"Well, there isthat. But that doesn't mean she's lying."
"Oh, she's lying alright."
"How do you know?"
"Because I have Cassidy's phone."
"So?"
"So she wouldn't leave without it."
"Maybe it was a burner. You know, her hooker phone."
What the hell?
My hooker phone?
I knew there was a reason I hated that guy.
Jaden was still talking. "She probably goes through ten a week."
"For the last fucking time," Jax said, "she's no hooker."
Jaden laughed. "Sure. That's why she was decked out like twins with another working girl. My guess? That was her sister."
"No. It wasn't."
"How do you know?"
After a long pause, Jax said, "Because it was her mom."
"No fucking way." Jaden laughed like he'd just heard the funniest joke ever. "You're shitting me, right?"
"Oh, fuck off."
"Dude, she's gone. Forget it."
As I listened, my emotions bounced all over the place. I felt pathetically grateful that Jax was sticking up for me. Unfortunately, my gratitude was offset by the fact that he'dstillditched me and that his brother was a giant douchebag.
And now, I didn't know what to do. I definitely needed my stuff. And if I knocked on their door – or maybe even just hollered out to them – they might let me wait inside for Allie. But the thought of being seen in my bedraggled state was almost too humiliating to consider.
I was still trying to decide what to do when Jaden said something that made my heart sink to my stomach. "Holy fuck. Is that her?"
Chapter 18
I held myself very still, praying that he didn't mean what I thought he meant.
From somewhere above, Jax replied, "Where?
"Down there."
A moment ago, I was freezing. Now, I was burning with raw embarrassment. Like a child, trying to hide from the monster in the closet, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to pretend this wasn't happening.
Oh, but it was.
I knew this, because a moment later, even with my eyes tightly shut, I could still tell the difference between darkness and light as some sort of spotlight burned down on me from above.
It was funny in a way, because until then, I'd been absolutely certain that I'd been humiliated enough for one night.
