Knowing You (The Jade Series #2) (24 page)

I smile. “Yeah. I know. That was nice of your dad to offer. I think I might take him up on it.”

“Good. Now let’s go talk to the lawyers.” He puts his hand on my back, leading me out of the room, then stops suddenly and pulls me back. He leans down and kisses me. It’s a soft, gentle, caring kiss that makes me want to stay there in his arms until all the bad stuff goes away. “Okay, now we can go.”

We spend the rest of the evening going over what happened, detail by detail. The entire incident happened in just a few minutes and yet it takes hours to replay it to the lawyers who ask a million questions. I’m so embarrassed having to talk about something this intimate with complete strangers plus Garret’s dad, but I know I need to, so I do.

Afterward I go to the guest room—the one I was supposed to sleep in when I was there for Thanksgiving. It’s odd to be staying in the house with Garret’s whole family. But I’m still more comfortable there than back in my dorm room. I like knowing that Garret is just down the hall.
 

When I wake up the next morning, a tiny face with long blond hair is standing next to my bed.

“Hi, Jade.” It’s Lilly, Garret’s sister.

“Hi, Lilly.” I sit up. “What are you doing here?”

“Garret said you were sad so I brought you this.” She hands me the stuffed panda bear from her room.
 

“Oh, um, thank you.” I hold the bear, not sure what to do with it.

“He’s my favorite, but you can have him if he makes you feel better.”

She’s so darn cute in her pink pajamas. How did something so cute and sweet come from Katherine? Garret must’ve had a big influence on her.

“Do you wanna watch cartoons in my room?” Her big blue eyes light up as she says it. “Or we could have a tea party.”
 

I’m not in the mood to do either, but like Garret warned me, it’s nearly impossible to say no to her.

“Okay, let’s go.” As I put on my robe, Lilly reminds me to bring the panda bear.
 

She holds my hand and leads me to her room. The TV is already on playing cartoons.
 

“Do you want some tea?” she asks, still holding my hand.

“Um, sure.” I follow her to the tiny table and sit in one of the tiny chairs, setting the panda next to me.
 

She pours the imaginary tea, then sits down and pretends to drink it. “I always wanted a big sister.”

“But you have Garret. A big brother.”

“I know. But he likes football and boy stuff.” She takes another sip of tea. “Can I braid your hair?”

“Right now?” I run my hand through my hair, which is all tangled from sleeping.
 

She nods, excitedly.
 

“Okay. Let me brush it out first.”
 

Within minutes, Lilly has me drinking fake tea while watching princess cartoons and getting my hair braided.
 

I hear footsteps in the hallway and then the door opens.
 

“Lilly, have you seen—” It’s Garret. As soon as he sees me sitting there at the tiny table holding a tea cup with half braided hair, a huge grin forms across his face as he tries to hide his laughter.

“She got you good,” he says.

“Hi, Garret.” Lilly leaves my hair and runs over to Garret.
 

He picks her up. “What are you doing to my girlfriend?”

“Fixing her hair for your date tonight.”

“We have a date tonight?” he asks her.

She shrugs. “I gave her my panda because she’s sad.”

“That was very nice of you.” He puts her down. “Can you let Jade and me talk for a minute?”

She nods and runs off.

Garret gives me a kiss, then sits on the floor next to the tiny table. “How was the tea?”
 

“She came in my room and invited me in here. What was I going to say?”

“She really likes you. She asks about you constantly. And now that you played with her she’ll like you even more.”
 

“So what’s going on with Blake? Is anything happening today? Or do I have to wait until Monday to talk to the lawyers?”

“Well, you may not have to say anything. I just talked to my dad. Blake is home recovering from his nose surgery and he’s sticking with his story about you two being a couple. Now he’s saying you’re calling it an attempted rape just to get money from his family.”

“Are you serious? So now what?”

“We’re going for a deal. My lawyers are discussing it with them now.”

“By deal you mean blackmail? But Garret, you said that was a last resort.”

“Yeah, well, Blake pushed it too far. He keeps making up lies about you. Lies that could affect your future. I’m not going to let him do that.”

“And your dad went along with this?”

“It was his idea. This deal helps us both. I don’t have time to waste in some courtroom or a room full of lawyers trying to defend myself against something I had every right to do. My dad just wants this taken care of.”

Lilly reappears, running over to Garret. “Dad wants to talk to you.”

“Okay.” He gets up off the floor. “Lilly, why don’t you go have breakfast with Jade?”

She takes my hand. “Don’t forget your bear.”

Garret smiles as I grab the panda and stand up from the tiny chair, my hair still only half-braided. We all go downstairs together. Garret goes into his dad’s office and Lilly and I go to the dining room.

When I finish breakfast, the door to Mr. Kensington’s office is still closed. I can’t find Garret anywhere so I assume he’s in there. I go upstairs to shower and dress, then watch TV in my room and wait.

Around noon, Garret comes in and sits next to me on the bed. “It’s done. He dropped the charges.”

21

I let out a huge sigh of relief. “Are you sure it’s over?”

“It’s over. They just need to fill out some paperwork to make it official. Blake will probably be kicked out of Moorhurst. Right now, he’s not allowed on campus, so he’ll be finishing the semester at home, doing homework and tests online.”

“Seriously? What the hell did you have on him? Can you tell me now?”

“If I do, you can’t say anything. To anyone. Not even Frank or Ryan. Or Harper.”

“Yeah. I won’t.”

“Blake has a . . . side job, I guess you’d call it. He sells drugs. Cocaine mostly. He sells it to people at our school and some other colleges in the area. He also has some high profile buyers.”

