A Hidden Truth

Removing the Problem

[Jaxon]

    Gary and Teddy weren’t in the living room and their door was open. I peeked in so I could let them know what was going on, but they weren’t there either. Shrugging, I headed to the front door so I could find Kenny and Clay. I wanted to have a few words with her on the drive.

    When I opened the door, I heard Teddy talking heatedly. He must be talking to Kenny, because he was practically snarling.

    “If you think you can just come up in here and mess with my sister, you’re fuckin’ wrong. I may not be able to hit you, but I’m gonna call Tammy. She’ll kick your ass.” Teddy growled.

    “I didn’t know I shouldn’t talk about those things! I just wanted to understand her better! He’s talking about marrying her, and the only thing I know about her is she’s this town’s favorite subject!” She retorted.

    “Marrying? Seriously?” Clay asked.

    This was all happening too close to the house. I didn’t want Juniper hearing and having everything get ruined. I was still planning to propose, but it would probably be a little longer until she would trust me.

    “Stop!” I shouted. They all turned to look at me. “Don’t say another word. The ‘M’ word is off limits in regards to Juniper and I. Kenny, get in the car. Clay. Not. A. f*****g. Word. Teddy, I got her calmed down. She’s been having nightmares, so she’s more fragile than normal.”

    “s**t. I didn’t even think to check in on her. With work and Gary, I just forgot. How could I forget? My poor Juni-bug.” He whispered.

    “You’re human. She’ll have the girls tonight, then I’ll be back for the rest of next week. Go on back in. Kenny’s right, she had no idea what sorts of things could hurt Juniper. None of us, aside from you, really does. You have to reign it in.” I told him quietly.

    Teddy nodded. Gary put his arm around Teddy’s shoulders and guided him into the house. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing. I headed down the stairs.

    “Clay, you should head in if you’re being tutored. She’ll be ready soon.” I said.

    “It feel like there’s more goin’ on than I know. Is that woman really your friend?” He asked.

    “Yes. She is. She’s just dumb. See you later.” I waved and headed to the car.

    When I got in and buckled my belt. Kenny was looking like a puppy that got punished and didn’t understand why. I started the car and we headed out.

    “Everyone hates me. How did I manage that? I thought she liked me in the meeting. How could it change so fast?” She muttered.

    I decided I’d deal with it when we were at the motel. I needed to take time on the drive to collect myself. I nearly lost Juniper and the knot in my stomach still hadn’t released. We pulled into the motel parking lot a few minutes later.

    Morgan had propped the door open when I texted him we were on our way from Juniper’s. Kenny followed me sullenly and closed the door. At least this was making her realize she needed to pull back sometimes. I hoped the lesson would stick.

    “Sit.” I commanded, and she did.

    Morgan put his phone away. He looked back and forth between the two of us. My anger was definitely not something they’d witnessed before. The little taste they had earlier was nothing.

    “What happened?” He asked.

    “Kenny kept pushing until she found one of Juniper’s sore spots. She didn’t realize how protective everyone is of Juniper. Pretty much every one of those rumors you heard about her is false.” I told them.

    “I don’t even know why she shut down after I asked how she got your attention. She really isn’t your type. I wasn’t trying to be mean. It’s a fact. Her little blonde friend is more your type. How did this happen?” She wondered.

    “Juniper is very insecure. Her mother was a beauty queen and people are always comparing them. Madeline Shaw just called her ugly yesterday. You telling her she wasn’t my type didn’t help. She thought I was using her. Lying about how I feel.

Look, I love her. I don’t, f*****g, care what you think. I know I told you I wouldn’t give up our friendship for anything, but I’m telling you now, I won’t give everything up for our friendship. Juniper is everything to me.” I said.

    “She’s your one.” Morgan smiled.

    “But, you never even looked at a girl unless she was a super girly blonde. I just don’t get it. You’d been worried about your sister’s matchmaking and somehow she found the exact girl. The actual ‘one’ girl who you could love?”

    I sighed. She was right. I’d been worried, but when I let my guard down, I found her and couldn’t let her go.

    “Let me tell you what happened…” I started.

    Telling my story was tricky. I had to change things to match what we’d told everyone else. I told them the story of how I’d met Juniper, all of the little things she didn’t even know about yet. What we’d told the Cleaners as well. 

    I told them Hank was an abusive man and his focus was Juniper. I shared the story of her showing off her scars and how we were trying to get him sent to prison. I made sure they knew they couldn’t share any of this with anyone else.

    “Holy f**k, Jaxon. You’re into some serious s**t here.” Kenny breathed.

    It was rare that she didn’t call me Jackie, so I could tell she was shocked. Morgan just nodded. A look of resolve came over them.

    “We’ll help. I’ll start telling her how awesome you are and what an asshole loser I am. I’ll help keep an eye on her whenever we’re together. I’m not scary, but I’m annoying and I can scare off almost any man.” Kenny grinned.

    “I’m big and I can hide her behind me. I’ll make sure Kenny’s f**k ups are all fixed. They won’t be alone together.” Morgan promised.

    “Thanks, guys. One more thing. Keep the dom stuff quiet. I don’t want her to be scared off before I can have that talk. Now, start getting ready, it’s nine. We need to go meet the girls.” I said and pulled out my phone.

    They got up and started getting dressed for the club. Kenny always brought something she could go out in, just in case. Morgan brushed his hair again and washed his face. It was the best we could really hope for. When they were done, we headed out.