Page 31 of Protective Love

She gently squeezes my hand and then lets go and walks out of the room, smiling at Jess as she passes by her.

"You really care about her, huh?" Jess says, looking back at my closed door before she turns to face me again and walks over to sit beside me.

I nod my head, watching her intensely as she fidgets with her hands in her lap.

"Don't let your infatuation with her cloud your judgement though, Jay."

"The fuck is that meant to mean, Jess?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "I asked Dominic about her because I found it weird that she just happens to turn up at this hospital out of the blue and gets appointed as your carer. You know what he told me? When Sophia was looking into her, you know they couldn't find anything about her from before she turned up here?"

I glare at her and scoff.

"I know that she's hiding something, Jess. I'm not fucking stupid. Whatever she's hiding has nothing to do with us though."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because whatever she's hiding has something to do with the bruises she was trying to cover up since she got here!" I snap, wincing at the pain in my throat. "She's running from something, so I'm not surprised that you can't find any record of her from before she started here. All I know is that I'm fucking glad she has someone helping her, someone who is trying to keep her safe."

She laughs, shaking her head and standing from her chair.

"How is it that you seem to give a shit about this stranger who you know nothing about more than your own fucking sister?"

"What are you on about?" I ask, confused by the turn in conversation.

"It's funny, you know? Everyone always seems to have this idea that twins are always so close, to the point where they know everything about each other, can tell what each other are thinking, and even somehow know when the other one is in pain or going through some shit, but they'd be real fucking wrong about that, because it isn't like that with us, is it, Jay?"

I frown at her, watching as she stands beside me, her chest heaving and tears welling in her eyes.

"Jess, seriously, what's going on? Does this have something to do with where you've been lately and the secrets you've been keeping?"

She scoffs, and a tear drips down her cheek before she quickly swipes it away.

"Don't try and turn this around on me."

"I'm not trying to do shit. I'm asking because there's clearly something going on with you, Jess. You're keeping secrets, you're not telling anyone where you've been or what you've been up to—"

"Why would I tell any of you anything?" she shouts, shaking her head as she walks back and forth beside my bed.

"Because I'm your bloody twin brother, Jess!"

"Well then you should act like it!" she says, tears pouring from her eyes now as she stares at me with a burning hatred that I've never seen before.

My heart cracks inside my chest as I watch her while she tries to gain control of her emotions so she can continue talking.

"Scott was right. You haven't cared about me like you should have ever since you became Sophia's bodyguard."

"Who the fuck is Scott, and what the hell are you talking about?" I ask, lifting my head from my pillow and trying to put myself in her eyesight, but it's hard when I still can't move half of my body.

She takes a deep, shaky breath and uses the sleeves of her jumper to wipe the tears from her face.

"Oh, so now you want to ask questions and act like the caring and concerned brother that you're meant to be?"

"Jess, this is ridiculous. You know I care about you, and I'm always concerned about you. You're my sister and I love you. Where is all this shit coming from?"

A knock sounds at the door, interrupting the tense silence that started to form between us.

Rory pokes her head in, nervously glancing between us.