Page 64 of Tandem

He walked over to me and reached into his pocket. I tensed. He pulled out an envelope and held it out to me. I raised my eyebrow but took it and peeked inside.

A check and a plane ticket were inside. I pulled them out, my eyes scanning both again and again. It was a one-way ticket to Japan and a 500K check, already signed by him.

“Here’s the thing, AJ… My girl is one of the very few things that I value more than my own life. I came very close to losing her yesterday. And the only reason for that, was you.”

Our eyes met, and I could see just how rage-filled they were. He continued to speak, trying to keep his tone level, but I could tell he wanted nothing more than to shout at me.

“I don’t want you around my daughter fucking ever again. But it’s not enough to tell you to break up with her. Rosalie would do whatever it takes to find you in this city. She’s into you too much for just that. No, so I need you gone. I’m coming to you with a business opportunity that will be a win-win for both of us.” I kept my mouth shut because I needed to hear where this was going. “I need someone in Japan to oversee my imports because the last few cars have had more than the issues they should have. I know you know your way around cars. You steal them enough to know when you’re getting something good or crap. You do this and break up with my daughter, the 500K is yours.”

I stood there, not really shocked by his reasoning. He didn’t want me to see Rosalie anymore, and he would pay me half a million to make that happen.

“I need to consider it. I can’t just say yes,” I got out, and Kayden walked over to grab the envelope.

“When you make up your mind, these are all yours. You have four weeks to decide. But until you decided, stay the fuck away from my family, AJ.” Kayden walked back over to his car, got in, and drove away. And I stood there, my mind at war with itself.

CHAPTER 37

ROSALIE

The days passed so slowlyin the hospital. Three days turned into a week, and the doctors wanted to supervise me doing some PT there before getting released. When I was FINALLY released, I was so excited before Mom and Dad informed me on the ride home I was moving back in with them until I was completely better. “What?! No, I’m fine! I can handle being on my own and in my own place! Moooooom, tell him!” I exclaimed as Dad shook his head, and Mom cleared her throat a bit.

“It was actually my idea, Rosalie, and your dad is totally on board. We can take care of you, and I don’t want you to exert yourself the first couple of weeks at your house. Please agree to it. This has all been a lot for us to process,” my mom replied.

I leaned back into my seat, the pain from my lurching forward subsiding in my ribs a bit as I relaxed. “Can I have visitors while I stay there?” I asked, thinking about AJ.

“Sure, your friends can visit. But HE is not welcome in my house,” Dad replied, his tone stern. I knew he could only be talking about AJ.

I heard them arguing outside my room the day AJ came. Mom told Dad she let him see me for a few minutes, and he gotso upset. But I didn't know why. I loved AJ, and none of this was his fault. He didn’t know those guys would try and hurt me. I knew that. I knew that the moment I saw his face when he saw me. It was like someone had stabbed him in the heart. His face looked so sad and upset.

“But, Dad, he’s my boyfriend. I want to see him too,” I whined a bit.

Dad smacked the steering wheel. “He’s not allowed in our home, Rosalie. End of discussion,” he said sternly. I hadn’t seen Dad this serious about something in a long time.

“Fine, whatever, but I’m still gonna text and call him. And if you try and stop me, I'll just escape in the middle of the night and run away to Jayden’s.” I leaned my forehead against the cold glass window. It felt nice, yet every little bump in the road sent a pang of pain through my ribs.

When we got to Mom and Dad’s, Jayden met us there. After a few painful stairs later, I was situated in my temporary bed, which, funnily enough, was in my old room. Looking around, while it had changed a bit, there were still things they had bought again after I moved out. A similar TV, desk, chair, a few car posters, and photos of my friends and family were here. I even glanced toward the closet and saw some of my clothes.

Mom must have gone to my place and grabbed some things. Same with my items on the bathroom counter and nightstand. It was almost like I had never left. After telling Mom and Dad I was fine for the thousandth time, I got my phone out and texted AJ.

Rosalie

Hey, I just wanted to let you know I’m at Mom and Dad’s now. It totally sucks, but no matter what I said, they won’t let me invite you over. But I want to see you so bad…

AJ

Glad to hear you’re out of the hospital. Parents suck. Busy so I’ll text you later.

I set my phone on the bed next to me and sighed. A part of me wished he would have said screw what my parents said, and he would have come over. But I knew he was probably working or something. Since he did odd jobs, it wasn’t like he had a set schedule. Suddenly, taking a nap sounded like a REALLY good idea. So I closed my eyes and just relaxed until I drifted off to sleep.

The weeks went by and AJ never came over. I even tried to text him to tell him he could sneak up to my window and I would let him in, but he always had a reason why he couldn't come by. I was pretty sad about it. I really wanted to see him.

I tried to text and call him, but he either never answered my calls or his replies were short. It was like he was really that busy, and he couldn’t come chill or text me back. I knew he was probably busy, yet I had this feeling I just couldn’t shake—like he was upset and wasn’t telling me.

It sucked, and I was getting tired of waiting for him to come by. Hank, Tyler, Freddie, and Jayden all swung by a few times, which was nice. But they weren’t the person I really wanted to see. I wanted to fall asleep in AJ’s arms again. Feeling his warmth as I drifted off would help me sleep so much better.

I texted AJ again.

Rosalie

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