Easy Silence (19 page)

“Oh my god!” She covered her mouth in shock.

“He didn’t even know me, and he jumped in and saved me.” I shook my head and closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach just bringing up this next subject that I had buried deep inside. “Then, he saved me…” I couldn’t finish. The tears took over just remembering that horrible day.

“He saved you from what, Sam?” Her voice rose in concern.

“I was almost…” My hands began to shake. “I was almost raped, and Jaxson somehow showed up out of nowhere and saved me from that.”

Her eyes widened, and she threw her arms around me, crying right along with me. “Oh my god, Sam, I am so sorry. I had no idea.”

“No one knows him like I do, Jewel. He’s just as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside. And, I know it may sound crazy, I have to admit it does even to me, because it’s only been a couple of months…but I really do love him.”

She nodded and grabbed my hand tighter. “Well, he does sound pretty amazing.”

I wiped away the tear that was rolling down my face. “He’s beyond amazing.”

“Well, since I may not be seeing you tonight. Can I at least steal you for lunch right now?”

“I’d like that very much.” I smiled.

* * *

“Well, hello, Sam.” Pete greeted me while watering his flowers as I walked up the driveway.

“How’s it going?” I asked.

“Not bad. So, you agreed to be Jax’s date for this wedding?” I nodded and smiled. He smiled back. “Good. It’s gonna be a good time.”

“Are you and Bonnie coming, too?” I asked, feeling my excitement growing.

“Sure are.”

“Awesome.”

“Oh, he gave you the locket, I see.” His smile grew wider looking down at my neck.

I lifted it up closer and looked at it. “Yup, and I love it!”

He let out a chuckle. “He was so excited when he came across that. After grumbling at me for making him go into the antique store, he was as happy as could be walking out. He saw that, and right away said that you would love it because of some mermaid movie you watch.”

“
The Little Mermaid
.” I giggled. “This will always hold a special place in my heart, the same way that Jaxson will.”

His smile remained, but I couldn’t help but notice the hint of apprehension that came across his face.

“What’s up?” Jaxson asked, sneaking up behind me.

“Oh, hey.” I instinctively stretched my neck and planted a kiss on his cheek once he got closer. “I was just telling Pete how much I love this necklace.” I was taken a little off guard but delighted when he reached down and grabbed my hand and kissed me on my head. Normally, he didn’t show any type of affection in front of other people, so for him to be this open in front of Pete was a big step for him and a huge deal for me. "Are you ready?" I asked looking up at him. He nodded and gripped my hand tighter. We said our goodbyes to Pete and headed to my car.

We were almost to the mall before I began to speak. "That girl on the beach…she's my best friend." He didn't respond. "I told her all about you and how special you are to me," I continued.

"Am I?" he asked after a few moments of silence as we pulled into a parking spot.

"I don’t think you need to ask that question," I replied, throwing my car into park. His head moved closer, and his tongue was entwined with mine in an instant. I rubbed my thumb along his cheek when our kiss ended. "You are beyond special to me, Jaxson." He pressed his forehead against mine, looking like he wanted to say something back but was unable to get the words out.

He latched on to my hand as we walked into the mall and headed right into the suit shop. "Can I help you?" asked a much older man dressed in the same attire that the store was selling.

"Umm…" I could see Jaxson getting flustered.

"He needs a suit for a wedding," I answered.

"Well, you've come to the right place,” the salesman said with a smile.

I smiled back, while Jaxson remained expressionless. The man took his measurements and began to pull out different pants and jackets. "Any of these are fine," Jaxson said.

I let out a slight giggle. "Go try them on, silly." He looked at me in confusion as the salesman led him over to a fitting room. "Let me see when you're done," I said as he stepped inside. He rolled his eyes at me, and I widened mine back at him. "Hey, you said you wanted my help!" I smirked just as he closed the door. I waited patiently for him to change. “Do you need help in there?” I asked after a few minutes had passed. He opened up the door with his shirt half buttoned up as I checked him out, looking so handsome even though he was a bit disheveled. I finished buttoning up his shirt and placed the suit jacket on him. “Perfect!” I said, adjusting his collar.

“Told ya I didn’t need to try it on,” he muttered.

“That’s a perfect fit,” the salesman said as he walked over and looked at Jaxson.

“Cool, now can I get out of this?” Jaxson asked.

“Yup, but then you gotta pick out a tie,” I replied.

“You can do that,” he said, closing the door to change.

I walked over to the selection of ties and found one with different shades of grey, blue, and green all running through it, reminding me of all the colors in Jaxson’s eyes and of his many moods. I took it up to the counter, and the salesman placed it off to the side. “Oh, I want to buy that for him,” I said.

“Oh, okay,” he said as he began to ring it up. I was just grabbing my change when Jaxson came walking out of the fitting room with his suit draped over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Buying you a tie.” I handed him the bag with the tie inside of it.

“Why?”

“Why, what?”

“Why did you buy this? I just asked you to pick one out. I didn’t ask you to buy it.” He sounded agitated.

“I know you didn’t; I wanted to.” I could feel myself heating up with embarrassment, as the salesman’s eyes burned into us.

“Well, I wish you hadn’t,” he snapped, glaring at me and actually looking angry. I creased my eyebrows in confusion and walked out of the store, sparing myself from anymore embarrassment. I took a seat on the bench and people-watched as I waited for him to pay. Why did he have to be so difficult? Why did the littlest things set him off? And why did he find it so hard to allow people to be nice to him?

“Ready?” he asked as he came walking out.

I shook my head. “No, actually, would you mind sitting down for a second?” He sat down next to me and let out an annoyed breath. “Why did you just get so angry at me for buying you that tie?”

“Because I didn’t need you to.”

