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He clicked it on and found an old sitcom that looked funny. He didn’t really care what they watched. All he wanted was to be close to the woman he loved. And maybe she would get brave and tell him what she’d been holding back. He wanted her to trust him more than anything. It broke his heart that she felt like she couldn’t.
Chapter 22
Riley closed her eyes, letting the sound of the television lull her. She’d been terrified when Jalen’s mask had come off. She’d forced herself not to look at him. Even though she knew who he was, the last thing she wanted to do was confirm it. She couldn’t let him reveal himself to a tabloid reporter.
Not that she had decided to write the article. She’d been thinking a lot about it, especially after Jalen had said that maybe things could be different. If she quit her job, then things would be different. She could date him, and there would be no issues. The only remaining problem would be that she’d be out on the streets, and her father wouldn’t survive the year.
She sighed, heavily. Man, why did life suck sometimes? She hated the position she was in. She couldn’t hurt Jalen. And she couldn’t let her father die. Neither one was something she could allow to happen.
The sound of soft snoring came from behind her, and she turned to see Jalen had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful, so vulnerable, slumped against the couch, his head back. If she really wanted to confirm it was Jalen, all she had to do was lift the mask a tiny bit.
But she didn’t. She already knew it was him. She didn’t need to see for herself. Instead, she snuggled into him. No matter what she decided to do about her job and the article, she had to leave the island on Saturday. Just one more day with Jalen, and then she had to return to real life things.
She hadn’t meant for things to progress with Jalen like they had. She’d only been trying to get to know him. Dig up information. She hadn’t meant for the crazy chemistry between them or for her heart to get all tangled up in everything.
Jalen made a small noise, and she looked up at him. His mouth pulled down into a frown. Was he dreaming about something sad? He flinched and made another sound, like he was trying to talk, but couldn’t. She patted his hand, to let him know it was just a dream.
He jerked his head to the side and called out, “No!”
Riley thought for a moment he’d woken up, but he continued to make noises, and his eyes were closed. He was still dreaming. She felt so bad for him. She’d never seen anyone have a nightmare like that. It seemed to go on for too long. She rubbed his shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re dreaming.”
He sat up straight, his eyes flew open, and he gasped for air. His hands shook, and he dragged in air. She pulled him to her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he said after a moment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
She could barely breathe, she’d been so scared for him. “You don’t have to apologize. I was just worried about you. It looked like you had one heck of a nightmare.”
He turned from her. “I get them, sometimes.”
“Nightmares?”
He nodded, but something about the way he was acting told her it wasn’t an ordinary dream. “Is it a reoccurring nightmare?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, looking down at his hands.
“Do you want to talk about it?” The television still droned on in the background, and she picked up the remote and turned down the volume.
He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, exhaling. “I told you my parents died in a house fire.”
She slowly nodded, her throat suddenly tight. His scars. The fire. Nightmares. It was all starting to make sense now.
“What I didn’t tell you was that I was in that fire.”
Reaching out, she placed her hand on his, and he leaned back and threaded his fingers through hers. Neither of them spoke for a moment. Riley couldn’t hardly breathe. She’d never once thought about where Jalen’s scars had come from. And now, he was going to tell her.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault. They told me an electrical cord had frayed and caused some sparks. We were all asleep. My father woke up and smelled the smoke. He went downstairs to investigate, and he found the den on fire. They said he tried to put the fire out, but the smoke inhalation made him pass out.”
“Oh, no.”
He swallowed, obviously trying to get his emotions under check. “My mother woke up next. She saw the bed was empty and assumed my dad had grabbed me, and we were outside, waiting. She had to fight her way outside, the stairs were consumed by then, but she made it, even though she had badly burned her feet. The fire trucks had just arrived, but she couldn’t find me or my father anywhere outside.”
Riley knew where the story was going and sat, horrified, as she blinked back tears. She squeezed his hand.
“They told her not to go back inside. That the fire fighters would try to save us, but she didn’t listen. She went back in to get me.” His voice broke, and he hung his head. “I was rescued, but she didn’t make it.”
Riley’s heart shattered into a million pieces for him. She wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him to her. He buried his face into her shoulder as tears streaked down his face. How heartbreaking. She didn’t know how to comfort him, other than staying there, with her arms around him.
“My heart hurts for you,” she whispered. There were no words she could say that would make it better. Nothing she could do, except continue to hold onto him.
