Page 44 of This Is Love
If I’m going to ask her any questions, it’s gotta be now. “Mom, I need to ask you something. In case it’s not obvious, Jaxon and I have—” Ha ha. Well, now that I’m ready to discuss this with her, I don’t know how to put it. Not that I’ll ever tell my mother the private details of it. I scrub a hand through my hair, peering at her.
She tilts her head to the side. “Are you getting along now, the two of you?”
A small laugh trips up from my chest as the memory of Jaxon jacking off on my ass in the shower comes back to me. “Uh, I don’t know if I’d go quite that far. It’s complicated. Um. But we’ve had a few conversations since we’ve been around each other quite a bit.” I rub my hands on my thighs, deciding to go for broke. “I did want to ask you about something.”
“Well, go on, then.” She searches my face, a leery edge to her gaze.
I clear my throat. “Can you tell me what was going on with Eric and Macie when you met him? And, uh… howdidyou meet?”
“I’m not sure exactly where this is coming from, but he and I met at a mutual friend’s dinner party.” Tucking some hair behind her ear, she stares steadily at me.
I let out a frustrated sigh, thinking back to how adamant my stepbrother had been when his truth had finally erupted from him. I’ve gotta ask her directly. “Did you know the divorcewasn’t final?” The last part of my question practically sticks in my throat. My voice lowers, disbelief coating my words. “Did you date him knowing that?”
Her mouth drops open. “No. That’s not true.” She blinks several times as she falls silent.
“Well, Jaxon is under the impression that you— Um. That you knew they weren’t divorced yet. And you broke up their marriage.”
Her eyes wild, she shakes her head. “No. That’s not true.” Blinking once again, she whispers, almost as if she’s speaking to herself, “It can’t be. They were already divorced.” With a shaking hand, she picks up the cloth napkin from her lap and places it over her plate, even though it’s still full of food. Whether she’s done eating or has just lost her appetite is anyone’s guess.
“Is it possible he didn’t tell you the whole truth?” I ask softly, wincing as I bite down on my lip.
She’s silent at first, but a tempest of emotion has whipped up in her eyes. She looks… lost. And that has my heart hurting for her. I swallow, a lump filling my throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement, shift slightly, and realize it’s Eric on his way back to the table.Fuck.
Exhaling quickly, I meet my mother’s eyes. “Look, I’m gonna take off. But if you need me, just call.”
She gets up at the same time I do, then pulls me into her arms, holding me in a tight hug.
“What’s going on?” Eric eyes the two of us, but neither of us say a word.
My mother quickly tugs me close, whispering in my ear. “If any of this is true, please believe me. I didn’t know.”
When she releases me, I nod to my stepfather. “Thanks for dinner, Eric. I’ve gotta run.” I catch her gaze one last time. “You’ll be okay?”
“Sit back down,” Eric grinds out.
“Sorry, can’t. I’ve got somewhere to be.” My jaw tightens before my eyes flick from him back to my mother. The ill-at-ease expression on her face makes me nervous to leave her. “Sorry, Mom.”
She juts her chin at me, then quietly but definitively murmurs, “Go.”
Before Eric can argue, I turn and walk away, hoping my mother is capable of dealing with her husband in the state of mind he’s currently in. The hushed back-and-forth between them as I exit the ritzy restaurant has me cringing, but my mother is an adult, and she deserves the space to be able to ask her husband some very important questions. Whether or not he’ll sweet-talk her into believing his version of things, I have no idea.
What I do know is this: if I had to choose who to believe, I’m inclined to think that despite all of Jaxon’s dick moves toward me, he’s not lying. And my mother may not have realized it, but shewasthe one who unwittingly got involved with a married man. Not that she’s to blame. I lay that onus directly at Eric’s feet. His failure to be honest with her about the status of his marriage to Macie—or more accurately, his inability to be faithful to his wife—is what ultimately caused all this.
I just feel terrible that I had idolized him, in a way. The more I find out about my stepfather, the more convinced I am that Jaxon’s actions are a direct result of the shit that has been shoveled in his direction all this time. Why the fuck does his own father dislike him so much?
That question plagues me while I wait outside the restaurant for my Uber pickup. Just as it’s approaching, my phone rings, catching me by surprise. I quickly glance down, my brow furrowing.Rya. My heart does a quickthud, thudin my chest. She hardly ever calls, preferring to text. Wondering what thespecial occasion is, I jab the screen with my thumb, accepting the call.
Before I can get the phone to my ear, she whispers, “Logan?” The distress in her voice punches me in the gut. I suck in a breath, hating the fear that laces my name.
“Rya? Baby, what’s wrong?”
There’s some fumbling on the other end, then Rya’s voice comes across the line again. “Oh thank goodness. Logan, we need help. It’s Jaxon’s car. The tire blew. I-I thought we were going to die.”
My lungs practically collapse behind my rib cage, all the air whooshing from me. Prodding my chest with my hand, I will myself to breathe again. “Rya, are you okay? What’s going on? Where’s Jaxon?”
“I think we’re both good. He’s looking at the car. But we’re off the road, and the tire is completely torn up.”
“Hey, man”—the Uber driver stares at me from his window—“either get in now, or I’m canceling the ride.”
