Chapter 10

10

Holly

J enson and I didn't say much when we got inside his house. He just carried me over to the couch, where we proceeded to silently cuddle, soaking up the warmth the other had to offer. The parts of me that had shattered when I chose my future over Jenson were slowly mending back together. The pain was still there, only now it was a dull throb compared to the blazing agony it had been.

We had to have laid there for hours without me realizing it. Because eventually, he murmured, "I think I hear your parents pulling into their drive."

I tensed. The subject of my parents was a sore one when it came to him. Jenson just brushed his hands down my body. "Not making you choose. Never fucking again, Holly. You were smart to choose your future over me. I'll never fault you for that," he swore. "I was a stupid son of a bitch for ever giving you that ultimatum in the first place."

I snuggled deeper into him, closing my eyes, not saying a word for fear of breaking the peace we'd somehow found. Jenson buried his face in my blonde hair and breathed in deeply, like he was trying to inhale the essence of me. Tingles rushed through my body in response.

Suddenly, my phone blared on the coffee table, breaking the peacefulness we'd submerged ourselves in. Groaning, I reached forward and grabbed the device, my dad's number on the screen. Sighing, I swiped my thumb across the screen to answer it and then lifted my phone to my ear. "Hey?—"

"Get the fuck home. Right now ," he growled before abruptly hanging up.

I swallowed thickly and sat up, dread curling in my stomach, twisting it inside out. My hands began to shake. Somehow, I knew this had to do with Jenson. Someone had seen us and told my parents—specifically my dad.

Oh, God, I was pretty sure I was going to be sick. Nausea swirled through my gut, rising up my esophagus.

"Hey, look at me," Jenson rumbled, grabbing my face in his hands. He was crouching in front of me, his big, calloused hands warm on my face. I hadn't even realized he'd moved. "You need to breathe, you hear me?"

"I think they found out," I managed to say, my entire body shaking. Tears spilled down my cheeks, and I swallowed back a sob. My eyes desperately searched his face for answers I knew he wouldn't have. "Jenson, what am I going to do?" I cried.

He brushed my tears away, his eyes steady on mine. "Do you want me to go over there with you?" I sobbed, fear clouding my brain, preventing me from answering him. He gently shook me. "Holly, do you want me to go over there with you? Because I will. I won't make you face this alone, you hear me? I knew what I was getting into when I decided I wanted you as mine."

"What if they kick me out?" I cried. Everything was falling apart around me again. I didn't know what to do. My family was my rock. Without them, what did I have?

Nothing.

Jenson brushed his lips over mine so tenderly that my heart squeezed in my chest. But it calmed me a little, which I desperately needed, considering I could barely fucking think. "Then I will take care of you. You're my priority, doll. That's never going to change." Before I could make sense of his words, he stood to his feet and gently pulled me to mine, clasping my hand in his and pocketing my phone. "Let's go face the music. I am right here with you. Always."

Sniffling, I nodded my head, trusting him despite the fear of the unknown choking me. We walked out of the house, and Jenson sighed when he saw my dad waiting for me on the concrete driveway. My mother was standing on the porch, and she refused to meet my eyes. Swallowing thickly, I faked courage I didn't have and focused my gaze on my dad.

Pure disgust resided in his eyes as he looked at where mine and Jenson's hands were clasped. If he'd needed any confirmation of what he'd been told, I'd just proven it.

Fear threatened to swallow me whole. I couldn't lose my family. "Dad?—"

"I want your keys, your phone, and anything else that I bought and paid for," he commanded. "If you think it's okay to have sex with men almost twice your age, then you don't need my fucking help anymore." I flinched. Jenson tightened his hold around my fingers. Dad held his hand out. "Hand it all over."

Tears slid down my cheeks all over again. Shakily, I pulled my keys out of my pocket, and Jenson silently handed me my phone. I handed them over to my dad, hating the way my hand shook as I did so. He snatched them from me with a look of pure disgust.

"Dad, can we talk—" I tried again.

He stepped up to me, his face twisted with rage. With a growl, Jenson shoved me behind him and towered over my dad by a few inches. He was seething, every muscle in his body coiled with tension. "Back the fuck up," Jenson snarled.

"Dad—" I choked out, my voice shaky. My knees were banging together as I clutched onto the back of Jenson's shirt. Whether to hold him back or hold myself up, I didn't know.

This couldn't be happening. My family couldn't be turning their backs on me. Not like this. Not when I needed them the most.

"I am not your dad," he sneered in my direction, though his eyes didn't leave Jenson's. Neither man backed down. "You were adopted?—"

My mind blanked, and my ears began to ring, preventing me from hearing anything else he had to say to me.

Adopted?

I was fucking adopted ?

I choked on air, stumbling back from them like I'd been hit straight in my chest. Mom wailed from the porch and screamed at my dad to stop. Jenson turned to face me, his face stricken with grief on my behalf. I sobbed, a scream trying to tear from my throat, but I just choked. On air. On my grief. On my pain.

"Baby, I'm here," Jenson rasped. He gripped the back of my thighs and lifted me, forcing me to wind my arms and legs around him. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, sobbing, my heart breaking. "I'm here. Let me get you home, doll. It's going to be okay."

"He—he—" I tried, but I couldn't get the words past my lips. My entire body shook in Jenson's arms, and I couldn't breathe. I gasped, clinging to him like he was the only thing tethering me to the earth. He tightened his hold on me and jogged to his house, opening the door and kicking it shut behind him once we were inside.

He sank to his knees in the foyer and crushed me to him, gently rocking me. "Breathe, Holly. Breathe. You have to breathe." He rested our foreheads together and grasped my hand, pressing it to his chest. "Breathe with me, doll," he pleaded, his eyes boring into mine with fear and worry. For me.

My watery eyes focused on his, and with small, gasping breaths, I managed to try to mimic him until my breathing slowed. Exhausted, my entire body sore from the panic attack I'd just endured, I slumped in his arms, silent tears tracking down my sore cheeks.

Without a word, Jenson wrapped me up in his arms and carried me upstairs to his room. He gently laid me on the bed and peeled my shoes off before stripping out of his shirt and shoes. Then, he tenderly moved me over on the mattress and curled his body around mine, holding me together the best he could as my pieces slowly fell back apart.