Page 40

CHAPTER 40

THE CARDS ARE ON THE TABLE

BELLA

December

“Time for a walk,” I say, rushing inside. I only have a couple of hours before Ben’s party. I’ve spent most of the day with Aunt Millie, helping her prepare for his surprise. Xander left for practice before I woke up. Practice, gym, strategizing—football is the only thing he thinks about these days.

I just hope he’ll be home on time.

Milo walks over to me, yawning and lazily wagging his tail.

I smile at the sight. He has become my almost constant companion. When I work, he’s always near me, putting his head on my lap or trying to catch my attention so I’ll play with him. Thanks to him, I never feel lonely, even when Xander is out of town. He’s my little savior.

Outside, I let Milo lead me down our usual route, anxious for tonight. Tom is planning something big—if I had to guess, he’s going to propose to Ben.

When my phone buzzes, I assume it’s Xander, calling to confirm he’s picking up the cake I ordered. Instead, I find Meg’s name flashing across the screen.

“I don’t want to freak you out,” she says when I answer, “but I think Jake knows about you and Xander.”

A ball of lead sinks in my stomach, and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin.

“Izzy? Are you still there?” Meg asks.

“Y-yeah, s-sorry,” I say, even as the world around me goes blurry. “Why do you think that?”

We’ve been careful. Xander jokes that he’s a special agent on some super secretive mission with all the precautions we’ve taken. I never go to his games; we’ve never been photographed together. My car is always parked in his garage. I thought we had it all covered.

“I’m at Marco’s place, and I overheard him talking to Jake. Miller said he should’ve guessed you were helping Xander with more than just his bathroom. I hope I’m worrying you for nothing, but Marco says Jake is acting weird.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, glancing at Milo. He’s carefree, but I’m suddenly engulfed in panic. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and count to ten.

“Izzy,” Meg pleads. “Are you alright?”

“Just considering how to handle things if he actually does know.” I hesitate, my hand curling harder around the leash. “I need to call Xander.”

“Sure. I’ll call you later. Just know I’m here for you, okay?”

My chest pinches with affection and a little fear. “I know.”

I’m navigating to Xander’s contact info when a voice behind me makes me freeze.

“Didn’t think I’d be so lucky.”

Heart pounding, I turn around, finding myself face-to-face with Jake.

“Hey,” I say, fear churning my insides.

He looks like a madman. There’s a strange glint in his eyes and a menacing scowl on his lips. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? Really, Isabella?” he hisses, taking a step closer.

I stand my ground, refusing to show him how scared I am. My fear is his fuel, and I don’t want to give him any power.

“A little bird told me Walker got himself a girlfriend… my girlfriend.”

“We broke up,” I remind him, casting my gaze down to Milo. He’s sitting by my feet, staring intently at Jake, unusually quiet and unfriendly.

“Yeah, you left me to spread your legs for my teammate.”

“I left because we?—”

“Aren’t right for each other. I heard that.” Another step in my direction. “After everything we’ve been through, after all the things I did for you…you betrayed me with that fucking asshole!”

“That’s not true.” My own anger settles in the pit of my stomach, mixing with my fear.

“Stop lying.” He clutches my wrist and pulls me to him. “How do you think I felt when I found out you were playing house with Walker? I refused to believe my Isabella would ever do that. I was sure it was just a misunderstanding. So, I came here.” He narrows his eyes, his nostrils flaring, and squeezes my wrist tighter. “And what did I find? You walking his damn dog like a fucking whore.”

I wince and try to pull my wrist from his grip, but it’s no use. “Let me go. You’re hurting me.”

“Am I?” Brow arched and focus fixed on me, he adds more pressure, a sadistic smile blooming over his lips. “I just want to show you how I felt. The love of my life broke my heart—not once, but twice. You broke off our engagement and immediately jumped into bed with the guy who has been pretending to be my friend for years, who probably only did it to get back at me for fucking his nerdy girlfriend in college. That slut was happy to wet my dick, but he still put the blame on me.”

Milo stands and barks. The piercing sound is enough to startle Jake into releasing me. I dart to the house, dragging Milo and his too-short legs with me. It only takes a second for Jake to catch up and yank my hair from behind. The leash falls from my hand, and I yelp as he drags me into his chest and wraps his other hand around my neck.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Isabella, is everything alright?” Mr. Jensen’s voice makes my heart beat faster. From time to time, I see him out with Pup, and we chat. He’s a good man, and I’ve never been happier to see him.

Jake turns us around, faking a smile. “Hello,” he says.

“Jake Miller?” Mr. Jensen furrows his brow in confusion.

“Yep, that’s me.” He bends down, finds Milo’s leash, and straightens again. “Everything’s alright. We were just on our way inside.”

“I asked Isabella, not you,” Mr. Jensen says, his voice cold. “Isabella?”

Jake squeezes the back of my neck hard enough to make my vision darken around the edges.

