Night of Secrets (Night of Secrets #1)

Chapter 11 - A Lull in the Night

I wait outside the ice cream parlor while Jax goes in and orders for us. At this time of night, there are fewer people around. Not that I mind. Right now, I'm tired of people. I'm tired of myself, too, but I can't exactly do anything about my own company. The only person I can remotely tolerate at the moment is Jax. So while I wait for him to come back, I sit on the bench, resting my head against the wall behind me. I stare up at the fairy lights crisscrossing above. I start to shut my eyes when my phone buzzes insistently. I pull it out of my bag and scowl at the screen.

Faye: Look. I know you're pissed. We're all fucking pissed. But I think I'm calmer now. So let's talk.

I actually start to reply, but why should I? If I respond, I probably won't feel the heaviness in my chest anymore. But if I don't, then there's less of a chance that I'll text something I'll regret. And then there's the fact that I'll be ignoring Faye. Something I've never done before. Just the thought of it makes my heart beat faster. Should I...? I look at what I've typed so far.

Me: Okay. Talk about what?

Stupid... We both know what there's to talk about... Actually, no. Faye wouldn't bring up what she said. She'd only bring up the letters and what I wrote. I don't need or want to talk about that with her yet. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the cold night air before deleting what I typed. I throw my phone back in my bag and lean against the wall again. I stare up at the fairy lights and let out a slow breath, feeling my heart settle.

I just ignored Faye. That's something I never thought I'd do.

"Did I miss something?" Jax asks, coming out with two ice cream cones. He hands me one, taking a seat beside me. "You seem satisfied."

"Faye texted me," I explain. "And I ignored her."

Jax smiles. "Good for you. Faye definitely deserves it."

That confirmation makes my heart settle even more. I smile and finally turn my attention to my ice cream. It's cookie dough. I laugh and turn to Jax. "Let me guess," I tease. "This next secret is you know my favorite ice cream flavor."

He rolls his eyes. "Well, it isn't anymore." His smile sobers and the air around us dims. "I just thought you needed a pick-me-up. Even if you just had a small victory."

"You thought right."

"Are you ready to talk about what happened with Cyril?"

I quickly fill Jax in on what Cyril said to me at the beach and what I said in return in between eating my ice cream. "Am I being petty? I'm not, right?"

Jax shakes his head. "No. He was gaslighting you." Oh, good. I wasn't imagining that. "And trying to make you think you're overreacting. And honestly, I feel like you've been underreacting this entire time. Or at least just bottling up your emotions."

I run a hand through my hair. "I get that, but I still feel... bad..."

"About what?"

"About blowing him off. Like I did something wrong."

"You didn't. That's just how he wants you to feel." Jax sits back and sighs. "Maybe I should've punched him in the face before I left you with him."

I laugh. "I don't know if that would've helped with anything."

"Sure it does. You feel a little better thinking about it, don't you?"

I feel the corners of my mouth turn up, and I turn my head, so Jax doesn't see it. "Absolutely not."