“Have you eaten this morning?” Jake asks, snapping me out of my reverie.
I turn my head to face him and catch him looking at my chest again. I also notice that his hands are gripping the steering wheel more tightly than usual as he drives.
Not wanting to incur his wrath, I quickly do up the button. Then, thinking about his question, I realize I haven’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday. No wonder I have a banging headache this morning. So much has been going on that I’ve actually forgotten to eat.
When I shake my head, Jake sighs. “You have to eat. It’s important. You didn’t have anything last night either, did you? You have to take better care of yourself than this.”
I have no time to answer him as Jake suddenly turns into a McDonald’s about ten minutes away from work. “What are you doing? We’re going to be late.”
With another heavy sigh, Jake turns the ignition off and looks at me. “I’m getting you something to eat. What do you want?”
I frown at him and fold my arms. It’s a childish response, but I won’t have him telling me what to do. “I’m not hungry,” I say in protest.
He grunts but gets out of the car anyway. A few minutes later, he’s back with a brown paper bag. He passes the bag to me. “Eat. Now.”
I huff out a no, and by way his nostrils are flaring, I can tell he’s getting angry. Even I know I’m behaving like an insolent child. Despite my outward display of insubordination, the smell wafting up from the bag is making my stomach growl. I still choose to be stubborn about it, though. It’s a matter of principle. I don’t like the fact that it’s being forced on me.
“Am I going to have to hold you down and force-feed you?”
Oh, yes, please!
My bold thought shocks me almost as much as his threat. I snap my head to his.
He spies my look of shock and clears his throat. “I’m not going to start this car until you start eating. I don’t care if I make us both late. We will sit here all day if it takes that long.”
I can’t believe the gall of this man. He makes me hot one minute and super angry the next. I can’t fathom his sudden interest in me either. Before, we would talk and do things as a family when we were home, but even then, it always seemed like he was trying to avoid me for some reason. Overnight, however, Jake has definitely taken more of an interest. So much so that he’s now blackmailing me to get me to eat.
Overnight. Hmm. I can’t help but wonder if he feels sorry for me because of my mother and her disappearing act.
In the end, I grab the bag in a huff. “Fine,” I say through gritted teeth. I pick up the Sausage and Egg McMuffin and quickly take a bite. I let out an unexpected moan the moment I do. I’m apparently much hungrier than I’d thought.
Realizing how this must look, I glance over at Jake. He stares at me uncomfortably and shifts in his seat. “My job here is done. Now, let’s get to work. I have a thousand things to do.”
I fling my hands up in exasperation. “You have a thousand things to do, and yet you hold me hostage in your car until I eat?”
He beams a big smile back at me, and I can’t keep my knees from wobbling slightly. “It was necessary. You have to stay healthy. I know McDonald’s isn’t exactly healthy, but it was the quickest thing I could order.”
In the end, I find myself gorging on the McMuffin, but I’m still a little annoyed that he was right in the first place.
I let out a little hiccup, and Jake looks over to me with a smile. “Told you,” he says triumphantly.
I wriggle in my seat and mutter, “Told you” under my breath.
Jake glances over to me with a cheeky grin. “What was that? I’m not sure I heard you.”
Then, out of nowhere, he moves his hand to my waist and starts tickling me so much that it almost hurts. I laugh and try to grab his hand to push him away, but he resists me, obviously enjoying my discomfort. His laughter’s telling me the same thing.
When I finally manage to grab two of his fingers, that jolt of electricity goes through me again. He looks over, and his smile quickly fades as we fix our eyes on each other.
Surely, he doesn’t feel it too. Could he? Does he?
That thought suddenly vanishes when a car horn blares at us. Jake snaps his head forward and sees a car making a turn in front of him. Jake had missed a stop sign and nearly crashed into the car.
“Hey, watch it, asshole!” the man shouts.
Jake looks at the man behind the wheel of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and mouths, “I’m sorry” while raising one hand in apology. The guy shakes his head in annoyance but carries on driving. Jake looks pissed again, and the rest of the journey is made in silence—the moment lost yet again.
4
We both get to work, and all eyes are upon us as we walk in. Jake nods in my direction, and I walk off towards my desk.
Jessie’s sitting there, smiling expectantly. “So why are we late this morning? Did someone keep you up last night?” I flop on to my chair and sigh. Jessie notices my frown. “Hey. Talk to me, girl. What’s wrong?”
Obviously due to having seen my sullen expression, there is now a concerned look on Jessie’s face. So I have no option but to tell her. “My mum is gone again.”
She looks confused. “What do you mean, gone again?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “She’s done it again. Taken all of her things and gone. Vanished without a word or a note. Jake tried to call her, but she either disconnected her phone or changed the number. Either way, I don’t think we’ll be hearing from her again for quite a while.”
Jessie looks taken aback. “Shit, Ana. What a bitch! Oops. Sorry, girl, but that is really harsh.”
I smile back at her. “Don’t worry about it. I feel the same way. I’m used to it all by now. I feel terrible admitting this, but I’m actually relieved she’s gone. I’ve dealt with so much shit from her for so long, and now, I’m finally done. I just feel so badly for Jake and Matthew. She made them think we were all one big, happy family.”
Jessie puckers her lips at me like she’s unsure whether or not to believe I’m okay. “I’m fine. Honestly. So what’s the latest on this killer?” I want to change the subject and avoid any more uncomfortable questions.
Jessie looks away for a moment and sighs. “Nothing really. It’s very frustrating. He’s very shrewd; he still hasn’t left any DNA evidence behind. The psycho knows what he’s doing. The guys are working night and day to try and nail this asshole. The good news is that all the blondes were safe last night. No more killings.”
I straighten up. “Speaking of last night, what happened after we left the bar?”
She shrugs. “Not much really. Michael and I stayed another half hour after you left. Afterwards, I went home to bed, and now I’m here. It was all very uneventful—unlike your night, apparently.”
I give her a grin. “Ah, but that may change tonight with Mr. Show-Me-The-Money!”
Jessie laughs and playfully slaps me on the arm. “Stop it. Now that you’ve put that in my head, how on earth will I ever be able to look at him over our fettuccine tonight?”
My eyes widen. “Ah. Italiano this evening, Miss Lindsay?”