A Hidden Truth

Jaxon's Day Part 1

[Jaxon]

    I wanted to keep him from groping my ass, again. Teddy’d been all over me ever since we got out of the car at the restaurant. It was the bistro I’d been at on Wednesday when I’d heard Juniper and her friends. They put us in the VIP booth that was shielded from view to the rest of the restaurant.

    “They have this spot for the owner’s gay daughter and her girlfriend. It’s a safe space for people who aren’t easily accepted. Nice choice.” Teddy smiled.

    “I thought we might need privacy.” I chuckled.

    He sat right next to me and made sure to be touching me somehow whenever someone came past the table. It was almost like a game for him. I don’t generally like being touched without permission, but I let it go. We mostly talked about basic stuff. First date stuff, family, hobbies, school. He was a couple years older than me and had a bachelor’s degree in business. The food was pretty good, but I couldn’t focus.

    When we got to the motel and were checking in, he was rubbing on me and groping me like crazy. I kept thinking to myself that this was for Juniper. Enduring this would get me closer to saving her.

    We walked to the room together and I unlocked it. I stepped aside to let him in and he started looking down and dragging his toe around. Teddy looked up through his lashes at me and nibbled his lip like Juniper did yesterday. He looked so much like her.

    “There’s someone watchin’ us from the tree line. Look through the corner of your eye.” He said quietly without moving his lips.

    I stepped closer to him and tilted my head, giving me a better view. He was right. There was a figure in the bushes who ducked back a little when I moved. I didn’t think we were followed.

    I licked my lips and smiled. “Do you trust me?”

    Teddy took a hesitant half step and looked at the wall. “You aren’t gonna do somethin’ bad are you?”

    Stepping toward him, I turned my face to catch his eye. I reached out and ran my finger down his torso ending at his belt buckle and gripping it. He turned his head and breathed deeply. I stepped back into the room, pulling him along with me and closing the door once he’d cleared it.

    “Holy f**k. That’s the most action I’ve had in years. Unless you count sleepin’ with my sister last night.” He chuckled breathily.

    “What the hell does that mean?” I scowled.

    “Did you give her that ‘fuckin you with my eyes’ look yesterday? Because it’d certainly explain what I had to suffer through.” He scoffed as he went to turn on the lamp by the bed and sat against the headboard. “Do you think I can have a nap? I didn’t get much sleep.”

    “What?” I was really confused.

    “Who are we meetin’? And seriously though like a thirty-minute nap, man. I’m gonna die if I have to stay up late tonight. And we better figure somethin’ out, because I’ve no idea how I’m gonna get away with killin’ him otherwise. And I wouldn’t do well in prison.” He sighed.

    “Last night, after I left, I met with a group of men in town…”

    “Sounds like you had a much better night than me, then.” Teddy snickered tiredly.

    “Do you want to sleep right now? We have time.” I suggested.

    “More than you know, sugar. You okay with it? She was bad last night. I’ve never seen her like that. What the hell did you do to her?” He asked.

    “You heard her last night. I told her I wanted to date her and she said she honestly didn’t want me. I didn’t do anything.” I insisted.

    “Okay, honey. Just let me take a nap and I’ll tell you later.” He waved tiredly and slid down the headboard to curl up with a pillow and was out in moments.

    What he said was hard to put together. He slept with Juniper. I knew he took care of her after whatever their stepfather did. Did that mean he slept next to her? Did she have nightmares? I had no idea why I was so worried about her. I’d only met her a couple days ago, and it was as if I’d always known her. It almost felt like she was mine.

    I decided to focus on plans to help us get her out of the house. I wondered if the theory about putting her in a jail cell overnight would actually be a good idea. No charges, just a cooling off period. Maybe an emergency only she could take care of… not a lot of call for a high school senior in an emergency situation. Burn down the house? No… too illegal. I lost track of time while I stewed and pondered.

    There was a knock at the partition door between our room and the next. I looked at the clock. It was nearly noon. I went over and unlocked the door.

    Turning the knob, I opened it and was met with Trace and a couple pizzas. I waved them in while motioning for them to be quiet. Carson looked at his sleeping brother on the bed. His eyes teared up a little.

    Their family was really close. A lot closer than mine. They all really loved each other and you could see it in everything they did. He laid down on the bed next to Teddy and closed his eyes. In a few moments, he seemed to be asleep too. I sat with Trace and his friends at the table. They quietly introduced themselves as Reg and Gary.

