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But I do. I know. Jude obsessively watches over his family and tries to protect them. Nathan uses his influence and money to make problems disappear in an instant. Hugo charms people all the time in an effort to keep people from poking at his family. From the stuff Spencer has revealed, I know Callum was always going to bat for his little brother when he worked at the school. And Gemma is his twin. Twins are engrained to help one another.

They do care about him.

How do I make him see this?

“Those times you’ve gotten in trouble, who got you out?” I ask, turning to study his profile. “Did you do that all by yourself?”

He scoffs and shoots me an annoyed look. “Mostly Dad. Always there to clean up messes so the town doesn’t look down upon us.”

“Perhaps self-image plays a role,” I admit, “but you can’t honestly believe that’s it. You’re the product of an illicit affair with his son’s girlfriend. Your dad essentially blew up his life to be with her. Their love must’ve been pretty intense. You and Gemma are walking reminders of that incredible love story. I think you need to give your dad a little credit for cleaning up messes because he loves you.”

Dempsey doesn’t say anything, but I know I’m getting through to him. Sometimes people just need pointing out what’s right in front of them for them to finally take notice.

“You think they don’t care, but they do. Especially your father. I’m here because of him. He wants his children happy and healthy.” I reach over and clutch his shoulder. “Try spending some time with your dad. I want you to look past his exterior and truly see his motives when it comes to this family.”

We fall into silence, both of us drifting to our own thoughts. Dempsey is a good kid who’s hurting for not feeling seen in his own family. Maybe he and Nathan can work on finding common ground so Dempsey doesn’t feel so alone.

“Anything else you want to talk about?” I ask gently. “Like the one you want but can’t have?”

He rises to his feet, shaking his head. “Nope. I’m tired as fuck.”

I grumble out a good night to him as he reenters the house. With a sigh, I stand up and fold up the blanket. The chill quickly seeps its way into my bones as awareness creeps in. When Dempsey was here, I didn’t think twice about being outside. I felt safe talking to him. Now that he’s gone, the familiar fear crawls down my spine.

Someone’s watching me.

Panicked thoughts of Sean prowling about in the darkness have me bolting off the porch like my ass is on fire. The quicker I can get to Jude’s house, the quicker I can get my heart rate back to normal. I take off in a sprint, sticking to the moonlit areas rather than the dark, menacing shadows around the trees.

I’ve barely made it across the road when someone steps out of one of the shadows, blocking my path. I stumble to a halt, chest heaving and head spinning.

Jude.

His lurking ways don’t seem so irritating right now. In fact, I nearly jump into his arms with gratefulness. It takes all the will I have not to grab onto him and bury my face in his solid chest.

“Hey,” I croak out, stepping closer and closer until I’m in his warm, safe orbit.

He studies me intently through his mask. “Hey.”

When he offers me his elbow, I greedily hook my arm around his. He’s warm and smells like cinnamon. I wonder if he got into another one of Violet’s pies.

If he’s feeling awkward about dinner, he doesn’t mention it. Instead, he escorts me slowly back to his house. It’s cold and my heart is still hammering in my chest, but I’m not in a hurry to get back either. Being close to him, comforted by his strong, massive presence, is nice.

You once felt comforted by Sean, too.

I try not to think about Sean, but it’s hard not to. This time I’ve spent with the Parks has been a vacation from reality. I’m not stupid, though. Sean’s still out there, most likely pissed off to no end, searching for me.

When he finally catches up to me, there’ll be hell to pay.

I shiver at the thought of him grabbing me by the elbow and forcefully dragging me into my apartment. At one time, we’d shared a few good times watching movies on the couch and eventually fooling around. Sometimes he was even playful. Sean felt like “the one” for me in the beginning. That is, until I learned he was freaking married with a mess of kids.

I tried breaking it off, but it’s like a switch flipped inside him.

He transformed into an abusive, cruel, tortuous monster I can’t escape from.

Jude, while domineering, a bit controlling, and completely all up in my business, is not Sean. I even wonder, given the time, would I be able to confide in him about Sean. Would he want to protect me so fiercely like he protects his family?

All too soon, we’re stepping inside his warm, dark home. Jude shuts and locks the door behind him. Then he untangles our arms and takes my hand. We’re both cold, but his hand around mine quickly creates the heat I crave.

He doesn’t stride up the stairs like usual but instead takes his time. It’s evident he’s not eager to get rid of me. My stomach flops at that because I’m not so ready to leave him yet either. When we reach the stairs, my fuzzy friend greets us.