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“Jane.”
Jane whirled around and stared at Missy. She was against the side of the building, her leg cocked on the brick. A cigarette hung from her lips, and she inhaled deeply. The end lit up a bright orange. Nothing more was said, and Jane didn’t know if she should ignore Missy and go to her car or see what she wanted. Obviously, Missy had something on her mind, but Jane didn’t know if it was something she wanted to hear. She really wasn’t in the mood to hear her shit, especially if it had to do with Trevor.
“Come here.”
Jane held her purse tighter and glanced around. She wasn’t afraid of Missy, but it was no secret the girl was a dirty fighter. Jane, on the other hand, wasn’t a fighter at all. She was fine being pleasantly ignorant in her bubble of safety. She had been roughed up enough by her father to last a lifetime.
Missy exhaled almost as if she were annoyed over Jane’s refusal to move. She inhaled deeply once more, flicked the butt away, and pushed off the wall. “Seriously, I’m not gonna beat you up or anything. I just want to talk to you.”
“Listen, Missy, I’m tired and really not in the mood for Trevor bullshit.”
Missy stared at her hard, but it wasn’t the hateful glare Jane was accustomed too. When she exhaled this time, it sounded more sad than anything else. “I was going to talk to you in there”—she tilted her head toward Slick’s—“but I know how nosy these damn people are, so I thought maybe we could talk in your car?”
Missy didn’t sound like her normal demanding, bitchy self, which confused and intrigued Jane. What the hell could Missy really tell her? After a suspended moment, Jane nodded and made her way toward her car. The sound of Missy’s heels clicking on the pavement was loud in the otherwise silent parking lot. They climbed into her car, and Jane rolled the window down to let some of the cool air in. They sat in silence for several minutes, and Jane could tell Missy was struggling with whatever it was she was trying to say. Jane didn’t rush her, because she knew whatever bomb was about to be dropped was clearly hard for Missy to say.
“Listen…” Missy cursed under her breath and turned in her seat, staring right in Jane’s eyes. “I know about all the drama with Rys and Christa. Fuck, the whole damn town knows, because Christa thinks everyone should hear her business.”
Jane knew as much. It was hard hearing the gossip all around her, the whispers about one of the Holden twins finally settling down, like Christa getting knocked up by Rys Holden was the hottest news. It was infuriating, especially since there was no proof he had even fathered her baby.
“Everyone knows you and the twins are together. I mean, the way they look at you, touch you when they think no one is watching, it is all so obvious, and half the women in Ecstasy wish they were you.”
That surprised Jane so much her head cocked back. People are jealous of me? “What?”
Missy rolled her eyes. “Oh, you heard me, and you know damn well it’s the truth.” Silence fell upon them once again before Missy said, “Christa isn’t pregnant with Rys’s baby.” Jane felt her lips part at Missy’s words. She wouldn’t look at Jane, but the way she twisted her hands in her lap gave away the fact that she was nervous. “The two of them never even had sex. She lied, knowing he’d been so drunk that night that he couldn’t be sure if they slept together or not.”
“How… I mean, how do you know that?” Everything inside her was lighting up at Missy’s words. She really shouldn’t trust Missy, not since she’d been a conniving bitch since they were in grade school, but Missy’s whole demeanor was so foreign that Jane knew the woman was telling the truth.
“Christa showed up at Trevor’s one night, which pissed me the hell off, because everyone knows what a slut she is.” Jane didn’t correct Missy on the fact that she was… promiscuous as well. “She was belligerent, spouting off that he couldn’t just throw her away after what he did to her. We finally got rid of her ass, and at that point, I was pissed as hell. I wanted to know what was going on, and by the way he was acting, I knew it wasn’t good.” She blew out a breath and glanced out the passenger window. “I thought we were in a good spot in our relationship.” She snorted at her own comment.
Jane didn’t bother telling her that her boyfriend had mauled her over a month ago in the back of his car. Trevor had turned into a piece of shit over the years, but he acted better, nicer to her. It had all just been a ploy.
Missy might be a bitch, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew how Trevor was, and Jane had no idea why the hell she wanted anything to do with him.
“Of course, he wouldn’t tell me anything, just said it wasn’t a problem and she wouldn’t be bothering us anymore. I let it go, but a few weeks after that, when Christa made that spectacle at Brooklyn’s, Trevor came home sloshed.”
Jane didn’t question how Missy knew what happened at Brooklyn’s. After Christa dropped her little bomb, everyone in the whole town and probably the neighboring ones knew what went down.
“I hadn’t forgotten about Christa coming to the house and hadn’t heard what happened at Brooklyn’s, so when I saw him drunk, I knew that was when I’d get the answers I wanted.”
Jane wanted to tell her to hurry the hell up, that she had shit to do, like go see Rys and William, but until Missy finished telling her whatever it was she was trying to say, Jane would sit quietly and patiently.
Missy chuckled humorlessly and turned her attention back to Jane. “He admitted to fucking Christa numerous times. The asshole didn’t even wear a condom.” Despite the anger in Missy’s voice, Jane didn’t miss the tears that started to slip out the corners of her eyes. The need to comfort Missy was strong, but Jane knew it wouldn’t be a welcome gesture. “He didn’t even deny knocking her up. Can you fucking believe that?” Missy sniffed and brushed the tears away. “He just told me that he wasn’t about to be tied down to a kid.”
Not that Jane didn’t desperately need to believe what Missy said, but she found herself asking, “How do you know he’s telling the truth?”
Missy gave Jane an incredulous look and then shook her head. “Because I confronted the bitch myself. The two of them had slept together while Trevor and I were supposed to be ‘exclusive.’ She said she hadn’t slept with anyone but him during that time.” When Jane didn’t respond, Missy continued in a smaller voice, “She told me if Trevor wasn’t willing to man up, she’d find someone who would, someone who wouldn’t turn his back on her when the baby came.”
“But if she is so sure Trevor is the father and she didn’t sleep with anyone else during that time, why would she try to pin it on Rys?”
“Come on, Jane. It isn’t that hard to alter how far along you really are by a few weeks. What guy is going to be smart enough to realize that?” Jane sat there in stunned silence as she processed what Missy just told her. “I told him I was going to tell you, that it wasn’t right to blame this on someone else. We fought outside of Slick’s before I came in. I was a bitch, because I was so upset with him, with how he acts and how he treats people. I should have told you when I first found out, but I didn’t know how to tell you.” To Jane’s utter surprise for the umpteenth time that night, Missy grabbed Jane’s hand. “I’ve been a bitch and a horrible person. I don’t want to be the person who stands back and watches three people’s lives ruined.” Missy dipped her head and whispered, “I was just going to turn my head and let Rys take the heat for it. I didn’t want that for our life, but I realized Trevor isn’t the man I thought he was.” Missy lifted her head and smiled sadly. “I’ve been cruel to you, and I’m sorry. So sorry.” Missy gave her hand one more squeeze before getting out of the car and shutting the door with a soft click.
Jane watched her disappear into the shadows. For several long moments, all she could do was stare into the darkness. Rys hadn’t fathered Christa’s baby. He’d been telling the truth, and she hadn’t let him fully tell his side of the story, because she’d let her emotions control her.
She had no reason to doubt what Missy said. In fact, she would have assumed Missy would confirm her fear that Rys was, in fact, the father.
The sound of her heart beating in her ears drew her out of her thoughts. She turned her car on and headed out into the street with one destination in mind. William’s and Rys’s house.
Chapter 27
