We had nothing more to say. Did we? What could we say? Sorry we committed incest? I cringed even admitting that word to myself. I didn’t like to think of it that way. I still couldn’t believe it was true. Falling in love with Jasper would have been the best memory I’d ever made, but now it had become the most twisted.
Fate didn’t like me much. I was beginning to accept that it intended to beat me up continually.
I stepped away from the phone as the ringing ended. He’d get my voicemail. I prayed he didn’t leave a message because I couldn’t listen to it. I was convinced that would only make our current situation worse.
I waited to see if the voicemail alert would ding. I knew hiding from my phone wasn’t possible. Turning it off and trying to disappear wasn’t possible. I had to find a way to accept this. I needed strength to not fall apart at the sound of his voice.
Moments passed and no email alert. Nothing. I sighed, relieved that I wouldn’t be taunted by a voicemail I couldn’t listen to. The sound of a slamming door echoed down the hall and I jumped. Holding my towel tighter around me, I walked back into the bedroom expecting to hear Presley crying and screaming. But it wasn’t Presley’s voice I heard. It was Jasper’s.
My eyes flew to the door to make sure I’d locked it. What was he doing here?
The thick, huge doors muffled their voices, but Jasper was loud. He was shouting. I couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying but I heard my name. With each pause of his shouting I strained to hear Stone. He wasn’t speaking loud enough if he was even responding to Jasper at all.
Footsteps started down the hall and right before they got to my door, I heard Stone’s voice say, “Don’t.” The command was clear but the door handle for my room began to wiggle.
“Beulah! Talk to me. Please, I can’t . . .” he paused. “I can’t lose you completely. What Stone found out about my parents . . . I’m sorry. It’s so fucking twisted. Don’t hate me because of my last name. Talk to me. There’s got to be more to this. We need each other.”
I backed away. I wasn’t ready. It’s possible I might never be ready. Tears burned my eyes and I blinked, forcing them to fall freely. No one was here to see me break apart.
“She needs time,” Stone told him.
“Beulah. Listen, I don’t even know what to believe. The one thing I’m sure of is I love you. Don’t shut me out. We need each other.”
I sank down on the edge of the bed and held onto my towel tightly. Hearing the pain in his voice was crushing. I didn’t want to hurt him. But the truth had hurt us both.
“For once, stop being so goddamn selfish.” Stone was angry. I didn’t want him to fight with Jasper because of me. This wasn’t his problem. I wasn’t his to protect.
“Beulah—”
“LEAVE!” Stone shouted, stopping Jasper from saying more.
There was silence.
Finally, I heard Jasper speaking to Stone. “Why are you doing this? Why are you keeping her from me? You saw me happy and you hated it!”
At first there was a pause. I didn’t think Stone was going to respond. I prepared myself for Jasper to say more to me. Glancing toward the bathroom from my perch on the bed, I decided to walk back inside and close that door. It helped to muffle their voices and gave me some privacy to pull myself together.
“Beulah’s been through enough. She’s not like you. Her world is vastly different. Give her time to work through this. She needs to find her ground without this added drama.”
I froze listening to Stone’s words. They weren’t flattering but they were factual.
“She’s not like us. Isn’t that what you mean? Because you’re from the same world I am. Look around you.” Jasper wasn’t yelling anymore but his anger was still obvious.
“No. My world has always been different from yours. Don’t kid yourself. Now, leave. I’ve had enough bullshit for one night. I need a fucking break.”
I waited to see if Jasper would walk away. I wondered if he’d do as Stone asked of him, or if they’d continue to fight. I’d get dressed and walk out there to stop them if they did. I couldn’t let them ruin their friendship because of me. It wasn’t fair to either of them.
“When you’re ready to talk, call me. I’ll always be here,” Jasper said with his voice raised for me to hear inside the bathroom, but his tone didn’t sound as harsh.
I bit my bottom lip to muffle a sob as tears began to roll down my face again. Their retreating footsteps meant this interlude was over. He was leaving. I listened for more shouting but I heard nothing. After several moments, I went to the closet and found my clothing hung up instead of in my travel bag. They looked lost inside the massive closet complete with a full-length mirror and chandelier.
Tomorrow I had to leave. Stone was right. This wasn’t my world. I needed to stop living in it. So far it had only brought me sorrow.
THE APARTMENT WAS QUIET. I never heard Presley return last night and I had fallen asleep the moment I got into bed. I had taken my time getting dressed and packing up my things. I’d hoped to hear someone moving about in the apartment this morning, but it was after eight and no doors had opened or closed. There was no sound at all. It was silent.
I opened the bedroom door slowly and glanced down the hallway. The lights were off. The sunlight from the large windows throughout the apartment provided enough light to see where I was going.
I felt weird leaving without saying anything to Stone.
At the end of the hallway the smell of coffee met my nose. I figured I would encounter either Stone or Presley. If it was Presley, maybe she’d be nicer when she saw me carrying my duffle bag. My leaving should put her in a good mood.
I turned, walking in the direction of where I smelled coffee and found the kitchen. Stone’s back was to me as he stood watching the news on a large flat screen television on the wall opposite the doorway. He was wearing a dress shirt, tie and jeans. He held a cup of coffee in his hand and frowned as the news reported about some Senator liking a porn website on Facebook that had gone viral.
His shoulders were broad, but his size seemed pronounced in the fitted oxford dress shirt. The guy at the pool who laughed and drank with friends wasn’t the same man in front of me. This man held secrets. He was important—or he appeared to be. I’d thought he was an elitist snob and spoiled. After yesterday, I wasn’t so sure about either of those things. He wasn’t homeless. I was wrong about that for sure.
I thought about the pool party and wondered why Presley hadn’t been there. Did he keep her separate from his friends? Why did she live here? Their story wasn’t my business but I was curious. Stone had gotten under my skin since the moment I met him. He was helping me and had even stood up to Jasper to keep him away from me—that had changed my perception of him. His actions over the past twenty-four hours made me want to know more about him.
“There’s coffee and some pastries from the bakery in town. You’re welcome to both, or you can continue to stand there and check me out while my back is turned.”
He turned his head just enough for me to see his smirk, then he pointed with the hand holding his cup toward the coffee and pastries he’d just mentioned. “Help yourself. There’s some of everything.”
I was embarrassed to have been caught staring at him but I was about to leave. I doubted I’d see him again any time soon, if ever. That thought shouldn’t bother me. But it did.