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Jade. And I. Fought?
That’s the part I’m struggling with the most. Jade and I never fought.Ever. She was my rock. I was hers.
There’s something Jesse’s not telling me, either that or he’s completely fabricated the entire story. I’m not sure which is worse. Because if Jesse really is the man I thought I was getting to know, and he’s holding something back, then I can only imagine it’s heartbreaking.
But if he’s lying…God. The thought alone makes my chest ache.
“What were Jade and I arguing about?” I ask, turning in my seat so I can see Jesse’s expression.
“What?” he says, lost in thought, although I don’t miss the way he tightens his grip on the steering wheel.
Beams of sunlight flash across my face, making it difficult to focus, but I refuse to close my eyes, raising my hand as a shield instead. “You said we were having a heated discussion. What was it about?”
“How would I know?” he scoffs, but the tone of his voice seems off.
“You were there.” I blink a few times. “In the middle of it. Youknow.”
His body tenses as he continues to focus on the road, his height protecting him from the glare. “I didn’t get the—”
“Don’t bullshit me, Jesse. I can see the veins in your hands.” Made even more glaringly obvious in the bright sunshine.
“So?” he says, trying to relax his fingers.
“So…you're really freaking tense. What was it? Did we both want the same guy?”And was it you?“Did one of us want to stay and the other go? Or was it bigger than that? We never fought. What was it?”
Jesse swerves onto a side street, narrowly missing the curb before slamming on the brakes and turning my way with an expression of rage.
“You really want to know? Are you sure you’re ready to shatter both our hearts?”
“What?” Said heart clenches as I stare at him in shock. “Yes,” I whisper almost apologetically. “I need to know.”I’m all in now.
Jesse sighs, dropping his head into his hands while mumbling something to himself. I only manage to catch the words “sorry” and “forgive” before he slowly looks up to face me, only opening his eyes at the last second, his expression completely obliterating my anger.
I have never seen another human so broken in my life, even when I look in the mirror.
A sheen of water coats his usually expressive eyes as he stares through me, his vacant expression tearing me apart. With his jaw locked tight, he remains silent for a beat, and I feel so uncomfortable, I have to fill the void.
“Jesse, I…” I trail off because I’m not sure what I want to say. I know he needs me to take it all back. To tell him I don’t want to know. But I can’t do that.
“Jade was there to meet Tate,” he says, his voice somewhat robotic. “She’d found his details from someone on your side of the mountain and asked him to meet her.”
“Okay.” I nod even though I’m pretty sure he can’t see me. He may be staring into my eyes, but he’s not here. He’s up on that mountain, experiencing his pain all over again.
“Tate was…” He pauses and I instinctively move closer, knowing his next words are going to be vital. “Tate was selling drugs on behalf of my foster father.” He pauses again while I scrunch my face in disgust…until he adds, “Jade was there to buy.”
What? “Excuse me?”There’s no way.“You expect me to believe that.” My voice rises, cutting into Jesse’s trance, making him sigh.
“It’s the truth,” he rasps. “I’m sorry.”
Again, what? I shake my head and finally look away.I can’t. That can’t be.“That makes no sense. She’d never tried drugs in her life.”
“I know,” Jesse says, his voice softening while mine rises.
“You know!”
“What I mean is, I could tell. I didn’t know what was happening in the beginning because Tate promised he’d only ever sell to regulars, to those that would’ve gone directly to the source if not to him.” He takes a deep breath and I can see how much this pains him. “We were talking, you and I, and they started arguing. As soon as I figured out what was going on, I told Jade to take the money back and that we’d forget all about it. But she refused. I found out later that the argument started when Tate began asking her intrusive questions.”
“How… When…” I’m completely at a loss for words as I try to imagine the story playing out.Jade buying drugs?How did she even know what to ask for?
