Meant To Be (12 page)

“I’m sure it’s nothing. I just saw a certain car that we passed about a block from here. I don’t understand it, but seeing it as we drove by freaked me out a little. It has some tie to Tyler, and I’m going to figure out what it is. I have a gut feeling and I need someone to stay with Jayden. Please, Sam.”

“What car?”

Jenna sighed, getting frustrated. Sam had good intentions, but she just wanted to go. “The red BMW M6 we passed.”

“I figured as much. We live in a middle class neighborhood, and it isn’t an everyday occurrence to see that type of car parked on the street. Too nice.”

She turned to Jayden, dismissing Jenna to do what she needed to do. “Take your time. The rugrat is welcome to stay as long as you need him to. Gotta love the little guy.”

With thanks to Sam, Jenna was out the door. They obviously had company, and she was about to find out who it was. She walked around back, rummaging through her purse for her keys. Her gut instincts told her that she needed to enter undetected. Quietly making her way through the kitchen, the house seemed empty.

Tyler, come out come out wherever you are
.

He was definitely home, his car was parked in the driveway, and he never left home without it. As she approached the hallway, she could hear the television on at a low volume in the living room, and then someone giggled and exhaled loudly. It became quiet for a moment, followed by more heavy breathing. Definitely not coming from her, she began to see spots before she realized she was holding her breath.

Jenna’s entire face burned with anger at what greeted her. Tyler had been a dumbass all right. He actually was that stupid.

Alex saw Jenna coming right away. She played it to her advantage as much as she could. Her shirt had been ripped open leaving her bra visible, and her skirt was hiked up to her waist. Grounding her hips, she rode him harder at the sight of Jenna and kissed him aggressively to prove a point. ‘Game over bitch,’ she was saying, ‘Tyler is mine now.’ The message was displayed loud and clear.

His pants were down to his ankles, and his hands were wrapped around the other woman’s waist. He moved with her as she rode him up and down setting the pace as she drove him harder with his face in Alex’s chest.

Jenna stood there feeling like an absolute fool.

Tyler had been a busy boy all right, and her entrance went unnoticed by him, until she dropped her keys and purse on the floor in disgust.

Chapter Eleven

Alex smiled.

Tyler looked up and panicked. “Jenna…I…”

“You son-of-a-bitch. On my couch, Tyler? In our house? Get out! Get out now!” She’d known all along that something was going on. It was just a shock that he disrespected her enough to do this in their home.

“Jenna, it’s not what it looks like. It doesn’t mean anything to me.” He got up, shoving Alex to the floor.

Jenna laughed humorlessly, at the disgusting image he displayed before her. His pants were at his ankles, with his cock in view and still semi-erect with Alex’s juices covering it. Her throat felt thick, and her eyes burned with building tears, but she refused to let him see her cry.

“
Not what it looks like?” She couldn’t believe his lame explanation. “It sure looks like something to me. You know what? I don’t want to hear it. You disgust me and while you’re at it, be respectful enough to at least pull up your pants.”

Seeing as how they ignored her demand to get out, she decided it was time for her to leave, before she did something that she may regret.

Alex definitely enjoyed the drama unfolding in that living room. Getting up off of the floor to dust herself off, she said, “Tyler, it’s about time that Jenna finds out, don’t you think? And it was definitely what it looked like.”

She chuckled, the evil bitch, giving Jenna the urge to strangle her. Tyler beat her to the punch and acted before Jenna’s fantasy finished.

“
Shut up!” he yelled, pushing Alex away. “She’s my wife; she’s my whole life. What was I thinking?” Holding his hands up to his face, he covered it and moaned, “I’ve ruined everything.”

A traitorous tear slipped down Jenna’s cheek, and she wasn’t about to give either of them the satisfaction. She’d heard enough, and it was time to ask Sam for another favor, a place to stay for awhile. She made it out the back door before Tyler caught up with her.

“
Jenna, please don’t go,” he pleaded, grabbing her arm to stop her.

“I’m done, Tyler. Just leave me alone.” She should have done something when she first suspected him, but love blinded her, and she was angry at everyone at that moment, especially herself.

The neighbors watched the scene being played out on their front lawn. It was humiliating enough, and she could only imagine what they were thinking. Jenna almost at a run, crying, while Tyler kept reaching for her to stop and pleaded with her while wearing nothing but his pants.

“
Stop following me,” she hissed. “Everybody’s staring.”

“I don’t care.”

“I can see that,” she snapped, “Now let go of me.”

A wave of nausea hit her. “Tyler, I need to calm down, and I can’t do that with you here right now.”

She was trying to avoid a full blown anxiety attack at having the whole neighborhood as an audience to her humiliation. She snorted in disgust. “I’ll be fine, Tyler. You can go back to her now, and I’ll make arrangements to get my things another time.”

It pained her to see Sam and Jayden watching as a part of the crowd. She slowed down trying to wipe her face dry before getting to Jayden. He looked confused and scared.

What she hadn’t expected was Tyler’s next move.

“Jenna, wait!” he yelled, but she ignored him. Jayden was watching, and she had to get to him. Tyler leaped forward, wrapping his arms around her legs to beg her to stay with him.

