Tormented Love: A Christian Romance (The True Love Series Book 3)

by Juliette Duncan

  It was mid afternoon when Kathryn sauntered down to the beach in plaid shorts and a wide-brimmed straw hat. Jay was about fifty feet away on the jet ski. She cupped her hand around her mouth and called out. He waved and yelled something back, but she couldn't hear. He certainly looked like he was having fun. She stood and watched a few moments longer before boarding the boat moored to the jetty. Although not as impressive as Luke’s boat, it still had a decent-sized cabin containing a kitchen, a bed which doubled as a lounge, and a small sitting area. Kathryn poured a glass of wine and eased herself onto the lounge. Exhaling contentedly, she stretched out her long legs and stared out over the water, a smile growing on her face each time Jay zoomed past.

  It was good having him here. Ever since Luke Emerson had dumped her for that younger woman, she’d been lonely. Even the wives and girlfriends of Luke’s fellow golfers had deserted her, and now there were no friends to go shopping with or even to drop in on for a cup of tea, or something stronger. Spending so much time on her own was driving her crazy. But then she got the idea of luring Jay to come live with her. Jay wasn’t happy with Ben and that new wife of his, so he’d told her, so it hadn’t been that difficult to convince him to come.

  Kathryn smiled to herself as she refilled her wine glass. Now Jay was here, she wouldn’t have to worry about going to the beach on her own, nor would she have to spend day after day by herself in the condo she’d bought with the settlement money she’d been entitled to after being Luke Emerson’s partner for the past three years. Now Jay was here, she wouldn’t let him go. Ben could try as much as he liked to get him back, but good luck to him. Miami Beach, Florida, or Brisbane, Queensland? She knew which one she’d choose, and Jay would too once he got to know it. So many things for him to do. She let out a happy sigh as Jay zoomed past again. He’ll never want to go back.

  As Kathryn sipped her wine, thoughts of Luke flitted through her mind. She stared at the wine glass as she twirled the thin stem slowly between her fingers. Why had she pressured him to marry her? If only she’d been happy to remain as his girlfriend, they’d probably still be together. She could still see his sparkling eyes and his tanned, toned body. They’d been so happy, or so she’d thought. Tears spilled down her face. Now it was all over. Kathryn swallowed the sobs collecting at the base of her throat and sculled the last of her wine.

  "Is everything okay, Mum?"

  Kathryn blinked and turned towards the cabin door. Jay, lean and trim in his wet glistening suit, stood looking at her. She met his gaze and sucked in a breath. She hadn’t really noticed how much like Ben he looked. They had the same eyes. Eyes that could melt a girl’s heart in an instant. How many hearts would Jay break?

  “Mum?”

  "Oh, yes." Kathryn straightened, quickly wiping her face as she set her glass aside. "Just thinking about things.” She held her hand out to him. “Have fun?”

  “Yeah, it was awesome.”

  Kathryn smiled. “You must be famished. Let me fix something to eat.”

  “Thanks.” Jay walked around the cabin, exploring all the hidden spaces and wood paneled cabinets. "Can we take it out?"

  Kathryn raised her eyebrows. "The boat?" She opened the mini refrigerator and took out a platter of cold cut sandwiches and a pack of strawberry Jell-O cups.

  Jay nodded as he stuffed a sandwich into his mouth.

  "Not unless you know how to sail it."

  Jay’s brows knitted. He swallowed his mouthful. “So, you have a boat like this, but you can’t sail?"

  Kathryn let out a small chuckle and waved dismissively. “It’s good for entertaining.”

  “Right.” Jay took another sandwich and woofed it down. “Dad was teaching me to sail, but I’ve never been out in a boat as big as this.”

  "I'll get you some lessons if you like, and then you can take me sailing.” She held out her hand. “Come and sit beside me, Jay.”

  Jay complied and took a seat next to her. She poured a glass of crisp ginger ale for him, then picked up her glass of wine and held it up for a toast. "To us."

  Jay guffawed and almost spilled his drink.

  “Oh, come on, Jay. We need to celebrate being together again.” Kathryn held her glass up once more and clinked it against his. "To us."

