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I hear a scuffle, as if Ashley tried to make a charge.
“You stay away!” Sandy yells.
“Jess!” Ashley’s voice trembles properly now. Like she’s going to cry. “Please talk to me. Please Jess!”
I shake my head even though I’m hidden. Tears are still running down my cheeks.
“I think you should go.” Sandy says firmly.
“Not until I talk to her! I just want to talk dammit!”
My breaths have stopped heaving in and out. My tears aren’t dry, but they are almost done. I clear my throat and let my voice ring out.
“I’ll talk to you, Ashley. It’s okay.”
There is a bit of tension in the room. I’m not as nervous as I was before. I don’t need Ashley to save me. Its stupid to suck up and let my feelings get hurt just because I want to use her money or power.
No. I have friends, good friends. They won’t fail me. We’ll work it out together.
I hear Ashley’s footsteps. In spite of my newfound confidence, I feel icy cramps in my guts.
Twenty-Seven
Ashley
Sandy gives me a bit more of his glare before stepping aside. I barely restrain myself from shoving him out of the way and rush around the couch.
Jess isn’t just hiding behind it, she’s folded herself into the bottom of a side table. She looks like a kid playing cubby house.
“Jess? Jess, please talk to me.”
She shakes her head, looking composed even though tears are drying on her cheeks.
“I can’t talk to you.”
“So just listen. I’m sorry—so sorry—about before. I got caught off guard. I know I said the wrong thing. I was just a bit scared.”
“You’re scared!” Jess ex
claims.
I realize how insensitive that sounded, especially considering I’m not at risk of criminal charges. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be Jess, to have my every move calculated by money, and not in the good way that I’m used to.
“I’m sorry. Jess, I have to tell you. It’s why I came.” I have to pause to try and swallow the lump in my throat. It doesn’t help. I think part of it shifts to my chest like a heavy stone while good chunk of it stays right in my throat.
“I, ah—” I stumble on my words as well as the lump in my throat. “This isn’t easy for me, Jess.”
She glares at me. No words, not even a change of expression. Her eyes though. They are full of tears, sweet and innocent but at the same time, they cut like blades.
I try gulping down the lump again. No luck. Looks like I’ll just have to try and talk through it. I clear my throat hard.
“I’ve never felt so deeply about anyone before, Jess. It’s difficult for me to accept. I couldn’t admit it to myself. I didn’t want this adventure to end in black mail.”
An expression I don’t quite catch flashes across Jess’ face, and she blinks those big green eyes at me.
“How was it supposed to end? You were just going to drop me in the gutter and go back to fucking anything you please?”
It hurts like a blow to the chest, but I know I deserve it. I crawl a bit closer, wondering if I can drag her out by force.
