Bad Habits | Herophine #1

XIV

-Organized Chaos-

I checked my dry erase calendar and what I had planned for the day, smiling then frowning when I saw the date, it had now been exactly five months since I met Jax the night I'd gone out with Elijah after finals which ended up with me passing out in his arms, four months since I hurt Elijah and we stopped talking and if I'm being honest, a lot has changed in those short months. Turns out Jax's dad isn't as cold hearted as he lets on. It's all an act just like Jax said.

Logan and River are now engaged to be married and the only thing they fight about is whether they want a spring wedding or a winter wedding which is hilarious to me because well —there's no snow in LA— It kind of defeats the purpose of a winter wedding, I didn't dare mention my thoughts, they were turning into bridezilla's and I don't think I wanted to deal with it.

As for Elijah, I passed by his apartment one last time and handed his concierge a handwritten letter to give to him, I apologized for my behavior deeply, and told him that whenever he was ready I'd be around to resume our friendship, I emphasized how much I missed him, but that I wouldn't force his hand to talk to me. He still watches my Instagram stories and likes my posts on Facebook, he can't be that mad, if he hasn't blocked me from every social media outlet he's got me on. His relationship with Hailey was still standing, they'd pretty much become the staple road-trip couple and yes, she was still calling him muffin.

Yuck...

After gagging on my own tongue I locked my phone and placed it in my back pocket, I went down to the living room where River and Lo were in the living room, watching CNN as per usual, "Logan, do we have to watch the news all the time?" River plopped next to her fiance admiring the pink stone on her finger for the billionth time, she was so obsessed it was sickening, adorable, but sickening, Logan retorted with something smart causing River to throw a cushion at her. I don't know who I preferred in this case, pre-engaged Lo and Riv or engaged Lo and Riv, "Behave kiddies." I joked as I wandered towards the kitchen and bit into a yellow apple, Logan was searching for the remote to change the channel for her girl when the news rang out:

This just in, we have Ben Andrews, out in Beverly Hills with news about a recent imprisonment, Brian please go ahead.

I was about to walk back to my room with an extra apple and a banana but both the location that was mentioned and what came out of the reporter's mouth made me drop everything I held in my hands back into the fruit bowl.

That's right Lisa I am currently standing in front of the gates of Lars Beckett's home, the LA based real estate tycoon hailing from the UK, who was cleared six months ago on the suspicion of participating in a Ponzi scheme has been arrested today at his Hills mansion, Beckett is being charged with tax evasion for a total of fourteen million dollars in false amended returns, if found guilty Lars Beckett could face up to five years in a federal prison, Lars, who is also a father of two is in custody until a trial is set, we have no details on how much his bail is, we've tried to contact Beckett's family who refused to give a statement, as you can see the gates are closed and no one is being allowed in, this is all the news I have for now, back to you Lisa.

"No, no, no, no, damn it!" My stomach dropped down to the pits of hell, all I could think about was Jax and Hailey, I felt bad for Hailey since she lived and breathed for that man, they must not be taking this well, I ran back upstairs and tied my hair up in a bun, and reached for the first cardigan I could get my hands on. I drove to the property which was flocking with reporters, I felt nauseated, did these people have to prey on the lives of other people? Where's the respect?

They crowded my car thinking that I was probably someone from the family, as if I'd step out and expose anything, fucking leeches. Because of my closeness to Jax these few months and the severity of the case, I was now no stranger to the press, Jax always told me to ignore them so that's what I did, fortunately the gate opened and closed quickly.

Once I stepped inside the house, the front door was open, I took a look around and my jaw dropped, the house was completely empty. the centerpiece in the entrance was gone, couches, frames, pictures, all gone, and curled up in himself sitting on the staircase was Jax, I swear I felt my soul leave my body, his knees were on his chest, his arms wrapped around them and a hopeless look on his face, I approached him slowly, realizing there were no words for this, I sat beside him and said nothing, the look in his eye made my heart disintegrate in my chest. "Everything is gone."

He said in a gruff voice that let me know he'd been crying before I got there, he sniffled. "The furniture, my vinyls, my dad..." He trailed off. "Oh Jax honey... I'm so, so, so sorry..." He hugged me so tight I felt the air leave my lungs in his embrace, I felt moisture on my face and I realized I was crying, I pulled back from the hug and wiped his tears away. "I have to find somewhere to live in the next twenty four hours, they're seizing the house as collateral."

He confessed. "I guess Hailey was smart enough to get her own apartment way before all of this went down." I blinked back fresh tears and offered the only thing I could. "You can stay with me, if you want to..." Then I remembered I had a loft bed, I almost slapped myself unconscious. "No, I'll be at a hotel, I've already booked it in advance when I knew they were coming to get our stuff out."

***

A few days later, Jax gave me the news that he'd gotten a condo close to Rooted, he offered me a tour, he was extremely lucky that his father passed the bar down to him and Hailey, the money coming in from the bar was clean and Jax always paid business taxes on time which is why it didn't get looked at unlike the rest of the businesses under Mr. Beckett's belt. I reached the complex and once again he was on the main floor. "Something tells me you don't like heights." I teased as he greeted me at his first floor condo. "To live in? No, not at all..." He confessed. "Is afraid to live in high rises, noted." I stated as I made it over the threshold, it reminded me of his room, airy but with a bohemian and very Jax vibe.

What stood before me was an unfurnished, pristine condo that really felt like a house, it was light & bright unit with a huge open floor, enormous living room for entertaining the kitchen was open and chromed out with accents in black, the floors were hardwood but didn't creak, a large balcony with sliding doors, his laundry was in-house, the master suite and a second room, along with one and a half bathrooms, it was meant to be his.

"This is really amazing Jax." I walked around the gorgeous open space. "It just screams Jax Beckett lives here!" I said his name loud enough to make the property itself believe it. "You can stay and help me organize all the furniture I ordered." He glanced at his watch. "Should be here soon, I ordered express delivery before I left the manor." He stated coming closer to me and planting a kiss on my lips, his gaze then turned to my eyes and his face turned adorably serious.

"Thank you, for being there for me Faith. You're the only one who hasn't turned your back on me since my father was imprisoned." I placed three gentle fingers on his supple lips. "Don't thank me for being here for you." I shook my head, "You have no obligation, no commitment to me." He replied, I shook my head again, "I'm here because I choose to be here, you can't take that from me J..." He smiled and kissed me again, his hands sliding behind my cardigan to grip me closer to him, admitting that I'd fallen smack dab on my face for this man was an understatement, every time he kissed me my body felt something new.