Jaden by Tijan

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When we got to Carolina’s sorority house, I saw that I didn’t need to worry about being recognized. The three-story house was packed with people spilling out onto the front porch and their entire yard. The house was lit up with white lights strands. As we got out, I could see that inside the house was dark, but those white lights were everywhere. They lit up the porch, wrapped around the posts, trailing down the sidewalk, and I could see more in the backyard.

Again. This party was huge.

Corrigan grunted into my ear, “Well, I can say we’re the show I was worried we would be.”

“No doubt.” There were guys everywhere in ball gowns. So were girls, who were actually trying to look nice and pretty. There were other guys, as well, who were dressed in black tuxedos and black masks, some similar to mine, and some with only the eyepiece on their face.

No one was going to recognize anyone.

“I think that’s the point.”

“What?” I looked up.

Corrigan was looking down at me. “You said no one’s going to recognize anyone. That’s the point.” His hand came to the small of my back. “They threw this party together last minute so you could come and blend. Carolina did it for you.”

A wave of nostalgia crashed over me. Carolina. I missed her. She’d been the only female friend who hadn’t fucked me over . . . yet. My jaw firmed. I didn’t want to think like that, I couldn’t. I gazed at the house and said, “I’m going to find her.”

Corrigan pulled his phone out, then showed me the screen.

Tell S I’m upstairs.

When I saw Carolina’s name at the top of the text, I nodded again to him. He knew what I had to do, and he stepped back, allowing me to move past him.

Both Bryce and Denton noticed I was leaving, but neither called out to me.

It was just understood among all of us. This party was for me. Like the press conference, I had to do this for myself. Relying on other people, needing them to communicate for me while I sat hiding somewhere else, had me going stir crazy. I had to do something for myself. I had to feel like I was being productive, doing something. Not just sitting. Not just waiting. Not just letting the killer come to me.

Pulling the mask so it completely covered my face, resting on my nose, I shouldered past a group of girls.

“Sheldon!”

I froze. One of them recognized me.

“I hated her. She was such a bitch,” that same girl continued.

Relief, then irritation sparked in me. She’d been talking about me, but damn. I rolled my eyes at myself and kept going into the house. People were there because of me. I was going to hear my name more than that, but when I got inside, I was surprised at the almost demureness in the house. Like I saw from outside, the lights were off, but the crystal lights filled the room, giving it a cozy and homey feeling. Soft music streamed from the speakers so as I moved from room to room, people were talking in groups. They weren’t drinking from beer bongs or cheering for body shots.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and gazed at the kitchen. Bottles of wine lined the counters, along with fruit and cheese trays. People were munching off the table that had bowls of chips, crackers, and more meat and cheese trays.

“What did you think we would throw?”

I recognized that voice and whirled around, already smiling. Carolina stood behind me. Her eyes warm as she said, “My sorority knows how to do classy events. The wild and rowdy parties are reserved for next weekend.”

“Hey.” I couldn’t stop grinning.

“Hey, yourself.” Then she stepped in and gave me a hug.

It felt good. This was a friend, another friend. She wasn’t looking at me with judgment. She wasn’t yelling my name around to get attention. I sighed inwardly. I’d missed her.

“Looking good, Jeneve.”

I laughed softly, pulling away. “How’d you know it was me?”

“Raimler texted me, said to look for Zorro. I came down the stairs and here you are.” She shook her head, her eyes roaming all over me. “Shit, woman. I’ve missed you.”

“Ha! Aren’t you Greek royalty? Are you allowed to curse?”

She gave me the middle finger. “We can do that, too.” A group of people entered the kitchen, and Carolina moved around me. Grabbing two bottles of wine, she said, “Come on. Let’s go to my room where we can talk freely.”

“Perfect.” But I grabbed one of the cheese trays before following her up the stairs. When we got there, I didn’t waste any time. “Have you heard anything? What about Grace’s sorority?” My chest was tight.

Carolina was opening one of the wine bottles, but paused at my question. She shook her head. “What sorority?” She laughed softly to herself. Picking at her fingers, she added, “More than half of them transferred to a different school and different charters. The ones who are still here don’t do a thing. It’s like the entire sorority died with Grace. With what they did to you, then her murder, no one wanted anything to do with them. Whoever is left just goes to school and that’s it. They’re not invited to any party in the Greek system. It’s like they aren’t even here anymore.”

