chapter 38
Scarlett
WHAT THE HELL ARE you doing here?” I ask Demon when I find him sitting in my library, browsing through a magazine, his feet up on a chair. “Making yourself comfortable, I see.”
“Just having a bit of a read. Thought I’d see what all the fuss is about.”
I glance down at the magazine and scowl when all I see are pictures of half-naked women. “Seriously? Did you bring your own dirty magazine to the library?”
“Are you calling naked women dirty, Scar? I like to think of it as an art form,” he says, keeping his face straight. “I had no idea you were so judgmental.”
I roll my eyes, and sit down next to him. “Is everything okay?”
He closes the magazine and nods once, slowly. “Yeah, it’s fine. I called Jaxon, but he didn’t answer. Guess I was just wondering how he was yesterday.”
“It was a rough day,” I admit, exhaling deeply. “He seemed a little better this morning though. How are you holding up?”
“I spent yesterday drunk,” he admits, looking down at his hands. “So the reality of everything is only hitting me today, and yeah, it’s fucked. I’m glad Jaxon had you to be there for him.”
“And who do you have to be there for you?” I ask softly, wondering if the real reason he came here was because he needed someone to talk to.
“She wasn’t my sister,” he says, playing it off. “But yeah, it’s hard to deal with, you know? I grew up with her. Jaxon loved his sister so much. And for her to take her own life because she was being abused at home by her husband, something the two of us could’ve stopped had we known, yeah, it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Olivia was being abused?
Jaxon never mentioned that.
“I can imagine,” I say, studying Demon. “I’m about to go on my lunch break, do you want to grab something to eat?”
He nods and stands, leaving his magazine on the table. I pick it up and pass it to him, and he grins and takes it. “You sure you don’t want to have a look?”
“I’m sure,” I tell him in a dry tone.
Jaxon’s sister was being abused. I don’t know if it was mentally or physically, but it’s similar to my own past. I feel for everything the poor woman must have been put through, especially to be so broken and feel so helpless that she resulted in taking her own life. What did he do to her? Why didn’t she turn to Jaxon, or even Demon? Two strong men who could have handled the situation and saved her. Olivia had options, so why did she take the way out that she did? A thought crosses my mind, and I wish it didn’t, but once it’s there, it stays.
And it grows.
My situation was exactly like Olivia’s. Is that why Jaxon went out of his way to help me? Is that why he believed me?
Was he trying to save me because he couldn’t save her?
In some twisted way, is that what drew him to me? My weakness?
I walk outside with Demon, my eyes closing at the sunlight hits my face. “Do you think that Jaxon helped me because of what happened with his sister?”
Demon’s eyes lock on me. “I don’t know, Scar, what do you mean exactly?”
“I mean that the moment I told him what Darren had done to me is the moment he decided to take a chance on me, and only now am I figuring out why,” I admit, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Does it matter why he did it though?” He asks, placing his hand on my back and leading me down the road toward the restaurants. “He believed you when the evidence was pointing in the other direction, and made it his mission to save you. He did his job, sure, but he also did it because clearly he was falling in love with you along the way.”
“What if he wanted to save me only because he couldn’t save Olivia, and that’s the reason why he’s with me now?”
There. I said it out loud.
It may seem crazy, but it makes sense to me. He feels guilty over what happened with her, and now he’s saved me from the messed-up situation I was in. To what? Make amends somehow? “If I didn’t tell him about Darren and my past, would we be standing here right now?”
Demon stops and turns me to look at him. “Jaxon loves you. Fuckin’ adores you, Scar. Yes, what happened to Olivia messed him up, I know it did me, but that doesn’t mean the outcome wouldn’t have been any different with the two of you. You were made to be with each other, in my book. Don’t overthink shit. And I think you should talk to Jaxon about this.”
“I will,” I say, sighing and forcing a smile. “I will. Okay what do you feel like eating?”
He studies me for a moment longer, but then lets it slide. “Lady’s choice.”
I lead him to my usual lunch spot. I don’t miss the way women look at him as we pass, all practically panting. “Why are you single, Demon?”
“Like being alone,” is his reply, and I don’t push it.
I guess everyone has issues—you just need to find someone who makes you want to work through them. Makes you want to be better. I sent Jaxon a message and tell him I’m having lunch with Demon, asking him if he wants to join us. He replies straightaway saying he’s stuck in meetings, but he’ll see me at home.
I love you, I send him.
I love you more, he types back.
Demon and I have a nice meal together. Maybe he just wanted some quiet company, I don’t know, but I like hanging out with him.
“Are you going to eat that?” he asks as I stare at my dessert, too full to move.
“Yes,” I reply, bringing my plate closer. “You should’ve chosen a better dessert.”
He looks down at his sticky date pudding. “I thought I chose fairly well, but now yours looks appealing.”
“Always want what you can’t have. Typical man,” I tease, taking a bite of my cheesecake and exaggeratedly moaning. “It tastes so good too.”
“You’re evil,” he states, eyes on my plate still. “And I believe it’s women who want what they can’t have, not men. Trust me, I know. If you want a woman, all you have do is tell her no. They get off on that shit.”
“Charming,” I say, pursing my lips. “I can’t imagine many women say no to you though.” I pause, and then add, “Unless you open your mouth and say crap like that, then I can imagine it quite well.”
His lips twitch, and he takes a huge bite of his sticky date pudding. “Give me an ego boost, then take it away why don’t you? Women are easy, Scar. It’s not a big deal to me, you know? They come; they go; they’re replaceable. Until I find one who isn’t, I don’t really have any plans to settle down, or even have a girlfriend, or whatever they’re calling it these days.”
“Bae?” I snicker, pushing my cheesecake toward him. “Go on, have a bite. See if the grass is greener on the other side.”
He slides a huge piece onto his fork, then pops it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully, before swallowing and flashing me a smirk. “Mine’s better.”
I reach out with my fork and grab some of his. When it hits my tongue, I know he’s right. “Dammit.”
“Well there you go,” he comments, tone superior. “Not is all as it seems, is it?”
“Can we swap?” I ask, being dead serious.
He just laughs and says, “Let’s just order another two.”
“Deal.”
He signals the waitress, and I silently thank myself not just for Jaxon, but for everyone he’s brought into my life.