Dirty Little Secret

Chapter Twenty Three - Jail Cells & Heartbreak

The inside of the police station felt hard and cold, and the bright lights reminded me of when I had walked through the same lobby to visit my father when I was a little girl. My chest felt tight as I sat next to Jenna, staring ahead at the back of her sister's jacket as she talked to the police officer behind the glass window. Jaime, Jenna and Jaxon's older sister, had arrived about twenty minutes ago from San Francisco to bail Jaxon out of jail. Jenna hadn't given me much detail on what had happened the night before, aside from the fact that Jaxon had come to the school a little early to pick us up because of the storm and had walked in on Matt and Jenna talking in the hallway right outside of the gym. According to Jenna, that had been enough to set Jaxon off to lay his hands on Matt, but the way her eyes darted to the side and her hands fidgeted in her lap when she recounted the story made me feel like she wasn't telling me the whole truth.

Jenna and I watched Jaime as she turned her back to the lady behind the window and walked over to us with a small look of relief on her face "They're grabbing his things right now. He should be out in a couple of minutes." She said as she sat down beside us.

"Thank god." Jenna breathed as she let herself slump in her chair "Thank you so much for coming Jaime. I didn't know who else to call."

"It's alright kiddo," Jaime smiled reassuringly at her sister "you know you can call me anytime."

"I know" Jenna nodded. She then turned around to face me "Thank you for coming too, Nina. I know you must be tired; I mean, I haven't even asked you about your night yet. How did things go with Woodward and the Chronicle?"

I shifted slightly in my chair at the thought of Caden "Yeah, no worries." I said and hesitated for a moment, not sure how to sum up my entire night. This wasn't exactly the time to be delving into any details, and I knew that Jenna had only asked to be polite. "It was fine. I mean, the power went out at the ball, but I got all the information for the article. And well, you know Caden..." I added, feeling slightly unsure about which part of Caden I was referring to. The part of him that had kissed me so passionately in the hotel room last night, or the part of him that had left me feeling so cold this morning?

"Caden Woodward?" Jaime interrupted the conversation, her eyes zeroing in on me and for a second I feared that I had made a mistake by talking about him in front of Jenna's sister. Caden had mentioned before that Jaxon wasn't the only Donovan he had issues with.

"Uh yeah..." I said, hesitating as I glanced back and forth between Jenna and her sister, silently begging Jenna for help "Do you know him?" It was a stupid question.

"Yeah." Jaime said, and I was surprised to see a small smile form on her lips "I used to know him at least. How is he?"

I hesitated again, unsure of how to respond to Jenna's sister. Jenna, however, beat me to it. Her eyes snapped to her sister "How do you and Jaxon know him?" She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. I guess it was getting to Jenna too, that everyone seemed to know what was going on between Woodward and the Donovan's except for her.

Jaime opened her mouth to respond but got interrupted by the opening of the doors leading to the back of the police station. Jaxon walked out with a tense look on his face, his one hand bawled around a keyring while the other dug into his pocket. Seeming to have forgotten the moment, both Jenna and Jaime jumped up from their seats next to me, rushing over to Jaxon as he made his way towards us.

"Let's go." Was all Jaxon said as he paced toward them, only half accepting Jenna's hug as she wrapped her small arms around her brother's frame.

"We will. You just have to sign your release form." Jaime nudged him toward the lady behind the glass window. Jaxon quickly pushed Jenna off him and followed his sister to the desk. I didn't miss the slight look of disappointment on Jenna's face as Jaxon dismissed her.