Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

In the morning as I’m getting ready, I hear Garret in the other room.

“Jade, get in here.”

“What?” I stagger into the room with only one shoe on, holding the other one in my hand.

Garret points to the TV. “They’re talking about Sinclair. This is old footage at his house. Check out the people around him. Do you see that old man anywhere?”

I get up closer to the screen. “Yes. Right there.” As I point him out, the camera moves. “You can’t see him now but I swear that was him.”

“So he’s definitely connected to Sinclair. And he’s too old to be a campaign worker. Maybe he’s just a donor.”

“Are donors really that involved? Going to Sinclair’s house? Traveling to his speeches? I thought they just wrote a check and that’s it.”

“My dad travels to political speeches all the time. And if he donates a lot of money, he gets invited to events at the politician’s house. So it’s not that unusual that the old guy was at Sinclair’s house. It just seems odd that a guy who was that involved with the campaign just happened to bump into you like that. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence.”

“I’m done worrying about it. He had his chance to do something to me and he didn’t. Besides, what’s he really going to do? The guy’s in his seventies.”

Garret turns off the TV and gets up from the couch. “Be careful when you’re in Des Moines. Don’t go anywhere alone. Take Ryan with you.”

“Ryan’ll be at work. But I’ll be home with Frank the whole time so you don’t need to worry.”

“I’ll still worry because I won’t be there myself to protect you.”

“I’m not helpless, Garret. I don’t need you to protect me.”

“Just promise me you’ll check in with me a couple times a day so I know you’re okay.”

“Yes, I promise.” I kiss him quick. “I’m ready to go if you want to head out. Although I’m really dreading having to go back to your house. Even if it’s just for one night.”

“We’re not going there.” Garret takes my suitcase and wheels it to the door next to his. “I booked us a hotel in Hartford. I knew you didn’t want to go back to the house. I’m not ready to, either. I’ll just end up yelling at Katherine.”

“When you see her later, please don’t say anything. She can’t know I was listening in.”

“I won’t. But I’m not letting her keep you away from the house. I want you to be able to come over and not feel like you shouldn’t be there. Plus you signed that agreement with Lilly. You have to go see her.”

“At least one person in your family likes me.”

He holds the door open for me and drops a kiss on my cheek. “My dad likes you, too. And I love you. So that’s two likes and a love. You should feel pretty good about that.”

* * *

The driver takes us back to Garret’s house, but we only stop there to get his car and then we drive to Hartford.

We spend the night in the hotel, and the next morning he takes me to the airport. Saying goodbye to him sucks, as saying goodbye always does, but it’s just a week. And I really do need that week without him so I can give all my attention to Frank and Ryan.

“You’ll call me every day, right?” Garret asks. “And you’ll keep your phone on?”

“Yes, and I won’t hang out in any dark alleys.”

“This is serious, Jade. I need to make sure you’re safe.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me. If anything, you should be the one being careful.”

“I’ll just be hanging out at home all week. And tomorrow I’m going over to Sean’s place.”

“Harper’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah. He has friends over every Sunday to watch the game.”

I glance back at the long line forming at the check-in counter. “I should probably go. Hey, you didn’t get me another first class ticket, did you?”

He kisses me. “Guess you’ll have to check in to find out.”

“Garret!”

“You’re scared to death to fly. And first class is a much calmer environment. I had no choice.”

“It’s too much money. But thank you.” I kiss him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Call me as soon as you get there.”

* * *

When I land in Des Moines, Ryan’s waiting for me right outside security. He looks better than when I saw him last. The dark circles under his eyes are gone and he has some color back in his face.

I run up and hug him as soon as I see him.

“Hi, Jade. How was the flight?”

“It was fine. I’m getting better at flying. As long as I can sleep, I’m good.”

“Let’s get your bag. Then we need to pick up Dad at the hospital.”

He hangs his arm around my shoulder as we walk to baggage. His dad must be doing well because Ryan seems happy and not so serious. It’s good to see him that way again.

Frank is ready to go when we arrive at the hospital. He’s dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, sitting in a wheelchair. His suitcase is packed and next to the door. I race over and give him a light hug, not sure if he’s hurting anywhere.