  “To us.” Jay’s expression grew serious as he repeated the words dutifully before taking a sip.

  “I was thinking we could go to Miami Beach this afternoon. What do you say?” She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder.

  He shrugged. “Sounds good. As long as I can swim.”

  “Yes, you can swim as much as you want. And then maybe we can have dinner out.” She twirled his hair in her fingers. “You need to make the most of this week, because next week you start school."

  Jay's mouth fell open. "School?"

  "Yes, Jay. You can’t fall behind on your schooling just because you're living here." Kathryn rested her elbow on the back of the seat.

  Jay folded his arms and humphed. “I’d rather not go. It’ll be a lot different to what I’m used to.”

  "Don't look so worried, Jay." Kathryn continued twirling his hair, but he shrugged her hand away. She placed her arm lightly around his shoulder and pulled him closer. His body tensed, but this time he didn’t pull away. "I've checked all the schools in the area and chosen the best one for you. You'll meet a lot of new friends your age and the teachers will make sure you fit right in. I'm sure a few things will be different, but it'll be fun. You'll do just fine." She flashed him a reassuring smile, but the hard line set on Jay’s mouth suggested she’d failed to convince him.

  Chapter 5

  All through the week, Jayden tried to get out of going to school, but Kathryn wouldn't hear of it. She bought him an abundance of new supplies and clothes to make sure he’d be ready to start. The following Monday morning, she drove him to the sprawling Biscayne Bay campus of Miranda High.

  Jayden sat in the passenger seat in stony silence, staring straight ahead. When Kathryn pulled into a parking spot in front of the school, he didn’t move. On his right, swarms of students, parents, and teachers milled around in the open area between the parking lot and the school buildings. Miranda High was much larger than his school back home. When Kathryn told him he didn’t have to wear a uniform, he hadn’t believed her, but she was right. None of the students wore uniforms; instead they were dressed in jeans, knee-length shorts, and whatever else it seemed they wanted to wear.

  A glossy red Mustang purred to a stop beside their car. Jayden turned his head. A boy not much older than himself jumped out of the driver's seat and started up the walkway.

  "When can you teach me to drive?" Jayden asked without turning his head back.

  Kathryn laughed nervously.

  Jayden spun his head around, drawing his eyebrows together. “What’s funny about that? You promised.”

  Kathryn let out a shaky sigh, the color draining from her face. “I might have made a teeny mistake.”

  “What do you mean?” Jayden glared at her.

  Kathryn drew a slow breath and reached her hand out, but he leaned further away.

  “Come on, Jay. Give me a break. I thought you could get your Learner’s, but seems you can’t since you’re not a resident yet.”

  Jayden cast her a veiled glance and slumped in his seat. “You promised.”

  “I know, Jay, and I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I really didn’t know.”

  Jayden shook his head, pursing his lips. How could Mum not know? She shouldn’t have made promises she couldn’t keep. The dreams he’d had of driving down the freeway in a black convertible with the top down and the wind whipping his hair were now dashed. I may as well go home. That way he wouldn’t have to start at this horrible school. He slumped further in his seat.

  “Come on, Jay. We can talk more later, but now you’ve got to get out of the car and go to school.” Kathryn reached out and touched his face with the back of her hand.

  He pushed it away and glared at her again. “Fine
.” He opened the door and climbed out, slamming it behind him.

  “I'll pick you up this afternoon." Kathryn’s voice trailed off as he strode towards the school building with his head down.

  Jayden’s eyes filled with angry tears and he breathed heavily. As soon as he was sure Mum couldn’t see him, he brushed his eyes with the back of his hand and slowed down. He had to get a grip on himself before classes started. Bad enough to be the new guy—no way could he let anyone see he’d been crying.

  Keeping his eyes lowered, Jayden joined the throng of students moving towards the entrance. A few walked alone, but most talked and laughed with one or more friends. Jayden’s shoulders sagged under the weight of his military-style canvas messenger bag that carried one too many notepads and textbooks.

  As he walked down the brightly-lit hallways, an empty feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. His mouth was dry and his chest tight. The other students all looked like they belonged. He, on the other hand, felt very much out of place and wished Neil could be here with him. Or that he was back at his old school.

