Page 85 of Forever Home

“Hey, Madi,” I reply, giving her a small wave.

“Where’s Travis?” Jaxson asks, glancing around the area. “He said he was coming.”

“Oh, you know him,” Vicki sighs, lifting her drink to her lips. “He likes to be fashionably late to everything.”

“Well then,” Jaxson mutters, looking towards the bar before glancing at me. “Let’s get a drink and start celebrating.”

As much as I want to drink and celebrate the way he wants to, I can’t. I fake drinking the entire night and stick with a coke or rum and coke so they think. Not wanting to ruin anything if by chance I am pregnant. The more I keep thinking about it, the more I keep wondering if I am.

Morning sickness on Christmas Eve morning, even though my mom swore it was the chicken salad we ate for lunch the day before. Overemotional, which I thought was just the initial depression of missing my mom… which was cleared the moment she arrived. I mean if I keep thinking back to the way I felt over the past two weeks I can’t help but wonder if I really am. And how much it’s going to change everything.

“You okay?” He asks me after an hour of partying and everyone celebrating. My feet hurt in the heels that Sam insisted I wear, causing me to find a table off to the side to relax at.

“Of course,” I lie, trying to play off the things plaguing my mind. “My feet are just killing me.”

“Oh, that sucks. I’ll never understand how women can wear heels.”

“I wouldn’t suggest trying it,” I laugh. “You go join Travis now that he’s finally here. I’ll join you guys in just a moment.”

Staring at me, he hesitates for a moment. His eyes flicker over to where Vicki and the others are currently talking. “Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you.”

It’s sweet of him to consider it, but he’d already been hanging out with them for the last twenty minutes or so. So, it really makes no difference to me at this point. “I’m sure. I just need a few more moments.”

He nods, leaning down to kiss me softly before making his way towards his friends. The life he lives is definitely not something I’m equipped for. As much as most girls may find it exciting and desirable. I’m not that kind of girl. I prefer my small-town life, and my peace and quiet. Even if I do love spending time with Jaxson.

“You must be the new girl.” A sickly-sweet voice calls out when I finally stand from the table preparing myself to join Jaxson and the others. Turning, I come face to face with a beautiful blonde woman with piercing blue eyes and a sickly-sweet smile. She’s gorgeous in an upper-class city girl kind of way. Pretty enough honestly to be a model, and in the tight royal blue dress she’s wearing it’s clear that she’s someone important.

“I’m sorry… what?”

She laughs, shaking her head as her perfectly manicured hand lifts the champagne glass to her lips. “You heard me. You’re the new girl that Jaxson is with. It’s obvious. I saw you two talking.”

Instantly the red flags and sirens are going off. The fact that this woman chose to confront me shows that she has a bone to pick. Though she waited until he walked away to greet me.

“Um, okay. I don’t know why you’re calling me the new girl… do you know him or something?”

“You can say I know him,” she replies with mock laughter. “We are always on again and off again. And per usual, he’s brought another new girl to try and make me jealous, just to get back with me.”

The fuck?

“And why are you talking to me like I care who you are?”

The woman's smile falls as her eyes narrow in my direction. “You should care, and watch who you get an attitude with. You’re nothing but small-town trash, and Jaxson will come running back to me soon enough… I mean he practically already has.”

So, this is Caitlin. Vicki wasn’t wrong about this one.

Anger courses through me at her words. Every part of me wants to punch this bitch in her throat, but I can’t. Not here in front of allthese people. It would practically give her the attention she’s looking for. Straightening my shoulders, I force a smile to my face. “You are just as pathetic as they said… thank God I’m smart enough to see desperation when it’s standing in front of me.”

“Is that so?” She scoffs, taking a step closer. “Well, you should be the kind of girl that's smart. Because if you really think he, Jaxson Rivers, is actually interested in anything more than simply fucking you, you’re delusional. There’s a reason he keeps ditching every one-night stand or quick fling he’s ever had to come back to me. That’s because I have class and status in this world we live in. You don’t. You’re nothing but a small-town country girl who will never amount to what he needs, and it’s about time you start taking stock of what kind of mockery you want your life to be turned into. He didn’t want you in high school… it’s not gonna happen now.”

Her words cut me deeper than I wish they would. The fact that she is clearly aware of who I am, hurts.How in the world does she know about me wanting him in high school? I glance over at Jaxson, who is completely clueless of the harassment I’m receiving.

“Look… I don’t know who you think you are,” I reply, turning to face her once more. “But why don’t you fuck off. Mind your own business, and I’ll keep handling Jaxson. Since you clearly never knew how to.”

Her fingers curl tighter around her glass as her lip curls back into a sneer. “Do you really think he is going to give up everything in here for you, to run back to Willowcreek? Get over yourself… and look around you. You don’t fit in here, and the fact that he’s been texting and calling me over the past two weeks, talking about things, only proves how clueless you really are.”

“No, he hasn’t,” I say softly, refusing to believe the admission that escapes her.

“Oh, but he has,” she replies, lifting her phone to show a call log where Jaxson had called her only last night. “I was engaged to him, Madison. As I’m sure you were aware. You don’t exactly just walk away from a girl like me. But it’s pretty messed up that he has led you along this far. I didn’t expect him to be that cruel, especially since he said you were going to be gone bynow…”

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