Page 29 of Jessica's Hero
She raises her eyes to mine. “I don’t want all our dates to be about my crap, Kane. I want us to just be able to have a nice date. Dinner’s almost ready, and I got popcorn for the movie, and…” Her shoulders drop. “I don’t want you to get tired of dealing with all my issues.”
As I look at her sad face, it’s all I can do to stop from hauling her into my lap. From holding her and rubbing her back and kissing her and doing whatever it takes to see her smile again.
I’ve never felt this way before—like Jess is mine to take care of. I know she’s not. She’s a grown woman who can take care of herself. But knowing it doesn’t stop me from wanting to step in and take care of everything.
“I’m not going to get tired of it,” I tell her. “I want to help. Because I care about you. And if something made you cry, I’d really like to know. Maybe I can do something about it.”
Jess lets out a dry laugh. “Unless you can go back in time and stop the person who slashed my tires, I’m not sure there’s much you can do.”
“What?” My jaw clenches. The alarm bells that started clanging the instant Jess opened the door ratchet up another decibel. “Someone slashed your tires? When?”
“At work,” she replies. “Out in the parking lot. I came out after my shift and all four tires were flat. The tow truck driver was the one who noticed they’d all been slashed. So I was a little stressed, dealing with having it towed and getting home late and… it was just a lot on top of an already crummy day.”
My instinct is to fire questions at her, to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible, but I know that won’t help. Not when Jess’s chin is wobbling and her nails are digging into my palm. Not when she looks like she’s on the verge of tears again.
So I start with one. “Do you know who did it?”
She shakes her head. “No. I asked the security guard at my office, but they don’t have cameras in the parking lot. Only inside.”
Shit.
“Can you guess?” I ask gently. “Is there anyone I can look into? A coworker? An ex?”
“At first, I thought it could have been Eliza,” she replies. “She’s one of the techs I supervise now. She’s not thrilled that I got the promotion, and today I had to write her up for insubordination. My boss warned her if it happened again, she’d be fired. She wasn’t happy about that, obviously.”
“Did she leave work before you?”
“I think so.” Jess sighs. “But, Kane. It could have as easily been someone else. Lots of people know where I work and the car I drive.”
But why would they want to slash her tires?
It all comes back to the question I’ve been hesitating to ask. But I think it’s far past time.
“Jess.” I turn towards her and rub her chilled hands between mine. “I haven’t wanted to ask. But?—”
“Of course you want to know.” Resignation tinges her voice. “I guess… I was hoping maybe you knew. And you didn’t care. That you liked me anyway. But I know that’s unrealistic. And you deserve?—”
“Idolike you. Whatever this thing is that happened back in high school, it’s not going to change that.”
Jess pulls her hands away from mine. She plucks at the fabric of the couch, her attention wholly focused on it. “It might. When you hear.”
“I don’t think so.”
Her eyes meet mine, filled with defeat. “I’ll tell you. It’s only fair that you know. So you can decide if you still want to spend time with me.”
On a heavy sigh, she continues, “It was senior year in high school. Spring, just a month from graduation. I went to a party, and—” She stops. “No. I need to explain more.”
I brush a tendril of hair away from her cheek. “You can tell me anything, Jess.”
“I was insecure in high school. Like a lot of people were. You wouldn’t have known it—I tried to come across as this confident girl. Always dressed perfectly, my hair freshly done… I used to save for months so I could afford to have my hair professionally colored. And I’d scour through thrift shops trying to find brand name clothes. Back then, I cared so much about what people thought.”
After a beat, she adds, “I guess that hasn’t changed. Here I am, back in Sleepy Hollow, still worried about what everyone thinks of me. Just for a different reason this time.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to come across as confident.”
“Maybe not. But I just want you to understand. Not that it’s an excuse. But that’s one of the reasons why…” Another sigh. “I was jealous. Of Thea. It sounds so stupid now, but she was dating this guy, Liam, and I’d had the biggest crush on him for years. But he never looked at me. Just her. And Iknow, it happens. But I… I made a mistake.”
With a trembling hand, she tugs her hair in front of her face. “So I went to this party, and most of the seniors were there. Thea was there with Liam, but they didn’t seem to be getting along. He was drinking too much, and I don’t think she liked it. So she went off with Ari, and that’s—” Her jaw twitches. “That’s when I made my first mistake.”
