Page 16 of Played by Him

I texted her first to see if it’d be okay if I came by, and as soon as she said yes, I was in my car. I told myself I was doing this because I wanted her to know as soon as possible. It had nothing to do with the fact that it’d been three days since Jalen had told me to leave his house and he hadn’t made an attempt to contact me at all.

I supposed I could have reached out to him first, but considering that he’d chosen his wife over me, I felt I was justified in wanting him to come to me.

But that wasn’t why I was going to Jenna now.

And at some point today, I might actually believe it.

Jenna looked surprisingly calm when she opened the door, but once we were seated in the kitchen, I noticed that she kept fiddling with her sleeve. Specifically, the part covering her scar. The scar she’d gotten when she tried to kill herself as a child.

Was she wondering if I was going to give her bad news? Tell her that the people who’d adopted one of her sisters had done the same sort of awful things that she’d had done to her?

I’d had some really shitty stuff happen to me in my life, but even knowing the little bit that I did about what’d happened to her made my own background almost happy by comparison. At least I had twelve years of great family memories.

“I have some information for you,” I said. “Do you want me to tell you or do you want to read yourself?”

“Tell me.” She stared at her hands. “I’m not sure I could absorb it if I had to read it.”

I gave her everything I had, keeping things simple. I didn’t slow things down, but I didn’t try to rush through it either. She needed me to be solid if things hit her hard.

For the first time, I wondered if I should have waited for Rylan to be here to help her through it, but I knew I had to trust that she would’ve said something if she needed his presence.

When I finished, I leaned back in my chair and waited for her to process. I’d never done this before, been there for a friend. Not because I wouldn’t have wanted to be there for someone, but because I’d never had a friend like this. Clay had been the closest thing, but we’d never really talked about anything personal. Asking about his past had always felt dishonest to me, considering I didn’t want him to ask about mine.

I could do it now, I realized. I could ask him whatever I wanted because he already knew all the worst parts of my life.

“Stacey,” Jenna said finally. “I have a sister named Stacey.”

“I’m going to keep looking for the others,” I said. “When you’re ready, we’ll talk about the direction you want to take with each of them.”

“Does she know she’s adopted?”

“I don’t know. She actually resembles her mother – the woman who adopted her, I mean. She doesn’t look anything like Helen.”

“That’s a relief,” Jenna said. “I’m bracing myself to see a picture of one of them and see our mother looking back at me.”

I went on my phone and pulled up the picture I’d downloaded. “Here.”

Jenna stared down at the screen. “Those are her parents?” She smiled softly. “You’re right. She looks like her mom, only a bit darker. Same nose and chin.”

“Everything I’ve found on them so far has been great. A real solid family. I’ll take a closer look at them in real life, but it’s promising.”

“I’d like to meet her,” Jenna said suddenly. “Do you think her parents would let me?”

The hope in her eyes twisted my heart. I knew what it was like to want something so badly that it hurt.

“I don’t know. Do you want me to talk to them on your behalf?”

“I think that’d be best,” she said. “Don’t you? They don’t know that the name on Stacey’s birth certificate is fake. If I go, there will be questions, and I don’t think that’s the best way for me to introduce myself.”

“All right,” I agreed. “I’ll call them in a bit and set up a time to meet. I’ll let you know as soon as I get things scheduled.”

“Thank you.” She got up and got us both a bottle of beer. When she sat back down, she gave me a searching look. “Now, what’s wrong?”

I almost spit out my beer. “Excuse me?”

“You were very professional,” she said with a half-smile, “but I’ve gotten to know you over the last couple weeks, and I can see past that smile. What’s wrong?”

I swallowed hard at the lump that suddenly formed in my throat. I’d spent so much of my life having to do things alone. With Jenna, I’d never need to worry that she’d be freaked out by anything she learned about me, and she’d never push when I wasn’t ready to talk.

Unless pushing was exactly what I needed.

“Talk to me.”

“Jalen.” I took a long drink. “The short version is that we were together, his wife came over, and he told me to leave. He picked her over me and hasn’t called me for three days.”

Jenna shook her head. “Men can be such idiots.”

“Amen to that,” I muttered.

“Piece of advice from someone who fought against love.” She leaned forward. “Take it easy on him. It’s as hard for him as it is for you.”

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