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I don’t know yet, but not here. Never here again,” he grabs my hand pulling me into the room and shoving items in a bag of his own and I follow suit.
I shield my eyes as I pass my father’s bloody and beaten body on the couch. I didn’t have much time to examine him further nor did I really want to. Whatever father he ever was, was long gone. A monster lay on that couch. A monster I never wanted to see again.
We leave the tethered old trailer with only a couple of bags on our shoulders and Jax opens the car door pulling the seat up for me to get in the back.
Chapter 5
Chalene
The ride is long and once we reach the long dark road along the marsh, I know we’re in a different world. Big Spanish Moss trees line each side and even in the dark, they offer a calming beauty. I imagine what it would have been like to come home down this road every night and then it begs me to question what waits for us at the end. It seems to go on forever, the watery abyss on one side and the occasional mansion on the other.
My eyes drift back up to the stars thinking about everything we left behind, the same stars I looked at innocently with Alyssa earlier. All of that was gone now…my father, the only home we’d ever known, our belongings, and an innocence I would never get back.
Jax finally pulls the car into a long driveway that circles a stone fountain and puts the car in park.
He pivots in his seat looking at my brother and then at me, "You two are staying here tonight. You should stay until you can find a place of your own."
Danny’s hand reaches over gripping Jax’s shoulder and he nods. He’s not the type of person to take handouts but he knows we have no choice right now. He’s trying to take care of us.
Jax gives us a quick tour of the main floor of the home and there are more rooms than I can count, much less would know what to do with. Each of them is impeccably decorated with deep reds, and edgy designs, rugs and displays, art pieces, and chandeliers. I've only seen homes like this in the movies and I can't believe I'm here.
Danny and Jax slip away in the study to talk and I quietly roam the house, my mind too shattered to sit still. When I come back to the living room, the double doors of the study are just barely cracked and I can hear them. Their voices sound intense.
I can’t make out the words at first so I move just a bit closer.
“I don’t know! I couldn’t tell!” their whispers sound harsh and worried.
“I’ll handle it,” I finally hear Jax reply. “Just go to bed.”
A couple of footsteps in the direction of the door make me jump but then they stop and I listen.
"Look, I've been saving for a while now, so I'll get us on our feet. It won't take a long man."
“I know you will, take your time. Take a few weeks if you need. There’s plenty of space.”
He was closer to the door than I realized because when they push open they knock me back a little and I jumped toward a piece of art on the wall pretending I was admiring it. Danny walks by me and to the front door and when I turn around nonchalantly, Jax is standing there staring at me.
My heart skips a beat at this warrior, this conqueror that saved me tonight.
Had he saved many people before? Was he a natural-born hero? How many women must be at his beck and call?
“I’ll get our bags from the car,” Danny makes his way out.
“Let’s get you to bed,” his husky voice whispers sending shivers up my spine.
Jax looked…strained…put out...troubled, and rightfully so after having to come to our trailer and handle my father like he did. His black button-up was missing a couple of buttons at the top, stretched and loosened around the middle most likely from the commotion but the sleeves still clung to his thick biceps showcasing them. His fitted grey slacks strained around his thighs as he moved past me and his black loafers clicked on the staircase as we climbed.
I didn’t say a word afraid that if I did, he’d think I sounded stupid anyway. I was fully aware of the favor he was doing us. I was also fully aware he was doing this for my brother. That my brother and him shared some odd bond that was unexpected since the two come from completely different worlds.
We reach the second floor and I hear his breathing as if it’s the only thing in the world at the moment. It’s labored I wonder if he’s hurt from earlier. If he’s upset. If he’s bothered to have to take care of me.
We stop at a doorway and he leans against the frame pushing the door open.
He nods his head, “Will this do?”
“Oh,” I look in the room and then back, “yes, it’s very nice, thank you.”
"Alright then," his jaw clenches as his hands slide into his pockets and he moves away.
