Jaden (Jaded #3)(78)

Mena killed her.

Mena saved me.

I didn’t care about that either.

As they kept explaining more and more, how they didn’t understand whose warehouse Maria had kept Guadalupe in. They were still figuring out who owned it. There was more. Neil was there. Then Beth. Then Denton and Mena. My dad was professing how happy he was that his daughter was alive. Then Mena was hugging me too, wrapping her skinny little arms around me. She told me to get better, then she looked at my dad. An odd look was in her eye and she reached out for my dad. He took her hand, squeezed it with a tear in his eye, and she professed, her other arm still holding me strong, “I will take care of her.”

He frowned briefly, then squeezed her hand again and smiled. “Thank you. Just thank you so much.” On the last day he came to visit, he said I was always welcomed to visit. They were going home. It was time, and he loved me. He would keep in touch. When he left, I could see that he was thankful to be done with this nightmare.

He never said the words, but I saw the relief on his face.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to visit my dad or not, but Beth, she glanced back and gave me a little wave. Beth hadn’t been that bad.

I might visit her.

Then Carolina came.

She was more fun than the rest. Instead of asking how I was, she took one look at my face and plopped down in the chair beside me. I was told the Greek gossip instead. She talked. I listened, but I still wasn’t really listening. Half of me was in that room for the following days while they monitored me. The other half was gone. It was with Bryce, wherever he was.

He never came back.

Corrigan was there and he was the one I chose, but I was broken. Half of me was gone. I didn’t know how to explain that to him, but Corrigan did what Corrigan always did.

He never asked.

He never pressed.

He was my friend.

He wasn’t more, and that’s what I needed.

There were more visitors, but it was the same thing. I half listened, I half didn’t care they were there until the day I was released from the hospital.

Corrigan took me to a hotel. It was decided before we left the hospital. I didn’t want to go back to Denton’s. Too many memories. I didn’t want to go back to my dad’s either. Too many annoyances and my old home was out—way too many memories there. So a hotel was chosen, and my dad paid for the penthouse. It was his last parting gift. Mena had sighed then when she heard Corrigan talking to Neil over the phone. I heard the envy from her. In that moment, I saw her for the real her. Remembering how Denton shared his concerns about her, how her own father had never loved her, and their mother didn’t want to deal with her—I saw the real Mena. Her body was of a twenty-one year old, but she was a six year old. She was a little girl, one who wanted a family.

She wanted a father like mine.

She swung her gaze to mine, and she blinked, startled. Then she grinned, running a hand over her face. “Sorry. Did you say something?”

I shook my head. “You’re lucky.”

“I am?”

“To have a brother like Denton.” She did have good family. I wanted her to know. “He’s one of the best.”

She nodded. “I know.” She beamed at me, her cheeks growing pink. “I’m very lucky.”

Then it was time. Mena and Denton went their way. There were hugs between everyone. We acted like we wouldn’t see each other in years when Denton and Mena were coming over the next night for dinner. Mena was going to spend the day with me at the hotel pool. I couldn’t swim, but I was going to tan, or at least have a few cocktails. She suggested I invite Carolina, so that was the plan. We were going to have a girls’ day and, even though they never said a word, I knew the guys were going to check on Bryce. Corrigan, Denton, and Bryce were going to have a guys’ day.

It hurt.

I wasn’t allowed to go, but I chose. I had to get used to it.

Then they went their way, and Corrigan and I went ours. When we got to the hotel and after Corrigan checked us in, he held my hand in the elevator. My dad had paid for six months. This was going to be my next home, at least for a while.

When we got there and went inside, I didn’t see the extravagance. I didn’t care. Corrigan took my hand and led me to the room, then, as he cupped my face in his hands, I crumbled.

I whispered to him, “He’s gone.”

“I know,” he whispered back.

“I can’t—I can—,”

“Sshh.” He kissed my forehead and murmured, “You can mourn him, say goodbye to that relationship. He’s coming back. I mean, we’re going to still be friends, but—”

It wasn’t going to be the same.

My eyes searched his. Was this really okay? For me to cry for another man in his arms, but Corrigan understood. He nodded, breathing out, “Yes, Sheldon. You loved him. You can take all the time you want to let him go.” Then he pulled me to his chest and smoothed a hand down the side of my face, tucking my hair behind my ear. He sheltered me there and said, “You have to do this. You can’t love me completely until you let him go. Then, when it happens, then we can be whatever we’re going to be.” He tightened his hold on me, a sense of possession to it, “And I, for one, cannot wait for that to happen.”

Me too. I held onto his arm, trying to relay my words, but I couldn’t. Me too, but first, I did as he said.