Page 34 of Still Forever
Just as we neared the marker signaling the end of lap two, Cupcake started screaming at the top of her lungs.
“It’s time for her to eat,” she said as we pivoted toward the bench. I turned back to BJ, who was on the swing, being pushed by one of the guards. I chuckled because no matter how tough you were, the babies always brought out the softer side of you.
We went over to the bench and sat down. Storm pulled out a blanket and clipped the small fan to her shirt before she positioned the baby for breastfeeding.
“Uh uh, you don’t have a bottle?” I questioned as I glared at her. “We just walked two miles, don’t give my baby that salty titty,” I screamed as she doubled over with laughter.
“Let me wash it off like we do the bottles,” she chuckled as she picked up another blanket and put it underneath her bra before starting to feed the baby.
While she nursed, I soaked in the view of the park. It was summertime, the flowers were blooming, the birds were chirping, and it was a beautiful day to be outside. I watched with a smile as BJ jumped off the swing mid-push and landed in the sand, laughing before he ran to the slide. He was all of the Jennings men wrapped in one. He had Trouble’s entire face, was tall as heck for a three-year-old, so I’d assume he would be tall like Jaxon, and Judah’s wild personality.
“Storm, there’s something I have to tell you; you know, no matter what, we don’t keep secrets from each other.” I sighed as I turned to her.
Her expression turned serious, then she looked at me through slits in her eyes.
“Did you fuck Taj?” She squealed, making me laugh.
“Hell no,” I said as I picked at my nails, then swore her to the same secrecy that I had been sworn to.
“Jaxon came to my house a couple of weeks ago, and we had a conversation.” As soon as I said that, she sat straight up,causing the baby to whine again. “Girl, focus and feed my baby,” I redirected her as we laughed.
I explained to her everything that he had told me. She went through a wave of emotions, but as I knew she would, she still wanted to hear every single detail. I even told her that I had spoken to Remy about how Taj had come to my house acting crazy, only for me not to hear from him again. She was quiet and didn’t interrupt, only speaking when she wanted to rush me along.
“This is the part of the Mafia that I hate. That’s what I tried to escape. Those mandates and doing things that are beneficial to the family. I hope you don’t hold it against him, any of it, because as someone who comes from it myself, he honestly has no choice. People will never understand the fact that you don’t have free will until you’ve lived it. You do as you’re told or you die.” She said as her eyes saddened.
“I know Storm, and I’ve struggled with that aspect of it for the last year or so of our relationship. But since we’ve been apart, I have had a lot of time to reflect on it. I used to think that you were just used to it, so this life didn’t affect you as much. But now it makes sense why you choose to travel with Trouble all the time. I mean, I used to… before…” My words faded. I always hated to speak out loud about what happened to my son. For me, saying it out loud would make it feel more real.
“We don’t have to talk about it. But I’m glad you got the closure,” She took out her phone and looked at the date. “You have six days left. But I know that Jaxon loves you, which is why I said there has to be more to the story than him disappearing and popping out with a random heifer. If you choose to take him back, he will have to make some adjustments, but give him some grace, Kenn. Jaxon is just like Jrue; they both hate it when people tell them what to do. So, every ‘yes’ he says is sparingyour life or his. That’s just the Mafia way.” She said like it was no big deal.
I guess it wasn’t for her. She has lived this life way longer than I have. I had firsthand knowledge of all the things that were stripped away from her because of the family she was born into. For the first time in a year, I felt bad about the pressure that I had put on Jaxon.
I let out a frustrated breath, “Storm, a bitch just wants an occasional FaceTime every now and again.”
“No, friend. Don’t mistake me. Your feelings are valid. He’s going to have to do better with communication while he’s away. But sometimes you’re going to have to be there. I know you tried to remove yourself after my godson, but this is all a part of healing. Supporting your partner is hard in this life, but it’s necessary.”
She adjusted herself underneath the blanket and then brought Phoenix over her shoulder to burp her. I let her words sink in because I knew that she was right. It was apparent that I had my degree, and I still didn’t know everything.
“I’m so glad that he came and talked to you, though. Maybe I could apologize and get my brother back. Not having Jaxon around these last six months has been hard. Every time I’m having a moment, I have to call Judah. And you know what he does? Hypes me up and tells me to do whatever I want to. He’s going to have me doing life in prison.” She shook her head.
“Please don’t ever listen to Judah.” I held my side as I laughed. Especially remembering how he told me at the party that if I wanted to beat Remy’s ass, nobody was going to fuck with me. But that’s Judah for you. If he loved you, you could do no wrong. Even if you said that you wanted to blow up a building, he was going to help you do it and get away with it. And if for any reason you got caught, he’d tell you to sit tight because they have lawyers on deck and judges on payroll.
Then Storm pouted, “And poor Remy. I have been the biggest bitch to her, and you know I’m a girl’s girl. I need to mind my business from now on,” She laughed. Knowing full well the last part of that statement was a lie.
“I think she understands it,” I admitted.
Storm patted the baby’s back as if it were muscle memory before she put her back in the stroller, and we continued to walk around the park. We did two more laps before I was panting like a hot, thirsty puppy. By the time that we left, I had a new outlook on life and my relationship with Jaxon. If we got a second chance at being together, I was going to be glued to his hip. I would be right in Bolivia with my Google Translate app, brokering deals in Spanish with him if I had to. But we’d never be separated again, not like this.
CHAPTER 14
Jax
I stood in front of the mirror, fastening the last button on my shirt. I stared at my reflection, having a me-versus-me moment. Silently giving myself the motivation to pull off what needed to be handled.
It was the day before the wedding, and all the elites were flying in for the occasion to unite the families. We were having a pre-wedding brunch at The Scared Estate, and I was nervous as hell. I had never been this uneasy before, but I had less than twenty-four hours until I was set to be tied to Remy. If my plan today failed, I already knew that any hope I had of getting Kennedy back would be out the window.
Just the thought of the plan folding had me sweating through my button-down even in the air conditioning. Remy stood beside me with a napkin and wiped my forehead. “You got this, Jaxon. Just do what you’re best at and watch your temper.” She coached lowly, as she smoothed the wrinkles from my jacket.
“Preciate you, Remy, for everything,” I admitted.
