Chapter Thirty One

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Tori stumbled into her lounge in time to see Shannon backed up against the large window, and Jayden clutching a nose that was literally pouring with blood.

A smile adorning her full lips, she leant back against the doorframe, folding her arms and enjoying the scene as Jay swore bloody murder, and a few very offensive phrases over at Shannon.

“That Krav Maga is really improving then eh babe?” Tori smiled over at Shannon, who seemed to be taking a few minutes to herself, to work out what was happening and where she was.

At which point, of course, she doubled over laughing. “Jay, I’m so ... I’m s-....” drawing back her shoulders, she was trying to make a serious effort to control her laughter, but it wasn’t really working, “I’m sorry man, you freaked me out barging in like that!”

Jay tipped back his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he watched Shannon from the corner of his eye, “Barged? I used a fucking key Shan!”

Tori chuckled in the corner, her face showing no signs of fear or sadness for the first time in days, she looked like herself again, and Jay couldn’t stay even marginally angry when she was smiling like that.

“Looks like the man’s going to need a tampon Tor!” Doubling over with laughter, Tori stumbled back into the bathroom to hit up the medicine cabinet.

Jayden fell down onto the sofa, still pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning back so as not to get blood onto the cream leather.

“I really am sorry Jay, I honestly didn’t know it was you ... or maybe subconsciously I did,” she chuckled again as Jayden winced slightly, knowing she was bang to rights to beat the absolute crap out of him, fuck! She’d probably have to get in line! “What the hell are you doing sneaking around in the dark you reprobate?”

She came to sit on the other end of the sofa, curling her long legs up underneath her. He shrugged, “I didn’t sneak, Shannon, I used my key...”

“Which I’m assuming you pocketed from Nathaniel?” she interrupted, watching him from the corner of her eye.

“You’re such a fucking smartass,” he muttered, shaking his head. “What am I supposed to do Shan? She’s ignored my calls all day, I don’t know what else to do ...” he sighed, the weight of the world crushing his upper body into a very uncharacteristic slouch.

Shannon was silent a moment, her intense stare running across his angular features,“It’s time for some honesty Jay, you’re going to give us all nightmares when you’re hiring security and cutting her off like this.”

For a long while, the two looked at each other thoughtfully. Both of them loved the tiny, naive young girl in the next room, in two different ways, but Shannon was no longer quite so sure that she was willing to trust Jayden with Tori’s heart any longer ... and that said something since she’d never once questioned his feelings for the other girl in more than twelve years.

On soft bare feet Tori gracefully walked back into the room, holding two halves of a tampon for each of Jay’s nostrils. “Oh, this just gets better,” he muttered, eyeing the objects in Tori’s hands as Shannon got up from the couch, with yet another very irritating chuckle at the back of her slender throat.

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