I am not sure what has gotten into me. A few minutes ago, I was in the guest room, lying in the most comfortable bed I have ever been in. Trouble was, despite me being emotionally and physically exhausted, I couldn’t go to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see Colt. Images of Colt killing Sarah. Colt kidnapping Eliza. Colt coming after me next and other various scenarios. Before I could think about it too much, I walked over to Hunter’s room and crawled into his bed.
I just don’t want to be alone tonight. I am pretty sure he is awake, but he hasn’t said anything yet, nor has he kicked me out of his bed. So that’s a plus. I am still wrapped up in my blanket, but my head is only a few inches from his face.
“Are you okay?” He is asking in a caring way and not in are-you-crazy kind of way. It makes my heart squeeze that he actually cares about me.
“Yeah, I just couldn’t go to sleep. Do you mind if I sleep with you? I mean not sleep, sleep just regular sleeping. You know, with our eyes closed and stuff.” I had to clarify that one before he gets any ideas.
God, why do I have to blabber when I’m nervous?
“As long as you don’t snore too loud, I have no problem with that,” he says teasingly.
“I do not snore!” I think. “Unless Eliza has been super polite and just never told me that I do. Which now that I think about it, would be something she would do.”
“I guess we’ll find out tonight,” he chuckles.
I cuddle myself up in the blanket even more and close my eyes. Having someone lying next to me actually helped to calm me down.
“Do you have trouble sleeping a lot or is it just tonight?” Hunter surprises me with that question. I am about to lie to him, but then decide there is no reason to be dishonest about it.
“Um, I have been having a hard time sleeping ever since the whole thing happened. Mostly just bad dreams, but not every night. It comes and goes.”
“I’m sorry. What Colt did was messed up. Seriously messed up. I don’t know how he turned into this person. He was not like this when we were friends.” The sad tone in his voice is breaking my heart. I can’t imagine Colt being anything else besides the monster I know, but I know he must have been a better person at some point or Jaxon and Hunter wouldn’t have been friends with him.
“I am sorry you lost your friend.” I truly am sorry for that. I am not sorry about Colt going to jail and I absolutely want him back behind bars as soon as possible. However, I am sorry about the piece of Colt they lost to drugs, the person they lost with it. I know how drugs can change a person and I know how devastating that loss can be. It is worse than someone dying because you can still see and touch that person, but you can’t undo the emptiness in their eyes.
“You would have liked the old Colt. I wish you could have met him,” Hunter whispers.
“Me too.”
I wake up to Hunter’s phone buzzing on the nightstand. I open my eyes and see him silencing it with a big frown. “Not a morning person I gather.”
“If you are telling me that you are a morning person, then sorry Jen, we can’t be friends anymore.” His voice is raspy, thick with sleep and his brown hair is tousled. He looks a few years younger like this, more like my age than his own. There is really not that much of an age gap between us. I am almost eighteen and he is twenty-one.
“I am not sure what you consider a morning person, but I do enjoy sleeping in and I am not opposed to spending all day in bed.”
He raises his eyebrows at me and I realize that what I just said could have had another meaning other than what I intended. “I mean, in general. You know, not specifically today. I didn’t mean that I want to spend the day in bed with you.” I actually wouldn’t mind that at all. I haven’t slept this well in months.
Hunter laughs. “I love when you get flustered like that. It’s hilarious.”
His lightheartedness this morning makes me happy, even though he just made fun of me. I am glad I came back with him instead of staying at the group home. Hunter has become such a good friend. He often tags along when I go out with Eliza and Jaxon, so I don’t feel like a third wheel. I liked him from the very beginning. There has always been this attraction between us, but I have been stomping out that little spark before it could catch in my heart and become any more than that.
“So, did I snore?”
“Not much, but you do need to get the drooling under control. I thought I might’ve needed some water wings if it kept up.” I would have believed him if it wasn’t for the huge grin on his face.
“I texted Jaxon last night, letting them know that you are staying here. They want to come over for breakfast in a bit.”
Oh no, I didn’t text Eliza last night. I am probably going to be in trouble for neglecting my best friend duties. Not to mention the other person in my life I should have contacted right away. My mind really was somewhere else for the rest of the night. My eyes wander down Hunter’s chest and I just now notice that he was not wearing a shirt. Last night it didn’t even occur to me that he could possibly be naked in his bed. Thank the universe that he is not nude. I think my head would have exploded from embarrassment if that was the case.
