Page 29 of Screwed
Before I even have a second to let it sink in, Jim is yelling. “You’ve destroyed me. You came back here just to steal my company and leave me bankrupt. We had to leave our vacation early when Stu finally got ahold of me. Imagine my surprise when my best friend tells me, my son just bought me out.”
“I guess I’m lucky I don’t take after you and your shitty business sense,” Shawn comments.
“Get the fuck out of my house.”
Shawn, goes to his room, as I watch my mom and Jim hold onto one another. I’m shocked, hurt, and pissed. How could he not tell me? Rushing down the hall, I push open the door and find Shawn throwing his clothes into his suitcase.
“Is it true?” I whisper.
Spinning around, he pins me with that cold stare I haven’t seen since he first got here. “I was going to give him a chance, but he left and my money is more important. So, yeah it’s true.”
“So, you used me? You saw an opportunity to screw him over twice and you took it?” I ask, my heart feeling like it may fall out of my chest.
“You had nothing to do with this. It’s business, and he doesn’t know how to run a company. If I didn’t buy him out, he would have lost it all in a few months anyway,” he says, crossing his arms.
“What’s he supposed to do now?” I ask, worried for Jim and my mom.
“That’s not my problem.”
I feel like I might be sick. He came here, and took everything, including my heart. Tears roll down my face, as I search his eyes. “I said I love you.”
“Christ, Jana. Didn’t you just hear what I did? I don’t want or deserve your love. Do yourself a favor and never utter those words to another person,” he says, turning away from me to finish packing.
Reaching forward, I grab onto his arm and he glances back at me. “I love you. What you did was fucked up, but you can fix it. You can help Jim, show him the guy I know you are, the guy I love.”
Spinning around, he grabs onto my shoulders. “What the fuck did I just tell you? Love destroys you Jana, no one is worth that.”
“What happened to you?” I ask, letting out a sob.
Letting go of me, he shakes his head. “Nothing, get out.”
“No fucking way. I’m not going to accept that as an answer. You fucking owe me more than that,” I whisper around my tears.
With his back to me, he scrubs his face, cursing under his breath. Slowly he turns, running his hand through his hair. “My mother was totally, completely in love with my father. Everything she did was for him, she gave up her life to make sure he was happy. She cooked, cleaned, took care of me and waited on my father hand and foot.”
I nod, smiling. “So you saw how much she loved him, what’s wrong with that?”
Letting out a sarcastic laugh, he crosses his arms, muscles flexing under his shirt. “I saw plenty. I watched her crying on the floor nearly every night my father didn’t come home. I watched her force a smile to try to hide her pain. I watched her begging him to stop cheating on her, as she promised to be the woman he wanted.” His eyes are full of sadness as he continues. “I sat on the bathroom floor with her, watching her bleed out.”
Holy shit. My eyes widen as I cover my mouth. “Shawn, I’m so sorry.” I move to wrap him in a hug, but he backs away.
“You want to know her last words to me, before she lost too much blood that she died? She told me, don’t ever fall in love because when it ends, it will destroy you. I was twelve years old, Jana. So, don’t tell me I owe anything to Jim, because he’s the reason she’s dead. His wandering dick is the reason she slit her wrists. He’s the reason, I never have and never will believe in love,” he says, letting out a sigh.
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. That doesn’t sound like the Jim I know, he’s been the perfect man for my mom. How could he have done that to them? The pain I see on Shawn’s face, will haunt me forever. He was never hurt by a woman, it was his father.
“Shawn, you know that’s not true. I’ve had my heart broken, everyone I know has. It hurts like hell, but you learn from it, you move on from it. Is that the real reason you bought out your father’s company, to screw him over?” I ask.
Searching my eyes, he shakes his head. “I’m a lot of things Jana, but I’m not a man who seeks revenge. It wasn’t my idea to buy that company, it was brought to me by my old boss. I told you, my business has nothing to do with feelings. Nothing I’ve said to you was a lie. I may be a cold-hearted bastard, but I’m no fucking liar.”
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I once again go to him. This time, he allows me to wrap my arounds around him and he does the same to me. “I’m sorry you’ve been through so much, please don’t push me away.”
Kissing the top of my head, he rests his chin there. “I’m not pushing you away, Jana, we both know it’s time I leave.”
Chapter Thirteen
Shawn
Three months later…
