Until Jinx - Happily Ever Alpha World

She’d isolated herself at school as a way to protect her from bullying and nastiness, and then she’d done the same after the incident. Because of that, she was used to only having a small group of people who gave a shit. I was spoiled by the love and loyalty from my family and the club, I knew that, and I wanted her to have the same feeling of appreciation and care that I got from them.

“I care because you’re a fighter and a survivor. I care because I want to see you conquer the world. I care because life’s too short for someone to live being scared of living. I care because you deserve the world. But I’d also be lying if I didn’t say some of it came from feeling like I let you down at a time when I might have been able to make a difference. But don’t ever doubt that I truly care, Sienna, because I do.”

When she just blinked at me, I added, “And I’m going to be your springboard for when you need something to launch off to show the world how amazing you are. That I can promise you.”

I don’t know if it was a turning point in our relationship, but I know that she let me in a little bit more after the visit.

In fact, each time we texted each other or spoke on the phone, she’d let me deeper into her world and mind. We discussed art a lot and planned out ideas for her to make, and she promised to show me her room filled with shit she was too scared to sell.

Yeah, the visit and talk that followed changed things for us, and I went from wanting to help her, to wanting to hold her with each piece of communication between us.

I also convinced her to let the club build a fence between her yard and the woods and looked into the electric fence her neighbor had installed. If actions spoke louder than words, I wanted mine to be screaming good things in her head.

Chapter Four

Sienna

“So, y’all talk on the phone and text each other, and you’re not seeing what I’m seeing?” Maddie asked in disbelief as she helped me place the large vase that I’d decorated to have a metallic crackled effect on the stump. It looked like the metal had cracked and the darkness under it was coming out, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I needed money to survive, I’d have kept it.

“I’m seeing two people becoming friends, and one of those people needing more of those in her life.”

As soon as the vase was stable on the tree stump, she lifted her hands off it and then smacked me on the back of the head with one.

“That’s for talking bullshit to me.” When I went to say something, she held a hand up. “No, bitch, no. Listen, I went to speak to Jordan—”

“He told me his club name’s Jinx, so I think that’s what we’re meant to call him.”

Scowling at me, she put her hands on her hips. “Okay, excuse the hell outta me. I went to speak to Jinx… Wait, quick question. Do you think he got the name because he’s jinxed?”

“I don’t really know.” I shrugged.

Frowning now, she looked at the vase. “It’s just, you make some great pieces, and if he’s jinxed—what if he breaks them?”

“What if little green men fall from the sky with bunches of alien roses in their hands?” I wiggled my fingers in the air like I was summoning them down to join our conversation. “Breaking pottery and things that are fragile happens to everyone.”

“Not to me, it doesn’t.”

“Yet,” I warned. “And don’t tempt fate by saying what you just did. If you knock over this vase, I’ll kill you.”

“You could try,” she sniffed. “Anyway, I went to talk to Mr. Jinx at the tattoo place, and when he spoke about you his face changed.”

“Like an alien’s?” I snickered, squatting down with my camera to find the best angle.

“Smartass. No, he went from guarded and rawr, to gentle and intense and majorly rawr.”

Taking a couple of shots, I lifted up slightly and took some more. “I think he feels responsible and just wants to make it all better. It’s ridiculous, and I’ve already told him he didn’t do anything wrong, but he’s not listening.”

“Girl, I need you to listen to Auntie Maddie. No man like Jordan Quinn invests that much time in a woman, regardless of her story and background, if he isn’t interested. He might help you out by fixing something and introduce you to a couple of people so you don’t feel alone. Maybe he’d even send a random text to say hi. That’s friendship. What he’s doing is far from that, girl.”

“We don’t act like that. I got thirteen texts from you in thirty minutes this morning.”