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James sighed. “This is so damn awkward. I know you must be crazy busy right now, and you don’t know me at all or owe me anything, but I’m all the way in New York while my children are in Los Angeles staying with someone they barely know. I’m going out of my mind.”
His voice sped up as he spoke, and although he was right, I didn’t know him or owe him anything, my heart went out to him. It was clear from his tone that he was desperately worried about Jayden and Harley, and it was down to him now to clean up the mess Jen left behind.
“It’s okay,” I said, gently. “I understand. You must have a lot to deal with. What do you need?”
“In about two hours, I’ll be on a plane to L.A. I get in a little after six this evening, and the first thing I’m going to do is go see my boys. But I’ve arranged with Jen’s friend for her to keep them for one more night because what I really need to do… is talk to Radleigh.”
Of course. Because with Jen in jail – and
hopefully with no chance of release anytime soon – James no longer had any legal right or obligation to keep Jayden. Jayden was Radleigh’s son, and at some point, a decision would need to be made about where he would live. The thought of it had lingered in the back of my mind overnight, but Radleigh had been my main focus. Now I knew he would be okay, serious things had to be discussed.
“I know this is a terrible time,” James went on. “I feel awful about what Jen did, and I don’t want to hinder his recovery, but I need to get my boys back, and the sooner I can talk to Radleigh, the better. Do you think he’s well enough to see me later? Will he be willing to talk to me?”
I blew out a breath. “I can’t see that there would be a problem, but I’ll call him and see what he says. If you leave me your number, I’ll call you back and let you know.”
“Thank you. I’d really appreciate it. It’s just… it’s… with everything that’s happened, not just recently but… before… I haven’t talked to him since I left L.A. We used to be friends. I don’t know how he’ll feel about seeing me again.”
Yeah. Had to be pretty rough coming back to face the guy whose girl you stole, because several years later, she went batshit crazy and stabbed him and now you had to deal with potentially splitting up two young brothers because said girl couldn’t keep her legs closed. However, Radleigh had said he wanted to talk to James, and this was his chance.
“Honestly, I think he’d rather deal with you than her,” I said. “I’m sure it will be a little strange at first, but I think you can both be adults about this.”
“Do you know…” There was a long pause before James finished his sentence, and I waited without interrupting. “Do you think you and Radleigh will want Jayden?”
The crack in his voice hurt my heart. He’d been Jayden’s dad for five years, and now he faced the very real possibility of losing him, not to mention suddenly becoming a single father with a wife who was in prison for stabbing her ex.
“I think we’ve all got a lot to discuss,” I told him. “I can’t and won’t speak for Radleigh. I’m sorry. I know this isn’t easy.”
“Well, it’s not easy for you either. Having Jen unleashed on you can’t have been a whole lot of fun.”
“That’s for sure. How the hell did you put up with her for so long?”
The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them, but thankfully, James let out a laugh, albeit a shaky one.
“She had her moments,” he said. “I mean, sure, she could be a moody, manipulative, vindictive, petty, nasty bitch. But she wasn’t always that way. Sometimes she was sweet. Not because she wanted something, but because somewhere underneath all of her crap, she was vulnerable. And that was the part of her I loved. I guess I just didn’t have enough to be what she needed.”
It was hard for me to imagine Jen having a vulnerable side. All I’d seen was her falseness and her spite. Nobody is all bad, I guess, but hearing Jen being described in such a different way than I’d witnessed was strange.
“I don’t believe anyone would be enough for her,” I said. “I think she’s someone who will always want more.”
“You’re right. I just hoped I could give her that.”
“I’m sorry, James. I’m sorry it’s come to this.”
“Me too.” He sighed. “Listen, I gotta go get ready for my flight. Thank you so much for talking to me.”
“Not a problem. I’ll call Radleigh and then I’ll call you right back and let you know what he says.”
We said our goodbyes and I sank down onto the stairs, phone still in my hand. This was getting more complicated with every passing hour. I refused to think about Jayden for the time being. That was a decision for Radleigh and me to discuss later. But I was concerned about the prospect of Radleigh and James seeing each other again. While I’d been with Radleigh, I’d learned more of what had happened between them and Jen, and it wasn’t pretty. Radleigh and James had once been as close as Radleigh and Bryce, so when Radleigh found out James had been sleeping with Jen behind his back, all hell broke loose. A very physical fight broke out between the guys, resulting in a broken jaw for James, and bruised ribs and a chipped tooth for Radleigh. Radleigh never wanted to see James again, but under the circumstances, he didn’t have a lot of choice. Well, they could just get their lawyers to deal with it, but it would be faster and smoother if they got together and talked between themselves.
I had a feeling we were all in for a horribly uncomfortable night.
**
By the time the evening rolled around, I was ready to collapse. My day had consisted of organising the “meeting” between Radleigh and James, calling my parents to let them know what had happened, eating a rushed lunch, collecting Jessica to take her to see Radleigh at the hospital for an hour, taking her back to Mitch and Deanna’s where I managed to grab a pathetic one hour of sleep before the stress of everything woke me up and rendered me unable to drop off again. I stayed at Mitch and Deanna’s while I called everyone I still hadn’t got back to replying to, including Stacey and Alison who had been worrying themselves sick because they hadn’t seen me before they left. They felt terrible that they hadn’t said goodbye, and I did too, because they’d flown all the way over to see me, and I’d been unable to finish the night with them. I told them they should come back some other time after the wedding so we could have a do over – minus the costumes – and we’d make a full weekend of it, not just one night. Deanna fed Jessica and me before I went back to the hospital, ready for the toughest part of the day yet. I was wiped out and had little energy for the amount of focus I’d need and the emotion I’d face, but I had to push through for Radleigh. He needed me, and he was dreading this meeting.
I sat beside Radleigh on his bed while we waited for James, and he held my hand so tight I thought he might snap my fingers.
“Baby, this is going to be okay,” I told him, rubbing my thumb across his now white knuckles. He looked tired, and I knew he was still in a lot of pain. This was the last thing he needed, but knowing James wanted to take Harley - if not Jayden too - home, he wanted to get this over with quickly. Those kids had been through enough.