“That’s . . .” Karma? Ironic? Justified? I ended with, “Sad.”

“Yeah, well.” Carolina rolled her eyes. “I don’t mind.”

I looked at her.

She amended, holding her hands up in the air, “I’m sorry about Grace’s murder. I am, but I’m not about the house. They vandalized your house, then used her to get to you and made your friend be the one to shove you into that glass table. That’s cold. It’s karma.” She lifted a finger. “Not for Grace. She lost her way and got caught up. I believe that. I feel bad for what happened to her, but I’m not about the sorority. They hurt you, Sheldon. They deserved what happened.”

“Yeah, well.” Grace was still dead. That was all I cared about. “None of it matters anymore.”

“I know.” She frowned. “We’ve been asking questions, and no one knows anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you didn’t kill Grace. We all know that, and we’ve been asking questions, trying to see if anyone knows anything, but they don’t.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” She sat next to me on the bed and looked down at her hands. Folding them together on her lap, she pressed them between her legs. “I know that’s why you’re here, seeing if we know anything. That’s what Corrigan said, but I told him the same thing. There’s nothing on campus about you. There are lots of rumors and guesses, but that’s it. No one knows a thing.”

That was . . . extremely disappointing. I couldn’t lie to myself. I bit down on my lip and tried to swallow the disappointment. It was a hard pill to shove down. I murmured, “I see.”

“If it’s worth anything, people are changing their minds.”

“What do you mean?”

“After your impromptu press conference, people are starting to rethink things. More supporters are coming out for you. A lot of people still think you’re guilty, but you’ve got people believing in you.”

“Believing in me?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

I blinked a few times. No one believed in me. No one except Corrigan, Bryce, and Denton. Grace had believed in me, once upon a time.

She was gone.

Being with Carolina was harder than I expected. She brought memories back, memories of what she had already talked about. The sorority approaching me, wanting me, but getting Grace instead. She’d been so excited.

‘You're wrong, Sheldon. I like these girls. They like me. Is it really that big of a stretch for people to like me?’

She’d been so excited to be accepted, to be liked. That conversation was the first time she covered for them. She had lied to my face, saying she hadn’t noticed a thing when she had been the one who shoved me into that glass table, for them, because of them, to protect them.

Oh, Grace. I wish things had been different.

I drew in a breath. Feeling a tear, I could almost imagine her response. I smiled to myself, letting a second tear fall. She would’ve laughed at me. She would’ve said something about how things had to happen.

Never regret. Never forget. Only remember, learn, and keep jetting on.

That’s something she would’ve said.

God, Grace. I’m sorry.

“Sheldon?”

Carolina placed a hand on my arm, bringing me out of my thoughts. I jerked back, then smiled to cover myself. “Sorry. Sorry.” I shook my head, laughing at myself. “I feel like I’m being haunted by Grace half the time.”

Her eyebrows shot up.

I laughed again louder, as I stood up and ran my hands down my pants. “I’m not. I’m not crazy.” Seriously. I didn’t need to deal with that. “Don’t put me in an insane asylum. Jail was enough.”

She stood with me, still frowning. Her gaze roamed all over my face, studying me. Then she asked, quietly, “Are you okay? For real?”

I couldn’t answer. Not at first.

She asked that like Grace would’ve. With genuine concern. Without judgment. Like she actually cared.

Carolina had cared. She really did.

The fight left me for a moment. I hugged her, throwing my arms around her. Pulling her in, I squeezed her tightly. “Thank you.” There was so much to say, but I only said, “Just thank you.”

She hugged me, saying, “Thank you, too.” Her hand brushed down my hair to my back. “You’re going to be okay, Sheldon. You know that, right?”

I didn’t. She didn’t. I held her close anyway.

She tightened her hug too. “I mean it, Sheldon. You always survive. You’ll survive this. I have no doubts about it.”

Good. I blinked back more tears. That would make one of us.

There was a soft tap on the door, and it opened. Corrigan poked his head inside, an apology in his eyes, as he said, “Hey, uh, we were wondering if you ladies would join us downstairs?”

Carolina gripped the wine bottle harder, her eyebrows burrowed together. “Why?”

“Uh.” He glanced at me and I saw the stirring in his depths. He was concerned about me. I saw it right away, and I nodded, just a small nod. Instantly, he looked relieved, and his slight grin turned into a typical Corrigan cocky smirk. His head lifted and he stepped more fully into the room. “Well, if you must know, it’s because I think Bryce might need some moral support.”