“I’m going to go take a shower.” I clutch the blanket tightly around me and get up to walk out. Hunter
doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his eyes on me when I walk away. I wonder what he thinks about me now. Does he feel sorry for me or does he think I am weak for coming to him last night? Am I weak for seeking his comfort? I try to be strong without a guy, but yesterday I just needed someone. This is probably exactly what my mom would have done. I don’t drop the blanket until I am back in the guest room and the door is closed behind me.
I take my clothes off and turn the shower all the way to the hot side before I step under the spray. I wash away all the feelings of regret I have for sleeping in Hunter’s bed. I need to keep my distance. I don’t need a guy to be happy or safe. I am not my mother.
4
Hunter
By the time Jenna gets back from taking a shower, she has successfully rebuilt the walls around her. I was surprised when she came to me last night and admitted that she has a hard time sleeping. Jen is not the type to freely admit to any kind of weakness. It’s one of the many things I like about her.
I start some coffee and get some plates out when we hear the knock on the door. I check to make sure it’s Jaxon before I open the door. He and Eliza walk in. As expected, Jaxon looks very unhappy. His greeting consists of a light nod. Eliza, as always, is clutching onto his arm like her life depends on it. She has actually gotten better, but still struggles with her anxiety, especially when she is out in public. I am sure the whole Colt being out of jail thing only adds to her mental turmoil.
Once they are inside my house Eliza releases Jaxon’s arm and walks into the kitchen to give Jenna a hug. Jen starts talking right away and the words come out so quickly I am not sure when she has time to breathe.
“I am so sorry that I didn’t text last night. I don’t know where my head was. I was just so shocked, I couldn’t think straight. We drove almost the whole way and I thought I was fine, but then Hunter kind of talked me into staying with him, and yes, I know that I could have stayed at your place but I had already bugged you the whole weekend and it was late by the time we got back and then Hunter said he had a guest room. So, then I just ended up staying here.”
Eliza just smiles at her and gives her an understanding nod. Those two crack me up. They are the perfect example of ‘opposites attract’. At least when it comes to the talking. Jenna looks around between all of us before taking Eliza’s hand and pulling her towards the guest room. “Let me show you my room and I got to talk to you in private.”
“What was that about?” Jaxon asks when they are out of earshot.
“Jen is probably telling Eliza that she slept in my bed last night.” That gets his attention. His eyebrows raise and a hint of a smirk tugs on his lips.
“We didn’t do anything besides sleep. Jen was pretty shaken last night. She just didn’t want to be alone.”
“Yeah Eliza is pretty upset as well. We need to be smart about this and lay low for a while. We need to figure out what they are up to before they can get to us and we need to do so without worrying the girls.”
I wholeheartedly agree with him. We need to tread lightly around this issue. We stop talking about Colt before Jen and Eliza come back and no one mentions him for the rest of the morning. After a stretched-out breakfast, Jaxon and Eliza head out to look at some houses they are thinking about buying. “Jen, you can come with us if you want to.” Jaxon offers, but she declines.
“I got to go somewhere around lunch, so If you don’t go with them you are going to be alone here for a few hours.” It’s not like she can come with me and help with the things I need to take care of.
She rolls her eyes at us. “I can survive on my own, you know. I’ll be fine.” She shoos us all off with a tremulous smile on her face.
My business ends up taking me longer than I thought and by the time I get back, it’s already after dinnertime. It’s weird having someone at my place. I’ve never had anyone waiting for me to come home. I hope she is not mad at me that it took so long to get back.
As soon as I walk through the door, I can smell something cooking. I walk straight to the kitchen and find Jenna in front of the stove, stirring something in a big pot.
“I hope you don’t mind, I made some spaghetti,” she says when she sees me.
“Not at all, as long as you feed me too. From the looks of it you are planning to feed the whole neighborhood.”
“Yeah, I made a little much, but you can always freeze a few portions and eat it later. It’s almost done. Sit down,” she orders, making me smile. I could get used to this.
“If you feed me and prepare freezer meals every time you show up you can stay with me more often. Actually wait, let me try the food first.”
Jenna giggles and brings me a plate with a good helping of spaghetti and meat sauce. I wait till she gets her own plate and sits down next to me before I dig in.
