Still Jaded (Jaded #2)

She looked over her shoulder and moved back. "I wanted you to know this. You don't seem that surprised."

"Grace acted weird after that incident. I wondered if she had done something or seen something. It makes sense that she was covering for the girls. Making friends can be a powerful reason for why people do things."

People liked to be accepted.

"She has an alibi for the night that someone tried to break in. She's told us that she came forth because she didn't want to be involved with that. She's adamant that the house has had nothing to do with your car brakes. How long has your car been at the hotel?"

I shrugged. "It's been awhile. I went to the hotel after leaving the hospital. I was there for two days and then I was at Denton Steele's house for awhile. It's been a couple months."

"Denton Steele?" Her voice sounded hard.

"Yeah. He was a neighbor growing up. He offered his home, and I had been staying there until a month ago. One of the first nights I got back was the attempted break-in. You don't think it's related to him?"

Sheila rolled her eyes and grunted. "Who knows with you? You've got so many men surrounding you, it's not healthy. Any girl could be obsessed with them and decided to go after you. Hell, now we have to look into Denton Steele and see if he's got any stalkers. One celebrity isn't enough? I hope Corrigan doesn't become a national name. You will have even bigger problems with him. Girls will go nuts for that one." She stormed off, muttering under her breath.

The room was full of police, but none of them mattered. It was me and him, always me and him. Then Bryce sighed as he stepped close and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You've changed. He's changed you."

I rested my hand on his arm. It was so rigid, but I couldn't think of that. "I want to see Corrigan first and then…" My heart was pounding. "You and I need to talk."

He nodded.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

We were shown to Corrigan's room, but he was still sleeping. When Katrice and Corrigan's father saw us, they stood. She whispered in my ear, embracing me at the same time, "He loves the both of you." Then she squeezed my hand, kissed my forehead, and left us alone.

It was awkward.

Our roles were always defined before, but now everything was different. Bryce felt it and perched on the windowsill. I knew he was uncomfortable, but so was I. I sat in the chair Katrice had abandoned. I didn't know what to say. He didn't either. And neither of us wanted to say something that Corrigan could overhear, although it didn't matter. Corrigan always knew anyway.

It didn't seem long, but it could've been hours when I heard a slight cough beside me. Corrigan turned his head, and his eyes opened. It was a slight squint.

"Hey." I reached for his hand. "Hey."

He frowned and then closed his eyes.

Bryce jumped off the windowsill and jerked forward, but froze. Frowning, he slid his hands in his pockets and turned away.

"Sheldon?" Corrigan asked.

His voice was raspy, and I winced. I couldn't imagine his pain right now. "How are you feeling?"

He gave me a thin smile before grimacing in pain.

Bryce turned back and rounded to stand on the other side of the bed. "Hey…"

Corrigan's eyes opened a little wider and looked from Bryce to me. In that moment, I wondered if he contemplated closing his eyes and going back to sleep. I would've done it. He didn't. Instead, he swallowed painfully. "Sheldon."

"Yes?" I leaned close. "What do you need?"

He patted my hand. "Go and get yourself some coffee."

"What?"

"Go. Get coffee. Don't come back for awhile."

"You want me to leave? Are you serious?"

Bryce cleared his throat, looking away.

"What? You want me to leave because of…" I gestured to the three of us and then stopped talking. I didn't know what to say.

Corrigan closed his eyes and cringed again.

Bryce broke out, "Of course he wants you to leave because of this. You think this is fun, Sheldon? You think I enjoy seeing you two—you think—"

"You started this! You left!" I shot to my feet and cried out.

Bryce squared off with me. "I did not. I did not ask to see my two best friends have…" He choked off and then turned towards the windows. His shoulders were tense and shaking.

I closed my mouth as I watched him. I had no idea how to sort out my feelings, much less figure out what he was thinking. He was right about one thing, though. The trio wasn't the same. I looked at Corrigan and saw him watching me. His eyes seemed concerned, but there was something else there. I couldn't figure it out. I didn't want to so I murmured, "I'm going to go get coffee. I'll be back."