Page 92 of Let It Be Me
“Hey guys,” Jax greets when she sees us in the kitchen.Her face is devoid of makeup and her hair is pulled in an effortless messy bun on top of her head.
“Hi, sister. How did the video go?” Kam asks and holds up a glass as a silent ask for a drink.
“Just a small one. Pretty easy. They wanted three thirty second videos in a specific way that ended up being more time consuming for me to film and edit.”
Emily and I look at each other out of the corner of our eyes and I feel like I’m going to be sick when Kam speaks up.
“Jax, are you okay?”
Fuck.
“Yeah. I’ve never been better.”
“Are you sure?” Kamryn asks and I know she’s trying to use what small therapy tools she also has.
“What did you tell her?” Jax asks, this time pointing her question at me.
“Nothing,” I firmly say.
“So why are you three here, sitting like someone died.”
“The way you could if you stay with Trent?” I ask and don’t miss Kamryn’s gasp.
She turns her gaze on Jax. “What is she talking about?”
“Nothing.”
“Jaclyn Marie. Wha–what is she talking about? And I won’t ask you again.” Kamryn sounds as if she’s either on the verge of yelling at her sister or crying because of what her sister is going through. Chances are it could be both.
“She was eavesdropping on a conversation between Trent and I at your wedding reception…” Jax says and tries to blow our concerns off.
“If you mean, him yelling at you and berating you a “conversation” then I should rethink how Riley speaks to me.”
“He what!?” Emily and Kamryn ask at the same time.
Jax and I hold each other's glare and I will her to tell them what she told me. Movement from behind Jax signals that the guys have made their way to the landing on the stairs and have equal looks of fury and the need to find Trent and beat his face in.
“So he yells at me from time to time. It’s no big deal,” she waves off.
“No.” Emily says at the same time I say, “It is a big deal.”
“How long has he been verbally abusive towards you?” Kamryn asks. And I think she wants to beat herself up for not pushing her sister further.
“He’s not–” she starts but I cut her off.
“If this were one of us, what would you do?” I ask her, my throat thick with emotion after her constant brush-off. “Because I would hope that you all would ask me if I was okay and then help me to find a way out. I would hope that the people in my life cared about my well-being enough to show me how a healthy relationship should be.”
Jax’s jaw is clenched incredibly hard and her eyes have welled up with tears. “You guys don’t understand.”
Kamryn walks to her sister and holds her hands. “Then help us understand, please.”
“I’m not like you three. Guys don’t want me for me anymore when they find out who I’m related to.”
“So you settle for less than what you deserve?” Kamryn asks and I hear the tears and the pain in her voice. I look up and see Mason ready to burn down the world for Jax, for Kamryn. “Do what we have, with the men who treat us like gold, prove that you deserve everything good? Because I can’t think of any reason why you would stay with him.”
“Because I love him,” she says and I feel her conviction lessen.
“I loved Paul and I thought he loved me, but that didn’tstop him from cheating on me,” I tell her and I don’t miss all three of their heads whipping towards me. Riley looks to the ground as he already knows this story and how hard it was for me to come to accept that it was never my fault. “And that didn’t stop my mom from trying to get us back together. I realized my worth, that it wasn’t my fault, and I found someone who treats me like I matter. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want someone to treat you like you matter?” I ask her and the tears for my friend becoming smaller for someone else trail down my face.