    Reg was one of those really burly men with thick facial hair and a shaved head. He had full sleeves of tattoos on both of his arms and at least one I could see clearly on his neck. Standing, he was about 5’11”, because he wasn’t more than an inch shorter than me. He was really imposing.

    Gary was taller, like 6’4”, but still muscular. Both were wearing muscle tees so their physical attributes were well on display. Unlike Reg, Gary was more mild mannered looking. Clean shaven with a buzz cut. He seemed like the kind of guy you’d see giving polite pointers at the gym, just because he wanted people to be successful and not to point out how badly they were doing.

    There was movement from the bed. I looked over and saw Carson and Teddy holding each other’s hands while they slept. Like two little kids sleeping over someplace new. I turned back and the other three were looking at them curiously. I’m guessing they didn’t come from close families either.

    “Close family?” Reg whispered.

    “I have no clue what the deal is, but it seems to be how they are.” I shrugged.

    “Beau had an emergency at the office and can’t make it. Red will be here in a couple hours. Why’s Teddy sleeping?” Trace asked.

    I sighed. “From what little he told me before he fell asleep, she had a bad time after last night. He didn’t get a lot of sleep because of it. We have less than twelve hours. I think we have to get them up. Let’s give them another ten minutes.”

    “What’s the job?” Reg asked.

    “You all don’t have to be part of this.” Trace said. “We just needed a way into the room that no one would be able to see was us actually meeting with these two.”

    “We’re waiting on your guys to get us information on the bail jumper we’re after. So, we might as well help if we can.” Gary responded.

    Trace looked at me and I nodded. Every little bit helped if it meant saving her.

    I gave them a brief rundown on the situation. They seemed as pissed as everyone last night. That made me feel better about them coming onboard. I got up and went to the bed.

    I shook Teddy gently and he opened his eyes groggily. When he was more alert he looked at his hand in his brothers and it dawned on him who was next to him. Teddy pulled his hand away like he’d been bitten and jumped out of the bed, nearly knocking me over. It woke Carson up.

    “What is he doin’ here, Jaxon!? Get him out! I don’t want him around me or my family.” Teddy snarled as he marched off to the bathroom.

    Carson looked broken. He nodded and started walking to the other room.

    “Stop. Why’s he acting like that? What happened?” I asked.

    Carson’s shoulders drooped. “Remember when I told you Hank kicked me out after he saw me having lunch with Trace? He didn’t give me a chance to pack anythin’, say goodbye, nothin’. He told them I stole from him and I never got a chance to tell them it was a lie. I got no idea what else he told them. I’ve tried everythin’ to get messages to them, but nothin’s worked. He turned them against me, too.”

    “Why would they believe him?”

    “Because when he told them, it was before what he did to Juni. They had no reason to disbelieve and probably never thought to question it after they realized how bad he was.” He responded.

    “Sit and eat something. I’ve got this.” I said and went to the bathroom door.

    I knocked. I could hear him in there. He sounded like he was crying.

    “Teddy. You need to listen to what he says. He didn’t abandon you and Juniper. Remember how you said your mother wouldn’t believe Juniper if she found out? Hank’s had that power over her since the beginning, you know. Think about everything you know about Hank now, and everything you knew about Carson before. Come out when you see the truth.” I told him and went back to the table.

    We ate quietly until the bathroom door opened. Teddy came out and grabbed a slice of pizza. I got out of the chair I was in so he could sit and I moved to the bed, next to Trace who’d given me his seat. They sat stiffly and ate.

    “I tried, Teddy. I’ve been tryin’ to see you for the last four years. You’re my big brother. I didn’t want to be away from you and Juni. I swear.” Carson murmured.

    “Jaxon was right. It wasn’t somethin’ you’d do. You were raised like us. You wouldn’t have left without sayin’ anythin’ either. We can talk about this later. We need a plan to get Juni out without makin’ him mad at her. Let’s focus on our sister for now. Okay?” Teddy requested.

    We started working on a plan. Trace had been working on ideas through the night as well. Once we’d gone through our individual ideas, we looked at what was similar. Teddy let us know what absolutely wouldn’t work. The pizza ran out and we sent Gary off to pick up some decent coffee while we pored over our ideas and plans.