“Blake’s a drug dealer? Why does that not surprise me? How long has this been going on?”

“It started senior year of high school. But I didn’t know about it until halfway through the year when he tried to sell me some. Anyway, his dad’s reputation would be ruined if this got out. And Blake would go to prison.”

“But how can you prove it? It’s just your word against his.”

“I know where he stashes the stuff. And I saved text messages he sent me when he was trying to sell it to me last year. I also got video of him dealing at this party we went to last spring. If he didn’t drop the charges against me, I had plenty of evidence to take him down.”

“So how’d he get kicked out of school?”

“He had some of it hidden in his gym locker. Yesterday the dean got an anonymous call telling him where to look. He found the drugs in Blake’s locker but agreed to keep quiet if Blake transferred to a different college.”

“So Blake just gets away with it?”

“I told you. That’s how it works. It’s just a series of deals. And if Blake comes near you again, I’ll pull out more evidence. I’ve been building a case against him ever since I found out about the drugs. I’ve never trusted him. I knew I might need to use this someday.”

Mr. Kensington appears in the doorway. “Jade, I assume Garret has given you the news?”

“Yes. He just told me.”

“I’ve asked Garret to stay here at the house another day while we finalize everything. It’d probably be a good idea if you stayed here as well.”

“Yeah, okay. I didn’t bring clothes for another day but—”

“I’ll take you back to campus,” Garret says. “I need to go back anyway and get my laptop.”

Mr. Kensington turns to leave, then stops and turns back around. “Jade, have you talked with Frank since this happened?”
 

“Frank?” I say it like I have no idea who he’s talking about. I assume he means the Frank I grew up with but I can’t believe Garret’s dad even remembers Frank. They only spoke once on the phone, back when I got my scholarship.
 

“Your caretaker. Frank. Isn’t that his name?”

“Um, yes. I talked to him. I told him what happened. I’ll call him again later. He’ll be relieved to know Blake won’t be at Moorhurst anymore.”

“When you speak with him, if he has any concerns regarding this issue, please have him call me.”

“Okay, I will.”

“By the way, how is he feeling? Frank has MS, isn’t that right?”

This is so strange. Why is Garret’s dad suddenly so interested in Frank? “Yes. He’s doing okay. He has good and bad days.”

“Well, be sure to give him my best.” He walks out and I give Garret a WTH look. He shrugs like he has no idea why his dad just asked about Frank.
 

On the way to campus I ask Garret more about it, but he says he’s never talked about Frank with his dad.
 

Garret goes with me to my room to get my things. His eyes scan the walls, searching for the blood.
 

“Harper did it,” I say, packing some clothes in a garbage bag. “She cleaned it up and got me new stuff for my bed.”
 

My heart is beating erratically just being in that room again. It’s too soon.
 

“Jade. Stop for a minute and come over here.”
 

Garret’s sitting on the bed. I haven’t been near it since the incident. I walk over and cautiously sit down. Maybe I’m imagining it, but I can still smell Blake’s cologne.
 

“Don’t let him or what he did have power over you. We have good memories here. Don’t let him ruin all that.” Garret gets up to turn on the blue ceiling lights, then lies down on the bed, pulling on me to lie beside him. I shiver being in that position again. Garret notices and holds me closer. I finally start to relax.

When we get back to his house later, we learn that the charges have been officially dropped. Garret and I go out to dinner because it’s too awkward to eat dinner with his family. It’s clear that Katherine doesn’t want me staying there. I get the feeling she’s been fighting with her husband about it.
 

On Sunday, Garret and his dad tell me that Blake might try to come after me again. The deal they made included a part about Blake staying away from me, a kind of unofficial restraining order, but given that Blake never does as he’s told, he could still be a threat. Garret gives me a taser and some pepper spray. It doesn’t make me feel any safer.
 

The next week we return to our normal daily routine. I was hoping that doing so would make me forget the whole Blake thing, but it doesn’t. I keep reliving it in my head thinking I could’ve done something to prevent it. Like I should’ve known it was Blake sending that text. Or I should’ve faced the door so I could see him walk in. Or I should’ve left the light on.
 

Garret keeps offering to spend the night in my room, but I don’t let him. I need to be able to sleep alone in that room. I’m doing as Garret said and not letting Blake control me. I’m not going to live in fear because of him.
 

I call Frank and Ryan once a day now instead of my usual once a week. It helps to hear their familiar voices. And I see Harper more, too.
 

This is all new for me. Letting people in. Letting them help me through this. I’m trying it, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. Part of me feels weak, like I need to deal with this myself and keep people out.
 

On Thursday, Garret asks if I want to go to New York for the weekend since we didn’t get to go the past few times we’ve tried. But I tell him no. I don’t want to be around the crowds and the chaos of a big city. I need quiet.
 

Friday night, Garret and I have a double date with Harper and Sean. We’re going over to Sean’s apartment because he insists on cooking us dinner.
 

Harper is already there when we arrive, wearing a pale pink sweater and dark jeans, her long blond hair up in a ponytail. She always looks so put together. Her hair, her clothes, her shoes, her jewelry. Everything fits together.
 

When she invited us over, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go, but now that we’re here, I’m glad we came. It’s good to be out of my room and doing something fun. Sean has music playing and he does these stupid dances as he cooks. Harper says he does that all the time. And he’s not at all embarrassed to show off these dances with company around.

Sean and Garret hit it off almost immediately. The longer we’re there, the more I like Sean. He’s easygoing and laughs all the time. He’d make a good friend for Garret. Way better than the friends his dad picked for him.