“I’m…f-fine.” Despite my words, I widen my eyes, hoping he reads my silent plea and calls Xander.

“We gotta go. Goodbye.” Jake forces the leash into my hand before dragging me to the house. On the porch, he leans in so his mouth is at my ear. “Open the damn door, Isabella.”

With trembling hands, I work the knob, and he stomps inside with me in tow. He slams the door with enough force to make the house shake, then stuffs Milo into the coat closet.

Holy shit.

Keeping my emotions in check, I pull my shoulders back. “What do you want?”

“You.” He shrugs, suddenly nonchalant.

What the hell? His change of attitude gives me a whiplash.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Isabella, baby, did you already forget that I know you like the back of my hand?” He smirks. “One touch to your clit, and you’ll be dripping wet for me, ready to fuck.”

My stomach roils. “Is that what you said to Stacey?” I ask. “Xander told me everything. Absolutely everything.”

His anger contorts his face, his eyebrows pulling together. “Did he mention we spent our college years competing to see who could fuck girls first? That we banged more than a few together?”

Chin lifted, I nod. His eyes flare for a second, but then he’s smirking, his fists clenched at his sides. He leans into me, and I take a step back, only to bump into the wall.

He clutches my chin and forces me to look at him. “In that case, you know what?—”

“What the fuck are you doing?” a familiar voice booms.

I practically jump out of my skin, and my heart takes off, but when I realize who the voice belongs to, relief washes over me, making my knees weak.

Xander .

“I’m claiming what’s mine.” Jake doesn’t bother to look at him. He remains fixated on me, his pupils so wide, his usually grayish-blue eyes look black.

Xander grasps Jake’s shoulders and turns him around right before his fist connects with Jake’s jaw.

I jump away as Jake’s back hits the wall.

Xander delivers another punch, and the sound of bones cracking is deafening. Blood drips down my ex’s face as he slides to the floor. Just like that, all trace of the strong, powerful man who tried to exert control over me vanishes. He crumples like a paper bag, moaning as he brings a hand to his nose and tries to stop the bleeding.

“How dare you force yourself on her?” Xander bellows. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Xander,” I call out to him quietly.

As if he can’t hear me, he yanks Jake off the floor and cocks his fist back, ready to punch him again. All the rage he’s kept locked up erupts. If he doesn’t stop, the consequences could be devastating.

“Xander, please!”

He looks at me over his shoulder.

“Please,” I plead.

Reluctantly, he takes a step back, chest heaving.

“Isabella is the love of my life,” Jake roars. “And you fucking took her from me. I was sure she’d give me another chance until Cindy told me she saw you two together at the store. I thought the slut was lying, but it’s the fucking truth!”

“You thought you’d show your love for me by hurting me? By raping me?” My voice trembles, my body shuddering.

“I wasn’t going to rape you.” He takes a step toward me, but Xander blocks his path. “Let me talk to her!”

“No.” Xander squares his shoulders.

“It’s not for you to decide, Walker!”

I lock eyes with Jake over Xander’s shoulder. He looks pathetic. Perhaps we should’ve sat him down and told him ourselves. Not because he deserves it. Not because I owe it to him. No, because Xander and I don’t deserve to have to deal with him. We deserve to be free of him once and for all.

Slowly, I step forward and put a hand on Xander’s forearm. He squints at me, his lips pursed into a thin line.

I give him a small smile.

“Bella…” he warns, shaking his head.

“It’ll be okay.” I slide my hand down his arm and lace our fingers.

Xander sighs, his gaze softening. “Fine, but he’s talking to both of us.”

“Of course,” I say. “Let’s go to the living room.”

Jake’s gaze darts to our entwined fingers. Anger flares in his eyes again, but he tempers it and nods. “Fine.”

I let Milo out of the closet while Xander herds Jake to the living room. Then, Xander and I shuffle into the kitchen. I leave him there and go in search of the first aid kit in the primary bathroom. Xander plucks a few supplies from it and takes them to Jake. When he returns to me, I tend to his knuckles. They’re bloody, but the sight of them causes warmth to spread through my veins. He defended me without a second thought, putting his career and reputation at risk simply because he loves me.

“We need to call the police.” Xander’s voice is just above a whisper.

I shake my head. “No. You’ve already risked enough for me. If he presses assault charges, it could ruin your career.”

“Bella, if I hadn’t gotten here when I did?—”

“I know.” I look up at him. His eyebrows are pulled together, a deep wrinkle crossing his forehead. “But think of all the ways the press can twist this. They could label Jake the victim, while you got involved with your teammate’s girlfriend. They’ll say you hurt your team’s wide receiver and weakened the Warriors’ chance at the Super Bowl. Fans wouldn’t appreciate it, and neither would management. I don’t want you to put your whole future at risk.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? Let him get away with it? Again ?!” Xander snaps, his hand trembling in mine as I blot at his knuckles with a cotton ball.

