Always Us (The Jade Series #8) (18 page)

“No. I haven’t spoken to them in days.”

“Harper, this silent treatment can’t go on forever. Maybe you should talk to them.”

“I’m not ready to. I’m still too angry with them. They’re not the people I thought they were. They used to be nice to everyone. It didn’t matter if the person had money or not. They didn’t care. And now suddenly they’ve turned into these parents who only want me to date rich guys they pick out for me.” She pauses. “I don’t want to talk about my parents. I called because I wanted to tell you I went to Sean’s place last night.”

“Wasn’t he gone?”

“He had everything packed, but he didn’t leave until this morning.”

“Did you talk to him?”

She takes a moment to answer. “We did more than talk.”

“What? Harper! You had—” A guy sits down next to me on the bench. Can’t he see I’m trying to talk here? I take my backpack and walk over to a different bench. “You had sex with Sean?”

“I know. It’s bad, isn’t it? But it’s what we both wanted and it just kind of happened.”

“How did you—” I try to figure out how to phrase this. “You had surgery last week.”

“Only on my shoulder. There are many ways to do it, Jade.”

“Yeah. Got it. So you did it? And then what?”

“I talked to him and told him how I felt. I told him I made a huge mistake and I apologized over and over again. Then I told him I knew about his job and that I was happy for him. After we talked, I didn’t want to go back to the dorm and I knew he didn’t want me to, so I spent the night there.” She sniffles. “This morning he told me he loves me but that it’s over and not to call him again. He said he won’t be able to move on if we stay in touch.”

“I know this sucks, Harper. What can I do?”

“Nothing. There’s nothing anyone can do. Last night was our goodbye. Now I just have to try to move on.”

“You will. It just takes time. Maybe I could fly out there some weekend. We’ll shop, go to the movies, whatever you want.”

“Will you be out here for the funeral?”

Funeral? I haven’t seen the news all day and Garret didn’t send me any updates. Maybe it just happened.

“Did Holton die?” I ask her.

“No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. It’s just that the news makes it sound like he could pass away any day now so I just assumed the funeral will be soon.”

“Yeah. I guess it will be.”

“Jade, I hate to race off the phone like this but I have class. I have to go.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

I reach down for my backpack just as another person sits beside me. There are tons of open benches. Why does everyone insist on sitting next to me?

“Hey, what’s up?”

I recognize the voice and turn back and give the owner of that voice a kiss. “Don’t you have class?”

“Not for a half hour.” He puts his arm behind me on the bench. “I saw this hot girl sitting on the bench and I had to come check her out. What are you doing out here?”

“I called Harper. Get this. She went to Sean’s place and they did it.”

“They had sex?” He says it just as someone walks by.

“Don’t say it so loud,” I whisper.

He laughs. “It’s a college campus, Jade. People talk about sex all the time.”

“Whatever. So anyway, they did it and she spent the night over there. And now he’s gone and she’s even more depressed than before.”

“Why did she even go over there?”

“She wanted to say goodbye.”

“By having sex with him? And spending the night?” Garret shakes his head. “Sean should’ve never let that happen. Poor guy’s so damn in love with her I’m sure he couldn’t help himself, but if someone found out—”

“They’d hurt him?”

“Just forget it. He’s on the road now. He’ll be fine.” Garret gives my shoulder a squeeze and I slide over until I’m right up against him.

My phone rings and I’m thinking it might be Sean, but it’s William, my uncle.

“Hi, William.” I look at Garret as I say it. He looks as surprised as I am. William never calls me. I haven’t talked to him since that weekend we all met at Grace’s house.

“Hello, Jade. How have you been?”

“Um, okay, I guess.”

“I’m sorry to hear about Holton. How’s Garret doing?”

I glance at him. “He’s doing okay. I mean, given the circumstances. He’s been checking in with his dad to see if he has any updates. But so far, it sounds like nothing’s changed.”

William’s quiet, then says, “When did Garret last talk to his father?”

“I don’t know. He’s here with me now. I’ll ask him.” I turn to Garret. “When did you talk to your dad?”

