Page 18 of Lies You Told
Jax: Of course.
My phone starts to ring, Blake’s name and picture coming up on my caller ID.
“It got out of hand,” he says quietly. He sounds genuinely ashamed of himself. I’ve never heard this side of him. “She hurt my feelings when she wanted us to stop seeing each other. She told me she wanted to buckle down. She didn’t want any distractions.”
“But…”
“Jax, let me finish. I’m not sure you will ever want to speak to me again after this conversation.”
That sobers me up in an instant. I’m almost certain our friendship can’t come back from this. Everything hinges on what he’s about to tell me.
“She didn’t have the best childhood. The fact she got into Harvard was a fucking miracle. I was punching way above my weight being with her. But I lied to you, man. Then the lie got out of hand. You guys seemed to always be at each other throats. Franchesca said you two just needed to bang it out. We all had a bet that it’d happen at the wedding. But you two avoided each other like the fucking plague.”
I end the call before throwing my phone onto the couch. I want to throw it against the wall, but I hold back. I control myself. I look out at the city. Tonight, I will be like the city. They say New York is the city that never sleeps. Well, tonight, I’ll be joining it.
At some point, at some god-awful time in the early hours of the morning, I decided it was a great idea to go for a run. I have no idea how long I’ve been running, but my clothes are sticking to me, and my insides feel like they’re on fire. I sit on the grass and look around me. The park is quiet except for people like me, joggers trying to get an energetic start to the day. I lie back, trying to get my breathing under control when I realize I’m in the middle of Central Park. I’d gone further than I had planned.
My phone buzzes on the strap on my arm. My lungs are burning inside my body, proving just how hard I’ve pushed myself this morning. I answer it, happy to see a face I don’t hate.
“Hey,” I say, still out of breath.
“Please tell me I’m not interrupting something?” he laughs.
“No, I’ve been out for a run.”
“At this time? On a Saturday?”
“What do you want, Bryan?”
Bryan and I talk for the next hour while I lay back on the ground. I tell him everything, including the fact that I got in touch with my investigator guy in L.A. to find out all he can about the Professor in question.
I’m so pissed at Chloe right now. I’m pissed that she’s lived with this for so fucking long. That she confided in the wrong person. I’d hate myself, too, if I were her. I reminded her constantly of the most traumatic time in her life.
Bryan wants to help. He agrees that if he did it to Chloe, he probably did it to other students. That doesn’t sit well with me. I need to get to the bottom of this, and I need to get to the bottom of this now.
I walk back to my apartment, stopping to get something to eat and drink. I can’t get Chloe out of my mind. A whole new level of respect for her is coming to the surface. I used to think she was weak and undeserving. I couldn’t be more wrong. Chloe fucking Lawson is the strongest woman I know.
I’m going to make her mine.
Like I should have done our first week in college.
12
CHLOE
My whole body aches and hurts in the best possible way. I open one eye to look at the clock on my bedside table. I’ve slept late for the first time in months. It hits me like a lead balloon, Jax’s face. He looked gutted last night in Jacob’s office, like everything he knew in life was different. I guess that is factually true. There is no way in hell Jax knew. Unless he’s a damn good actor as well as a lawyer, hell would have to freeze over before I ever admit that to him, or anyone else, for that matter.
Today, I'm going to do something I’ve not done in a long time. I’m going to relax. Do nothing work related at all. Spend some time on me. Retail therapy can be my friend. What is the point in working all the hours known to man if I can’t enjoy it now and again?
I get dressed and grab a coffee and something to eat on the go. The Saturday morning breakfast rush is in full swing. I smile at the young man behind the counter as he brings me my order, but I don’t engage.
I pull my phone out of my purse and see a message. There’s a second of anxiety in the pit of my stomach before I see who sent it. I’ve still not heard anything from Franchesca, nothing at all. At this moment, I realize something really important. Something I never thought I’d ever think regarding my closest friend. I don’t want to hear from her. I’m so hurt by her words that I don’t even want to hash things out with my best friend.
Kate: Just checking in? Everything okay?
I feel a smile spread over my face. I like Kate a lot. She’s a good person, and she understands me. I wouldn’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not, or hide any part of my personality if we became, dare I think it, friends.
Chloe: Everything is good. I’m just getting ready to hit the shops.
