Page 99 of Saved By My Buyers

Bee shrugs as she comes to sit down next to me. “I mean, they have movement when they’re put to music,” she says. “There’s emotion, ebbs and flows, I would say that counts.”

“They do, I’ve just never heard it said like that before,” Jack says. “You’ve always loved music, concerts, festivals, so you’ve been around it enough to understand the power of words put to music. I don’t think it’s weird at all. Can I see what you’ve been working on?”

My fingers touch the cover of the notebook as I worry at my lip. Jack’s never laughed at me a day in his life, I doubt he’ll start now. Handing it to him tentatively, I watch as he sits in the armchair next to me, beginning to read through my words.

After a few lines, he leans back into the chair, tears escaping from his eyes.

“This is why I don’t let people read my notebook,” I murmur, getting up to climb into his lap. “They’re just too sad.”

“It doesn’t mean they’re not really fucking good,” Jack rasps, pulling me close to him. Laying my head on his chest, I can hear how hard his heart is beating as he continues to read. “Why did you stop?”

“My words felt broken, and my drawings were just too dark,” I reply. “I didn’t want anyone to find them.”

“You didn’t want me to find them, because then you’d have to explain them?” Bee interjects.

“Yeah,” I say. “It felt as if I was leaving evidence behind, and I couldn’t do that. Gareth was always watching me. It was easier to basically lead two different lives. I lived for the sunlight, and spending time with you and Jack. It was harder for bad things to happen then.”

Bee slowly walks over to us, and Jack moves his arm, so she can climb in next to me.

“I hate that he did this to you,” she whispers, holding my hand tightly. “I’m so damn sorry. I wish you had left evidence. Maybe we could have gotten out together.”

Blinking away the tears that are threatening to overflow, I shake my head. “I don’t think I was supposed to get out,” I gasp. The emotion is drowning me, and I’m trying to stay afloat. “Dead girls don’t tell the truth, right? That’s why he gave me a knife and told me to kill myself. I really think he expected me to.”

“He probably thought you’d clean up his mess,” Bee says, touching my short curls. She sounds detached from the fact that Gareth is her father, and I assume she does it consciously. “Gareth told me to stay a few more days at my aunt’s house, and he probably was trying to figure out his next moves. Maybe he panicked?”

“I don’t know,” Jack rumbles under my head. “He was violent when I picked her up, and then it escalated. I doubt he had a plan after he hurt her. Fucking bastard should have been glad you left, not been looking for you still.”

“I could always talk if I’m not under his thumb or dead,” I remind them. “I’ve felt safer in this apartment than I have in a long time. It’s harder to believe that he can get to me here.”

“He can’t,” Jack growls, his lips brushing my forehead. “I have a client I want you to meet. Your parents never thought about music lessons, but it’s not too late to learn, if you want? He runs a music school and recording studio. He mentioned to Elira that he’s looking for someone to run his front desk, and that he’s interested in getting background checks done on the person he decides to hire. Sullivan hasn’t even put in an ad for the position.”

Breathing through the residual emotion I feel from talking about Gareth, I nod. “You’re sure he hasn’t found anyone?” I ask, my voice squeaking. Fuck, that’s awful.

“You can cry with me,” Jack says softly. “No one is going to judge you for it in this room. For fuck’s sakes, I just teared up at how incredible your writing was. You’re fucking amazing. Don’t hold shit back with us.”

Bee gazes back at me with a soft smile, her green eyes wet. “Holding onto everything isn’t good for you. I get tired of crying too,” she murmurs.

“Exactly,” I sigh, angrily dashing away tears. “I feel like I want to live my life, not cry. So… have they, Jack?”

I tip my head back to look up at him, seeing his lips twitch before lowering to kiss me. Jack breathes in deeply as he shakes his head.

“No, they haven’t,” he says. “I think it was said in passing in preparation to begin looking. Want to talk to him? We can go tonight.”

“Isn’t that a little desperate?” I ask. “Not that I have much pride either way.”

Jack pulls on one of my curls hard enough to make me hiss, rolling his eyes. “Pride has nothing to do with it, baby. Don’t talk down about yourself again, or I’ll spank you,” he growls.

“So many promises,” I say before clapping my hand around my mouth, eyes wide.

“Gotta commit now,” he says darkly. “This will be fun. I was going to make dinner before I need to have drinks with him, but I’ll change our plans to include food and you’ll join me. Bee, think we should make things interesting?”

“Always,” she says almost immediately, grinning.

“Perfect. Are you coming with us?” Jack asks, his hand moving to play with the hair at the base of my neck. It slightly tickles, raising goosebumps on my skin.

“Ugh, I would love to watch our girl squirm, but I have a call with the head of the psychology department tonight,” she says. “It’s the only time he had, and he wanted to go through my options for grad school. There’s a few different programs I could go into for counseling. Psychology may not be the best one if I want to get licensed fairly quickly.”

Jack nods as if this is something they’ve discussed in some way before.

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