Page 152 of Choosing You

I don’t think he meant to, but Garret’s statement totally freaks me out. I shudder as I think about it.

He hugs me. “I’m sorry, Jade. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“But you’re right. I’m proof of what happened. I’m proof of what that guy did to my mom all those years ago. That guy’s going to come after me, isn’t he?”

“If he wanted to do something to you, he would’ve broken in when you were home.”

“But he left that note. He might still be watching me or listening to my calls, making sure I don’t say anything. If I do, he’ll come after me.”

“You need to stop using that phone.” Garret points to the room phone. “I’ll get you a cell phone. For now, you can use mine if you need to call Frank or Ryan.”

“I don’t understand this. Why is this happening? What does he want?”

Garret kisses the top of my head as I rest it on his shoulder. “I don’t know, Jade. But he’s not going to hurt you. I won’t let him. Do you want to go shower before we go?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I’ll start putting your stuff back.”

“I don’t think I want it put back. That guy touched all my clothes and my sheets. I feel like I need to wash everything. Could you take me to the laundromat? The machines here will take all day.” I run over to my desk, checking the drawer again. “At least he didn’t take my laundry money.”

I turn back and see Garret on the phone. “Hey, Dad. Will Katherine be home today?” He listens. “We wanted to stop by and wash Jade’s stuff.” He listens again. “Okay, thanks.” He hangs up.

“What did you do that for? I’m not doing laundry at your house!”

“Relax. We’ll drop it off and pick it up later. The housekeeper will do it. We have four washing machines. It’ll be done in a couple hours. Katherine left for some event with Lilly. She won’t be back until tonight. And my dad’s going into the office.”

“But, Garret—”

He stops me. “Go shower. What should I put your clothes in?”

I go to the closet and pick up the box of garbage bags sitting on the floor. I hand it to him, then leave to take a shower. When I get back, all my stuff is in bags.

“I’ll start taking these to the car. I’ll be right back.”

As he leaves, I realize how much I really do love him. My whole life I’ve never been able to count on people. Growing up, I had to take care of myself and my mom. Even when I moved in with Frank, I took the role of caretaker, fixing meals and cleaning the house. I felt like I had to in order to pay him back for taking me in. I’ve never had anyone take care of me the way Garret does. The way he just steps in without me even having to ask.

He walks back in my room and picks up another garbage bag.

“Hey.” I grab hold of his arm and look up at him. “I love you.”

He sets the garbage bag down and smiles. “I love you, too.”

I walk away, leaving him standing there confused. “That’s all. You can go back to work now. I just wanted to say it.”

He laughs. “Okay.” He picks up the bag and goes back out to the car.

I never thought I’d say those words to someone and now I’ve said them three times in less than 24 hours. And the weird thing is that I like saying them.

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

We drive to his parents’house and give the bags of clothes, towels, and sheets to the maid. It’s so strange to me that Garret’s family has people to do things like clean their clothes and make their meals. I know that’s what wealthy people do, but it’s still strange.

Rather than wait around at the house, we go to a coffee shop in town and eat breakfast.

“Garret, are you going to have maids and cooks when you graduate and get your own place?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. I guess I might get a maid, but only because I can’t stand cleaning. But I wouldn’t have a live-in maid like my dad has. And I don’t need someone to cook for me. I can do that myself.”

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