Jail Bird. by Em. Z. (best free ebook reader .txt) 📕

"Jane!" He called, totally oblivious of just how close I was to strangling his sister.

I got up, dusting myself off and strolling over to where he stood. "Yeah?" I asked him.

He pulled me into a tight hug, burying his face in my hair and breathing deeply. "Victor? Is everything okay?" I asked softly, encircling my arms around him.

"Just give me a minute to calm down." He muttered.

I waited, letting him rub his hands along my arms. Finally, after about five minutes of him just holding me, as I traced little circles over his muscular back, knowing it calmed him down, he broke away from me. He ran his knuckles along my jawline, and sighed once again.

"Ike got away. But he...gave you a message. I guess that's what made me so angry. I just needed to remind myself that you were here, safe, with me." He muttered, running a hand through my hair, a habit he seems to have developed.

I frowned up at him, reaching up to put my hand on his cheek. "Victor, what did Ike say?" I asked.

He leaned into my touch, and sighed. "He said...that you were his...bitch. And that he would have you...God I hate repeating this." He muttered, anger building in his eyes.

I rubbed his arms, making him relax slightly. "What did he say, Victor?" I asked again.

His jaw clenched. "That he would have you screaming his name in his bed before long." He growled.

My face paled, but I tried to play it cool. "It's alright. I'm safe. I'm not going anywhere without you, okay?" I stepped forward and hugged him around the waist, mostly trying to comfort myself more than him.

He pulled me tighter into him. "I know. I love you." He murmured.

"Victor, you have no idea how much I love you. With my whole heart and soul." I said.

After a few seconds, he pulled back, a smile lighting up his face. "Now how about we go swimming?" He asked me.

I clapped my hands together once, trying to be casual as I turned towards the house, "Actually I'm just gonna go-"

I let out a shriek as he unexpectedly slung me over his shoulder, jogging out to the sea.

"Victor! You're wearing a shirt!" I cried, laughing.

He paused, and set me down. I sighed in relief, but the sigh immediately hitched as he tore his shirt off. I let out a scream as he went to grab me again, jumping away.

"Oh Jane!" He sang as I ran away from him.

"No!" I yelled through my laughter.

"Come'ere!" He grunted, and I squealed as he caught me around the waist, carrying me like a limp doll into the ocean.

I crossed my arms, but quickly shrieked as he dropped me into the freezing water, jumping onto him in an unexpected movement, making us both fall in.

He held onto me, giving me no sense of danger as we went underwater.

We came up for air laughing. Victor wrapped his arms more securely around my waist, placing a soft kiss on my wet lips.

"Eww! Get a room!" Kent called childishly, shielding his eyes.

I rolled my eyes and turned to him, splashing him in the face a few times.

Kent joined in, and it became a splashing war. Eventually I decided that splashing wasn't enough, so I lunged at him and caught him off guard, pushing him back into the water and dunking him.

I was busy laughing my ass off, when my foot was grabbed and I was pulled under. I let out a shriek just as I was going under. Before I could panic, not having the safety of Victor near me, I felt his arms wrap around me and he pulled me up with him.

I gasped for air, but I was laughing, feeling more at ease since Victor was with me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, despite my laughter.

I nodded, and a smile broke out on his face. "Good."

And he grabbed me around the waist, spinning us until we fell in again. I was laughing so hard when we came up for air that I almost fell back in the water. "You're a dork." I said when I calmed down.

"Yes but I'm your dork," He pressed the tip of his finger to my nose, "And I'm too sexy to leave." He said.

I burst out laughing and reached up to ruffle his messy wet hair. 

"Victor, someone on the phone for you!" His mother called.

He looked up and his smile faded. "I'll be there in a second!" He replied.

He looked back at me and led me out of the water. He pressed his lips to my forehead briefly before jogging over to where his mother stood, he took the phone inside. With a grimace, I grabbed my towel and dried myself off. 

I decided to go and change. Walking up to the house, I wondered if I should bother Victor. I shrugged. He probably went into his room. Opening the door, I closed it quietly behind me, not wanting to disturb him.

I went upstairs and jumped into a quick shower, rinsing my hair in about five minutes. I jumped out and changed into some sweats and a comfortable T-shirt.

I walked quietly down the stairs, meaning to just slip out the door and sit on the porch, but Victor's angry voice from his room stopped me. I bit my lip.

Just leave him, Jane. You know Victor would be angry at you for listening. I reasoned.

"No, I'm not doing it...because she trusts me! Not to mention- no, I know. I understand that but Jane will not accept this!" His voice carried...or maybe it was because I was slowly creeping toward the door.

I pressed my back against the wall, right beside his door. Accept what?

"Don't make me do this." He begged.

There was a moment of silence, and I took that brief moment to think. Who was he talking to? What was he being forced to do?

I was about to open the door and demand answers, when his next words stopped me cold.

