Page 137 of Beautifully Shattered
“Ignore him,” JD whines, waving me off. “How do you know Jols is okay?”
“I spoke to her,” she shrugs.
“What? When?” JD shuffles closer, still on his fucking knees.
“Just before I came downstairs.” She’s being vague on purpose. Probably to piss us off, given we ignored her before.
Note to fucking self: don’t ignore my wife.
“How?” JD barks. “Brody said Smitty took her phone away.”
“He did.” Abbey nods, glancing out over the pond at the Marx men patrolling the other side. “But Celina still has a phone, and she called me back.”
“Hold up. I’m confused.” JD lifts his hand in a stop signal. “How’d she call you? On Ringo’s phone?”
“No,” I jump in to answer. “She has her old phone back. Took it from her mum’s drawer.”
JD’s brows shoot up as he glances between me and my wife. “Oh… shit, so Celina called you and put Jols on the phone? Like you actually spoke to her?”
“Yes,Jimmy. I actually spoke to her.” She grins, using his real name, but he doesn’t even notice. “You shouldn’t worry about her. She’s hell-bent on making Smitty’s life hell.”
She’s right.
Jols doesn’t take well to being controlled. I can’t imagine her letting him walk all over her.
“Do we wanna know what she’s up to?” I ask, gripping JD’s arm and helping him to stand.
“He told her she couldn’t leave until she made his shipping container house look like a home,” Abbey shrugs, “so she’s been sleeping most of the day, and doing all the work at night just to piss him off.”
“Oh, my Babydoll!” JD throws his head back, laughing. “Ha! She’s fucking perfect. Fuck, I can just imagine Smitty’s face each night when he comes in expecting to get some fucking sleep.”
My lips lift in a wide smile, my gaze locking with my wife’s as she laughs too.
It’s nice to hear her laughter. I only wish her eyes didn’t give away how much pain she’s still in.
Nothing can hide it. Not really. Not if you know to look for it.
JD’s mood is lighter now, but I’m sure it will crash again when his bed is empty for another night.
“When is your next church thingy?” Abbey’s question has me frowning.
“Church thingy? You mean our meetings?”
She nods. “Yeah. When’s the next one?”
“In a couple of days. On the weekend.” I shrug. “We’ll just attend via video link again,” I remind her, but she shakes her head.
“No, you’ll go in person.”
“Will we now?” I cross my arms over my chest, lifting a brow at her, and she matches my stance, doing the same.
“Ahhh, is this foreplay? It’s hard to tell with you guys,” JD mutters between us, but I don’t take my eyes off my wife.
“Yep. You’ll go to that, and I’ll visit Jols.”
I can see JD nodding in my periphery, looking between us like this is the best idea he’s ever heard, but I know my wife better than she thinks I do.
She’s cooking up something inside that head of hers. Something I’m not gonna like.
