Page 40 of Meet Me in the Vines
“Jess, you wanted to talk? Are you okay?”
She lets out a breath and intertwines her fingers, resting them on the table. “I’m sure you heard about what happened with my father,” she mutters. I gulp and quickly nod. “He wasn’t a good person.” She continues. “He was a liar and manipulated my mother and me our whole lives.” It’s all very matter of fact. I lean in closer, feeling a small spark of empathy because I know what it feels like to be manipulated and lied to.
“He deserved what he got, and I guess karma came for me as well.” I act like I understand where she’s going with this, but I have no fucking clue.
“I’m sorry about your father, but karma clearly avoided you. You’re a successful career woman in New York City. That counts for something,” I say empathetically. This isn’t the same woman that was leading a sales pitch. She’s slipping. Her fingers tremble around the handle of her coffee mug.
“Audrey, I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t know that it would keep you away from him all these years. I was angry and jealous, and what I did was wrong. So, so wrong. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for everything,” she utters frantically, her tone on the cusp of shrill.
Okay, now…what the fuck?
“Jess, what are you talking about? Who’s him? Why are you apologizing to me? I’m sorry, but I’m not following,” I reply, puzzled, furrowing my brow. Her eyes get wide and she leans closer over the table, like I’ve been living under a rock or something.
“Wait, you don’t know?” she whispers.
Clearly fucking not.
I shake my head at her and shrug my shoulders. She looks down at her hands and takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly. Her big blue eyes meet mine, nervous and timid.
“My father forced me to get dirt on the King’s. He wanted their vineyard, and he knew that Donovan’s dad would never go for it as long as he was loyal to your grandfather,” she explains, taking another deep inhale. The thumping of my heart picks up speed hearing Donovan’s name in this.
“I was in love with Donovan. And when I saw him with you on graduation night, I got jealous. Like, really stupid, jealous. Donovan basically told me to fuck off after I interrupted your dance together, then ran off to find you,” she mutters.
My mind flashes back to that night where we danced. The first time we held each other close. I stay silent and lean back against the leather booth, crossing my arms. The rapid thud of my heartbeat pulses hard against my chest. I take a deep breath to try and slow it down.
“I saw you two running out of the party, and it made me so angry. So, I followed you,” she says quietly, her voice small.
My stomach drops. I barely maintain a grasp on the anger threatening to bubble up in my throat. I take a moment to choose my words before opening my mouth.
“You-you followed me? And Donovan?” I choke out. She nods, tears filling her eyes. I wish I could stop the involuntary tears building behind my eyes. The sting I hate so much taunting me, a feeling that’s been more familiar than not.
“I saw you two laughing and kissing. I stayed hidden and all I thought at that moment was how I wanted you out of the picture to have Donovan to myself,” she admits another confession. My breathing turns ragged as the liquid brimming my eyes puddle. “And then I saw you guys together. In the gazebo,” she cries,wiping her fingers under her eyes. I shut my eyes, and the tears fall, knowing where this is going. Heat pricks the tops of my ears thinking about Jess seeing us in that private moment.
“I took out my phone, and I filmed you two having sex. There was my dirt, and there was my way of keeping you out of the picture,” she breathes with a crack in her voice. Her confession is a direct stab in my heart. An instant kill. She wipes her tears quickly before they fall past her chin, looking out the window toward the busy street.
My chin trembles as I look at Jess, her eyes refusing to meet mine at this moment. I open my mouth, words struggling to form. This is why Donovan didn’t come pick me up the next day. She held that sex tape over his head, and he carried that burden forten fucking years.He carried it for me. I rest my elbows on the table, covering my face with my hands as I quietly cry into them. I cry for Donovan. I cry for our lost love. I turn my head to face the window, wondering how everything got so fucked. I count the yellow cabs that pass by, each one representing the missed opportunities Donovan and I had. Too many to count.
I finally muster enough strength to turn toward Jess. I study her expression—she seems lost in her own thoughts. Her lips purse tightly together, her bright blue eyes swim in sadness.
“So, you brought the footage to your father, and he blackmailed Caleb King with it,” I say, putting the pieces together. She nods, shame and guilt mark her face. “And that’s why Caleb cut ties with my grandfather,” I add, another guilty nod from Jess. “And that’s why Donovan never spoke to me again. To protect me.” A final nod.
Damn.
Donovan was protecting me. All this time, he let me go to keep me safe. To save me from humiliation. My heart cracks wide open, imagining Donovan with this weight on his shouldersat just eighteen years old. We were kids. A victim to horrendous blackmail, and he took the fall for it to let me go.
“Audrey, I’m so sorry. It was stupid and petty, and clearly my family got what they deserved. I lost my dad, my home, and Donovan. Although, I never really had him. His heart always belonged to you,” she sighs, a sad grin playing on her lips. “I just didn’t want to see it,” she whispers.
I wipe my tears with the pads of my fingers, meeting her gaze. Here we are, two women with broken pasts. Somehow intertwined with one another. A true collision of fate. All in the same city. Ten years of confusion, solved.
“Thank you for telling me. Thank you for apologizing,” I murmur.
Maybe Jess and I aren’t so different after all. I couldn’t see it then, but sitting here together half a world away from home, we’re just two girls who have been hurt. She doesn’t need my anger—hell, I don’t need it either. We’re not spiteful kids. It’s time to let it go.
She gives me a sad smile and reaches out for my hands. I place mine in hers and a huge weight lifts off my shoulders, like another ghost from my past freeing itself from me. I have answers. Even if it wasn’t from Donovan, it was from the source. I know she was telling the hard truth. A truth that has me close to booking a ticket back to California to tell Donovan I love him.
“Audrey, I want you to know that the tape doesn’t exist. It was destroyed with my father’s assets. It never saw the light of day,” she reassures me. Instant relief coats my heart with her sharing that detail with me. I don’t particularly like the idea of me losing my virginity on tape in the ether.
“I hope you can forgive me. It was never Donovan’s fault.”