“
Tyler nooo,” she cried.

The ground was heading straight for her face, and it was as if everything was in slow motion. He’d clearly been desperate when Jenna wouldn’t listen to reason, but it backfired, and they both lost their balance. Her visions overlapped and came back in a flash.

Standing in her room, she saw Tyler making love to Alex. Running to get away from that nightmare, Tyler followed. She tripped falling face first and then there was pain.

That was the last thing Jenna remembered before her eyes rolled back, and she gave into the blackness.

* * * *

“Sam?” Groggy, Jenna tried to sit up, feeling like she’d been run down by a truck, and it took a minute before everything came flooding back. “Oh, my God!”

“I’m so sorry, Jenna.” Sam tried to soothe her, “that dumbass crossed the line.”

“No,” she moaned, too disoriented and in a state of shock to let the news absorb.

Sam gave her a hug as Jenna tried to gather her bearings. Trying to think about what happened, and why she was in the hospital again, and then it all came rushing back.
Falling, pain, trying to get to Jayden, Tyler!

“
No,” she screamed, rolling herself into a ball, knees up to her chest and her available arm hugged them tight. It was just one nightmare after another. Tyler cheating, her tripping, and fainting after the pain started.
Why?
She gave herself a once over and noticed her bandaged arm. “What happened?” she held up that arm and started to cry.

“
You sprained it, honey.” Sam began to tear up with her, while wiping Jenna’s away.

Her parents came into the room with cups of coffee in their hands. “Oh, Jenna.” Her mother rushed to her side. Pushing Jenna’s hair from her face, she kissed her forehead.

As if right on cue, Tyler walked in the hospital room, looking remorseful, but seeing him brought a spark back into her. “I need everyone to leave. Tyler, you stay.” It was time to confront him.

“All right, Jenna, we’ll be close by.” Sam glared at Tyler with an ‘if looks could kill’ stare before leaving.

“
Could somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?” Her mother looked between Jenna and Tyler, obviously confused by the hostility evident.

“Mom, please.”

Persuading her parents to leave hadn’t been easy. When they were finally alone, it was too quiet, as if Tyler was too afraid to speak and waited for her to start. There was too much to say, and it was hard to think about, let alone voice. She’d spent a good part of her existence with this man, and he’d thrown it all away like she and Jayden were garbage.

“
Where’s Jayden?”

“With my parents.”

“How is he?” she whispered. God even talking hurt.

Tyler sighed heavily, combing his fingers between his hair. “He took it hard. He’s scared again that he’s going to lose you because you’re back in the hospital.”

“Oh, God,” she cried. Her nerves were shot, and she couldn’t stop shaking. She couldn’t take it and wondered what horrible thing she could have done to deserve this anguish. Her life had taken a dramatic turn, and she wasn’t sure why? Rolling on to her back, she covered her face and sobbed her hurt loudly.

“What do you want, Jenna?” He sat on the bed beside her. “I’ll do anything to make this right, please.”

“Why?” she demanded in a shift of emotions. She was done with feeling sorry for herself. She was angry and everything was his fault. “What I want is to know why you threw everything away? Are you happy now that you’ve accomplished that goal? I feel like a piece of garbage that you’ve discarded. I’ve given you several opportunities to tell me the truth. You knew I suspected. Hell, I even asked on several occasions, and you lied right to my face,
every single time.
How long have you been doing this? Have there been others? God, Tyler, just give me the truth this time.”

He wouldn’t look at her as she finished speaking. He looked like he was concentrating hard to think of the proper thing to say. He couldn’t make the situation any worse. Jenna had never been this hurt before. She felt betrayed and mad as hell that Tyler was the one to cause it.

“
You don’t really want to know. Trust me.”

“Trust you,” she repeated, sending him a murderous glare. “I don’t think so. Now tell me, damn it.”

“When you were in the hospital after the accident, it was hard on me. I blamed myself, Jenna. Don’t you understand? You’d taken a turn for the worst when the infection developed. I wasn’t eating or sleeping. I just sat there talking to myself, holding your hand, hoping that you’d pull through and come back to me.” A mix of emotions displayed as he spoke, looking hurt and then hopeful that his explanation would suffice. “I hadn’t showered or changed clothes in days, and your mother got fed up, insisting that I go take a few hours to myself. I was a mess. I went home to clean up, and then I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I needed a distraction, so I went to the office. When I got there, everyone could see the condition I was in and insisted that I go home. I just couldn’t. I needed something to help me escape. Alex walked in my office and said if I wanted a distraction she was swamped and could use the extra help, even if it was only for a couple hours. Before I knew it the time flew and we were alone. We worked through dinner and ordered some take out. She reached her hand out in comfort and told me that she was there for me if I needed it. She gave me a hug, and then I honestly don’t know how it all happened. One minute we were hugging and the next…”

He stopped himself there, swallowing loudly as his glossy eyes turned widely innocent. His expression was a lot like Jayden’s just before a good cry.

She tried to hold back the bile in her throat. That all too clear image already burned itself into her head, thanks to her first dream of them together. “I knew it,” she whispered, “I could tell you were keeping something from me as soon as you’d mentioned her the first time, and then I saw it—twice.”