What in the ever-loving fuck is happening right now?
It takes everything inside of me not to charge after them, telling that bitch to get her hands off my boyfriend. Then again, said boyfriend just kissed her, and he didn’t exactly seem to mind following her down the hallway, presumably to a bedroom. I squeeze my eyes shut to ward off the looming tears. I want to trust Kingston. I honestly do. But what I just saw was pretty hard to excuse, no matter how you spin it. Has he been playing me this whole time? Was that story about his mom just a bunch of lies? Has everything been a lie? I need to get the fuck out of here.
I pull off my shoes and start booking at full speed back toward the maze. I’m running blindly with tears streaming down my face, landing myself in one dead end after another. I can’t seem to think straight long enough to focus on where I’m going. My lungs burn from the exertion, the soft pads of my feet are sore from running barefoot on pavement, and my heart aches from what I just witnessed. As I round another corner, I slam into someone, soliciting an “Oof!” from both of us. My back scrapes against branches as I fall into a bush before catching my balance.
“Jazz, are you okay?” a deep voice asks.
I blink my eyes into focus and find Reed and Ainsley, both looking at me with concern. I feel like a giant dumpster fire right now, so I can’t exactly blame them. It must’ve been Reed that I bumped into because it felt like slamming into a brick wall and not the tiny little pixie that is Ainsley.
“Jazz.” Ainsley tugs on my arm. “Are you okay? Why are you crying?”
I furiously swipe at the tears on my face. “Yeah... uh, I’m fine. I just got scared because I’ve been trying to find my way out of this damn maze, and I can’t. I guess I kind of freaked out a bit.” Neither one of them looks like they believe me, but I do my best to control my emotions. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We were looking for you,” Reed answers, holding out his phone. “Kingston gave me the login for his tracker app when you never returned from the bathroom.”
I look at the screen, and there are two little green dots right next to each other. Shit, I almost forgot about the tracker he installed on my phone.
“Why didn’t he come looking for me?”
If Kingston’s playing me, who’s to say Reed isn’t in on it?
Reed briefly looks at Ainsley before replying. “Because he’s tied up with something.”
Yeah, tied up being wrapped around a whore.
I scoff. “Right.”
Fuck. Do not cry, Jazz. Do. Not. Cry.
“He, uh...” Reed grabs the back of his neck. “Said he’ll be a while, so he gave me the keys to his Rover so I can drive you home.”
Ainsley bites her bottom lip. “Jazz? You ready to go home?”
Well, isn’t that a loaded question? I’d do anything to go back home, but the thing is, Sperm Donor’s mansion isn’t the place.
“Sure. I’m tired, anyway.” I sniffle, looking around. “Do either of you know how to get the hell out of here?”
“Yeah. I’m actually freakishly good with mazes. Piece of cake.” Ainsley taps an index finger to her temple. “Built-in GPS.”
I throw my hand out. “Lead the way.”
Ainsley wasn’t exaggerating. She leads us out of the maze without any hesitation or errors. I’m quiet the entire drive back, using exhaustion as an excuse the few times she questioned me. The more I think about what I witnessed at that house of horrors, the more I tell myself to take it at face value. Nobody forced Kingston to kiss that girl. To ogle her naked body with s
uch a lust-filled gaze. To take her hand and disappear into a back room, doing God knows what. Oh, who am I kidding? I know exactly what they were doing.
Just as we’re pulling in the driveway to my house, a text comes in from my boyfriend, forcing me to choke back a sob. I guess I shouldn’t call him my boyfriend anymore, considering he’s a liar and a cheater. I can forgive a lot of things, but the latter isn’t one of them.
Kingston: You make it home yet?
I battle my inner smartass, wanting so badly to respond with something sarcastic, but I manage to control myself.
Me: Yep. Just pulled in the driveway. I’m tired, so I’m going to bed. Talk to you later.
Kingston: You sure? I’m about to head out. I can swing by on the way, and you can stay at my place.
Yeah, right. That’s not happening.
Me: I’m sure. Really tired. Goodnight.