Lies for Truth

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Jax felt like there was a knife in his heart and there was no getting it out. He was sitting alone in the freezing cold unable to move. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he sensed his uncle stepping outside. Seconds later he joined him on the bench located in the backyard.

“Talk to me.” Marc demanded. “I can smell the despair coming off you from all the way inside.”

Jax sat with his arms rested across his thighs and his hands crossed. He hung his head low to conceal his expression. “I really thought if I gave her time she’d realize how good we can be together. I thought she’d feel the same way I do. I don’t have a single doubt while she riddled with them.”

Marc offered up his wisdom on the subject. “Love sucks.”

“I already knew that but thank you.” Jax dished back tightly.

“Don’t be rude, it’s not becoming of you.” Marc was failing miserably at trying to cheer him up. “Ok here’s what I know and we both know it isn’t much. The bond you and her created isn’t some fly by night shit, it’s serious and it doesn’t go away. So two weeks wasn’t enough time, maybe two years won’t be enough either but one way or another you end up together. Just because she’s human doesn’t me the bond didn’t form inside of her too.”

Jax wanted to believe that, he wanted to believe that with his whole heart and soul but his faith was fleeting and he didn’t know how much more of it he could hold onto before it was all gone. “Thanks. Can we go now?”

“No, I promised your sister we can stay and she’s much cuter than you so she wins.” He stood from the bench and grabbed Jax’s arm. “Let’s go Downer Debbie.”

Marcus Daniel Reed didn’t do love but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how it worked.

Ariana was a little firecracker, she was sweet around the edges but a tough cookie on the inside. She wasn’t the type of girl to roll over and let her emotions run the party; she was smart and considered the whole picture rather than her desires. She needed to be a hundred percent sure before making any choices.

Jax was completely lost as to what he needed to be doing. This love thing was very new to him and on top of that he had marked her as his mate, which added two tons more emotion and complications onto the situation.

Marc had no doubt these two teenagers were meant to last much longer, decades longer.

Jax stepped away to give Ariana the room to breathe and decide if she could live a life with Jax, the dangers that came with it along with what she had to give up; a family.

Except that wasn’t necessarily true. There was a very good possibility they could marry and have children one day. There were dangers sure but nothing that mattered came without risks.

The big question here was did Ariana love Jax enough? Taking one look at her Marc knew the answer was yes. It seemed she needed to be reminded of that, to realize there was a chance this could all go another way.

With that, Marc called Jessica and invited her to come over and spend the holiday with the Reed family. Jessica and Jax were friends, never had been anything more, but a little jealously thrown Ariana’s way could be the kick in the ass she needed.

Ariana hung back away from everyone else. She was sulking and didn’t want her mother asking any more questions. She watched the people in front of her and envied their smiles. Julie was truly clueless to the mess around her; she was a happy kid unaware of all the changes coming her way in a few years.

Ariana could see why they chose to lie to Julie, she was happy as happy as could be now and later she could always look back on this time with fondness.

Marc came and leaned next to her on the wall. “Hi.” His grin was taunting.

She knew whatever he was going to say she wouldn’t like it. “What do you want?”

“It wouldn’t kill you to smile.”

“You don’t know that, it might very would.”

He chuckled. “I can see why my nephew is completely and utterly in love with you. Did you two lovebirds have a chance to chat?” he was careful to speak low each to keep this conversation between them.

“You already know we did.” Ariana had seen him outside talking to Jax. “Is he still outside?”

“I invited one of his friends to join us since she had nowhere else to go. He’s waiting for her out front.” Marc explained and he wasn’t shy with the use of ‘her.’

Ariana fell into the bait. “Her?”

“Yeah, Jessica, very pretty girl staying with us at my place.”

Ariana hadn’t expected the hit of jealously that surged into her. She had never been a jealous person before but she also hadn’t been this deeply involved with someone either.  “Why are you rubbing this in my face?” she glanced up into his powerful blue eyes hoping to see a shred of the truth.

Marc’s humor all slipped away and replaced by the strength he carried like a second skin. “I like you, you’re cute, smart, and all that stuff a guy wants to spend the rest of his days with but you’re also breaking his heart and my loyalty lies with Jax. I figure a kick never hurt anyone. Neither does the reminder that time wasted comes to be a person’s biggest regret.”

Ariana swallowed back the lump of sadness and fear around her throat. “It’s not as easy as you make it sound. I don’t make a choice and bam everything is fixed. No matter what I do someone will end up hurt.”

“Stop worrying about her.” they both glanced at her mother as he spoke. “When the time comes she’ll have to make her own choice concerning her own relationship. You need to figure out what’s best for you and Jax, no one else.”

Ariana felt lost. She normally always had a plan, there was always a layout of right and wrong and the clear path to take. For this, for matters of the heart and love, there was no planning ahead, no study guide where she could search for answers.

For the rest of the night Ariana plastered on smiles. She smiled when her mother glanced her way, when Julie asked questions with all the energy she had. She plastered on a smile when Jax stepped inside with his friend.

Jessica was a pretty girl with dark rich brown eyes and equally light blonde hair. Ariana wanted to strangle her. She knew Jax wasn’t the cheating type, he didn’t even look all that interested in anything at all, but that didn’t change the need Ariana had to run across the room and pull him away from Jessica.

That’s when it hit her like a ton of bricks. Jax was hers and there was no running from that, no forgetting. He was hers and she’d fight with everything she had to keep it that way.

Deep down she knew exactly what she had to do but tonight wasn’t the time. Her family deserved to ring in the New Year happily as they were now. Tomorrow everything would change.