Page 41 of Jax

Leenie pulls a shirt off the rack. “What do you think of this?”

I gaze at the draped front turquoise shirt. “That’ll look great on you.”

She snickers and rolls her eyes. “We’re not shopping for me. We’re shopping for you.”

I laugh. I can’t help myself. I didn’t think she was naive but apparently she is. “Leenie, I don’t have any money. Zero. None.”

She places the clothes back on the rack with an amused look. “Hmm.” She searches through her purse and brings out a wad of cash. “How about this hundred dollars that Jax gave me this morning then?”

I blink at it, sure she’s messing with me. “Jax gave you that money for me?”

She stuffs the bills back into her purse and continues to graze. “Something about him not wanting to see you in my clothes. I was insulted at first, I’ll have you know, but then he explained his thought process to me.”

My throat closes. We’d had a semi conversation about this right before he sent me into an orgasm, but I had no idea he was actually going to buy me clothes. Besides, that wasbeforeour argument. “I can’t...take his money, Leenie.”

“Sure you can,” she says, pulling another shirt off the rack. “You’re trying this on.” When I don’t move, she stares at me. “If you don’t pick out anything, I’ll choose everything, walk up to the counter, and pay for it myself. You should understand me well enough by now to know that I will.” My body deflates, and she sighs. “Listen, I heard the fight you guys had last night. There are a lot of hurt feelings. A lot of accusations. But if Jax wants to do this, let him. You know how stubborn he is, and if we come back home with no clothes, he’s going to be pissed at me like I should’ve convinced you. I know you’re new to the whole friend thing but that’s not a good way to get someone to like you.” She winks at me afterward and guilt slams me worse than it has before.

Why is she being so nice to me? Why is Jax being so nice to me? I’ve been planning all night to leave their house when apparently they had other ideas in the works.

“I can’t do this,” I tell Leenie before I turn on my heel and run through the shop. The bell rings overhead as I push the door open, escaping into broad daylight with all the fresh air. I look both ways, panicking when I see that there really isn’t a bad choice to make. It’s not like there is a questionable homeless person to the left and a tatted-up gang dude to the right.

My indecision leaves enough time for Leenie to catch up with me. “Sadie!” she cries as she comes to a stop next to me. She grabs my arm. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving,” I tell her. “I’m not good enough for your friendship. Or Jax’s money. Or—” I cut off. Honestly, if I was going to make a list of shit I’m not good enough for, we’d be here all day.

“It’s only a few clothes,” she says, dumbfounded.

Panic sets in. No one has given me anything in years and not wanted something in return. “What is it?” I ask her. “What do you want?”

“Nothing,” she pleads. “We’re trying to be nice. You’re in pain. You’re hurt. Jesus, you’re still black and blue from a few days ago. I thought you might want new clothes because the others are all bloody and you probably don’t want to wear mine.”

My mouth hangs open like I’m a fish out of water. An alarmed horror still claws at me. “I can’t,” I tell her before I turn and start to run again. My borrowed shoes hit the pavement. My mind flits through different scenarios. Go back to Psycho. Or take this opportunity to get away from everyone. Psycho has no idea where I am… I automatically reject that notion though. He doesn’t know where I am, but he knows who I’m with. He’ll never leave them alone.

“Sadie!” Leenie calls out from behind me. “Fuck.”

I keep running, my chest aching. I haven’t used my body like this in a long time. All I know is that the fear yapping at my heels is what keeps driving me forward.

Tires squeal. I turn my head to find Leenie behind the wheel of her car. Her face is a mask of concentration. She speeds ahead of me and then turns the wheel all the way to the right. She drives up over the sidewalk, the vehicle bouncing as it blocks my escape. She scrambles out of the car and holds her phone up. “Sadie, it’s Jax. He wants to talk to you, okay?” She approaches me like a stray dog, hands outstretched. “Just Jax. You know you can trust him.”

I take her phone with shaking fingers. Jax is on the other end of the line asking what’s going on and if she has me or not. I swallow, heart thumping right out of my chest. “What?”

“Jesus, Sadie,” he barks. I close my eyes but he doesn’t give me time to respond with anything. “It’s only clothes. Get in the damn store and buy something.”

“But last night—”

“Fuck last night. Are you going to be the person I think you are? The girl who runs away when things get tough again and again? Or are you going to prove me wrong?”

I scowl into the phone and growl.

“That’s right, baby,” he says. “Get mad at me. Hate me all you want but prove me wrong. Go back into that store with Leenie, stick by her side, and when you get back, you might get a prize for good behavior.”

His playfulness sobers me up. Memories flicker by. “You’re an ass.”

Leenie’s concerned face lightens, and she hides a chuckle. I guess all is right with the world when Jax is acting like a dick.

* * *

I walk backinto the house with a stomach full of butterflies and acid. I don’t know where Jax and I stand, and that’s the most terrifying aspect of this whole scenario. At least before, I knew he hated my guts. There was nothing between us, and that was okay. Now? I have no freaking clue where I stand but I plan on asking him the first chance I get.

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