Red Riding Jack (18+)

Chapter 26

Jack's POV

My eyes couldn't move from the paper that was peeking out of Amanda's bag. My eyes moved to the door, then to the bag, and I quickly took it. I couldn't shake off the feeling of Amanda being with someone else. I turned the paper over and read what was written on it.

My hands tightened, crumpling the paper as I read the words over and over again. I took in a deep breath, got up, put the paper in the back of my pocket, and walked out of the room. I paused as I watched Amanda walk into her sister's room, and with my brows furrowed, I walked down the stairs.

"Oh perfect!"

I turned my head to see Mom waving at me. "Jack, come here," she said, walking towards the couch and sitting down with her legs crossed over the other.

She brought out a list, filled with names, and I frowned. "I was thinking about having a party for New Year's Eve. You know, we could all count down as we go into a new year, and these are the names of people I'm inviting," she said in a breath, and I looked over the names.

"Anyways, is there someone you'd like to invite?" She asked, picking up her pen and waiting for my answer.

"Not really..." I trailed off, and she cocked an eyebrow. "Oh no. You have to invite someone," she sighed and tapped her chin while I relaxed into the couch.

"Oh! What of Fredrick? I heard he is in town. You have to invite him," she said, nodding to herself, and I frowned.

"I don't think we sh—" "Jack. He is your friend. I think it would be wonderful to invite him," she cut me off, already writing his name on the paper.

"Of course," I said, staring at his name on the list. "It would be wonderful."

********

I sat in my car and stared at the paper in my hand. I already called him and asked for a meeting. The aching in my heart couldn't be stopped even though I knew meeting him was going to mess everything all up.

I took a deep breath and put the paper back in my pocket, started the car, and drove out of the gate.

My eyes stayed on the door to the coffee shop as a woman walked out. I turned off the car's engine and got out of the car.

I placed my hands in the pocket of my coat and the snow crunched underneath my feet as I walked towards the door. I pushed the door open and looked around. The cafe was buzzing with customers, and I couldn't exactly know who the man was.

I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number, and a man sitting at the end of the shop raised his hand at me while his phone was placed in his ear. I walked towards him, my eyes dark, and my jaws clenched together.

"Ethan?" I said, and he smiled at me and stretched his hands towards me. "And you must be Jack?" He grinned as I took his hands and shook it.

"Yes," I answered and took a seat opposite him.
"You should order something for yourself. I'm guessing you have some questions to ask me?" He smiled, his eyes moving from the tea in his hands to my eyes.

A waitress came to our table and smiled at me then looked at Ethan, "I see that your friend is here already—" "—what would you like to order?" She then asked me and took out her paper and pen.

"Coffee, black with a little bit of sugar," I said, and she smiled, "Got it!"

My eyes moved to Ethan, and I couldn't help but focus on his features. He had very dark short hair, blue eyes, thick eyebrows with soft lips, and I'd say he was a few years older than me. My jaws clenched as I came to a conclusion. This man was handsome.

"Here you go!" The waitress said as she dropped the cup of coffee on the table. "Thanks," I gave her a smile, and she returned it. "Enjoy!"

My eyes moved back to him, and I finally asked the question that was on my mind. "What were you doing with Amanda, yesterday night?"

Ethan chuckled and took a sip from his tea. "Amanda.... So that's her name?" He whispered, tasting her name on his lips.

I frowned as I looked at him smile, "How can you not know her name? She was with you last night!" I gritted my teeth, my words coming out harsh.

Ethan rested his elbow on the table and pointed a finger at me. "You should trust your woman more," he said, making my eyebrows furrow even deeper.

He sighed and rested back in his chair. "I was with... Amanda last—" he paused, and his eyes met mine, "—in my place, of course," he added the last part with a slight smirk.  I could tell he was trying to provoke me, so I took a deep breath, folded my arms, and relaxed.

"I know you're getting the wrong idea about this, so I'll just have to start from the beginning. I was at the bar where she was, and I saw that her friend went to the bathroom while as Amanda waited, a man came and escorted her out," He sighed and tapped the table with his index finger.

"As the gentleman that I was—of course I had to make sure he wasn't some random man trying to take advantage of her so I followed them and sure enough, Amanda was passed out at the back of the bar while the man was on her with his phone taking pictures of her."

My jaws clenched and my hand balled into a fist at his words. How would I have let her leave angry? Why did I think that Amanda would do what Bertha did to me?

"So I beat his ass, deleted the pictures, and destroyed his phone, and I took her back to the hotel that I was staying," Ethan explained and shrugged. My mind was trying to process everything that he just said, but there was a part of me that just couldn't believe what he was saying.

"What about the note saying 'how she enjoyed her night with you?" I frowned and waited for him to explain.

"What?" He frowned as he looked at me then a chuckle escaped his lips. "She must have taken the wrong paper. That was supposed to be for the woman who was with me before I brought Amanda to my room—" he turned to pick something from his pocket and placed a piece of paper in the middle of the table.

"This- this was the actual note I left. She took the wrong one," He explained while I read over the words.

"You must be wondering what you are doing in this room, when you're ready to know, you can call me on this number"

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