Despicable Desires

Episode 18

Cameron

As Jayden parks the car in the garage driveway, the house is shrouded in darkness. Even though I know everyone will find out about what happened at the party tomorrow, I cross my fingers that I don't wake anyone up tonight. As I untie Adeline to get her out of the car, Jayden steps ahead of me and takes her in his arms.

He seems to appreciate his role as big brother more than he lets on!

House keys in hand, I use my phone to light the way to the front door.

The house is quiet, and despite the lingering stress, we try our best not to make any noise.

"She'll sleep with you tonight," Jayden whispers as he climbs the stairs to the second floor. "She won't remember anything in the morning. She'll feel safer waking up with you, and you'll have to explain."

He enters my room and gently puts Adeline on the bed.

"Give me one of your T-shirts," he asks me calmly.

I quickly rummage through my closet and find an old piece of fabric I haven't worn in years, thinking he'll use it as a rag for something, and I'm completely stunned when I realize he's going to put it on her. Damn, I can't even imagine how I'm going to explain this to her tomorrow: "Listen, yesterday Jayden came to help you. Not only did he make you vomit, but he also undressed you. Nothing serious, I assure you, you can go back to sleep." She's going to kill me.

"Help me, please," he says to me as he struggles to remove her top, as disoriented as she is.

"Would Jayden White have trouble getting a girl undressed?" I joke, trying to lighten the bizarre atmosphere.

"Shut up!"

Seeing my dismayed expression, he finally replies, jokingly:

"In general, they're a little more receptive and willing."

A half-smile appears on his lips, but I can tell his heart isn't in it.

Once Adeline is under the covers, Jayden carefully places the dirty clothes on the chair by my desk before returning to the bed.

"Can you get a bottle of water?" he asks me kindly.

Silently, I leave the room and head downstairs to the kitchen. I'm not sure if it's like after smoking a joint, but it's true that she might be thirsty when she wakes up. With the bottle in my hand, I tiptoe back up the stairs. The last thing we need is for our parents to wake up. I'd rather deal with the situation myself before talking to them about it. To be honest, I'm most afraid of Henri's reaction. He can be sweet, but when it comes to his daughters, he's uncompromising.

When I reach the door, I decide not to enter the room immediately. I move discreetly and stay a little back, suddenly overcome by the urge to spy on Jay. I'm just wondering how he behaves with Adeline when I'm not around. Is his sudden concern real, or is he acting like this because he knows he's being watched? I look into the room: Jay is sitting on the edge of the bed, gently placing a hand on Adeline's forehead. Slowly he moves his fingers along her cheek, brushing against her lips and lingering on the hair that falls down her neck. From the side, I have a perfect view of his tense face. At that moment, Tyler's words echo in my head and all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. How could I have been so blind? Feeling a little unsettled, I lean against the door and cross my arms over my chest.

"How long has this been going on?"

He may be surprised by my question, but his entire body remains stone-faced, showing no emotion. Jayden in all his glory.