AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hiding my distaste for sanctimonious religious rituals, I allowed her to grasp my hand tightly as she bowed her head. Several seconds passed, and I thought maybe this was a silent prayer—until she began speaking.
“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for watching over me in my times of need, for faithfully rescuing me from a life of drugs and prostitution…”
Ugh.I didn’t need to be hearing this.
“Thank you for bringing my son and me back together. In Jesus’s name, we pray, Amen.”
“Amen,” I automatically echoed, relieved I didn’t have to hear any more of my mother’s confessions to Jesus. Whipping my napkin into my lap, I twirled my first bite of spaghetti on my fork, prepared to appreciate it despite my leaden stomach and lack of appetite, when my phone rang in my pants. Glancing down at the screen as I pulled it out of my pocket, I saw it was Marina.
“Excuse me, Mom.”
“Sure,” she returned, happily slurping away on her noodles.
“Marina,” I answered, infusing her name with all the rage I still felt toward her, using my voice as a weapon. “What the fuck do you want?”
On the other end of the line, I heard a sniff.
“Marina!”
“Jace, I’m so, so sorry about yesterday. I…I just need to explain everything to you. If you knew what was in my heart, you wouldn’t be mad at me.”
“Marina, it shouldn’t matter to you that I’m mad at you. We’re not together. You don’t have to justify your actions to me.”
“We’re not together, I know, but that doesn’t mean we’re not friends. It doesn’t mean I don’t want you in my life.”
“Well, I don’t want you in my life. Especially not after you put my—Greer—in danger. Deliberately. I thought I made myself clear yesterday.”
“I didn’t endanger her deliberately, Jace. I did not. But there are things about her, things I sensed right away, that you should probably know. Please…can we please meet up tonight? I want to explain everything.”
My first instinct was to tell Marina to fuck off. Not nice, I know, but there was a reason we broke up, a reason why even if we hadn’t, we probably wouldn’t have lasted. Plus, I knew that if I met up with her, all I’d get is a bunch of cryptic bullshit.
“You know something about Greer? What?”
“I know she’s in trouble.”
“What? Trouble how?”
“Jace, I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. I need to see you in person.”
I sighed. I didn’t want to meet with Marina, but after making a big deal about needing to leave and then walking away from Greer while my come was still inside her, it’s not like I could spend the evening where I wanted to, anyway. Between staying here all night with Sheryll and learning new information about Greer, I chose the latter.
“The Chart Room. Half an hour.”
“Thank you, Jace. You won’t regret this.”
* * *
I extricatedmyself from dinner with Sheryll and made it to the bar in record time. Dimly lit but for myriad neon beer logos lining the windows, with a large wooden bar in the center of the space and booths circled around, it had the benefit of being in the center of town, its large windows facing a popular pedestrian boardwalk. The last thing I wanted was to give Marina the impression that I wanted to be alone with her. That this was some sort of date.
The Chart Room was a dive, much like the bar I’d caught Greer getting drunk in just a few nights ago. It felt like no time had passed, but also a lifetime. I lived for the day when my girl stopped putting herself in dangerous situations.
I ordered a beer and took a seat in one of the booths, watching out the cheap, dusty blinds as Marina approached the door.
Marina had been a pretty face and a warm body when I’d first met her. But it was her innate kindness that had won me over and turned her from just a willing fuck into someone I wanted to spend time with. Before Greer came back, I’d even settled on the idea that maybe Marina and I could have something more permanent. I liked her. Cared about her. Could have loved her. But I knew now that I’d been lying to myself.
The first time I’d seen Greer in the window of Richmond House, I’d felt changed somehow, and then a few weeks ago, when I’d watched her get out of her car and approach me after seven years apart, it felt like a supernova—I couldn’t see anyone but her. My heart knew her heart. I’ve never not been in love with Greer Richmond. Comparing her to Marina now was…laughable. I hadn’t been trying to be a dick about it or anything, at least until this whole séance bullshit went down. Marina was a nice woman who deserved happiness. I reminded myself one more time that she’d never been unkind to Greer—to anyone. At least not while I was watching.
Marina slid into the booth in front of me wearing loose pants and one of those crocheted grandma sweaters popular with the hipster crowd. Her hair was loose, and she looked like she’d been crying.