"Of course not. She means nothing to me." His voice was gruff, and insistent.

Maybe he was talking about someone else. I silently hoped.

"Jane is only helping me find a criminal. That's it." Again, his voice was cold, emotionless.

If my heart was glass, his words would be a sledge hammer, smashing it into tiny pieces in the ground. His other words were lost on me, as my jaw clenched to keep a sob at bay. I wouldn't cry. Not for him. Not again.

Wiping a stray tear harshly from my cheek, I replaced my heartbroken feelings with anger. Boiling, seething, throat-ripping anger.

He finished his conversation briefly after that, disconnecting the phone.

The door beside me opened, and out walked Victor, the man I once thought loved me with all his heart. 

Not noticing me, he headed for the front door.

"So that's all I am to you, huh?" I asked, my voice cold and steely.

He froze in place, and then whipped around to face me. "Jane!" He said, his voice breathless, his eyes tightening.

"No it's fucking Santa Clause." I snapped acerbically.

"Jane, listen to me-"

"No, Victor, I heard enough in there. I trusted you, Victor! I-I...slept with you! I let you...touch me! You took advantage of me, Victor! I-I can't believe I fell for that shit!" I was hurt, and angry, and confused.

Victor took a step forward, but I stepped back, making him pause. "Jane, what I said in there...I didn't mean it!" I let out a snort and rolled my eyes, chuckling without humor.

"Mhm, sure. Anything to get me back to your side, helping you find your precious criminal!" I spat.

"Jane I'm not lying to you!" He said, his voice pleading.

He took another step forward and reached for my face, but I smacked his hand away. "How could you do this to me? Make me feel so happy only for me to find out that...it was all fake! I feel...I feel..." I felt like punching him.

"Jane, please. Please hear me out." He pleaded.

 I shook my head, pushing past him. "I can't look at you right now, Victor."

I might have kicked his face in if I did.

I threw the door open, storming out of the house and catching the gaze of everyone at my sudden mood change.

"Jane, what's going on, why are you crying?" Logan asked, catching my shoulders as I tried to storm past him.

I hadn't noticed tears were streaming down my cheeks and let out an unceremonious curse. I wiped my eyes. "Can you just get me out of here?" I pleaded, my voice hitching.

He looked into my eyes for a few concerned seconds, before nodding and leading me to the car. Victor just watched from the door as I got in the car, and I met his dark gaze, before turning away to look out the window.

We sped down the street, Logan driving more recklessly than I did. I didn't care, however, focusing on stopping the constant stream of tears.

"So where to, since I'm your driver for the day?" Logan inquired after a few seconds, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked, I smiled slightly. "I don't care. Where is your favorite place to go when you're upset?" I asked, sniffling.

For a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at me, utterly broken in the seat beside him.

And then, with his jaw clenched, he looked out at the road again. "Hold on. I know something that will definitely cheer you up."

***

"Bowling?" I asked incredulously.

We were now sitting in front of a rundown-looking bowling alley, after he'd stopped at a fair to get my favorite swirled cotton candy. He'd stopped at the grocery store and asked my shoe size, before telling me to stay put. After he came out with two large shopping bags, I started asking questions, but he refused to give anything away.

He laughed and shook his head. "It's not a bowling alley anymore. An old friend of mine, very much stuck in the seventies, was very insulted that all these roller-rinks were shutting down, so he bought a bowling alley and completely wiped the inside. He uses it for dance classes mostly, but sometimes he let's the kids roller-blade. The floor is completely concrete, so it works well." He gave me a wink, and I felt an unsettling flutter in my stomach.

Stop it! You can't have feelings for him!

A smile pulled at my lips despite my negative thoughts, and I jumped from the car. I wasn't going to let myself cry anymore. It seemed to trouble Logan, and I didn't want to see him when he wasn't his normal smiling self.

"You do realize this is completely childish, right?" I inquired.

He let out a loud laugh. "Yes, which is why we're doing it."

He grabbed my hand eagerly and pulled me, making a giggle erupt from me. He stopped me at the front doors and ran back to the car and grabbed the two bags from the back, which I now knew were roller blades, and ran back to me. He took an extra set of keys from his pocket and picked out one he wanted, which was painted neon green. He unlocked the doors, grinned at me, and then opened one of them for me, ushering me in.

I looked around the room with wide eyes. Mirrors covered the wall across from us, from one end to the other. Bright lights shined down, but I could see other lights set up for strobe and other cool settings. What surprised me the most, was that the room was huge. So much bigger than I'd originally thought from looking at it on the outside. The mirrors were easily twenty to thirty feet away from where I stood.

He sat us down on the floor and selected my roller blades that he'd bought for me. I was having some trouble lacing them up, so Logan helped me, leaning down in front of me and concentrating on my laces. I studied him with a small smile, watching his brow crease in concentration, his muscular arms flexing with each tug of