Chapter Thirteen

"What the hell are you thinking driving here?"

He was so angry he didn't move from the door as he shouted at me. Don't get me wrong, I was just as solid in my own footing standing behind my door.

"I needed to know you were okay."

"So you thought you should drive the same day they give you your boot? Come on, Red, have some common sense."

"Are we back to you being an asshole to me? ‘Cause if that's the case, I'm out of here."

"See ya."

He walked back inside and slammed the door behind him, leaving me to fume on my own. "Ugh! I knew I was stupid for coming here in the first place!"

I threw myself back in my car and started the engine, but just as I put my foot on the brake to put it in reverse something in me told me to not give up. I wanted to scream at it to shut up, but intuition is generally never wrong. So I sat there with my car running and just stared at that house a little longer until I slammed my hands on the steering wheel and then turned it off again. One way or another, I was going to know what happened to change him so fast. What I was seeing was a broken man, not even the jerk from high school I had known so well. Something was tearing him apart, and I had to at least try to help.

I got back out and made my way to the front door, building up more and more courage to face him head on. I didn't bother knocking; I knew he wouldn't come to answer it. Instead, I turned the handle and pushed, slightly surprised to find he hadn't locked it after he went in. I didn't realize how much force I had used until the door slammed into the wall behind it, making an awful sound, loud enough that Jase jumped up from the couch he was lying on across the room.

"What the— Get out!"

I stood there like a deer in headlights, knowing that running to my car was the best option, but instead, I stayed where I was. 

"No! What the hell is wrong? And don't tell me one more time to leave, Jase, because I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine. Stand there and look stupid for all I care."

He turned his back to me and walked out of the room like a child.

"Stop it!" I walked after him, through a formal dining room, and into a kitchen. 

"Are you gonna keep following me around? Because I'm going to bed, and hell if that wouldn't finish off this fucked up day with a bang, if you know what I mean."

He began to climb a set of stairs when I reached out and grabbed his leg.

"Jase, I can't keep doing this. I came here for you, but if this is how you want things to be again, I can't stay. I'm done trying."

He turned back and looked me in the eye.

"We were done the second you started looking at me the way you are right now."

He tried to pry his leg from my grip, but I refused to let go.

"What are you talking about? The way I look at you? How am I looking at you?"

"Why won't you just leave? I don't fucking want you here."

I could feel the rage coming off of him and knew all of my intentions became pointless. 

"Fine."

I Iet go of his leg and began my walk back through his house, expecting at any moment he would chase after to stop me from leaving. It never happened. Closing the front door behind me, I made my way back to my car, wiping stupid tears from my eyes. In all the years we were enemies, he had never hurt me like he just had. I would have preferred to never have known the softer side of Jase if it meant I would pay the price and be treated like a piece of crap just for caring. 

Once I was back on the road, I screamed at the top of my lungs from aggravation. What a fool I was for giving a shit in the first place.

The next morning, I woke from the throbbing coming from my foot, I knew instantly why—I had forgotten to take my medicine the night before. Instead, I was busy Googling his name and trying to find anything that would make sense of the last twelve hours. I came up empty. There were articles about his days playing basketball but nothing when it came to his time in Afghanistan. I didn't even know what branch of the military he belonged to. I fell asleep searching but in the morning I knew to give up.  He wanted his secret to stay one, and I needed to respect that. 

I had never been the type to want to fix someone so my need for answers and my actions the night before didn't make any sense to me. Luckily, my mother was home to be the distraction I desperately needed, or so I thought. 

I could hear her in the kitchen as I made my way there after brushing my teeth. What I never expected was to see a bald, fifty-year-old man, better known as Mr. Franklin, sitting at our table like he had done it a million times before. Mr. Franklin was the head of the bank and my mother's boss.

 After the initial shock and saying, "Oh!", I quickly went back to my room for a bra. Certain things matter in the face of company, and underwear is one of them. 

After the girls were secure in their place, I rounded the corner to exit my room and ran smack into my mother. 

"Good morning."

"Well, good morning to you too, I see."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing bad, but it would have been nice if you could have given me a little warning."

"I haven't gotten to spend any real time with you to explain."

"No, but clearly this isn't new if he is spending the night. We did talk every day before I came home. You could have said something, anything, for that matter." The look in her eye of disappointment wasn’t for me, and instantly, I felt bad.  "Mom, I don't want you to think I don't approve, even if it is a little weird. I want you to be happy."

She rested her hand on my shoulder before pulling me into a hug.

"Thank you."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

She must have looked down because one second she was in my arms and the next I was jerked backward. 

"You're on two feet! Look at you."

"Yeah, they put me in a walking boot for six weeks."

"That's a lot better than crutches. I am so happy for you."

"Thanks. Now get back to your company. He's been waiting in there for a while now."

"Oh, psh, Steven will be fine. He's been coming here for over a year now. It's like his second home."

"Really? A year? How does Arianna not know?"

Her face blushed red.

"I try to keep my business mine. Besides, I don't want the kids to see and think it's a permanent thing."

"After a year you still aren't telling anyone?"

"No. I'm not ready."

I knew my father had done a number on her, but after all this time I wished for a better life for her. It was sad that she still didn't put her trust in a man.

"He's not my father, Mom. Give him a chance."

"I have. Why do you think he's here?" She winked at me and then walked back down the hall toward the kitchen, not allowing the conversation to go anywhere further. I smiled knowing in some small way she was doing something for herself. It was a start. Her life no longer required me to be her main focus.  Leaving had just become that much easier of an idea.

Breakfast with my mother and Steven, as he kindly asked me to call him, was actually enjoyable. Watching the two of them interact was the highlight of my day. The subtle way she would reach for something to brush his arm or the smile that permanently rested on her face as he spoke. She was smitten with him whether she was willing to admit it to herself or not. They both got ready for work together but strangely enough she made him kiss her goodbye inside the house before they went to their separate cars and drove away. I began to laugh over her actions but stopped abruptly when it all came together in my head. She wanted to keep a part of her life as private as she could. It was her life, after all, and no one else’s business or place to judge. Jase was doing the same thing, and yet I wouldn't let it go before. In that moment, I knew—whatever happened was none of my business and I owed the man an apology, for trying to not only pull it out of him but I judged him for it as well with little to no information. But I wouldn't do it. I was certain any way of approaching him would end in him degrading me again. He didn't want me close to any of it and even an apology would be.

I spent the better part of my day contacting several different people within the company I wanted to work for, trying to find any answers available as to if I still had the job. Each one told me something different, and none of it was what I was waiting to hear. It looked as though I had more time on my hands than I wanted and nothing to do with it.

By nightfall, I was bored out of my mind. All day I had thought about going over to my sister's and visiting with her and the kids, but the probability of seeing Jase kept me away. When my mother didn't come home after work, I no longer had reason for concern. It seemed everyone had a life. Mine was in someone else's hands. 

Closing my eyes in bed that night, I chose to think about the only thing positive I had to look forward to. Izzy was coming in less than twenty-four hours.