Page 173 of Insincerely Yours
HaveI ever said how amazing my brother is? After everything that’s happened since those videos dropped, I told him I completely understood if he didn’t want me attending the wedding, let alone participating in it. After all, the day was supposed to be about Lauren and him, not the bridesmaid everyone is still gossiping about. But he said he wouldn’t have it any other way, and his fiancée agreed.
“The day is meant to be shared with the people we love most. If anyone has a problem with that, then they can go fuck themselves,” Derek had said.
I was still apprehensive, but as the lucky bride and groom exit from the reception, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Sure, there were a few whispers and looks, but nothing that could distract from the couple’s big day.
I’ve officially survived the wedding incident-free.
Arms encircle my waist from behind, and I’m drawn back into a wall of muscle as a set of lips pepper kisses along the length of my neck.
“Ready to get out of here?”
I grin, resting my head back against Jase’s chest. “Thought you’d never ask.”
Despite the wedding going off without a hitch, it doesn’t mean it made for a comfortable family dynamic. The relationship with my sister has been tentative these past few weeks, but we are slowly working toward it being on the mend. It’s still going to take some time, but progress is progress. Things with my dad and stepmother, on the other hand…
I had gone no-contact with them, and this was my first time seeing them since the country club debacle. I haven’t spoken or acknowledged either of them, but I’m not blind. Even from a distance, I can see the cracks that hadn’t been there before. Dad has always been attentive, doing things like pulling out Blythe’s chair at the table or fetching her something to drink, but I haven’t seen any of that tonight. She’s been visibly cold, her seat positioned directly under the A/C, and yet Dad hasn’t even bothered to offer his tuxedo jacket, no matter how much she rubs her hands over her arms to keep warm.
Jase must follow my gaze, because he doesn’t need me to say anything. “They’ve both been out of town, but I have it on good authority that they haven’t spent time together until yesterday. He’s been staying in upstate New York, apparently consulting with an attorney who specializes in ‘family law,’ as Blythe’s reportedly been hiding away at some luxury spa in Arizona.”
I turn to look up at Jase, one eyebrow raised.
The only “good authority” Jase has comes from Dash, and we both know it. Not to mention, ‘family law’ is the polite way of saying divorce attorney, seeing as how there aren’t any underage children involved in Blythe’s and Dad’s marriage.
Dash is also the one keeping us up-to-date with all of the Eastons’ legal woes that aren’t yet available to the press. As expected, any support Trent or his father held all evaporated once their videos went viral. Well, at least publicly. Some peoplestill stood to lose a lot of money if Roland Easton couldn’t make good on his business dealings, which he couldn’t do from behind bars, and others evidently were indebted to him in some way or another, because everything humanly possible was being done to squash this case. Sadly for all of them, a number of young women felt far more emboldened to come forward with their own testimonies regarding Trent and his father once the story became national news.
Within the first two weeks after the videos went up online, a couple of those women announced themselves publicly, while the other eight wished to remain anonymous for the time being. Like me, they’ve all given their sworn statements to the police, and if Dash is to be believed, Trent’s “affairs” even extend internationally. With the Eastons’ vast connections and finances, it was determined by the courts that father and son would be clear flight risks and, therefore, were subsequently both denied bail.
At least they’ll have some company. With the testimonies from Olivia and me, the police were able to arrest Sienna for not only assaulting me in the locker room but also aiding and abetting Trent’s attempt to rape me, acting as an accessory, conspiracy, and even rape by compulsion/accomplice. Oh, and let’s not forget about the other charges of revenge porn, impersonation, a little thing called defamation, and even potential false light invasion of privacy. Unsurprisingly, Trent’s lips became much looser once behind bars. He was all too happy to throw his friend under the bus to spare himself from further charges, claiming Sienna was the one entirely behind posting the nude photo of me from the locker room, as well as uploading the “suggestive” pictures of herself claiming to be me from Maggie’s phone. I figured it was just Trent’s way of escaping culpability, but upon official investigation, all of the pictures originated from devices in Sienna’s possession. As for my parents…
“Did seeing them today change anything?” Jase asks, no doubt seeing where my eyes have wandered to.
“A.k.a. ‘Has Cinderella chosen to forgive her evil stepmother?’” I shoot him a look that leaves him chuckling. “Yeah, apparently, I’m not nearly as virtuous or forgiving. Blythe can still go fuck herself as far as I’m concerned, and my dad…”
I don’t have it in me to finish the thought. If I decide to go through and file charges against Blythe, there’s a very good chance the Stepmonster will drag my dad into this if it can take the blame off of herself. I can’t move past my anger with him, at least not right now, but heismy father. He had also been trying to reach out to me for the past few weeks, leaving dozens of text messages and voicemails expressing his wish to apologize in person. It’s not that I don’t want a relationship with him at some point, and Mom never would have wanted me to cut ties with him, either. But everything’s still just too fresh. And quite frankly, I don’t know what to say to him yet.
Jase slings an arm around my waist as he turns me around to head outside, planting a kiss on my temple. “You don’t have to make a decision right now. In fact, I say we hit pause on all discussions that put this look on your face, at least for tonight.”
I couldn’t agree more, and I’m far too eager to remove my heels upon stepping into his car.
“Soooo, do you have any plans on how to turn my frown upside down?” I tease, batting eyelashes and all, punctuating the point by slipping my fingers into the slit of my dress.
I’m rewarded with a smile that’s wholly mischievous as Jase turns over the engine.
“Rest assured, lovely. I most certainly do.”
I already knowthat Jase is up to something. He pulls out his phone whenever we hit a red light and keeps texting someone. I don’t know how far we drive, but the scenery looks less and less familiar with every passing street. We keep to the coast, and eventually, Jase pulls into the parking lot overlooking the water, leaving me more than a little confused. Why did Jase just drive us twenty miles south if he had only planned on going to a public stretch of beach? Granted, most of the coastline in Ravenswood is privately owned, but not all of it.
The weather is usually a little chillier this time of day, but it’s still in the upper seventies right now. Thankfully, the beach isn’t overly crowded for a Saturday night, and the breeze off the water is just enough to abate the July humidity as we make our way down to the sand.
With the bonfire and music playing off to our left, it’s no surprise Jase leads us in the other direction to the less populated section.
Holding up the ends of my dress, I relish the waves washing up over my ankles, further cooling me off. “I know you said you didn’t want to talk shop tonight, but are you sure about moving to Boston? I mean, L.A.’s the perfect place for doing what you do, and you already have your base of operations set up there. And with school starting back up in the fall, I’ll be how busy, too. We can make the long-distance thing work. Between Winter Break and all of the holidays, one of us can fly out to see the other person—”
His lips crash against mine, cutting me off. “I just got you back. There’s no way in hell I’m putting three thousand miles between us again.”
“But this is a big decision, Jase. I don’t want you to look back on this later and regret it.”
“Would youpreferlong distance?” he asks. “Honestly? If you want space—”
