All Chapters of Wrath: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

KlaraKlara clutched Jamie’s hand as she walked back into the strip club. It was a week later, and she’d gotten a phone call from Pam that they all had to be at the club at eight p.m. so the new owners could talk to them. She didn’t want to leave Jamie in the car again and the fear on his little face was another reason she couldn’t.She hadn’t really seen Jake, but the moment he parked his bike or truck, Jamie ran across the lawn, sometimes not even asking her. He still spent time with Jake and when he returned, dirty but fed, he’d tell her how Jake was teaching him to fix things.She had no idea what she was going to do with him now that it seemed that she’d get this job back. She could either eat or pay someone to watch him. Fuck it, she thought. She’d make do. Every face was familiar, but as she looked around, she realized that Charity wasn’t there. Maybe she’d decided not to come back.Klara tucked Jamie in behind the bar and stood at the side where he could still see her but wher

KlaraKlara got ready for work and the silence of the house actually felt disconcerting. She’d sent Jamie over to Jake’s house half an hour ago. He’d been so happy to hear he was going to spend the night with Jake that he’d barely said goodbye to her. It shouldn’t hurt, but it did. Her son was enamored with Jake.How had Jake managed to bond with her son so quickly? Was a bike and a burger all it took for Jamie to think the sun shined out of someone’s ass? She shook her head. Okay, she was being harsh. Jake was a good guy and he spent time with Jamie, taught him things, and listened when he talked, but he’d still lied to her, invaded her privacy and made her feel like some cheap whore with his rebuff.She had no idea what she was doing. She should never have gone over to his house that night or kissed him back. She should have said no when he took her to his bedroom. There had been so many chances to say no, to get up, and walk out of his house.But then again, how was she supposed to

Jake“It’s not that I don’t like you, Jake,” Klara said as he drove away from the strip club. She lowered her head and sighed. He gripped the steering wheel tighter, not wanting to hear her rejection, but also needing to hear it.“Then tell me what it is, because, fuck, I’m trying here and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” he said.Klara looked down briefly and took a deep breath. “I’m afraid of liking you too much. I’m afraid that I’ll fall in love with you and when you leave, I’ll fall more. I’m afraid of how much it will hurt Jamie when you’re not there anymore.”“So, in your mind, we’ve already had this relationship, and I’ve already left you,” Jake said.“It’s really complicated and confusing and I don’t get why you even like me,” she said and looked out of the window. He knew he had to tell her something, even if it did scare her off.“Before you moved in next door, I never thought of having children. My previous girlfriend cheated on me, so yeah, I have some issues with trust

JakeJake shifted in his seat and reached for the coffee in the cup holder. Jamie had remained asleep as he moved him from the bedroom to the backseat of his truck. He’d placed a pillow underneath his head and tucked a thicker blanket around him.Klara had fallen asleep ten minutes into the drive, tucked into her own blanket with her pillow pressed against the window. He was glad she was sleeping because it gave him time to think of what to tell her, how much to tell her.The sun had just crested the horizon when they left Reading, and he hoped the dark tint on the side windows would let them sleep for a bit longer. Klara needed the rest, and if Jamie woke up, she’d wake up too.He knew she’d have a lot of questions, ones he wouldn’t necessarily be able to answer, not truthfully in any way. She didn’t owe him any kind of loyalty, she wasn’t his wife or girlfriend and even if she was, would she keep her mouth closed, knowing he’d killed two people in her house?Jake wasn’t sure if Klar

JakeJake pulled Klara closer to him and kissed her shoulder as their bodies molded together under the cover. She felt even smaller like this and he knew he should keep his mouth shut. Instead of being repulsed by him, she thanked him. He should just shut the hell up and not ruin the moment.“I’d like to go to sleep like this every night,” Jake whispered.“Why me?”“Why not you?” he asked her.“Today I kept thinking, I don’t know anything about you,” she said and shifted until she faced him.“I’m almost twenty-six and I spent five years in prison for a murder I didn’t commit. I was released and compensated for the time I served. I don’t have a normal job because I invested my compensation package and I live off the interest I earn. I don’t speak to my family because they disowned me from the moment I got sentenced. They didn’t believe me when I said I was innocent. Now I just live my life. Five years in a maximum security prison is no joke. I was attacked a few times and a man named R