Still Jaded (Jaded #2)(55)

"She's right. I've known her a month, and I know that much about her," Leah interjected.

"You shouldn't throw stones, Sheldon. None of my breakups have made the nightly news," Cadence taunted. "I'm sure the paparazzi would love an in-depth piece on Bryce Scout's girlfriend of how many years? How many years were you actually together or did you just screw each other? That's the rumor I heard."

I felt a knife in my chest, but I jerked forward again. My eyes were strained, but I knew they were deadly. The bitch was going down. "You might seem perfect on the outside, but I've seen your closet. There's something wrong with you. I know it. I might not be able to figure it out right now, but I know there's something wrong with you."

She went white around the mouth and her whole body quaked.

My smile broadened. "Have I touched a button? Are you not proud of what you hide with your dirty laundry?"

"Shut up," she hissed.

I could've kept going. I thought about gutting her but restrained myself. It could wait for the next time. There was going to be a next time. Cadence was a snake. She'd keep striking back until I cut off her head.

"I loved Bryce. I still love Bryce. He loves me. You aren't privy to the details about why and how we broke up, but you need to know one thing. Bryce will always be a part of my family. Always. There is no way you will get your claws in him."

Her eyes were wild, so I knew I'd hit where I wanted to. I stepped back and watched as Cadence looked around as if to gain some sense of control. When she couldn't, I knew she'd slither away. When she saw Leah's face, full of contempt, she stalked out of the room.

Grace ran after her. Both of them darted out of the house and left the front door hanging open. As I went to shut it, I hit the gate button and closed it behind their car.

Good riddance.

One more friend gone from my life.

When I returned to the kitchen, Leah had poured two glasses of scotch. She turned and lifted one in the air. "To you. You just opened a shit storm."

I took mine and raised it to her. "Wanna help?"

Leah's eyes sparked. I saw something start to unfold in her, maybe strength. I wasn't sure. I wondered if she'd hold next to me or if she'd turn at the first bribe she got. I was getting tired of weak friends.

"Sheldon!" Corrigan yelled.

Hell. I was yanked from my thoughts. Hadn't I closed the gate? But he turned the corner and came into the kitchen. He looked happy, which made me pause for a moment. I realized that he hadn't been happy for a long time, maybe too long. Why now?

"Hey, Leah." He nodded in greeting and then picked me up the air. He twirled me around as he hugged me tight and then set me back down.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing. I'm hungry. I'm going to order a pizza." His eyes sparkled, and he winked before he left.

Leah frowned and jerked a thumb in Corrigan's direction. "What's with him? I've never seen him like that."

I watched where he had disappeared for a moment before I answered, "I have, a couple times."

They hadn't had much significance for me, but I remembered wrestling with him when we went to the mall one day in high school. That was a day that I'd forgotten how childlike Corrigan's sense of humor could be and how potent it was at times. The second time I remembered was at the end of our senior year in high school. I'd returned from my last session with Miss Connors, and Corrigan was at his locker with Logan, his girlfriend at the time.

Everything had been perfect that day. I was with Bryce. We were going to Spain. Corrigan was coming too, and even Grace had been included in our circle of friends.

I had thought everything was perfect.

When he came back in, Corrigan waved his cell phone in the air. "Left the number in my car. I ordered pepperoni. Sorry ladies, it's the buyer's choice."

Leah laughed.

I didn't say anything, and then my eyes met Corrigan's. I was starting to realize that a lot had changed, but how much more was going to change? Was he going to change too?

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

My eyes never closed for the rest of the night. Around four in the morning, I got up. I intended to get a drink from the kitchen, but when I got there a movement made me freeze in the doorway. I saw a figure of someone in the window. The person jiggled the window back and forth. When a small alarm sounded in the air, they stopped. The high-pitched whistle also stopped. Then they looked up and I gasped.

It was Marcus Donadeli with his hair waving in the wind. His eyes were cold and his jaw was clenched tight. He stared back at me. Then I screamed. He vanished, as if into the thin air, but I kept screaming until Corrigan turned the lights on. When that switch happened, something flipped in me. I ran to the front door and threw it open. Then I ran around the patio. No one. I ran the other way and I still didn't see anyone.

"Sheldon?" Corrigan came up behind me. He laid a hand on my bare shoulder.

I flinched, but didn't push him away when he slid down to my hand. That's when he took something from me, and I looked at it, dazed.

Corrigan brandished a butcher knife in his hands. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. "Who'd you think was out here?"

My eyes widened. I had no memory of grabbing the knife. I didn't… I hadn't even thought that I stepped foot in the kitchen.