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“Don’t forget.”
I heard her sigh before she delivered one last warning with an angry glare directed at Jaasir. “I know who you are and I don’t care. You don’t want to piss me off.”
“No, I don’t.” He lifted his chin to Del and then turned to me. “You need to get anything?”
“No.” I had my phone which held my license and debit card on the back in my pocket and my keys. I never brought much with me to work. It was easier that way.
We left through the front and his car was parked on the curb right near the door. Cameras flashed and shouts of both our names came from the crowd gathered near the street but I ignored them and slid into the passenger seat just in time to hear him yelling for them to fuck off.
We drove in silence, with Jaasir navigating through town. My mind was spinning but I desperately wanted to be exactly where I was, with him.
Only without all the issues that were hovering like a shark surrounding its prey. When we reached my street, I placed my hand on his arm, knowing he would turn.
“What’s up?”
“Go down further and make a left. You can pull up to the alley behind the house. Val said they’re at the house too.”
He nodded and followed my instructions, killing the lights as he crept slowly to a stop at the back of my house. I expected this to be it but he shut off the engine and sank lower in his seat. His head fell against the head rest then he turned his face toward me.
“I’m sorry about all this.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. None of this is your fault. It’s the past I ran from finally catching up with me.”
Those intense eyes that I found hard to resist sparkled against the darker interior of his Jeep because of the angle at which the light from the house reflected in them. The shadows cast over his face added to the temptation because they restricted the view that I wanted full access to.
“That might be true but I’m the reason the past is rearing its head again.”
“I’ll deal with it.”
“How?”
“Wait it out.” I shrugged not really sure that would solve the issue. I didn’t want to keep Gracie locked away in our tiny house but I also didn’t want cameras shoved in her face.
What other choice did I have? Addressing the issue would only make matters worse. Ignoring them wouldn’t make the issues magically disappear.
“Wait it out by hiding? And what about Gracie?”
My gaze shifted to him, pleading for him to let this go. “I’ll figure it out. Why do you care? We’re not your problem.”
“No, you’re not myproblem, Cadence. You are someone I care about.”
“You don’t care about me. You barely know me. This proves my point. All you know is a piece of who I amnow. What I was before, that person, you don’t know shit about her.”
“I know what you showed me, what you allowed me access to…”
“Because that was our deal, we both agreed.”
“Yeah we did but shit changes sometimes. You want to pretend like things aren’t different now then do that, but I can’t. I fucking tried to say fuck it. Fuck this, fuck you but I can’t.”
We remained in a visual standoff until his phone vibrated from the console. His eyes lowered to the illuminated screen and he groaned, lifting the device, scanning the notification.
There was a text but I wasn’t quick enough to catch who it was from. He unlocked the screen, navigated to the thread, and responded to someone, then extended the phone to me. I didn’t take it until he forced me by pushing it closer.
I lowered my eyes to the thread on the screen and then glanced at him.
“I’m leaving tomorrow. That’s Drew, my manager.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to respond but the thought of him actually leaving settled onto me like a weighty disappointment.
