She Paints Pain

Chapter 24

I looked around the room, chewing the first bite of my sandwich as slowly as possible. Fifteen chews and then I swallowed. Chloe put a bottle of diet soda in front of me and then sat down, digging into her sandwich. We just got to the hotel ten minutes ago and decided to eat before we did anything else.

          Chloe turned on the movie, sitting back and drinking some of her diet soda. I took another bite and chewed slower, looking at the front door and making sure it was locked. We were at least an hour and a half away from home and Jackson was surely panicking by now.

          Chloe turned off her phone as soon as we left the house, but I put mine on vibrate, just in case Jackson called me. We ate our sandwiches in silence and watched the movie she picked out, lost in our own worlds. Clearly she was missing Jackson, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

          “When did he start?” Chloe asked suddenly, staring blankly at the movie playing.

          I looked at my legs, noticing how disgustingly big my thighs were. “I was either four or five; I can’t really remember.”

          She laughed mockingly and I flinched. “It’s actually kind of funny. How it all makes sense now. So obvious that I should have figured it out.”

          “No, Chloe, don’t.” I begged. “I really didn’t want anyone to know. I mean, it took nine years for Jackson and Beck to figure it out and they lived with me.”

          “How could they not know? Especially if they lived with you. Maybe they did pretend not to know like you said.”

          I shook my head and tucked some hair behind my ear. “No, I was just angry. I didn’t mean anything I said.”

          She sighed and stood up, taking the trash into the kitchen. “I’m going to shower. Don’t open the door if someone knocks. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson already sent someone after us.”

          She left the room and I went over to my bag to get my medicine. I pulled out my pill box and swallowed all the pills with some diet soda. Shoving the box back into my bag, I sighed when my phone started to vibrate on the coffee table. I wasn’t sure if Chloe wanted me to talk to him or not, especially since Jackson would probably go all out and trace my phone, but I felt guilty ignoring him.

          “Hey, Jackson.” I greeted, flipping open my phone. I didn’t want him to think I was mad at him, especially since Chloe made it seem like I was.

          “Hey, sweetie. Are you okay?” Jackson asked immediately, no sounds coming from the background, which hopefully meant no more fighting.

          “Yup, I’m fine.”

          “How about Chloe? Where is she?”

          “She’s fine. She’s in the shower.”

          He sighed and I could see him running his fingers through his hair over and over again. “God, I’m so stupid. Zander shouldn’t have been talking shit about you and I should been the one to take care of it.”

          “It’s not your fault, Jacks.” I explained, pulling out my sketchpad. “Not everyone sees it the same way as me. Besides, he’s a guy. He doesn’t understand what it’s like.”

          “Hey, what did I say? It happens to guys, too.” I rolled my eyes, but decided not to reply. “And don’t worry. I already beat the living shit out of him. He shouldn’t be awake for a while.”