Chapter 27
Kaitlyn stared down at the phone in her hands, feeling an odd mixture of trepidation and temptation all at once.
It was innocent. A simple device laid precariously across her palms.
So she wasn't sure why she had the intense urge to look through it. As if something was physically pulling her to take a peek.
Kaitlyn knew his password, but honestly she had never had a reason to check his phone before.
So she wondered why the urge was suddenly so strong.
Her lip pulled between her teeth, a habit she truly needed to break as her bottom lip felt physically sore.
Randy had more than reassured her last night. His rough devotion still heating her core as she thought about his sudden touches.
He had told her it was a misunderstanding, apologized even.
So why was it that now that she had something of his in her hands, the doubt had resurfaced?
Randy would neve
"Princess, c'mon, you have to give me a little more than that." Jackson was basically pleading as he said it, his face feeling tense and uncomfortable as he found his jaw grinding with his worries. Kaitlyn looked almost psychotic from where he was sitting. As if something had actually drove her into a psychosis; he had seen her suffering many times within the last few months, but never like this. It left cold ice in his chest, the fear making it hard for him to think. She was buried into a ball like she was three, rather than almost thirty, and was almost completely unresponsive again. Taking a gamble, he snatched the phone from the spot a few paces away from her feet. And when he picked he up, he cussed, realizing it had locked again. "Kaitlyn, can you help me out here? Let me see what hurt you." He knew he was acting like he was talking to a child right then, but right now, he didn't know how else to get her to
Chapter 29 If it wasn't for the fact that Kaitlyn was still sleeping, Jackson would've lost his shit. His eyes blazing, his rage seething, as he stared down the person who dared to walk through the fucking door. "You've gotta a lot of nerve showing up here." Jackson breathed, his voice a magma that melted everything it touched. Randy was breathless in the doorway, his eyes wide and panicked. It was the most off balance he had ever seen him, but Jackson couldn't bring himself to feel even an ounce of remorse. If anything, the guy had it coming. Randy's brown eyes zeroed in on him, and they instantly narrowed. Much more hostile than they had been in his office that day. It was as if the man had just registered what he said. "I live here." He scowled. Moving to shove his way past him, Jackson grabbed his arm, his grip like a vice. "Yeah, I really don't give a flying fuck. You're n
Chapter 30Kaitlyn wasn’t sure how to process anything. The solemn air of the house, down to the emptiness that seemed to radiate from within her chest.It was hard to focus, her precious paid time off being used to secure her last few days at home.She hadn’t wanted to do much of anything. Eating seemed like a chore, like it was sand in her mouth. Work seemed distant and far away, her crafts were untouchable, even the television seemed vacant.It seemed all she could manage to do was sleep, cry, and repeat.Honestly, the only good that seemed to come of it seemed to follow Jackson.His presence a foothold that kept her sane as she tried to traverse uncertain waters.She didn’t know how to act now that Randy was gone. A pain so sharp it left her feeling like half the woman she was. She couldn’t even remember how it ended, all a blur as she woke up one morning after finding the texts between him and Natalie. The
Chapter 31The next few days had been fragile, passing by in a blur as people came and went.Joshua had made sure to stop by her house multiple times a day, her growing collection of flowers a true nod to his constant visits. Olivia had stopped by a couple times, mostly to check on her and to inform her of the latest gossip at work. Their company a treasure that she kept dear, as Kaitlyn fumbled to fall into her new routine.To be honest, she wasn’t currently sure when it’d get easier.Jackson had finally convinced her to try and go back to work tomorrow; claiming a sense of normalcy would do her good.And while Kaitlyn knew he was right, she wasn’t sure what was normal anymore.Normal had been cooking dinner for Randy, cleaning his clothes, lightly doing her job while waiting for his texts or calls. Normal had meant her time had been spent waiting.Now, she didn’t know what to wait for.There were no me
Chapter 32 "K, you can't keep going on like this. Jackson sounded exhausted last time I talked to him." Olivia was staring at her from across her desk, all bright curls and pretty lashes as she lounged there. The two of them had decided to eat lunch together, taking advantage of the time they now had available to spend away from their chaotic lives. It was the first time they had managed to have a real talk since her abrupt leave of absence. Kaitlyn knew Olivia had begun to have pretty regular contact with Jackson, but Kaitlyn was surprised she brought him up so confidently. She wasn't jealous, per say. But with everything that had happened with Randy, she would be lying if she said she hadn't missed her conversations with the raven as well. Things still hadn't evened out between them, and ever since her outburst at the table about her ex-fiance, it actually seemed to have gotten worse. Jackson was avoidin
Chapter 33 Jackson was so close, Kaitlyn could almost brush her lips to his. His scent strong and overwhelming as her gaze peered up at him. It would only take the smallest tilt of her head, and she would be able to taste him. She would be able to know exactly what his lips felt like against hers. And with the proximity, she'd be lying if she said the temptation wasn't there. Who wouldn't feel the urge? With how devilishly handsome the man before her was, his dark green eyes seemed to trap her with their hooded stare. His lashes long and sensual as they almost seemed to graze her skin. Jackson was beautiful. It was odd to think of a man that way, but he was. The impulse alive and thrumming the more she noticed, echoed in the way her gaze dropped a bit, eyeing his mouth. "Princess?" He breathed. It took her a moment, but she placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed. Her
Chapter 34 "What're you two doing here?" Kaitlyn watched, surprised as Hannah and Olivia's bright faces appeared in her line of vision. The two girls were standing on her porch, Olivia was a little further in the back. Her usual long brown hair was tied up in a messy bun, sitting like a pom on the top of her head. Hannah was just as casual, adorning a bag and pajama bottoms as the sunny girl smiled at her. Her brown locks were bouncy again, hanging loose as they splayed to her shoulders. She was as baby faced and outgoing as she could recall from the club. "Surprise! Nice to see you again, Kaitlyn!" Hannah greeted, giving a wave as Olivia stepped up behind her. "I didn't know you two knew eachother." Kaitlyn started, but Olivia began laughing. "Actually, this is our first time meeting eachother. But, Mr. Knight aka Jackson set this up. He said you could use a girl's night with everything that
Chapter 35.The movie rolled around to an end, and the girls were happy and full of love and warmth. A certain sappiness sticking to them as the movie rubbed off on them and lingered in their eyes--especially Kaitlyn's, she just knew her nose was pink from the sniffles."Wow, that one was so cute." Hannah commented, and Kaitlyn could only nod in agreement as Olivia began setting out the piles of nail polish.Kaitlyn sunk down to the floor to join her in the circle of colors,Hannah joined soon after."Spencer will never admit it, so don't tell him I told you, but he loves to do my nails for me," her voice fond as she plucked up a bright blue bottle.Olivia plucked it from her pale hands. "Here, let me do it." She set to work on painting Hannah's nails, and Kaitlyn was pleased to see how well they got along. "By the way, how did you and Spencer meet?" Olivia asked while she began covering her nails with the