“Wow Jen, this is amazing.” I’m not being polite, it is really good. I don’t remember when I had a home cooked meal last. I usually eat out or make sandwiches. I always buy groceries with the intention to cook something, but it ends up sitting in my fridge until it goes bad. “Seriously, you can stay here anytime.”
After we eat, we hang out for a bit. I turn on the TV and we end up watching some comedy. I can barely concentrate on the movie. Jenna is sitting on the love seat and I am on the couch, but somehow, she feels closer. Or maybe my skin is crawling because I want her closer. I wonder if she is going to sleep in my bed again tonight. I wouldn’t mind that at all.
After the movie, she tells me that she is going to bed and heads towards the guest room. I hope she didn’t see the disappointment in my face. I go to bed an hour later still hoping she would sneak in my room again, but she never does.
I wake up in the middle of the night hearing some sounds come from the kitchen. I am alarmed for the first two seconds and I am about to grab my gun before I remember that Jenna is here. I find her pouring orange juice in a glass. Her back is turned to me. She is wearing a tank top and pajama pants with unicorns on them. The outfit is a bit silly, but I find it cute on her. I stand here for a moment just watching her put the orange juice back in the fridge. Stalker.
“Trouble sleeping again?”
With a loud shriek she spins around and throws her hands up defensively. “Jesus! Don’t sneak up on me like that. I could have killed you.”
That makes me laugh out loud. “With what? The orange juice?”
Apparently, she doesn’t find this very funny because she is not even smiling. Her eyes are wide, and she is still breathing heavy. Shit, I really scared her.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you like that.”
“It’s okay. I know I am a little on edge right now.” She grabs her orange juice and is about to walk back to her room when I stop her.
“You want to talk about it?”
“No, I am fine. Really,” she says unconvincingly.
“Look, I get it. You don’t want to have sex and you don’t want to have any romantic relationship. You don’t have to close yourself off like that. We can just be friends. If you can’t sleep by yourself then come and sleep in my bed.”
Jen seems a little taken aback by the offer but then relaxes and nods in agreement. “Okay, I’ll just get my blanket.”
I go back to my bed and just like last night Jen comes into my room wrapped up in the comforter and lies down next to me. The lavender smell hits my nose soon after.
“Thank you,” she says so softly I can barely hear it.
“Any time.”
A few hours later, I wake up a second time. I hear a noise at the front door and my eyes snap open. I reach over next to me and my hand touches long silky hair.
“Jenna, wake up,” I whisper and shake her shoulder. “Wake up.”
“What’s wrong?” She asks sleepily.
“Don’t freak out but I think someone is trying to break in. I need you to stay quiet and go hide somewhere.” She scrambles out of the bed and I grab my gun from the nightstand. I don’t know where Jen went but when I leave the bedroom
, I don’t see her anymore. I slowly open the door and look out into the hallway.
The house is dark, which gives me the advantage. I know my house, I don’t need light to move through the premises. I move to the end of the hallway and realize the front door is open. Shit. Someone is already inside. I keep moving through my house with my gun raised in front of me. I hear something in the kitchen and circle around through the living room to get there.
As soon as I come around the corner, I see a dark tall figure moving and I take the shot. The gun goes off and the sound is deadening after the stretch of silence. I don’t see his face, but his wide shoulders and the way he moves are familiar. He dashes toward the door and I take another shot. He is out the door before I can take a third shot. I run after him through the house and follow him outside. He is running away from the house and I am about to sprint after him but then I come to a sudden halt. Jenna is still inside the house and I don’t know if there is someone else or if the guy was alone.
I look after the guy running down the road and curse under my breath. I turn and head back inside. I keep my gun raised as I walk through the whole house making sure every room is empty and we are alone. I return to my bedroom and turn on the bedside lamp.
“Jenna?” I call her name, but she doesn’t come out from wherever she is hiding. “Jen?”
I listen intently and hear a whimper from the closet. I slide the closet door open and find her in the far corner. Her legs are drawn up to her chest and her arms are wrapped tightly around them. Her eyes are wide in fear and she is looking straight ahead, but I don’t think she is seeing anything right now.
The Things We Hide: A Friends to Lovers Young Adult Romance (Pushed Aside Book 2) Page 2
