Middle of Knight (Jack & Jill 2)

Cage cleared his throat, forcing his eyes to stay on hers instead of her barely covered body.

“Uh … hey. I just brought my dad home from the hospital. He wants to see you. I have to get back to campus, but I’ll be back this weekend.”

“Yeah … I … um, yeah.” She nodded through her rambling of nothing that made any sense. “I’ll shower and be over.”

She started to close the door.

“Jillian?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “For what?”

“For being here and putting up with him. Even if he doesn’t say it. I know he appreciates it. But mainly for me. It eases my mind to know that someone is … looking out for him.”

“Oh … sure.” She shrugged it off. “How’s he doing today?”

“Fine. I think. He’s quiet. Seems a little distracted. I think the accident really shook him up, which is a little weird because he’s been in crashes, around gun fire, and even ejected from a plane that was shot down.”

Jillian frowned. Cage confirmed her earlier suspicions that AJ wasn’t quite right. “I’ll talk to him. Drive safely back to campus.”

“Thanks. I will.”

After a long, procrastinating shower that included a review of the previous night’s declaration made under the heavy influence of alcohol, Jillian slipped on a yellow sundress several shades brighter than her mood, red rain boots, and her best smile to mask the courage she struggled to muster. She considered taking him something to eat, but decided one near-death incident that week was enough.

“AJ?” Jillian called, letting herself in his house.

“On the couch.”

She peeked around the corner to the great room. The closed blinds on every window rejected the light as the stagnant air leadened her lungs with doom. “Hey,” she said, her voice unusually small. Damn nerves. “Are you drinking? Before five?”

AJ tipped back a bottle of beer. Just the sight of it caused Jillian’s stomach to roil.

“Yeah, why not?” He flipped off the TV.

She slipped off her boots and sat on the opposite end of the couch, lifting his feet up to sit and resting them back on her lap.

He nursed his beer, staring at her, but not saying anything.

“About yesterday—”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not … or I was, but I’m not now.”

“Doesn’t matter. Just forget about it.”

Jillian traced her finger along the serpent tattoo on his leg. “What if I don’t want to forget about it?”

“I don’t give a fuck what you do.”

She glanced up at him, lips parted, eyes wide. “Do you need a minute to rethink that?”

He took another pull. “Nope.”

“Would you like me to come back later?”

“You don’t need to come back at all. That’s all I wanted to tell you.”

The twenty-four-hour whiplash left quite a sting. Especially since she’d prepared to reciprocate his expression of feelings. Those feelings had taken a backseat to his anger.

“Are you having a moment or is this about me leaving yesterday?”

“Don’t be so fucking condescending with me. I’m not having a moment, and I told you to forget about yesterday.”

Scooting out from under his legs, she stood. “Call me if you need anything.” He didn’t deserve another glance as she pulled on her boots and walked to the door.

“I won’t—” His voice slurred.

She turned. “AJ!”

He shook, tumbling from the sofa with a thunk.

“Oh my God!”

A seizure racked his body, stealing him from consciousness.

Jillian grabbed his cell phone off the sofa table and dialed 9-1-1. They talked her through it and sent an ambulance. She followed it to the hospital, leaving a message on Jackson’s phone, but waited to call Cage, assuming it was most likely a side effect of his accident and the concussion.

They treated him in the ER, but no one would give her any information because she wasn’t family. An hour later they let her see him.

“Why are you still here?” His words hung heavy with defeat as she entered the room.

“Because I love you, you idiot.” It’s not how she’d planned on telling him, but it came out and she couldn’t stop it. The word didn’t feel right, but it didn’t feel wrong either. It just felt like a word.

He closed his eyes and turned his head side to side. “Don’t.”

She sat on the edge of his bed. “I shouldn’t have left yesterday, and I’m sorry. What you said scared me. I don’t feel worthy of that kind of love and—”

“Stop … just stop.” He opened his eyes. “I meant it when I said it doesn’t matter.”

“What doesn’t matter?” Jillian’s voice escalated. “Me? Us? Your love for me? Mine for you?”

“All of it,” he said in a monotone voice.

“It mattered yesterday. You said—”

“You didn’t let me finish!”

Jillian jumped.

AJ sighed. “You didn’t let me finish yesterday. You left too soon.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“I needed you to know that I love you, but then I was going to tell you that I can’t be with you anymore.”