Page 65 of Tandem

Hey AJ, what are you up to today? I think Jayden is going to come visit me. Only a couple more weeks, and then I’ll finally be home at my own place! Will you come over the first night I’m back? I miss you and love you.

All I got back was, "Sure." I sighed in frustration and tossed my phone to the edge of my bed. This was so stupid. Why wouldn’t he talk to me? “Damn, what did that phone do to you?” Jayden’s voice echoed into my room from the doorway, and I perked up the moment I saw him.

“Oh, it had it coming, don’t worry about it.” I leaned back against my pillows and Jayden came and sat on my bed next to me.

“Nah, come on, what’s bugging my sis so much, hmmm?” Jayden had gotten a little more back to how we used to be. It really felt like he cared to chill and talk, like when we were juniors in high school. I just sighed again and played with the edge of the blanket on my lap.

“It’s AJ,” I began and saw Jayden roll his eyes, but I ignored it and kept talking. “Look, I know none of you like him, okay? But I do. I love him. And since the hospital, he’s been acting funny. He’s not answering my calls, hardly responding to my texts, and doing nothing like he normally would. I’m worried about him…” Jayden actually laughed sarcastically at that.

“Rosalie, if he’s distant, thengood. He should be. What happened to you washisfault. He let some bad dudes learn who you were and where you worked and wasn’t there to keep you safe. I hope he’s fucking disgusted with himself,” he said. His whole face appeared angry, his eyes narrowed, and his brow furrowed. Jayden actually sounded like he hated AJ.

“Please don’t be mad at him. It wasn’t his fault, I told him I would meet him. He said he wanted to pick me up from work, but I didn’t want him to worry about it in case I was running late…” I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. “I don’t want you, Dad, and Mom to hate him. AJ never hurt me; he loves me. I don’t want him to feel like he can’t see me because everyone else hates him. It wasn’t his fault!” I said loudly, tears trailing down my cheeks. Jayden’s look softened, and he scooted over closer and wrapped me in his arms, and I hugged him back.

“I don’t hate him, Rosalie. I just hate what happened. I hate seeing you sitting here with these bruises fading. Every time I close my eyes, I can still see you lying on the cold ground that night and all I can think… I thought you were dead, sis, I—” Jayden’s voice broke a bit, and for a moment, I forgot about AJ and held him tighter.

I never thought about what Jayden felt through all of this. Of course, he wasn’t dealing with it as well as he let on. He was the one who found me and rode with me to the hospital. It was him who had blood on his shirt that night. My blood.

“I’m sorry, Jayden, I’m sorry you got scared. I’m sorry I got hurt.” I kissed his cheek and hugged him tighter again.

He hugged me back and rubbed his face quickly, taking a deep breath before pulling back. “Just… don’t ever get in a situation like that again, okay? I couldn’t deal with things if you weren’t here, Rosalie. I know I don’t hang out as much as I should, but I love you. Plus, there’s no way I can handle Momand Dad on my own, so you have to be here for a long time.” I giggled and wiped my own face.

“Mmmhmm, promise.” I smiled at him, and then he jumped up and kicked his shoes off, rolling onto the spot on my bed next to me. He turned on my TV and put it on something, and we binged until Mom yelled it was dinnertime.

Laughing around the dinner table like it was old times, I couldn’t help but still be a little anxious about AJ and why he was being so distant in the back of my mind. As I was helping Mom with the dishes, she turned to me. “Rosalie. I’ve been talking with your father. I think it would make all of us feel better if you had some way to protect yourself when you close up the customs in the future. I have a small pistol I want to take you to the range to try, and if you like it, we will get you one.”

I glanced over at Mom, so pretty and serious. I had shot a gun once before. Hank let us all shoot .22 rifles up in the county one summer. It had a kick and left a small bruise on my shoulder for a few days, but I never thought about carrying a gun to work before.

Mom could tell I was torn about it, so she continued. “That area just isn’t as safe as it used to be, honey, and maybe if you were armed before… well, maybe it would have been enough to deter those men from…” She trailed off. I nodded slowly, since I couldn’t really argue with her logic. I had literally nothing to defend myself with.

“I wouldn’t mind going and trying it,” I said. I knew Dad kept a shotgun in the office. He said once someone shot him in the back over a price dispute, and he had the back tattoo to cover the bullet scars to prove it. So, the idea of having something small in my purse just in case wasn't the worst idea.

“Okay then. In another couple of weeks, when you’re fully better, we will do that, okay?” Mom nodded to herself and sighed.

“Yeah, Mom, that’s fine. So, I was also going to mention that if the doctor’s visit next week goes well, I wanna move back to my place. It’s not that you and Dad haven’t taken awesome care of me! I just really want to be in my own bed, with my own things again, you know? I need to get back to my routine someday.”Please say yes.I wanted to go back to my place so dang bad, and then AJ could finally come to see me.

She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll mention it to your father. He would keep you here forever if he could, but he needs to remember that you are your own woman and a dang good one. I’ll be on your side if the doctor thinks it's a good idea, baby.”

We chatted a bit more about silly things while we finished the dishes, then all piled on the couch, like back when we were in high school, and watched a movie together.

CHAPTER 38

ROSALIE

It had beentwo weeks since I had been home, and not once had AJ been over. He would reply to my texts each day, but come over? Nope. However, when my phone lit up tonight with a message from him,"See you in an hour,"all of my frustrations melted away. And now I was putting on the bare basics: lip gloss, mascara, and the tiniest bit of eyeliner.

Okay, and maybe I changed from my joggers and t-shirt to my cute little matching crop top and short bottoms pajama set. I wanted him to feel like an idiot for not coming over sooner. So looking all cute would totally trigger him.

I gave myself the nod of approval. “Looking good, girl! AJ won’t know what hit him when I open the door.” There was nothing wrong with hyping myself up. I left the bedroom and sat on the couch, checking my phone again for the time and then double-checking the time he said he would be here in his text.

It was 7:45 p.m., not too much longer now. But those fifteen minutes churned by so slowly that I felt like time was moving in first gear. I rested my head against the back of the couch and stared out the back glass doors at the city. And then suddenly, a sharp knock came at the front door. So I hopped up and jogged over to the door, fixing my hair and reaching for the handle.I pulled the door open. “Hello?” I asked as I opened it to see outside, knowing full well who was supposed to be on the other side of it.

Then there he was, the light catching his mask and amber-red eyes as it peeked outside with me, hands tucked into his hoodie pocket. AJ cocked his head sideways a bit.

“Hey, baby girl, can I come in?” I swear his sexy voice could get the mayor of the city to unlock the biggest bank vault with no questions asked. I opened the door fully, stepping to the side.

“Oh yeah, of course! Come in.” AJ smirked at me, walked inside, and passed me with a chuckle. Walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch, I shut and locked the door, following behind him. "Can I get you something to drink or eat, AJ?" I asked from behind the couch, and he held a hand in the air and bent his fingers twice.

“Nah. Why don’t you come over here and join me?” I trotted over, plopping myself down on the cushion next to him and faced him a bit.