Ethan stepped forward and enveloped his sister in a hug. She circled her arms around his waist. It felt wrong for me to be in that room with them.
I cleared my throat to get their attention. They pulled apart and looked at me.
“I’m going to head out. I will be over later. I will just crash on the couch. Sound good?” I kept my eyes solely on Ethan because, after the argument in the car, I could barely look at Jade for more than three seconds at a time.
“Let me walk you out,” Ethan offered.
He wanted to talk. That was his subtle way of letting me know and also making sure that Jade didn’t grow suspicious.
I nodded, and we left the exam room. I didn’t look at Jade nor did I say goodbye to her because I didn’t feel the need to.
From this moment on, I would keep my distance from Jade Masters. Too much had happened in our past for us to even be civil with one another now. I carried too much pain to not carry my resentment towards her.
We walked out of the practice and headed to my truck. I could feel Ethan’s eyes boring holes into my skull.
“You got something to say to me, E?” I stopped and turned around to face him.
“You knew she was coming in after you. Did you purposely start that conversation in there, or was it pure coincidence that my sister overheard us?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Look, E, I want you to tell Jade the truth about Monica more than anyone, but I would never do that to you. I just want you to know that, the longer you keep this from her, the more it’s going to sting for her down the road.”
“I know.” He ran a tired hand over his jaw. “I just don’t know how to approach it, man. Jade may put up a strong front but, deep down, I know she is highly emotional, especially being back here.”
“I get that, but she deserves to know. You had your shot in there and you blew it, but at least now she will stay a little longer to help you with your trial. You have time now.”
He nodded but then he gave me a side-eyed look.
“What?”
“Will you be okay with her staying in Riverroad a little while longer? I know you guys have…history.”
I shrugged. “What we had happened a long time ago. I will just make sure to stay out of her path, and she stays out of mine, and we can both live harmoniously in this town.”
“Okay. If you are sure.”
“I am. I got to head back to the shop. I will see you later tonight. Okay?”
We dabbed each other and then I got into my truck and peeled out of the parking lot.
Having Jade here had proven to be more complicated than I had anticipated. I hadn’t meant to blurt out anything about the baby. It was a topic I rarely talked about. In fact, I could count the number of times I had talked about it.
The argument was not meant to happen. Neither was the strange fluttering in my chest when I had first seen her.
Jade Masters was like a sweet delicate poison. It drew you in with its allure, but then it killed you with its taste. I’d had firsthand experience of what it meant to get close to Jade Masters.
She had taken parts of me that day. Parts I still never received back. She had taken so much and given so little. She had been selfish.
There were parts of me that had wanted to forgive her, but then there were other parts that wanted to see her hurt the way she had hurt me.
I pulled up to the shop and parked in my normal parking space. I was about to get up when I heard my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and swiped across the screen to answer it.
“Hey Mom.”
“Hey sweetheart.” She sounded a little panicked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen your sister? I’ve been trying her phone, and she isn’t picking up. I’m getting a little worried now.”