“Jade, it’s so good to have you back. And for two whole weeks. We’ll have to find something to do.”

“We’ll have plenty to do,” I tell him. “I know how to play poker now.”

“Poker?” Ryan gets that concerned older brother look on his face. “What kind of poker?”

“Regular poker, Ryan. No stripping involved.” I turn back to Frank. “You look a lot better, Frank.”

It’s true. The last time I saw him he looked like he was on death’s door. He was weak and pale and so skinny. He’s still thin but his face has life to it again.

“I feel better than I have in a long time. But let’s talk later. I need to get out of this place.”

We take Frank back to the house and as soon as we get there I feel like we’re a family again. It’s nice to have just the three of us there together and nobody else. I’m glad Garret suggested I spend this week with just the two of them.

Garret! Crap! I forgot to turn my phone on after I got off the plane. I turn it on and find two voicemails and three text messages from him. I don’t bother checking them. I just call him.

“Hey, Garret. I made it to Des Moines,” I say when he answers.

“Jade, I told you to call me when you got there. That was hours ago.”

“Sorry. I kind of forgot.”

He laughs. “You forgot about me already?”

“No. I was just busy. We had to pick up Frank at the hospital and then stop at the drugstore and now we’re finally home.”

“You sound okay, so the flight must’ve gone well.”

“Yeah. First class was a good idea. It was really quiet, so I slept the whole time.”

“How’s Frank feeling?”

“He’s doing so much better. He looks really good. I’ll send you a photo so you can see.”

“Well, tell him I said hi. And Ryan, too. I’ll let you go, but keep your phone on, okay? And call me once in a while.”

“I will. Bye.”

* * *

That night for dinner Ryan orders a pizza and then the three of us play poker, which I’ve decided is my new favorite game. Frank is really good. Ryan’s not too bad either. I’m surprised they never taught me how to play all those years I lived with them.

“Tomorrow we’re having Christmas,” Frank announces as Ryan deals the cards. “Ryan and I kind of skipped it since you weren’t here and I was in the hospital, so we decided to celebrate it tomorrow.”

“So what are we doing?” I ask.

“We’re going for our usual Christmas dinner at the casino, but Ryan and I aren’t having our eating contest this year. I’d never be able to keep up with him. My stomach shrunk while I was in the hospital living on gelatin and broth.”

Frank and his dad have this contest every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas to see who can eat the most food at the buffet. Ryan almost always wins.

“I could beat you, Ryan,” I say, challenging him. “It’s about time you let me compete in that contest.”

“You weigh like 100 pounds. I can easily eat more than you.”

“More like 115. And weight doesn’t matter. I know I can beat you.”

* * *

The next day, we go to the buffet and Ryan ends up eating more. I didn’t even come close to beating him.

Back at the house, Ryan pulls out a small stack of presents from the coat closet. I have gifts for them, too, but I didn’t expect anything in return. With all the stuff going on with his dad the past couple weeks, I was sure Ryan wouldn’t have time to shop.

“You first, Frank.” I hand him my gift, which is a photo album I put together. It’s nothing fancy. Just some photos I took over the semester that I printed out and put in an album.

“I love it. This is perfect.” Frank is almost crying as he flips through the pages. The meds he’s on must be making him emotional because he isn’t a very emotional guy and the album isn’t that great.

“It’s not much,” I say. “But since you can’t get to Connecticut to see where I live I thought I’d show you in pictures.”

“That was really nice, Jade.” Now Ryan seems emotional. What’s the deal with these two?

“Open yours.” I hand Ryan a small package. Inside is a collection of cassette tapes I found at a used record store in New York. They were super cheap so I got a bunch. “Now you won’t be stuck listening to the radio when you drive out to get me. I figure there’s enough there to fill 22 hours of driving.”

“Thanks, Jade. This is awesome.” Ryan likes my gift more than I thought he would. I guess I didn’t do too bad this year on present selection. I’m usually not very good at it.

“I know you’ll probably have that car for a few more years, so you might as well make use of the cassette player. I picked your favorite bands.”

