Page 114 of Guilty Minds
She stares back at me. "And you think you’re good for her?” She quirks her brow.
I answer with a nod. "I'll do my best to be good for her."
She shakes her head. “Trying your best is not enough. You’ve been making her miserable for a really long time.”
“I can promise it’ll never happen again.” I place a hand on my heart, meaning every single word.
"Can you?" She pops her hip, eyebrow quirked.
“Yes, ma’am.” I nod firmly. I genuinely believe it.
“Alright.” She turns around and walks back to the living room, leaving the door open.What am I supposed to do? Follow her? Wait for her here?I decide on the latter.
She returns with a piece of paper, an address scribbled across it.
“She hasn’t changed her phone number, just blocked you everywhere, so I don't really have good news for you there.” She says with an apologetic shrug. “You can try texting her from a different phone number, maybe. This is Archie’s address and the place she works at.”
“She’s already working?” I thought she was only studying there.
“Archie’s teaching her. She’s very talented. She needs five times less practice than her peers do.” Genuine pride shines in her eyes, and I understand how lucky Kayla got when she met Marina. She's more of a mother to her than I ever thought, and their connection runs deep.
"Thank you, Marina," I say with as much sincerity as I can muster.
"I'm not whooping Jake's ass only out of respect for your mother." She levels me with a stare.
"I'll do it for you."
“I expect nothing less. I got money to bail you out of jail.” And then she closes the door in my face, leaving me to wonder if she was joking.
Now that I have the address, I decide to get my shit together and figure out what I want to say to her. I want nothing more than to go to her right this second, but I can't show up looking like this. That's if I even make it to Boston. So I go home and drink all the alcohol I have left in an attempt to knock myself out. By the time I'm out, I'm pretty positive my liver is about to say bye-bye.
In the morning, I feel like shit, but I force myself to get it together. I take a very long shower, shave off the lumberjack beard I have going on, and go to Marina's diner to get a ton of coffee for the road. I can go to Donna's, of course, and get the good stuff from her, but I feel like I need to see Marina to connect to Kayla through her. Like Marina's known Kayla forever, and if I'm close with Marina, I can be close with Kayla, too. Stupid, I know, but I'm desperate.
By the time I park my ass at her bar, she leaves me speechless by passing me a huge thermos already filled with coffee and a humongous sandwich.
"Drive safe." Is all she says before walking away. I leave a fifty on the bar and go to my truck, ready for the long trip. Kayla's waiting for me at Point B, which makes it feel even longer.
And I'm right—the drive feels never-ending.
I park and look at the building in front of me. Am I sure it's the correct address? I take a look at my GPS again, and yes, I'm in the right place. The red brick house in front of me is enormous. The columns, those colorful mosaic windows, and the landscaping make it a true work of art, I must admit.
Fuck, if Kayla’s been living here all this time, I better up my game. My dusty bachelor pad seems miserable compared to this.
I get out, walk to the door, and ring the bell, half expecting a butler to show up. But instead, I come face to face with the fuckface. Wearing only jeans. Is that how he walks around the house when Kayla is here?
"Took you long enough." He smirks and opens the door wider, silently inviting me in. "Want a drink?"
“Where is she?” I walk past him, knocking into his shoulder. He lets out a chuckle.
“She’s at school. C’mon.” He gestures for me to follow him. His house is the size of the whole PTSD center in Little Hope, the downstairs just as spacious.
When we get to the fancy kitchen with new appliances and pristine, white cabinets, he puts a pod in his fancy coffee machine and places a mug under. I make a mental note to buy the same one for Kayla for my place, just so she has it there if she ever visits. He repeats the same with another and takes a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet. Pouring himself a hefty dose, he offers to do the same for me.
“It’s eleven in the morning, for fuck’s sake.” I’m a hypocrite, considering I’ve been drinking even earlier for the past couple of weeks.
“Yeah, I started late today." He says with a sigh and takes a sip. "Heaven." He takes a seat at the island bar and gestures for me to join him. Just to spite him, I stay standing. "So why are you here, Justin?"
“I’m here to take Kayla back.”
