At the Stars(63)

I don’t want to believe it of either of them, quite frankly. Given the fact that Jake’s sister oddly resembled their lawn-mowing guy, I might believe it of her. She’s clearly an unhappy person and people do strange things when they’re not happy. I learned that from my mom. Jake, though? If he’d been sleeping with his stepmother then wouldn’t he have stayed at home?

I’m no expert, but at the moment the whole scenario makes more sense to me. Especially given the horror and disgust on his face.

The verbal sparring match stirs something inside of me. Honestly, I’m shocked at myself when the question, phrased to sound innocent, pops out: “I’m sort of confused here, but does any of this have to do with the fact that Joanna looks a lot like the guy who mows your lawn?”

Stepmother’s jaw slams shut so loud I can hear the click from feet away. Jake turns from looking at me to her, in a way that looks so calculating and predatory that it gives me pause. “Holy shit. You kept fucking him, didn’t you?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” It sounds mostly like a warning.

“We were seventeen when it started. Joanna wasn’t even born yet when I moved out, so that means it kept going until months later. Or longer? Is it still going on?”

“Of course not.” She looks defensive.

My head spins even as I hear the splatter of my heart dropping onto the pavement. I get it now, this thing with Jake. He found out about her sleeping with his friend, and then somehow she manipulated him right out of the house. She’s still trying to pull his strings.

The assault survivor in me wants to at least hear his stepmother’s argument, because women are so often pointed to as sluts and liars. The venom dripping from her voice though, makes me doubt every word.

The girlfriend in me wants to defend Jake so hard I feel like I’m ripping in half. I can’t stand it.

I realize suddenly that all eyes are on me. “How did you know?” Stepmother flips her long ponytailed hair over her shoulder. “About Jo.” She turns back to Jake. “What did you tell her?”

He shakes his head. “Go home, Mariana. We didn’t fuck, because I. Didn’t. Want. You. Like I said, unless you’re planning to stop waving that shit around like a bomb you can drop on my head any time you want to, then you can forget it. I’m not coming back.”

My pulse picks up. It sounds awful and crude when he lays it out that way. I guess it is awful and crude.

Her hand comes up, her mouth open in a silent gasp. “Listen to me, you ungrateful little—”

“You know what?” I hear my words like they’re coming at me through water. Dense and distorted. I can’t believe I’m really talking. “I think you should go ahead and tell his dad. Even if Jake’s done what you’re saying, then he was underage at the time. Legally, he couldn’t have given consent. Which makes you the one at fault, not him. I’m pretty sure he can still press charges.”

My chest hurts. Inside, I’m praying for Jake to understand. Part of what I said sounded kind of awful, and I don’t mean for it to sound like I honestly believed it happened. I want him to understand that I’m on his side, if something happened or not.

None of it matters when I hear shouting. It seems to be coming from the alley behind the barber shop. I hear AJ’s voice. Yelling words like “wait” and “stop” and “no” and “didn’t.” I’m running before I can process much else, trying to reach my phone to call for help, but it’s in my back pocket and my jeans are a little tight.

AJ’s in a ball on the ground when I get there, with a guy in a dark suit standing over him. Like a business suit. I don’t expect that. Suit Guy has his leg back like he’s going for a kick to AJ’s side, but runs when he sees me. I’m too busy worrying about AJ to get a good look.

Jake’s right behind me, muttering curses and running to help me lift my friend’s slumped body.

“Are you okay?” I put a hand to the side of AJ’s face. He’s bruised up, but conscious.

“Yeah.” He almost whispers the single word. “No big deal.”

I’m not sure I’d agree but now’s not a time for arguments. I glance at Jake. “Where’s your stepmother?”

“I don’t care. Let’s just get him to the hospital. We can talk then.”

“No.” AJ groans. “Home. I’m fine.”

“You serious?” Jake looks him over, poking around I guess to see if there’s major damage. “You got walloped pretty good.”