Page 51 of Trust Me
Deciding that it couldn’t possibly get any worse, I decide to tell Jake what I can without giving away who I’m talking about. “You remember several weeks back when I had that date?” He nods and encourages me to go on. “Well, the date went well. We’ve been seeing each other since then.”
“So this is about a guy? Who the fuck is it, so I can go kill him.” He stands up and starts pacing my living room floor.
“Jake, settle down. He didn’t do anything wrong. I messed up.” Silent tears begin to fall again.
“Shit. Don’t cry, Ave. I can’t stand it when you cry. It makes me crazy.” He sits back down next to me and wipes the tears streaming down my face. Then, he pulls me into a big bear hug, and I find comfort in his strong arms. “How did you mess up?” he asks.
“I heard something about him that ended up not being true. But for a while, I believed it might be. I didn’t trust him.”
“Well, you’ve had a rough past. That’s bound to happen.”
“Yeah, well my past should have no hold on my present or my future. I’m tired of it having a hold on me, Jake. I want to be free of my past and be free to love and trust. I want that more than anything.”
Jake sighs and reaches over and rubs my back. “You’ll have that, sis. I promise. If this guy doesn’t see how wonderful you are, then he doesn’t deserve you. If he won’t stay and fight for you, then he’s a coward, and you should let him go.”
I break down in more tears at the thought of truly letting Maddox go. But Jake is right. I need to let go of the wrongs of my past or I will never have a future with Maddox…or anyone.
“Don’t cry. Damn, what is wrong with people this week? First Maddox, now you.” I sit up straight at the sound of Maddox’s name.
“What’s wrong with Maddox?” I ask.
“Damned if I know, but he’s been a bear with a thorn in his paw all week. He’s grumpy andacting like a complete bastard. I stopped by last night and it looks like he’s not sleeping.”
I perk up a bit after I hear Maddox is as miserable as I am. Jake looks at my face, studying it, and I can see it on his face the moment when the light bulb clicks on. His entire body gets tense and his jaw tight. He stands up instantly, leaving me to almost fall over on the couch.
“Wait a minute. Wait just a damn minute. That night you had the date, Maddox had a date.” I stare at him with a deer in the headlights look on my face, holding my breath and watching him as he begins to piece it all together. “That was you, wasn’t it?” he thunders but it really wasn’t much of a question. “Son of a bitch! You’re sleeping with Maddox? What the hell, Avery?”
“Please don’t yell. I don’t want you to wake up Brooklyn,” I say in a small, yet defending voice. That seems to take the wind out of his sails a little bit, but I can tell he’s still ready to snap like a caged animal.
“You’ve been seeing Maddox this whole time? Behind my back? Hiding it from me?”
I stand up and go to him, touching his arm, but he recoils from my touch. “I can’t…I can’t even begin to figure out why the hell you would do this behind my back.”
“It’s not about you, Jake.”
“The hell it’s not! He knows that you are off-limits, Avery! He fucking knows, and he’s been sleeping with you behind my back!”
“This was both of our decision, Jake. He didn’t pursue this. If anything, he tried to fight it.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better? You’re…you’re…”
“What?!” I yell back.
“You’re my little sister! And he’s…he’s not good enough for you! Damn it! I’ve seen him chase skirts his whole life. He isn’t good enough for you, Avery. Not even close.”
“Jake,” I say in a quiet, pleading voice.
“I can’t believe this,” he states as he walks to the front door.
“Where are you going?” I ask as he swings open the door.
“Right now, I need to go deal with the fact my best friend was screwing my baby sister behind my back, and neither of you could be adult enough to tell me about it.” With a slam of the door, he’s gone too.
I sit back down on the couch as I hear Jake’s truck tear out of my driveway. The tearsstart to fall again. Well done, Avery. Well done. I’ve managed to push away two of the most important people in my life in the span of a week. I have nowhere to go tonight but into the dark recesses of my mind, alone and unwanted.
Chapter 27
Maddox
