The Price Of Love

Chapter 22

Jay's POV

I glare at myself through the bathroom mirror, before close my eyes and bowing my head, tightening my grip on the bathroom counter.

I fucked up.

No- I mean I seriously fucked up.

I lost control last night, and as a result, something that should have never fucking happened, happened.

I take a deep breath, screwing my eyes shut tighter before I take a deep breath.

I am a grown man, there is no reason why I should be hiding in my bedroom.

I stand up, staring at myself in the mirror. I'm missing a tie since I don't have the energy to tie it.

I'm also missing a blazer, but I rarely wear them anyways. Today's no exception. I'm far too warm, as a result, I have my shirt cuffs undone and rolled up to my elbows, while my collar is undone. Usually, I don't look this dishevelled until night. But the last thing I'm worried about right now is my appearance.

I glance away from the mirror, grabbing my gun from the bathroom counter in front and tucking it in at the back of my waistband.

With that, I walk out of the bathroom, over to my bedroom door and open it.

I see Talia's door slightly ajar, and I stop for a second, my jaw clenching since I know that means she's awake and probably in the room I'm about to walk into.

I roll my eyes at myself once I take a second to realise how I'm acting.

We had sex. Who gives a flying shit.

I've had sex before. Sneaking out when the kids were asleep to have some random one-night stand was practically a weekly occurrence for me during my teens.

Relationships are a massive no for me. It's not like I have a choice. Bringing a girl home would be the equivalent of signing her death certificate. All I've ever had was one-night stands- so why am I struggling so much right now?

I close my bedroom door behind me, walk into the kitchen and find Talia sitting at the table, a half-empty bowl of cereal in front of her.

I watch as every muscle in her body seems to go still, and she glances at me before looking back down at her bowl, picking at her food with her spoon.

I glance at the front door. I need to leave. The amount of shit I have to do seems like a growing pile. As it is, I'll be staying late. If I don't leave now, I'll be there till all hours.

Yet I look at Talia, and decide this little argument has been going on three days too long.

I walk over to her, and she keeps her eyes glued to the table as I stop beside her.

"This ends now. Why do you want to quit again?" I ask, and her grip on the spoon she's holding tightens.

She stands up, her chair dragging on the ground as she turns and faces me, standing far too close.

"At first it was because I'm not safe. But now it's because I realised how much of an asshole you are" She says, her eyes never wavering from mine.

"The first time a knife was put to your neck, I moved you to the safest place you can be" I begin.

"The second time it happened, was when you went out on your own- I told you to always bring a guard with you- and I got you back within three hours" I tell her, and she rolls her eyes. "How kind of you". I ignore her.

"I said what I said so you wouldn't become blackmail. Are you saying you'd rather I begged them not to hurt you? Because all that would have done is cause you more harm when they attempt to control me" I tell her, and her jaw clenched as she glares up at me, but doesn't say anything. She knows I'm right.