Still Jaded (Jaded 2)

I caught a cab home and then stood in shock at the end of the driveway. The gates had been left wide open, and I could see the front door was open too. Bryce's Miata was parked in front of the garage with another car beside it. As I headed inside, I called out, "Hello?"

Bryce yelled, "We're upstairs." His voice echoed in the house and gave me a creepy feeling. We?

I had only a second to wonder who else was with him before I took stock of the destruction. Officer Sheila hadn't exaggerated. It looked like a tornado obliterated it from the inside out. And that the tornado had a personal vendetta against me. Pictures were ripped in pieces, cushions had their stuffing yanked out, and I was pretty sure I smelled urine and vomit. An angry atmosphere lingered in my house.

When I got to the bedroom, I couldn't believe my eyes. Bryce stood with two large boxes in the middle of the room. Mathias walked out of the closet, his arms full of shredded clothes. As he dumped them in the box, the pink polo-shirted agent grinned at me. "Hey, Sheldon! Quite a party, huh?"

I narrowed my eyes. When had we become friends?

Bryce crossed the room to hug me. "He's trying to make nice. I laid down the law. We're both trying to make nice."

As he kissed my cheek, I sucked in my breath and grasped his shirt. It felt so good, like I'd been thrown a lifesaver. Bryce had the power to make me numb, crazy, or feel too much. I wasn't sure which was the healthiest.

He brushed his cheek against mine and added, "We'll work things out. I promise. I took the day off to help you."

"This is from your party, Sheldon?" Mathias paused after he dumped another load in the box. "This is going to take a month to clean, and it's not even noon, we've only gotten one closet cleaned. You should hire professionals."

"No need!" Cadence laughed as she moved around me. Her hair was swept into a braided bun, and she wore a yellow rubber apron with cleaning supplies in the pockets. She smiled and puffed out her chest as she posed in front of Bryce.

"What are you doing here?" I asked and stood slightly in front of Bryce. Boyfriend or not, he was still my best friend.

"Some of the guys from Alpha Mu called and told us what happened. We decided to come over and help out. You're going to be one of us, remember?"

"We?"

"All of the sisters." Cadence gestured behind her. "They've already started cleaning."

Mathias clapped. "Alright!" He rushed to the stairs, mouth agape as he took in the scene below us. Cadence hadn't lied when she said all of the sisters. There were at least thirty of them, and they all wore yellow rubber aprons and braided buns in their hair. Some waved but most were already cleaning.

"You just found out?" I asked.

Cadence smiled. "Well, we were going to come over to clean after the party. Some of the girls were hung over so we didn't get here yesterday. Sorry about that. But we're here now and we're here to help. From the looks of things, I'm guessing a lot of this is just going to be thrown out." She surveyed the room and nodded. "I know the party was rough, but it looks like someone's angry with you."

Only one person? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and sighed instead. "I'm starting to get use to the feel of being violated."

Bryce curved an arm around my waist and pulled me close. "We'll get it clean. These are just things, remember."

I nodded, conscious of Cadence's eagle-like scrutiny.

"Sheldon, I'm starting to really like your friends." Mathias came back in and picked up a box. "I'm going downstairs."

Bryce chuckled. "If I don't see you for the rest of the day, I'll call you tonight."

The normally polished agent turned and gave him a distracted wave. "Right now, I don't care when you call."

As the doors closed behind him, I noted, "He's not shallow at all."

"He means well. He does," Bryce reassured me.

Cadence shot out her arm. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Cadence, president of the Zeta house on campus. You might've heard about us. We're close to the Alpha Mu house, Corrigan's fraternity."

Bryce gave her a polite smile and shook her hand. He retracted his hand too quickly for her liking, but I had to give Cadence some props. She hid her disappointment well. However, I was starting to think our previous deal of Bryce being off limits had been an empty promise. And she didn't even know how messed up we really were at the moment.

"I'm guessing you've slept with Corrigan?"

She choked in surprise but quickly recovered. "Uh—no, I haven't. I'm picky about who I might have a relationship with."

Bryce smiled and hugged me tighter against him. Then two things happened at the same time. Bryce pulled me to stand in front him, and I heard a sudden explosion of noise from the living room. "What the—" My words stopped short when I heard Corrigan's voice bellow out, "Start cleaning, boys!"

Cadence flashed two perfect dimples. "We told the guys we were coming over to help. They decided to join and make a social event out of it. I'm surprised Corrigan didn't tell you this morning."

As she glided away, I turned to look at Bryce. "I don't know what to say. I didn't know you were going to be here."

His eyes glittered from emotion, but I saw that he couldn't speak.

Then I caught movement from the corner of my eye and looked up. Corrigan stood in the doorway. He watched us in return, guarded. "I didn't know this was the plan until you left."

Bryce moved away from me. "You went to see him this morning?"

I nodded.

Corrigan spoke quietly, "It's not even like that, man."

Then Bryce shook his head. "I don't know if I should be more upset that you saw him and didn't tell me or that …I don't even know anymore. I just know that you two are hiding some secret from me."

Corrigan jerked forward. "Maybe I should remind you that you ended things with her."

"Sheldon left me." Bryce moved to face him.

"Because you pushed her away! You wanted her to end things and you didn't fight for her."

"Well I am now!"

"Then act like it. You don't have a lot of ground to stand on. You weren't really cheated on."

"You were supposed to be my best friend!"

"You were supposed to be mine all those years too, Bryce. You always knew and you never cared."

I stood between them but now rounded towards Corrigan with wide eyes. "Wait—what?"

Seething, Corrigan looked away and Bryce retreated to the window. I felt the room spinning and knew I was at my limit. Things weren't making sense and nothing good ever happened when I felt overwhelmed. I snapped, "Stop it. Both of you. We will clean this mess up and deal with this crap between us later when it's just us three. Got it?" A second later, both jerked their heads in nods and I took a deep breath. Be calm. Be calm. Be calm. This day sucks. I need better pain meds.

I left the room and stopped when I saw Cadence beyond the door, slack jawed. When she saw me, she snapped to attention. "Things don't seem so rosy in your threesome."

"We're just fine," I said. Now I was sure Cadence's deal with me had been empty words. She wanted Bryce and was going to do whatever it took to get him. When I heard Grace's voice from below, I looked over and saw that she was dressed like the rest of the sisters. She was glowing.

"She's come into the group with her arms open wide. She's happy with us, Sheldon." Cadence purred in victory. Of what she was victorious—I wasn't sure, but I made the decision to find out. I'd underestimated the bitch, and I rarely underestimated anyone.

I turned back to face her and rolled my shoulders back. "If