Page 35 of A Little Jaded
I bite my tongue and turn toward the driver’s side door, preparing to get this shit over with. “Come on.”
“What if he comes home?” she whispers.
Letting go of the door handle, I face her again. “You really think he’ll do something while I’m here?”
“I think he’s terrified of losing me,” she counters.
“Why?” I grimace. “Don’t get me wrong. You’re beautiful, but there are a lot of fish in the sea, right?”
Her quiet laugh surprises me as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Normally, I’d agree with you.”
“But?” I challenge.
“But Drake’s been through a lot with me.”
“Like what?”
“Like losing his mom. Like opening up about his dad and the childhood he had. He might put on a strong front or whatever, but I know him better than anyone.” She hesitates. “I think when you’ve experienced a lot with a person, it’s easy to cling to them and convince yourself they’re your life raft, you know? And without them, you can’t stay afloat.”
“Do you believe that?” I ask. “Do you believe you can’t stay afloat without Drake?”
“I think…” Her brows dip. “I think he’s been dragging me down for a long time, and I thought if I could kick hard enough, if I could…learn to be a better swimmer, we’d be okay, but apparently, I kind of suck.”
With a bark of laughter, I twist the keyring around my forefinger and catch the keys in my palm. “You suck for not being able to keep two heads above water when one’s clearly been nothing but dead weight?” I shake my head. “Raine, you aren’t invincible.”
“Says the guy who’s willingly faking like he’s in a relationship with a girl to protect her from an asshole ex,” she points out. “Why do you do it?”
I shrug. “I owed Reeves a favor.”
“A favor,” she repeats.
“Yeah.”
Her chin lowers slightly, and I swear I can see something click behind her eyes, but I don’t know what it is. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. We should, uh, we should get going.”
I watch as she climbs out of the car and folds her arms, keeping in her body heat as she stares at her feet and walks toward the building. Forcing myself to follow, we make our way up the steps to the second floor, and she digs her keys from her purse. Her hands are trembling. Fuck, her whole body is shaking. It’s barely noticeable, and if I hadn't been paying such close attention to her since picking her up on the side of the road, I doubt I would’ve noticed. But now? Now, I see it. The way he affects her. The way she shuts down. The way I was given a glimpse of the girl she was before dating Drake when we went head-to-head in the kitchen, yet now, she’s nothing but a shell, and it’s all because of him.
As Raine attempts to slide the key into the lock, I look at the camera and lift my chin, well aware Drake will see this. Whether it’s right now, or later when he replays the footage,he’ll know I was here. He’ll know I’m the one Raine called. The one she asked for help. The one who shared his bed with her and took care of her.
Good.
Fuck you, Drake.
When I realize Raine’s struggling with the lock, I look down. Her hands are still shaking. Placing mine on top of hers, I slowly twist the key, and she peeks up at me, her brows pinching into the tiniest of frowns.
Remembering Reeves’ guidance from earlier and his insistence we make our relationship look real, I slip my other hand around Raine’s hourglass waist. Warm. Small. Her stomach tightens against my palm and her breath hitches, but she doesn’t elbow me in the gut like I half-expected, so I’ll call this a win as long as she doesn’t blow our cover.
“What are you doing?” she whispers.
“Breathe.” I lean closer like earlier in the kitchen. “I won’t let him hurt you. Not anymore.”
Surprise hits her pretty green eyes until a glint of awareness follows.
Yeah. She knows he’s watching, too.
“I know you won’t.” She leans into my embrace, forcing her muscles to relax against me. “Thanks for last night.”
“Thanks for trusting me enough to call.”