Page 105 of Jax

“The audacity,” I gasped, mocking my surprise at his answer. He flicked a guilt-free wink my way and even took a nice glance at my ass as I headed to the shower.

“It’s a good thing I like you, Jax.”

“Just like?” Jax moaned, jogging to meet me in the doorway.

“Maybe just a little bit more than like,” I huffed, making it my turn to prop my hands on my hips as he blocked my way into the bathroom.

“This much?” He cocked his head to one side, offering me his two palms spread far apart.

I grabbed his two palms and pulled them together until about they were just a few inches apart. “That much.”

Jax looked at it, and with a shrug, said, “I can deal with that.”

“Good.” I pressed my palm against his chest to move, giving him a push to the side. “Now outta my way.”

“Sorry, sunshine.” He grasped my hand to plant a quick kiss on it. “Gotta love you and leave you, so I’ll be stealing the hot water.”

He jerked back before I could slap him for what he was doing and slammed the door shut with him safely on the inside.

“Bastard!” I hissed. “What am I supposed to do with this shit running down my leg?”

“Keep it in!” he hollered back.

Such a man’s response….

I sighed, reaching for the pile of towels I had taken from the dryer earlier. Neither I nor Jax had bothered to fold them. They were just towels. They weren’t going to see any direct sunlight outside of the house, so it didn’t really matter if there were creases here and there.

Using them to help mop up the side of my leg, I did the best job that I could before going to look for a pair of panties that would stop me dripping all over the floor. What I wanted was a shower. But that had been stolen from me, so the best I could do was sacrifice a pair of panties for now.

My thighs ached as I hobbled me over to the set of drawers in the corner that I had claimed when I first moved in. I pulled open the underwear drawer and shoved aside the empty duffle bag to pull out a pair.

I heard a clunk against the wood and shot the open drawer a mysterious look as I prioritized putting my panties on before peeking my head up and into the drawer. My duffle bag laid on its side, the crumpled fabric stuffed to one side with the side zipper hanging open. I shoved aside a few pairs of socks and bras that had made their way over, looking for the source of the noise. After a minute and a half of looking, I almost assumed it was just one of the zippers hitting the wood until I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, the little shimmer of gold poking from the cup of a bra.

My heart dropped.

I’m not sure how long it took for my eyes to focus on it. The thin glimpse that I had spotted had been enough for me to recall what it was. And just that had been enough to have every memory I had spent the last few months pretending to forget come crashing down on my shoulders.

“Shit…,” I whispered under a soft, shuddering breath. I pushed aside the pair of panties covering most of the view, allowing my eyes to set sight on the gold ring cushioned within the fabric. It looked too simple to represent everything I had been through. Such a small, little thing, and yet the sight of it had such a hold on me I wanted to run as far away from it as possible.

My thumb rubbed against my third finger, where a tan line had once been as stark as a full moon at night. It had been a mark that had faded over my year of travel—on the surface—but looking down at the finger that had been bound to that little piece of gold reminded me that a collar was still wrapped around my neck.

I’m not a stray.

I had an owner.

It was only a matter of time before I was found.

I heard a soft pitter-patter beneath my chin, and when I looked down, I saw the wood stained a darker color. My finger reached to smooth over the surface, when a second wet droplet landed on the back of my hand. It wobbled and rolled down my skin before dropping onto the wooden drawer and being absorbed into its surface.

I tasted the salt. The wet tear that caught my lip touched my tongue and it all became apparent. “I’m crying…,” I whispered, my hands reaching up to feel the wetness of my cheeks. “Why…,” I whispered again, picking up the little piece of gold and holding it in my palm. “Why is it… even when I’ve found happiness… I can never escape you?”

I brushed my finger against the heavy gold, my arm wanting to collapse under the weight of it.

I had tried to throw it away tens of hundreds of times, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let myself forget my past. Couldn’t forget the injustice done to me.

Somehow, I knew that the scars wouldn’t be enough to remind me. I knew I would forget about them. Knew I would pretend they didn’t exist.

And I knew when that time came, this would be the one thing to bring me back to reality. The hope and the happiness I found… it was never meant to last. There never should have been a me and Jax. It was just supposed to be for Max, and once she was better, I’d leave and go my own way. Whether I ran or chose to fight, this was a battle I had to do on my own. And what was I doing now?

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