“Why?”

I bit back a smile. Carolina was acting like Corrigan was asking us to walk across fire. And judging by the grip she had on that wine bottle, I was guessing she wasn’t going to budge for anything.

Corrigan lifted an arm and leaned against the door. “Because we’re having a ‘Who’s Sexier?’ contest downstairs among all the guys. Bryce is going to get stomped. I mean, hello . . .” He gestured to himself. “He might be Mr. Big Stud Six Pack Abs Guy, and Denton might be Mr. Beautiful Movie Star, but the playing field’s all equal now. We’re all chicks tonight, and I don’t know if you’ve checked me out, but I’m some hot stuff tonight.”

“Are you?”

He pressed a finger and made a hissing sound. “Hear that? Sizzling, honey.”

Carolina’s scowl didn’t lift.

My mouth dipped down. I hadn’t expected that.

Corrigan sent me a pointed look and I read the silent plea for help. I nodded and stood from the bed.

Carolina asked me, “What are you doing?”

“Corrigan’s trying to be funny to cover it up, but he’s worried. He wants me to go downstairs so he and the rest of the guys can see me. They’ll be reassured I’m okay.”

“Oh.” The scowl vanished and she stood with me, taking both wine bottles with us. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”

“Yeah.” I beamed up at him as I passed by, following Carolina out of the room. Patting him on the chest, I asked, “Why didn’t you just say that?”

Corrigan groaned, shutting the door behind us and bringing up the rear. He muttered under his breath, “Because I was trying to preserve my manhood.”

“Ha!” I threw him a grin over my shoulder, descending the stairs. “Your manhood’s intact, just not intact while you’re wearing that get-up.”

He glanced down at himself and stopped on the stair. “You have a point.”

“Come on, you two.” Carolina was at the end of the stairs. She turned the corner for the kitchen, leaving Corrigan and I still on the stairs. For a brief moment, it was just the two of us. The house was buzzing from conversation, laughter, and now I could hear good-natured shouts, but the stairs were encased between two walls. I got to the bottom and started to go around to the kitchen, but Corrigan grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“What?”

He stared at me, not saying a word. A beat passed, and he still didn’t say a word.

“Corrigan?” I stepped closer to him, angling back so I could get a good view of his face. I saw the cloud of worry. It hadn’t disappeared upstairs. He had only masked it. “What’s wrong?” My hand started to lift upward to cup the side of his face, but my eyes widened as I realized what I was doing. I clasped my hands together in front of me, but my god, it would’ve felt so natural to touch him. Placed them on his chest, resting there.

Pushing that need down, my throat was suddenly tight. I rasped out, “Please talk.”

“Look.” His gaze lifted and traveled above my head. “I know you’re here, and you want to rip shit up to find who this guy is, but,” he paused, a soft sigh leaving him. “Can you not?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean—” He cursed under his breath and pressed one of his hands to his forehead. He grimaced as he continued, “I know it’s killing you, no pun intended, not to know who this guy is. I get it. I do, but I have a weird feeling. Nothing about this killer, stalker, whatever this asshole is, makes sense. Just . . . can you stay within viewing distance? I need to know you’re okay.”

“No one can recognize me.”

“I could.”

My eyes lifted to his, and I held my breath.

They had lowered so his gaze was pinned on me now. He had said those two words so softly and he repeated them again, “I see you, no matter what you’re wearing. So,” he took a deep breath, “just humor me? Shelve your need to tear ass and ruffle some feathers tonight. I’m not asking you not to do it. I’m asking for you to wait until Bryce or I are there so we can back you up, if you need it.”

Corrigan had never told me outright he loved me, but he didn’t need to, I felt it then and I couldn’t talk, not at first. After clearing my throat, I bobbed my head up and down in a motion I hoped was some form of a nod. Everything felt too much. The sounds from the party doubled in volume, my smell grew more sensitive, my sense of touch too. I was aware of how close he was standing to me, how he was still holding his breath, how he was watching me, waiting, how his green eyes looked so adorable. They were asking me to touch them, to touch him, and my hands lifted before I caught myself.

I touched the side of his face, and he became even more rigid. I felt zapped, but my touch had the same effect on him.

“Hey, guys . . .”

I closed my eyes. That was Bryce.