“I know you didn’t, Jaxson. I wanted to do it because that’s what people do for people they care about. The same way you bought me that necklace.”

“Well, I didn’t expect anything in return for it.”

“That’s not why I did it. I did it because I wanted to do something a little special for you after the million things you have done for me.”

“I haven’t done anything for you, Samantha.”

“How could you say you haven’t done anything for me? You have been there for me more than anyone in my life, each time when it mattered the most.” His eyes narrowed, and he stared straight ahead. His leg began to bounce up and down, like it did each time he was nervous or agitated with something.

“Can—can we just leave now?” he asked as he started to get up.

I gripped his arm, pulling him back down on the bench. He threw his head back in frustration, but I didn’t care. I took his face in my hands and forced him to look at me. “I care about you. Probably more than I’ve ever cared for anyone in my life, and nothing you say or do is going to get me to change how I feel about you. I’ll deal with your mood swings, or the fact that you get angry at me for stupid little things like buying you a tie because that’s what people do when they—” It almost slipped out, and I was so glad that I caught it before it did. Something told me he was so not ready to hear
love
in a sentence when it was pertaining to him. “When they truly care about another person,” I continued. “They take the good and the bad.” He stared at me intently. “I’m never going to stop doing nice things for you, Jaxson, no matter how mad you get at me for it, so you may as well get used to it.”

We both stood up, not saying another word to the other and headed outside to the parking lot. He took my hand and pulled me into him just as we reached my car. “Thank you, Samantha,” he whispered.

“You’re welcome,” I whispered back, knowing that ‘thank you’ meant a million different words to him, words that he was unable to say, but words that spoke volumes to me.

Saturday arrived, and I was just slipping on the little black dress I had gotten from the boutique up the street from my grandmother’s house.

“Well, don’t you look pretty?” Hadley said, walking into my bedroom and fluffing out my loose waves in my hair.

“Thank you,” I responded.

“Is Jaxson coming here to pick you up?” I nodded. “Well, he’s going to be pleasantly surprised when he sees how gorgeous you look.”

“I hope so.” I could feel my stomach fluttering with butterflies.

“Sam, you look beautiful, honey!” Doreen exclaimed when I walked out into the living room.

“Thank you.”

A rare smile stretched across my grandmother’s face. She stood up and placed her had on my shoulders as she looked me over. “Brooke, sweetheart, you look amazing. Where are you and Max headed to tonight?”

I closed my eyes in defeat, losing the little glimmer of hope that she actually remembered who I was. “I’m going to a wedding tonight, Grammy.”

“Well, where’s my Max? I always love to see him all dressed up.”

I shook my head. “Grammy, I’m not going with Max. Max is my father—”

Doreen shook her head to stop me from explaining myself to her any further. “Caroline, why don’t we go for a little walk before you go lie down for the night?”

She nodded and took Doreen’s hand. “Have fun, dear.” She smiled, wrapping her hand around mine.

“I will.” I leaned over and gave her a kiss, taking her a little by surprise. “Good night, Grammy.” I bit my lip as I watched her and Doreen walk out the door. How I wanted the woman who was once my grandmother back.

Hadley snuck up behind me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “She doesn’t know who any of us are, Sam,” she said, trying to reassure me.

“I know, it’s just…it’s like she’s gone, but she’s still here, and I hate it. She wouldn’t want to be living her life this way.”

Hadley nodded in agreement, just as the doorbell rang, and my heart fluttered.

I took a deep breath before turning the handle and felt my insides erupt when I saw Jaxson standing there looking incredibly handsome in his perfect-fitting suit with his hair cut much shorter. I opened the door further, and he walked inside. “Oh my god, when did this happen?” I asked, running my hand through his short cropped hair.

“Oh, he kinda messed it up when he was cuttin’ it this morning, so I said fuck it and just had him cut it short.”

“Well, I like it…a lot.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled. “You look…really pretty.”

“Thank you, Jaxson. Are you ready?”

He nodded, and I shouted my goodbyes to Hadley on our way out the door. I got in his truck and took the short drive to the wedding hall. I adjusted his tie just before we entered and couldn’t resist kissing his cheek. He grabbed my hand, and we walked inside.

“Hey, guys over here!” Bonnie shouted. Jaxson and I walked over to the table where she and Pete were sitting. “Wow! Don’t you two look gorgeous!” Bonnie exclaimed. “And, Jaxson, you cut your hair?” He nodded. “Well, it looks great. Now, we can really see how handsome that face is.” I silently giggled at the redness on Jaxson’s cheeks over Bonnie’s compliment.

“Hi, Sam,” Pete chimed in.

“Hey there.”

“Do you like to dance?” he asked.

“Love to.”

“Well, if Jaxson will allow it, I would love to steal a couple with you tonight.”

“Sounds good to me!” I smiled.

“Be my guest,” Jaxson mumbled. “I don’t dance.”

“Ah, Jaxson, surely you will make one exception tonight. Don’t you want to show off your beautiful date to everyone here?” Pete asked.

“They can see I’m with her just fine. I don’t need to be dancing.”

I shook my head and laughed, hoping I could make him change his mind through the course of the night. Pete stood up and pulled out the chair next to him. I sat down, immediately jumping into conversation with Bonnie. “That dress looks adorable on you, Sam. I could totally pull that off…if I were about twenty five years younger and thirty pounds lighter.” She laughed loudly. Jaxson took the seat next to me, moving his hand to my bare thigh under the table. I placed my hand on his, instantly yearning to be alone with him. My eyes quickly shifted to the couple sitting down at the table next to us. They looked to be in their early twenties, and the guy already seemed to be hitting the bar a little too much, staggering as he took his seat. The girl he was with looked at us apologetically as she eased him into the chair.