Page 119 of Jaked

Chapter 45

I heard a sharp intake of breath. It was my own. I flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. So Jake had slept with his dad's girlfriend? That was disturbing on too many levels to count.

No. That couldn’t be true. This morning, Bishop must've been talking about someone else.

On the phone, I heard Selena's voice. "Luna? Are you there?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing."

I was still trying to add things up. Selena had met Bishop when she was how old? Eighteen. I did the math. If Selena was talking about the same Debbie, Jake would have been how old at the time? Twenty-one. Definitely old enough to know better.

Wasn't there anyone he wouldn’t sleep with?

I returned my attention to Selena. "Hey, can I ask you something else?" I said. "Has Jake ever hit on you?"

She laughed. "Me? No. Never. In fact, I hardly know him. Why would you even ask such a thing?"

"Just curious." I closed my eyes, hoping to block out my own ugly thoughts. It didn't help. "Hey, I need to go," I said. "Can I give you a call in a few days?"

"Oh, alright," she muttered. "But if I don't hear from you soon, I'm tracking you down. I mean it."

I had to smile. If I knew my sister, she'd do it too.

After we hung up, I didn't move. Somewhere outside the guest room door, Bianca was still raging. I wrapped a pillow around my head, trying to muffle the noise. It only reminded me that two nights ago, I'd done practically the same thing with a different pillow in a different place, when Maddie and Jake had been screwing like porn stars in the adjacent bedroom.

Jake had made Maddie scream too. Of course, Maddie's screams had sounded a whole lot happier than Bianca's.

The recollection didn't make me feel better, especially when Bianca's screeching picked up volume. Just when I thought I'd go absolutely insane, I heard a door slam so hard, I swear, the bed shook. And then abruptly, the screeching ended.

I flung aside the pillow and sat up. I listened. I heard nothing. Was she gone? Or had they killed each other?

Soon, I heard a knock on the guest room door, followed by Jake's voice. "Luna? You in there?"

Where exactly did hethinkI was? Hiding out in some closet again?

Not this time. Embarrassment aside, I'd learned that lesson the hard way. There were some things a girl was definitely better off not knowing.

I pushed myself off the bed and stood. I took a deep breath and made myself smile. "Yup, come on in."

Jake pushed through the door and stopped short at the sight of me. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yup. I'm good. How about you?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "You want the truth?" he said. "Or the same bull you're giving me?"

"Actually," I admitted, "I'm not sure how to answer that. Maybeyoushould go first."

"Alright." He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the far wall. "I'm mad as hell."

"At who?" I asked. "Bianca?"

"And me." He made a hard sound. "And fuckin' Vince Hammond."

I squinted over at him. "Vince? That sports agent? Why him?"