“We’re going to tell him that if he tells anyone you hit him, I’ll go to the press and make a statement about how he treated me when we were together.”

“And I’ll go to management and the rest of the team.”

“That too.” I smile, caressing his wrist.

Xander chews his bottom lip. “For the record, I don’t like it, but okay. Let’s do it your way.”

“Thank you.” I thread my fingers through his and pull him toward the living room.

Xander and I sit on the couch across from Jake, our hands locked together.

Through hard, slitted eyes, the man I once thought was my forever scrutinizes me. He claims he loves me, but he only wants to possess me, control me. I know the difference now.

“How long have you been together?” Jake asks.

“For about a month,” I lie, holding his gaze. There’s no way I’m telling him the truth—that Xander and I have basically been together since I told him I needed a break.

“You were single for a month after our breakup?” he deadpans.

“Yes.”

“Was it… Did you…” Jake takes a deep breath and clears his throat. “Was there something between you two while we were together?”

I shrug. “No. We became friends while I worked on his bathroom, so when we reconnected after you and I broke up, I realized I was attracted to him, and I decided not to resist it.”

Jake and I stare at each other for a long moment. His stormy eyes only accentuate how miserable he looks. Then he shifts his gaze to Xander.

“Is this because of your ex? Did you want to get back at me…for what happened in college?”

“No. I thought Bella was stunning the moment I saw her at the welcome party. My relationship with her has nothing to do with college, or you. It’s about me and her. That’s it.” Xander leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “I desperately wanted to make you pay for what you did to Stacey. I wanted everyone to know the truth about you, but Bella changed my mind. She changed my whole life. Now, I couldn’t care less about you. Though, I must admit, seeing you like this is…satisfying.”

“I gave you everything you needed for payback. I shouldn’t have come here.” Jake hangs his head low. Deep down in my gut, I don’t believe the act. He’s manipulating us because he knows he’s at a disadvantage. We cornered him, and he’s playing his part. “When are you going to go public?”

Xander shrugs. “When Bella is ready.”

Jake peers at me, his eyes coasting slowly over my face, as if he’s memorizing my every feature. “I’m sorry, Isabella…for hurting you. I’ve always been territorial, and when I found out you chose Walker, my jealousy blinded me.”

“I didn’t choose Xander. I chose myself.” I take a deep breath, the plan Xander and I discussed ready to spill from my lips. “I won’t press charges this time, but only if you promise not to reveal that Xander broke your nose?—”

“And swear to stay the fuck away from Bella. If you even look her way, I’ll go to Coach, to management, to our teammates, to the press—to anyone ready to listen. I’ll expose you. I’ll make it my life’s mission to ruin your career.”

A dark ugliness flares behind Jake’s eyes, but he quickly suppresses it and nods. “Okay.” His gaze ping-pongs between Xander and me. “What happened today won’t happen again. I swear.”

“You better keep your promise, Miller.” Xander straightens. “I would’ve done so much worse if not for Bella.”

“I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Jake promises, rising to his feet.

Xander stands too. “I’ll walk you out.”

On his way to the foyer, Jake sneaks one last glance at me. It’s full of sorrow and what might be remorse. “Bye, Isabella.”

“Bye, Jake.” I look him in the eye when I say it.

Once he’s out of sight, the adrenaline drains from my body. Then, Milo is there, trembling and pawing at my leg. I pull him onto the couch, and he rests his head in my lap. “It’s okay, Milo. Everything’s fine. You were so brave, trying to defend me.”

The couch beside me dips, and two muscular arms envelop me. I close my eyes and relax into him.

“I wanted to kill him when I opened the door and saw him all over you.” Xander nuzzles my neck, inhaling deeply. “He looked like a damn psychopath.”

“I know,” I whisper. The image of Jake’s bewildered look appears in my head. “What does it mean for the Warriors? His broken nose, I mean.”

“It will be fine, even if he’s out for a few games. We have Isaiah Gibson—he’s got a ton of talent. We won’t suffer.” He hugs me tighter. “Did he hurt you?”

“He could hardly control himself,” I say, knowing Xander won’t like hearing it.

He crouches in front of me, assessing my face before working his way down my body. When he notices bruises on my forearms, he clenches his jaw.

“Mr. Jensen said he pulled your hair,” Xander hisses through gritted teeth.

I bow my head and nod.

With a curse, he snakes his arms around my waist. The move dislodges Milo. Then, Xander is lifting me. “We still have a few hours before the party. What do you want to do? Will you let me take care of you?”

“Will you just hold me?”

Mouth tilting up at the corners, he cups my cheek and caresses my skin. “Whatever you want.”

Angling closer, I brush my lips over his, erasing the memories of my encounter with Jake. I replace them with memories of my time with Xander, allowing his love to flow through me. With him, I can overcome anything.

With him, I feel loved.