Chapter 29
Jake
Drama. That is the one thing that’s best to avoid. I’m sitting out on the patio, freezing my butt off in hopes that no one will find me. The last thing that I want to do is talk to anyone about what’s happening. Eli has had a bit too much to drink and passed out. She’ll be fine. In fact, I think that she’ll be released from the hospital in time for the wedding. She isn’t the reason I’m hiding out. Dad will probably want to talk about Danny, and that’s not on my agenda for the night. Me decking Sharp Michaels is one thing. Half of America already wanted to do that. But Danny going topless, now that’s highly interesting. How is Uncle James going to handle this one? Not only his niece, but his daughter was also partying as if the world was ending. I shake my head. Nope, I’m not getting involved. No amount of charity work will fix this.
“Jake.” Someone found me. In fact, it’s Dom that sits beside me. He reeks of gray goose and vomit. I’m not about to do this.
“Leave.” Dom doesn’t leave. He starts drumming his fingers on the table as if he’s impatient.
“Stop!”
“Jake, your family, needs you right now.” And here it is. The fool is still in love with Danny. I was afraid of that.
“What can I do?” I ask as I clench and unclench my fist. If Dom doesn’t leave me alone, I’ll use persuasion of another kind. It sure got Sharp not to dance with Alex.
“Danny thinks that you’re mad at her.” Dom is going to tell me all about my sister’s feelings.
“I didn’t know that we were a bunch of women,” I retort.
“Jake, come on, man. She is beating herself up about what happened. Malcolm broke up with her.”
“So he finally saw reason?” Good for Malcolm. He doesn’t need to be tied down by my sister. In truth, I always thought that he could do better.
“Damn, Jake, get your head out of your ass. Your sister is in pain. Don’t you feel anything?” I feel loads of things, annoyed, aggravated, and angry. I lost Carmen for the good of a selfish man’s campaign. Danny ruins all of the ground I’ve been making by taking my cousin Stephanie to a club. Now, I don’t have the girl I love or a guarantee that sacrificing the relationship was worth anything. If Danny thinks that I’m going to go inside and tell her that I’m not mad at her, she’s delusional. After all of the years that she’s judged and criticized people, she doesn’t deserve the acceptance she strives to feel.
“Jake, just…”
“I’m going to grab a beer,” I announce as I stand. It’s chilly outside and in my haste to get away, I had forgotten to put on a jacket. Goosebumps have tattooed themselves up and down my arms. I can’t go to my room. That wouldn’t offer the kind of solitude that I’m looking for. But maybe I can visit Chelsea and Peter. Since they got married, they have been removed from the action. I’m about to go through the glass sliding doors that lead to the house, but Dom blocks my path. So he wants to fight me? Bring it on. I can burn off some steam.
“Jake, it’s time for you to be a man. You can’t treat your sister the same way that you treated Adriana.” Is he serious?
“Move.” I’m ten seconds from beating some sense into Dom. But he holds up his hands. He isn’t in the fighting mood. The guy just wants to talk me to death.
“Jake, you need to talk to your family. You can’t be like…” He isn’t expecting it. I shove Dom to the side, and he falls to the ground. I don’t remotely feel bad. He’s been getting on my nerves for a while now. I walk through the balcony doors and wish I hadn’t. Immediately, the sounds of yelling fill the house. So stuff is about to go down. I pinch the bridge of my nose and walk past the kitchen. The only way to get to the elevator is to pass by the living room. I would take the stairs, but the thought of touching the bannisters gives me a chill. It’s hard enough to press the number three. I stick my hand into my pocket, assuring myself that the disinfectant is in reach. Then, I stroll toward the elevator.
“You can’t be serious, Nathan. You still want to marry Eli after this stunt?” This question is shrieked by Eli’s adoptive mother, Shelly. The sound of her voice makes me wince.
“I love her. Of course, I’ll still marry her,” Nathan shouts.
“In light of what happened, I don’t think that I could even show up. Eli has embarrassed the whole family. First, she chooses to marry you. Well, what could anyone expect, she is trash after all. But then, she drinks herself into a stupor and gets the entire escapade broadcast on the web. What a stupid…”
“Shelly, enough,” Uncle Kenny says sharply, cutting out the shrew mid-sentence. “Drinking a little bit too much during a party is hardly a crime. So you can stop being dramatic.”
“Kenny, your daughter wasn’t even there. So it’s easy for you to say. All Eli seems to do is make bad decisions. I’m exhausted.” Shelly’s voice cracks. It’s clear that she does care about Eli. She just doesn’t know how to show it. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I walk past the living room. As I’m about to press the button to call the thing, it opens and I come face to face with Stephanie. She looks as though someone had died. Her face is blotchy, and she’s clutching her handbag to her chest. It’s weird to see her dressed down. But she wears a pair of sweats, a t-shirt, and the only jewelry that she has on is her gold class ring. I’m praying that she doesn’t try to talk to me. My only goal is to get upstairs and hide out with the Philip’s family outlaws.
“Bridget is a monster,” she softly tells me. Her lip is quivering. I don’t know what to say to her. But that’s not much of a surprise. I never know what to say to people.
“Who paid her off?” Stephanie frowns.
“I’m not sure. Dad thinks that Senator Bon had something to do with this. But I’m not sure.” She is usually so self-righteous. But now, the wind has been taken out of her sails. I want to comfort the girl, but that’s a job for someone sensitive. The least I can do is steer her in the right direction.
“Don’t go into the living room. They are arguing about Eli.” She nods and we both enter the elevator. Thankfully, no one has called it.
“Have you seen Carmen?” Stephanie inquires. I stiffen. Why in blazes does she bring up the one person that is painful to talk about? Something sharp pokes into my chest, and it takes everything I have not to double over. I force myself to look natural, and I’m not sure if I manage it. Unfortunately, I don’t have the same control over my mouth.
“You didn’t invite her to the party.” My words come out a bit more hostilely than I have intended. Stephanie presses herself against the wall, as if I would hurt her. I glare at the reaction. “Why did you guys leave her out?”
“Bridget was coming. Since Carmen isn’t the partying type, we figured that she would have a better time here.” The fact that people seem to make decisions for Carmen irks me. This is horrible to say, but I understand why Chelsea’s parents were so leery of allowing Chelsea to make her own decisions. She had been really unstable and very obsessed with Adam Smith, a bad boy with a mean streak. But Carmen has never made a decision that would have incited this kind of behavior. Before I can tell Stephanie that, the elevator dings, and I walk into the hallway.
“Jake, I was looking for you everywhere!” Oh great, Jill is here. How did I forget about her? Since she isn’t a part of the bridal party, she wasn’t invited to the bachelorette party. A smile transforms her beautiful face.
“What?” I ask the question with dread.
“Well, Bridget is so out of the wedding. So, Eli needed a bridesmaid to walk with Dom. So, he’s walking with Carmen, and I’m walking with you. Isn’t that cool! It works out since I’m Bridget’s size. Mrs. Philips paid for all of the bride’s maids dresses and hadn’t given them to the girls yet. This is great. This is destiny. I…” I only mean to shut Jill up. There’s already been too much talking. I kiss her on the lips and see exactly what Carmen’s talking about. I could learn to like Jill. But I also realize something else. I won’t be happy with Jill because anything that I f
eel for her is strictly physical.