  He pulled the day’s schedule out of his messenger bag. Compared to how simple and organized things had been at his old school, this was really confusing. The day was divided into four periods—first, second, third, and fourth. Two classes in each period with a lunch break between the second and third. Time for gym and other sports activities like football and basketball were also scheduled. No mention of a rugby, tennis, or rowing team. Mum had better not have signed me up for a sport I don’t know, like Gridiron.

  "Neat shoes." Jayden looked up to see who owned the husky voice. In front of him stood the owner of the red Mustang. Dressed in a team jacket and with a shock of blonde hair, the boy had a basketball tucked under his arm, and stood a head taller than Jayden.

  "Thanks." Jayden glanced down at his gold and black Nike sneakers and tried to think of something else to say. He lifted his head. "I saw your car out there. It's nice. Is it yours?"

  "Yep. Bought it last year." The boy held out his hand. "I'm Keith, by the way. You must be new. Haven’t seen you before."

  "Yeah, I'm Jayden, and this is my first day." Jayden shook Keith's hand. "I'm a bit confused by the schedule."

  "I can help. We might be in the same classes." Keith took the paper and studied it, then shook his head and shrugged. "Nope. You're in tenth grade. I'm in twelfth. Looks like your first class is Biology, though. Maybe we can find a teacher around here who can help you."

  "Hey, Keith." A tall brunette in a cheerleader outfit bounced up beside him and linked her arm into Keith’s.

  "Hey, Lori." Keith’s face lit up as Lori kissed his cheek.

  She tilted her head and looked Jayden’s way. "Who's this?"

  "Jayden. He's new.”

  If only the floor would open up and swallow him. "Hi." Jayden gulped. He wasn’t used to talking with girls. Well, not girls that looked like Lori.

  "Why are you talking like that?" Lori asked.

  "Like what?"

  Lori screwed up her nose and tapped her chin with a finger. "I don't know. You sound kind of nasally. Oh, wait...you must be British."

  "No, I'm from Australia." Jayden jerked his head up. How could she even think he was British?

  Lori laughed. "My bad. I'm always getting those two mixed up. But Australia's a totally cool place. My parents and I went to Sydney for vacation last year, and we loved it. I bet you're a bit homesick being so far away, but Florida’s pretty cool too. You'll get used to it after a while."

  Just then the bell rang and students started disappearing into the various classrooms. "Oh, well, we better get going," Keith said. "It was nice meeting you, Jayden. Maybe we can meet up at lunch."

  "Later." Lori waved as she tucked her arm tighter into Keith’s.

  Jayden gazed longingly after them as they moved off down the hall together, Keith spinning the basketball on his index finger and Lori hanging off his arm. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he was feeling homesick. The week he’d spent with Mum had been fun, but he was missing his friends, especially Neil. And just that morning, Dad had called again and he’d been tempted to pick up, but Mum had been nearby, and he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Dad seemed to be getting more agitated though. How many Facebook messages and emails had he sent? Jayden had lost count. He’d have to reply soon, but what would he say?

  Sighing heavily, Jayden looked for someone to give him directions. He selected a man dressed in a suit and asked him where the tenth grade Biology class was. The man pointed him in the right direction, and in a few minutes Jayden arrived outside a door that read ‘Mr. Miller - Biology, Sophomore Hall’. Pausing a moment, Jayden took a deep breath to steady himself before slipping inside the room. The other students were already in place and Mr. Miller had just started going over preliminaries.

  Everyone looked up. Once again, Jayden wished the floor would open up. He gulped. "Sorry I'm late." He was very aware of his accent now Lori had commented on it.

  "That's fine." Mr. Miller had a deep voice and boomed every word. "You must be Jayden. Come on in. Put your bag over there and take the empty seat in the third row."

  "Thanks." Jayden nodded and did as he was told. He pulled out his textbook for that class and took his seat. It was going to be a long day.

