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“Which is bullshit,” Ford growled.
“Right, so I’ve been staying here, laying low, and buying time until I can figure out what to do about him,” Journey said. Ford wanted her to quit her job, but that wasn’t going to happen. She had worked too hard to get a leg up in CNN. She wasn’t about to give all of that up now because her boss was a pig. No, there had to be another way around this mess—she just needed to find it.
“You could have come to me,” Lucinda insisted. “I would have loved for you to stay with me and Ty.”
“You two are disgustingly in love and I just didn’t want to be around all of that. Besides, Ford and I are doing just fine here on our own,” Journey said. Ford grumbled something about her being a giant chicken, and maybe she was, but she couldn’t seem to find the words to tell her best friend that she was in love with her older brother.
Lucinda looked from Ford to Journey and back again. “Something is going on here that you’re not telling me. Do I need to invoke the best friend rules and demand to know the truth, or do you just want to spill your guts?”
Honestly, Journey didn’t like either of those options. “Is there a third option?” she squeaked.
“No,” Ford barked. “It’s time to tell her, Journey.” He was right, but the way that Luci was staring her down intimidated the hell out of her. “Fine, I’ll be the one to tell you. Journey and I are together. We’re in love and she’s been not only hiding out here to avoid her boss’s stalking her, but also to avoid telling you about the two of us. I’ve been in love with her for a while now, and she made me promise not to tell you.”
“Yet, here you are telling her,” Journey grumbled. She really couldn’t blame him. Ford had granted her more than enough time to get up the nerve to tell Lucinda. In fact, he had kept up his end of the bargain, letting her live with him until she could work up the nerve to come clean with her best friend. But he sure wasted no time spilling his guts to his sister about the two of them.
“Well, you weren’t going to tell her, were you?” he countered. She wasn’t. In fact, she was avoiding telling Luci at all costs.
“No, I wasn’t,” Journey said.
“Hold up here,” Lucinda shouted, “you’re with him?” she asked Journey, pointing at her brother as if accusing him of some wrongdoing.
“Yes,” Journey almost whispered. “I know that I should have told you.”
“How long have you liked my brother, Journey?” Lucinda asked.
She shrugged, “For as long as I can remember.”
“And you never thought to tell me? All those years that the kids in high school taunted the two of us for being lesbians. They thought that we were together because you never dated and that was because you were holding out hope that my brother would come home and declare his undying love for you?” Luci asked. She sounded pissed and the way she recounted their childhood was harsh.
“That about sums it up,” Journey said, “but, you have to believe that I never meant for you to get hurt in all of this. I never thought that the kids would think that we were together because you were always with some guy.”
“But they did think that we were together, and you just let them instead of telling me and everyone else the way you felt about Ford.”
“Go easy on her,” Ford said, “she was just a kid.”
“Right, and you were in love with her even back then? What kind of man does that make you, Ford?” Lucinda spat. Ford took two steps back from his sister as if she had just slapped him. This was what Journey was trying to avoid, but now, there would be no getting around it. Lucinda knew everything and she wasn’t going to let either of them off the hook for the way that they felt about each other.
“Don’t say that to him,” Journey defended. She stood and blocked Ford from Luci as if acting as his shield. “Ford would never do anything like that. It’s why he left to join the Army. He was avoiding his feelings for me, and in the meantime, I’ve grown up,” she said, holding her arms wide for her best friend to get a look. “He asked me to go on dates since coming home and I turned him down, believing that I couldn’t date your older brother without hurting you, but that was just hurting me, Luci. I wasn’t happy, but Ford makes me happy now. I just hope that someday, you’ll be able to see that we’re good together and be happy for the both of us. Until that time, I won’t let you blame Ford for all of this. He’s been nothing but a gentleman. I was the one who kept my feelings from you. I should have told you that I liked your brother, but I never thought that my feelings would matter.”
“Why would you believe that I wouldn’t take your feelings into consideration?” Lucinda asked.
“I guess a part of me never felt good enough to be considered a part of your family. I thought that wanting Ford would only end in heartache for me, so I resolved to squash my feelings and tell myself to stop hoping for something that would never happen. I’m done with that kind of self-doubt. I’m in love with your brother, Luci, and I hope that someday, you’ll be able to accept that.”
“I need some time,” Lucinda muttered. “I have to go, Ty’s meeting me for dinner.”
“Can I call you later?” Journey asked.
“No, I think it’s best if you let me call you when I’m ready,” Luci insisted. She wanted to tell her friend that she was acting childish, but she also knew that giving Lucinda some time and space to think things through might be the best plan. All Journey could do was nod and watch her best friend leave Ford’s house. She felt lost until his arms were around her, reminding her that she wasn’t lost or alone anymore.
“She’ll come around,” he promised.
“I hope so,” was all she could say.
Ford
Ford hadn’t let Journey out of his sight for almost a month. The only time that he left her was when they both needed to go to work, and even that involved some strategically placed security cameras and an undercover guard. There was no way that he was going to let Journey be alone in a building with her boss, even if she assured him that she was completely safe. He had known slime balls like Journey’s boss and the thought of him trying to touch her again made Ford want to kill the fucker.
HR had been no help to Journey. They told her that she should have reported her boss’s behavior when it originally happened and that if she felt that they were being unfair, she could hire a lawyer. He thought that was a damn good idea, even if Journey didn’t. She didn’t want to lose her job at CNN and if that meant that she had to keep working for that asshole, she was going to. Ford had never felt so helpless in his life, and the one person whom he usually turned to for advice in situations like these, was not talking to him.
