Page 47 of Defiant
The weirder thing? I was pretty sure they talked for a while, even after I shut myself back in my room. Supposed it was a good thing. Mom needed some adult conversation every once in a while.
Chapter Twelve – Jaz
“I’m so happy you’re hanging out with Bobbi,” Mom said, pulling her blonde hair back into a ponytail. Sometime during her and Ollie’s long talk yesterday, he offered to pay to fix her van, and she’d declined—but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was getting fixed this week, and she was as giddy as a schoolgirl about it, even though she’d never admit it to me. “She seems like a nice girl.”
“She is,” I said, lying through my teeth, of course. I wasn’t going out to hang out with Bobbi or practice our choir songs. I was going to meet Jacob down the street and break the news to him. No more investigating.
He’d probably be happy, since he hated working for me. Hated dealing with me in general, I think.
I did wonder if he’d act any different after Friday night. Me giving him my number was a spur of the moment thing; it wasn’t like I’d expected him to immediately call me. But he did, and then we had that long conversation while I was in the bath. It tiptoed around some very inappropriate things.
I kind of loved it, honestly. I loved bugging him, I loved riling him up, I loved the frown he often wore when he was trying to brush me off and calling me kid, even though I wasn’t a kid. I liked to think I was a bit more mature than most people my age. My life had never really been normal, and leaving everything behind had only made it less so.
I spent most of my morning getting ready. It wasn’t like I was purposefully trying to look good for Jacob, but…okay, that’s exactly what was happening. Trying to look good to loosen the blow a bit. Plus, as long as he didn’t kick me out immediately after I told him to quit looking into the Scotts, I did want to ask him about teaching me some self-defense.
If Dante was sticking around, it was probably good to learn a bit. Plus, with what Archer had told me—regardless of the fact if any of it was true—if it was Brittany who had drugged me and not him, she truly was capable of anything. A crazy bitch like that you had to be wary of.
After showering, I dried my hair and gave it a few loose waves. It had more volume when it was wavy than when it was straight, and I thought it made me look better. I applied some makeup around my eyes, giving myself the best smoky look I could, and ran some matte gloss on my lips.
When it was said and done, I thought I looked good.
Dark jeans hugged my legs, ankle-high boots with fake studs in them on my feet. A loose V-neck shirt hung on my shoulders. This was the type of outfit I would’ve worn my faux leather jacket with, but alas, that poor jacket now sat in my closet, studded with Brittany’s nice addition to it.
I loved that jacket. I did. It’s why it was so hard for me to get rid of it.
I chose a zip-up hoodie, leaving it open. It was about time to meet him down the road, and Mom could just not get over the fact that I had a friend. How disappointed would she be if she found out the truth? That I was spending my Sunday afternoon with a twenty-something-year-old guy who was fired from the police department because Ollie’s two sons had blackmailed him with some underaged photographs?
Or maybe videos. I didn’t know the details, but I knew enough.
My mom would flip, I knew, which was why I had to get out of here as quickly as possible.
“I like her a whole lot better than that boy who came to pick you up for that party,” Mom muttered. She leaned on the counter in the kitchen, frowning at me. “He didn’t even come in and introduce himself. And then he brought you back the next day, wearing his clothes.” She shook her head, looking like she could kill.
“Mom, I told you, nothing happened.” I paused, deciding to play the daughter card. “Don’t you trust me?”
Mom nearly froze at that, and she was slow to meet my eyes again. It took her far too long to sigh and say, “Yes, Jaz, I trust you. I know you’re smart, and I know, God forbid, you’ll be careful if…when you decide you’re ready to—”
“Whoa,” I cut in, stopping her. “That’s not…please stop.”
She sighed. “I know we’ve avoided talking about it, but whenever you’re ready to discuss it, I’m willing. I’ve kept you from the truth long enough. You have every right to know about your father.”
That was so not what I was expecting her to say.
She would talk about my father? Great. Once everything else cooled down and I had time to sit down with her and talk about him, we definitely would. I deserved to know everything she knew about him. She’d made the decision to keep him from me, and now I was old enough to make my own decisions when it came to my father.
But one thing at a time. Let me focus on getting back at those rich, snobby students first.
“Okay,” I said, “later. I have to go.”
Mom moved closer to me, wrapping me up in a quick hug. “I love you, honey.”
“Love you too, Mom.” I said nothing else as I left the house, heading down the long driveway. Frank wasn’t working today; it was his day off. Another guard was stationed in the guardhouse, and I had to wave my arms through the air to get his attention. He opened the gate for me, and I strolled out, giving him a smile as I started walking.
Did not need my mom finding out about Jacob right after I’d pulled the do you trust me card. For some reason, I had the feeling that would absolutely shatter her trust in me. Yeah, I was lying to her, but my mom was a helicopter parent for the ages. If she had her way, I’d be stuck inside that house, only let out to go to school, never even looking at boys.
Sorry, Mom. I was a few years past that point.
I found Jacob’s car idling down the road already. The man was early. Go figure.
