Page 82 of Forever Found
“You okay, honey?” Adam asked me as I stood frozen with Jenny, not wanting to leave her alone.
“Yep.” I gave a firm nod too.
“Jen, this is my boss and good friend, Asher, and that huge fucker is Adam,” Kane said as he stepped forward and made the introductions.
“Adam? As in Adam and Jordan? The other guys in this harem thing, right?” Jenny asked as she looked from her brother, to me, then up to Adam, who was smirking a little at her choice of wording.
“I told you not to call it that!” Kane snapped. “It’s a relationship. That’s it. No other weird fucking names!”
“Relax Kane,” Adam said, trying to hide the grin from his face as he patted Kane on the shoulder, then walked right past him and up to me and Jenny. Jenny seemed to tense the closer Adam got, hurrying back off towards her room uttering something about hair products, and I hated that the sheer size of Adam had intimidated her, but I did get it. He was huge, and she was still jumpy and unsettled after all that happened.
“I’ll go,” Kane said when Adam and I both looked to him with concern. “Ash, I called a locksmith to change the locks. He’ll be here soon.”
“I’ll handle it,” Ash assured him.
Adam and I stood a distance apart as Kane squeezed past us both and went after his sister, but as soon as he was gone I found myself being swept up and pressed against Adam’s hard body. Not that there was anywhere else I wanted to be.
“You look better. You have a little color back,” he told me as he took in my face, his eyes scanning every single inch of it.
“I didn’t want to make things harder for Kane, so I’m doing better at holding it together.”
“How was the session with Laura, sweetheart?” Asher asked as he moved a little closer to us.
“Hard. She wants me to take some pills…some anti-anxiety medication and sh-she gave me sleeping pills too.”
“Will you try taking any of them?” he questioned as he turned that damned look of worry, that I was so tired of seeing, right on me.
“Yeah. I don’t want to, but I…I can’t keep going like this either,” I admitted.
“That’s good, baby,” Adam said as he kissed the top of my head. “I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, but I also think right now some meds might be what you need to find a little quiet in that crazy head of yours.”
“I’m alright for now,” I told the both of them. “We need to help Kane and Jenny. Jenny’s scared and really shaken up, and Kane just wants to find her ex and murder him. They need you all more than I do right now.”
“We’ll manage, between us,” Adam told me, and I nodded.
“Ad, why don’t you get Addy home. I can stay here with Kane and his sister for now,” Asher offered.
“No. I’m staying, Ash. I want to be here for both of them. I’m good,” I assured him again.
Kane and Jenny stayed in her room for some time. Eventually Adam settled into a dining chair from the small table with me in his lap, and Asher attended to the locksmith who had finally arrived. I was exhausted after the crazy morning I’d had, but Ifound myself feeling calmer and more relaxed as I cuddled into Adam and we chatted about nothing of importance. My mind was quieter for the time being, my worry over Jenny and Kane overriding the mess beyond, I guessed.
Jenny’s words about not giving up, or allowing doubts and fears to take from her determination to be as strong and powerful as she could be, continued to wind their way between my darker thoughts. Something started to take root amongst the madness – this feeling that I was being the complete opposite of what she had told me she wanted to be, and that made me feel so pathetic. Yes, I had gone through way more than she had, which was what my brain continued to tell me, but that didn’t mean I should be any less determined to fight, than Jenny was. It didn’t mean I should roll over and allow all of the assholes who hurt and broke me, to win. I should be as determined to stay strong and ensure I came out on top, just like Jenny was to not let her asshole boyfriend win. I knew I didn’t have the strength Jenny Chase had inside of her, but did that mean I wanted to just curl up and break? Did that mean I shouldn’t even try to rise above and find some positivity again?
My guys and my brothers had already made themselves clear – they weren’t giving up, even if I was. They wanted me to fight. They didn’t want to see me break, just as much as Jenny didn’t want to be the one to break. But I was broken already, and the idea of starting with myself in pieces and trying to find some way to paste them all back together, was terrifying and exhausting. And yet I didn’t want to just slip away. I didn’t want to die alone and unhappy the way Jenny said her mom had. Jenny had lit a spark within me, and I couldn’t seem to ignore it now that it burned away inside.
***
I was so relieved to be home as Asher pulled through the gates, Kane’s car with Jenny and her packed belongings right behind us. I was in the back with Adam, sat in my own seat, but snuggled tightly into his side as he kept his arm wrapped around me.
“Let’s get inside, baby girl. Ash is going to run out and fill your prescription and Kane’s gonna get Jenny settled into his place,” Adam explained as Asher pulled right up to the front steps of the house.
“I won’t be long,” Asher added as he glanced over his shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile.
“Can we have dinner together tonight…all of us?” I requested. I just wanted to be surrounded by my family. “I mean, I know Kane and Jenny might not want to, but the rest of us…please. I missed that.” I didn’t think we’d all sat down to eat together since before Max had orchestrated the kidnap of Eli and I.
“Sure we can. I’ll cook something for all of us. That’s a great idea,” Adam agreed enthusiastically.
“I agree. Let the others know, okay? Jordan and Eli should be inside,” Asher added, and I nodded, a genuine smile crossing my face at the idea of my family all around me for dinner, just like we used to when I first moved there.