“I see that. Thanks.” He gets up and hands me a small box. “Now your turn.”

I rip off the paper and find a wooden box containing a set of five black and silver pens. I kind of collect pens. I’m not sure when it started or why, but over the years I’ve accumulated quite a few. Most of them are freebie pens from hotels or banks, so it’s not that great of a collection.

“Thanks. These are really fancy. And they have their own little case.”

“We figured since you’re in college now, it was time to get you some higher quality pens.”

Ryan hands me an envelope next. Inside is a gift card for my favorite sporting goods store so I can replenish my running gear as needed.

Frank and Ryan exchange gifts next and then Frank goes to take a nap while Ryan and I watch TV. It turns out to be a really great Christmas, even though it’s not actually Christmas day.

* * *

The rest of the week is filled with movies, bowling, and playing cards. Ryan convinced his boss to give him some time off from work so he could do stuff with me while Frank rests. Chloe, Ryan’s girlfriend, has to work all week, which I’m secretly happy about. I like her, but I’m still not that comfortable around her and it would’ve been awkward to have her hang out with us.

On Friday, Ryan and I take Frank back to the hospital. He has an appointment with the new doctor Ryan told me about.

After an hour of sitting in the waiting room, a nurse finally comes up to Ryan. “The doctor will be out shortly to take you back to his office. He’ll be going over your father’s test results.”

“Okay, thanks.” Ryan turns to me. “You can wait out here. It shouldn’t take long.”

There’s a stack of magazines on the table next to me and I’ve already gone through all of them. They’re celebrity gossip magazines that are mostly pictures with really short articles.

The person next to me gets up to leave and I snatch her magazine before someone else gets it. My eyes stop at a photo on the top right corner of the cover. I instantly recognize the smiling brunette with the fake boobs and overly white teeth. Next to the photo it says, Ava Hamilton returns for a Prep School Girls’ reunion ! Details inside!

Ava was Garret’s fake girlfriend last semester before I ended the fake girlfriend tradition. Ava was on Prep School Girls, some reality show on cable. It was a year ago, but apparently she’s doing a reunion show. Like the girl needs more attention. Who would want to watch her on TV anyway?

I flip to the article about her. It’s just one page, mostly photos. My stomach drops when I spot a photo at the very bottom next to a caption that says, Will they get back together? The photo shows Ava and Garret at a charity function last fall. Garret has his arm around Ava, and even though I know it’s all for show I still cringe seeing them together.

I quickly scan the article. It’s rumored that Ava is getting back together with Garret Kensington, a prep school classmate of hers. Some say they’re already a couple again.

Already a couple again? What the hell? Who’s saying this? They were never a couple. She was just his fake girlfriend. I keep reading. Garret is the son of billionaire Pearce Kensington, owner of Kensington Chemical.

Billionaire? I thought he was just a millionaire. Everything I’d read about Garret’s dad said he was worth millions, not billions. But I suppose several millions make a billion.

The article continues. Garret and Ava are currently attending Moorhurst College in Connecticut, an exclusive private college attended by several of their prep school classmates. Fans of Prep School Girls are hoping Garret will make an appearance on the reunion episodes. Ever since photos of this hottie were released last year, Garret has developed a large fan following with girls begging to get another glimpse of those famous swimmer abs. Check our website for more photos of Ava and Garret along with updates about the Prep School Girls’ Reunion episodes.

Photos? What photos? And since when does Garret have fans?

“Jade.” Ryan is nudging my arm. I’m in a complete daze. The magazine falls out of my hand onto the floor. Ryan picks it up and sets it on the table. “I’m going to meet with the doctor.”

My mind comes back into focus as I see Ryan standing there waiting for my response. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll wait here.”

Ryan walks off and I hear him talking to the doctor. The man’s voice sounds familiar. I glance up and realize that I know the doctor. The gray-haired man with black-rimmed glasses standing next to Ryan is one of the doctors who took Garret the day he was shot by Royce Sinclair. I’m 100% sure of it. I remember Garret’s dad talking to him while Garret was being carried out on a stretcher.

What is he doing in Des Moines? And what is he doing to Frank?