  At lunch, Jayden looked around for Keith and eventually spotted him sitting at a table with Lori and a group of other boys and girls who all seemed to be basketball players or cheerleaders. All in twelfth grade. Maybe he should sit with someone in his own grade. He was about to walk away when Keith stood and waved him over.

  "This is Jayden, everyone." Keith introduced him to the others.

  "He's from Australia." Lori sounded as if she was announcing a popular rock star.

  Keith pulled Jayden closer until his mouth was near Jayden’s ear. "Sophomores don't normally sit with seniors, but since it's your first day, you can sit with us. But you’ll need to sit with your own crew tomorrow. Got it?"

  Jayden nodded. He should have just sat by himself.

  "Do you play?" a boy with cropped black hair and a gold chain around his neck asked.

  "Play what?"

  The boy gave him a strange look as if he was stupid. "Basketball, of course."

  Jayden shook his head. "I play rugby."

  "You're not in Aussie anymore, dude.” Keith said.

  "What's rugby?" Lori leaned forward.

  "It's supposed to be some type of football, but they play it all wrong," the boy with the dark cropped hair said.

  The boy attempted to explain the game to Lori, but got it all wrong. Jayden had a mind to tell the boy he didn't know what he was talking about, but kept his mouth shut. No use getting into an argument on his first day, especially with a senior.

  Jayden’s phone rang. His shoulders slumped. Not Dad again. He pulled it from his pocket and the corners of his mouth quirked up. Not Dad. Neil.

  “Gotta take this, sorry.” He stood and left the table. He quickly found the bathroom and locked himself into a stall.

  "Jayden," Neil said as his blurry face came into view on Jayden's phone screen. "How are you doing?"

  Tears stung Jayden's eyes. He quickly wiped them away. "Not bad. What about you?"

  "Not bad, either. It's four in the morning and I should be sleeping. Mum doesn't know I'm awake so I can't talk too loud. What are you doing?"

  "I'm at school." Jayden lowered his voice as well.

  "Oh." Neil was quiet for a few moments. "What’s it like?"

  "I don't know anyone. It’s all different, and so far I don’t like it."

  "When are you coming back home?"

  Jayden was silent. He shrugged. "I don't know."

  "Come back soon. I really miss you, Jayden. It’s not the same without you here."

  The bell rang. “I have to go, Neil. Sorry.”

  "No problem, I’ll call back later." Neil pulled one of his funny faces until the screen went blank.

  Jayden closed his eye
s and squeezed back the tears that were threatening to fall. He was fifteen, for goodness’ sake. He shouldn’t be crying. What would Keith and the others think if they saw him? But the pain in his heart was heavy, and seeing Neil just made it worse. Maybe he should go home.

  The second warning bell sounded. Wiping his face with his sleeve, he slipped his phone into his pocket before heading back to class.

  The rest of the day passed slowly, as did the rest of the week. After surviving his first five days at Miranda High, Jayden was more than happy to see the weekend. He slept two extra hours on Saturday morning before shuffling into the kitchen to get something to eat. Mum was already awake and sitting at the counter with a cup of hot tea. She looked up from the laptop open in front of her and gave him one of her bright smiles.

  "Any plans for today?" Jayden pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard and sat at the breakfast bar. If there weren’t any, he'd take the jet ski out again since Mum hadn’t made any plans for the sailing lessons—nor the driving lessons. Had she forgotten?

  Mum’s eyes were on him. "What would you like to do?" She put her mug of tea down and leaned closer. "Is everything okay, Jay?"

  Jayden glanced up. "Yeah, everything’s fine.” He let out a heavy sigh as he placed a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Milk dripped down his chin, and he wiped it with his hand. "So, no special plans for the weekend?" Jayden continued with his original question.

  "Not really. We could go to the movies tomorrow, but right now, I'm just checking into a few things."

  "Like what?" Jayden tilted his head.

  Kathryn shrugged and turned the screen away from him. “Nothing important.”

  Jayden narrowed his eyes. What was she working on? And why did he get the feeling something was wrong?

  “Go and have some fun, Jay. We'll go to the movies tomorrow."

  "I'll take the jet ski out again." Jayden placed his empty bowl into the dishwasher and left the kitchen.