Still Jaded (Jaded #2)

"What—nothing." A look of panic blazed over her face, but she calmed immediately. "I didn't see anything. Why? You think I did and I wouldn't tell you?"

I narrowed my eyes but let go of her arm. She was good. She'd gotten good. That meant that she'd been schooled at an alarming speed. What that meant…I wasn't sure. It might've meant that I was more paranoid than I thought. I nodded slowly. "Okay. I'm sorry."

Grace touched my arm. "Are you okay? Maybe it's the pain? You've had a traumatic experience, Sheldon. More than most."

She was right, but something was off. I felt it, but I also needed to face the reality that it could be me this time. "You're right. I probably need another pain pill."

"Are you staying with Bryce somewhere? Maybe you should go there and lay down. We can finish cleaning. You can come back, and everything will be normal tomorrow. If they don't stay to finish it, I will. I promise."

She looked so innocent and well-meaning. Strands of her thin golden hair had fallen from the braided bun. They framed her face and accentuated the softness of her pale features. I used to think Grace looked like an angel, but this time something else reeled in me.

I blurted out, "I saw Denton Steele."

Something flashed in her eyes. The blue depths darkened for a split second.

"He told me that you've seen Mena. You never told me."

She nodded before she looked away. "Mena asked me not to. She was embarrassed about her situation. You were always so…larger than life in her eyes." She looked back. I felt like she was pleading with me to understand when she said, "You're a lot, Sheldon, and I don't think you know how you come off to other people. You're larger than life. It's like you're above everyone else, and Mena didn't want you to know how far she'd fallen. She was embarrassed, that's all. She asked about you a lot, though. She was always curious about Bryce, how things were going between you two."

I'm sure she had been since he was the one who pushed her out. "You know…I…Mena needed to stand up to Bryce and Corrigan. I couldn't do it for her."

"She wasn't ready to do it back then. She didn't have the strength or the self-esteem. She might now, though," Grace whispered and looked away. She clutched her arm, holding it across her waist. Her fingers pressed so hard into her skin that blood seeped out under her nails.

I watched as a droplet of blood trickled on the floor. "You're right," I said softly. "Maybe she does now. When was the last time you talked to her?"

"What?" Grace wrenched her gaze back. Her eyes were glazed over, as if she'd been thinking of something else entirely. "Oh. I talked to her three months ago. She was happy, seeing someone. I met him. He seemed really nice, the staying kind, you know."

"Did she ask about your love life?"

"Oh." She blushed and looked down. "I don't have a love life, remember."

She avoided my gaze and I knew that our friendship was done, our real friendship at least. She didn't mention Corrigan. "You never know. There might be someone hiding in the shadows."

Grace laughed and patted my arm. "You're teasing me. You're always teasing me."

I grinned. "I like to tease."

"I'm going to head back out there. I'm sure everyone's done eating by now. You want me to send Bryce in? He could help you to…wherever you're staying?" Grace reached for the door.

"Go and eat. I'll find Bryce."

Grace smiled at me before she left. I saw the look of relief on her face and wondered where it came from. Was she relieved that my interrogation was over? Relieved that she didn't need to find Bryce and pass along a message? Or…relieved because she thought I believed her? And did I? I pressed a hand to my head and groaned. A headache had started earlier, but now it throbbed.

"There you are. What are you doing in here?" Corrigan sauntered in with a fresh drink in hand.

I sniffed it. "That's not juice."

He flashed a grin. "It's not ALL juice."

I shrugged. "Well, cleaning will be a lot more fun now, if any gets done."

"Relax." Corrigan laughed and grabbed my shoulder. He started to massage it and remarked, "Holy hell, you're tight, Sheldon. Maybe you should rest."

Everyone kept telling me that. It was starting to piss me off. I removed his hand. "I'll rest if I want to."

Corrigan still chuckled but contented himself with his drink. He watched me over the brim of his cup. "What are you thinking about me and Bryce? Or about me, you and Bryce? Or about...the same stuff? You really want a knock-down-drag-out fight? It might get brutal, Sheldon."

"I can handle brutal. If it's honest, that's all I care about." I couldn't handle the lies and the shady games that went on under the surface.

Corrigan shrugged and glanced over his shoulder. "The groups are going to finish cleaning. It looks like an all-nighter for us, but that's okay. I'm going to run to the liquor store later, so I'm not promising how much will stay clean by tomorrow. Grace just told me that you might leave. Are you headed out?"