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“You could have died in the bus crash, Cailin. Don’t you see?”
I stop walking mid-step. “How do you know about the bus crash, Ethan?” No one knows about the bus crash. We never released that information to the media.
Ethan takes a moment to reply and his stare focuses intently on the sand beneath our feet.
“That truck almost ran your bus off the road. You could have been really hurt just because you’re trying to prove you’re the number one fan of some unworthy guy.”
“Ethan. How do you know about the bus crash? Did you have something to do with it?”
Ethan pauses to gather his thoughts as guilt slathers across his face.
“I never intended for you to get hurt or anything. I just wanted to freak you out a little so you could realize that you will never be happy with life on the road. And the rain, obviously, I didn’t know there was going to be a storm. The driver was just supposed to tail your bus, making you think that they were fans trying to get close to Jax. The rain caused the accident. I was terrified when I found out.”
My body freezes, but I manage to inhale a deep gulp of air. “You are on another level. Are you telling me that you hired a truck to run my tour bus off the road?”
“I’m sorry, Cailin. Please forgive me. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just… I just wanted you to leave the tour and come back and give us a chance. I didn’t expect you to stay on the road and fall in love with him. And now I see how much you’re hurting over this pregnancy scandal and I hate seeing you in this state, knowing I caused it.”
“Are you crazy? I can’t even believe what I’m hearing right now. You’re insane. You are a lunatic. I don’t even know what to think right now. Youjustwanted to scare me off tour with the bus accident? And what do you mean that you caused my pain over the pregnancy scandal?”
“It’s not true. The headlines aren’t true. Jax didn’t impregnate that woman. She’s not even pregnant. She never even met him.” Ethan looks at me, waiting for some sort of response.
However, I can’t respond. I wish I could call a Zack Morris time-out. I’m so stunned that I stop crying. Ethan uncomfortably stands in front of me, his left leg nervously twitching.
“I did it.”
“You did what exactly?”
“I was jealous,” Ethan says. “After you ended things with me and I saw you went on tour with your old crush, the pop star you talked about non-stop when we dated in high school, I got really mad. Like I lost you to him again. And then I saw all the posts and headlines. This guy who doesn’t even know you just swoops in and wins you over, when I’ve been wanting you for years. After you got divorced, I thought I finally had my chance. And he took you away from me. I hired someone to make that claim against Jax to the tabloids.”
This is unreal. I knew Ethan was the jealous type. That’s why I broke up with him the first time and quickly stopped things from progressing between us again once I found out I was going on tour with Jax. I feared he may not have changed and I was right. But I never would have expected that he would sink to this level. I can’t believe I almost kissed him.Ethan was the man the psychic warned me about, not Jax. Ethan was also once close to me and he definitely deceived me.
“You destroyed my life!Youbroke my heart, not Jax. Even worse, you might have destroyed the life and career of a completely innocent man in the process. I can’t believe this.”
I grip onto Hope’s leash and inch towards Ethan as he backs up. He stands inches from the edge of the dock.
“Are you at least happy I told you the truth?”
“I’ll be happy when you get your source to clear Jax’s name. Or else I’ll be contacting lawyers.”
As I speak, I close the gap between us and fix my gaze into Ethan’s eyes. I press my finger into his chest and open my palm. Then, I push Ethan off the dock. He’s a good swimmer, which is lucky for him because he’ll be treading deep water from this point forward.
Take that.
Trash the Dress Online Chat
Cora:I’m doing it! I’m road tripping and will figure out my life.
Harper:Which one of us are you going to visit first?!
42
JAX SLATER GETS MORE LIFE-CHANGING NEWS
JAX
The trackingfrom the mail delivery service shows that Cailin’s things were delivered to her apartment. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or bad thing that she hasn’t made contact. On one hand, if she got my note, I would think she would break down, remember how she feels about me, and call me. That didn’t happen yet, which tells me she’s really through with me. Or, just maybe, she didn’t read the letter. I’m assuming she’s home, but she might be out, moving on with her life because she’s done with me. On the other hand, if she loves me like I think she does, I don’t think she can move on right away. Maybe she has the boxes, but she’s holding out to open them. I’m gonna go with that because it gives me a sliver of optimism, but the suspense has me in overdrive.
I’ve been going through the motions these past few days of tour. It has not been easy. I keep to myself on the bus as much as possible. Since fans pre-paid to meet me, I don’t want to let them down, but I also don’t want to answer any, “Are you the baby daddy?” questions. So instead, we changed up how I meet the fans. Rather than everyone coming backstage for a little and hanging out, I sit behind a table. Everyone can come up, get an autograph, and pose for a photo. Then they’re escorted out to the lobby.