“About an hour ago. He has meetings all day in New York so he couldn’t talk long but he said my grandfather’s condition was the same.”

I direct my attention back to William. “Did you hear all that?”

“Yes. I’m just a little confused.”

“What do you mean?”

“I talked to Eleanor this morning to see how she was holding up and she said Holton had improved overnight.”

I keep my eyes on Garret. “Oh. We hadn’t heard that.”

Why is William calling Garret’s grandmother? Are they friends? And why does Eleanor answer William’s calls, but not Garret’s?

“I didn’t know you knew Eleanor that well,” I say to William.

Garret’s giving me a strange look, trying to figure out what’s going on.

“The Sinclairs have been friends with the Kensingtons for many years,” William says.

“I know. I just didn’t know you still talked to her.”

“I haven’t for quite some time. But when something like this happens, it’s customary to reach out and offer any assistance.”

I try to gather my thoughts because this whole conversation is throwing me off. “So what did she say about Holton?”

“Just what I told you. As far as I know, he’s still in a coma, but he’s improving a little more each day.”

“That’s good.” I hope I don’t sound as nervous as I feel right now. “I should let you go. I know you’re busy.”

“Yes, well, I just wanted to check in on you and Garret. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Bye, William.” I end the call and set my phone down.

“What was that about?” Garret asks.

“William said your grandfather is getting better.” I’m in a daze as I say it, my mind slowly realizing what this means.

“How does William know?”

“He talked to your grandmother this morning.”

Garret grips my arm. “What exactly did he say? Is my grandfather out of the coma?”

“No, but his condition is improving. I don’t know what that means.” I rub my forehead. “I feel sick. What if he recovers?”

“He won’t. He’s in a coma. A lot of people die in comas.” He whips his phone out and makes a call. “Voicemail,” he says to me, then says in the phone, “Dad, call me when you get this.”

I stand up, picking my backpack off the bench. “I have to go. I have class.”

Garret stands in front of me, his hands on my arms. “You okay?”

“I would be if I hadn’t heard that news.”

He hugs me. “Just forget about that. He’s not getting better, Jade. There was probably just a slight improvement in his blood work and the doctors are making a bigger deal out of it than it is to make my grandmother feel better.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Jade, stop worrying about it. Go to class, and when you get home we’ll turn on the Christmas lights and watch a movie. We’ll get a pizza for dinner so we don’t have to cook.”

I know he’s trying to make me feel better but it’s not working. But I smile and pretend that it is. “Okay. That sounds fun. I’ll see you at home.”

I walk to class, my eyes darting around to see if anyone’s following me. I know Holton’s still in a coma, but I feel like he can still see me. Like he’s watching me. Plotting to kill me.

GARRET

After Jade leaves for class, I check my phone for any updates about my grandfather. I don’t have any messages from my dad or anyone else in my family. But what William said had to be true. He wouldn’t lie about something like that, which means my grandfather must be getting better. What if he comes out of the coma? Shit. This is bad. But even if he wakes up, he still has to recover from the stroke. That could take months, or maybe even years.

I’m too on edge to go to class so I skip it and go home. As soon as I’m there, I turn on the TV. There isn’t a single story about my grandfather. No updates. No news that he’s getting better. Nothing.

I fire up my laptop to see if there’s anything online. I go to click on the Internet icon but notice something strange on my screen. An icon I don’t recognize. I wonder if I accidentally clicked on an ad and it downloaded something to my computer. The icon looks like a dial with numbers on it. I’m not sure if I should click on it because it could be a virus. But my curiosity wins out and I click on it.

A series of numbers pop up on my screen, each one in their own little box. The last one keeps changing, scrolling really fast. Then I notice the second to last number has now changed.
 

An icy chill courses through me as I realize what this is. It’s a timer. A countdown to the end of the year.

“Fuck!” I drop my laptop on the couch and back away, like it’s possessed. The numbers keep scrolling, the seconds rolling by, the minutes right next to it. And then the hours and the days. I quickly calculate it in my head to make sure this really is what I think it is. And it is. Based on today’s date and the current time, the numbers on the timer are set to count down to the end of the year.

I pick up my laptop and click on the icon to shut the timer down. The numbers go away, but in their place are the words,
Time’s running out.
And then the program closes and I’m left with the icon again.

How the hell did that timer get there? Did my grandfather do that? Is he awake now? I get my phone out and call my dad. His voicemail picks up and I leave another message. Why isn’t he calling me back?

I need to know my grandfather’s condition. I need to know if he’s still in a coma. William said he was, but that’s just what my grandmother told him. Maybe she lied. Maybe my grandfather’s out of the coma but she doesn’t want anyone knowing until she makes an announcement to the press. And maybe my dad knows, but has been lying to me so I don’t worry. Maybe that’s why he won’t answer my calls.

I call my grandmother for the millionth time this week. And like all the other times I’ve called, she doesn’t answer. What the hell? I need someone in my damn family to pick up the phone.

I try to think of who else to call. Who else would know the truth about my grandfather? Katherine. I hate her, and she’s the last person I want to talk to, but she’s my only option right now.

She picks up on the second ring. As usual, she skips any kind of greeting. “Your father isn’t home. And Lilly is at school.”

“I called to talk to you.”

“Is that so?” I can almost see the smirk I know she’s making. “And what would you like to talk about?”

“My grandfather. Do you know how he’s doing?”

“Yes. In fact, I just got off the phone with Eleanor.”

“And? What did she say?”

“She said Holton was up and reading the Financial Times. He still has no appetite but—”

“Wait. When did he get out of the coma?”

She sighs. “Why aren’t you asking your father these questions? I don’t have time for this.”

“Dad’s busy. I keep getting his voicemail. Just tell me when he got out of the coma.”

“Yesterday. He gradually became more alert and by this morning, he’d improved even more.”

“How is that possible? Everyone said he was dying.”

“He’s getting the best treatment in the world. And he’s a very important man. They’re not just going to let him die.” I hear her heels clicking as she walks. “I have other commitments to attend to. I’ll tell your father you called.”

She hangs up.

I feel like I might throw up. My grandfather’s out of the coma. So why wasn’t it on the news? Why didn’t my grandmother tell the press? Do the doctors think he’ll have a relapse? Why hasn’t anyone called me? I should’ve been told as soon as he woke up.

My phone rings. It’s still in my hand and I answer without looking. “Hello.”

“Hello, Garret.”

When I hear his voice, my heart shuts down. I stop breathing. And wait to see if it’s really him.

“It’s your grandfather. I wanted to let you know I’m doing well and am expected to make a full recovery.”

I force myself to breathe again. I don’t want my voice to be shaky. I need to sound strong. Let him know I’m not afraid of him.

I clear my throat. “How are you feeling?”

“My appetite isn’t quite back to normal and I’m still a little tired, but other than that, I feel fine.”

As he’s talking, I realize his speech isn’t slurred or impaired in any way. That doesn’t make sense. If he had a stroke, he wouldn’t sound like this.

“You didn’t have a stroke.” I blurt it out.

“No. Apparently I was drugged. The toxins in my system caused the coma.”

“But the news said…” My voice trails off.

He chuckles a little. “Garret, please don’t tell me you’re that naive. After everything you’ve seen and heard over the years, you can’t possibly tell me you still believe the stories you hear on the news.”

I ignore his insults. “Who drugged you?”

“I can’t say for sure. It could’ve been any number of people. I have no shortage of enemies. But when I find out who did this, it will be the end for them. I might even take care of them myself.”

He says it like it would be fun. Like he’s looking forward to it.

“Garret, have you made a decision yet?”

“There IS no decision. You’re not doing this. The plan is off.”

Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. He has to be in control and I just told him he’s not. He’ll take that as a challenge. Shit!

“You know, Garret, when you’re faced with death, as I was earlier in the week, you realize that time is precious. Hours. Minutes. Seconds. They pass by so quickly and then they’re gone. It’s a shame to see them wasted. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“What are getting at?”

“Your life, Garret. Your future. It needs to begin now. Today. Giving you this month to decide just seems wasteful. Think of all you could accomplish in that time.”