After a thorough shopping spree in all of the major brand stores, they were finally done, and Lola was exhausted. Melissa was giddy and energized from the hard work they had put in, and she could go another round, but Lola put her foot down. They slumped down in the seats after having ordered food, and the bags were in piles next to them.
Lola took her bag and took out the credit card. She handed it back to Jax. He looked at the card and pushed her hand back softly.
"Keep it. It's yours," he said.
The shock of the gesture was evident on her face.
"I'm not keeping it," she laughed and put it on the table for him to grab.
Jax leaned back in the seat. "Look at the name of the cardholder."
Lola carefully reached out and grabbed the card. She turned it over and saw the name on the back. Lola Graves
"What?" she gasped.
"It's yours, and it's unlimited. Whatever you need, whenever you need it," Jax explained.
She couldn't take it. It felt wrong to own someone else's money. Her first thought, though, besides the guilt, was that this money could take her far away. She could start over without worrying about where to live or how much a room costs. Lola could use some of it to leave Wild Cliff and stay gone until she got a job.
"Thank you," she said under her breath and took the card.
Their food came not long after, and they all dug in as though starving.
"Who was that girl you were with outside of Prada?" Melissa asked and took a big bite of her chicken burger.
Lola froze. She looked disapprovingly at Melissa, who chose to ignore the glare.
Jax wiped his hands and chewed on the food he had in his mouth.
Once he swallowed, he looked at the girls. "That was Ember."
Melissa nodded. "Huh, and who is she?" she asked.
Lola moved her foot under the table and hit Melissa's leg in a warning.
"My cousin." Jax grinned.
The girls looked at each other and awkwardly realized their mistake.
"She's pretty." Melissa smiled and stuffed her mouth with more food so that she couldn't speak.
"She's Ash's sister?" Lola asked.
Jax nodded and raised his brows. "She is, but they're polar opposites," he explained.
"How so?" Lola was curious. She didn't know that Ash had a sister.
Jax turned his head. "For one, Ember isn't a dick."
Lola laughed and nodded in agreement.
* * *
They left the mall and drove the thirty minutes back to Wild Cliff. Melissa took her own car and drove home, promising to stop by tomorrow. Jax drove off the town road and up on another path.
"I want to show you something," he said and kept driving.
Once the car came to a stop, Lola looked out and saw a beautiful lake with pearly blue water. The last of the sun's rays were hitting the surface, bouncing against the little waves, making the water sparkle.
Around the lake was leaf-covered grass from the trees shedding their weight. Their beautiful colors lit up the secluded park and enhanced the enchanting feeling of their surroundings.
"It's beautiful." Lola smiled.
She walked over the lake and kneeled on one of the rocks. Jax stood behind her, watching as she disappeared into her thoughts.
Lola saw her reflection on the surface. A dark cloud formed in the water beneath that beautiful pearl blue. Her eyes sunk. Her heart rang in her ears, and just like that, a beautiful thing turned ugly from a memory of the past.
How could something that happened so long ago still dictate the present in which she lived? It had such power, their faces, and their screams. One memory could alter her whole reality.
The image of her father's eyes piercing hers from under the water appeared. She looked at her hands and saw the blood that she had washed off a hundred times.
Lola closed her eyes, squeezing them shut, and took quick, deep breaths.
It isn't real. They're not here.
She opened her eyes, and the blood was gone. The vision of her father had left, and in its place was the water, but it didn't look the same anymore.
Lola stood, and Jax gently grabbed her hand.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She couldn't tell him, but he wouldn't stop asking either.
"Just thinking about the past." It wasn't a lie, but it was enough truth to keep him at bay.
"Walk with me." Jax gently tugged her hand as they walked around the lake onto a little path that led through the scarce forest.
Jax looked around at the trees and birds, and he based his eyes in the sunlight.
It was a moment of contentment for the both of them where nothing else mattered, and they were completely unbothered by reality.
Their contentment only lasted for a short while, for when they circled the fallen tree in the middle of the forest, Jax couldn't wait any longer.
"I know what you were planning to do with the credit card. You need to understand that leaving isn't an option," he said bluntly.
Lola froze. Their hands parted and their fingers graced each other before the fall.
"The vampires, you are so certain that they are here because of me. So why won't you let me go and spare yourself the pain and trouble of having them at your doorstep?" Lola asked. It baffled her how someone could choose this fake marriage over safety. Was their business so important that they would put themselves and the people of Wild Cliff in danger?
"You won't understand this now, but the pain of you leaving is by far the worst thing that could happen to me." Jax stepped closer. "So yes, I choose to have the vampires here and deal with them as we go rather than losing you."
Lola sighed. "You don't understand," she whispered and shook her head. "They won't stop coming for me." Her voice got lower. No one else was here, but perhaps she was afraid of even Jax hearing her words. Saying them aloud, almost telling him her story, made the desire for someone to listen grow within her.
"Let me try to understand. Tell me what Clay knew," he begged and grabbed her hands.
Lola's brows slowly furrowed, and she leaned back. "Is that what this day has been about? You wanting to know something?" She felt betrayed like the entire day had been a charade.
"Lola, no, of course not." He reached out for her, but Lola stepped back.
"Why did you kill him if knowing was so important?"
Jax bit down on his tongue and moved slowly toward her. "Because I didn't want the information to be public knowledge, and I saw how it was affecting you," he answered and scanned her face.
Jax didn't stop. He couldn't. He needed to know the truth, and her time to feel ready had run out.
"What was he going to say if I hadn't killed him?" he asked slowly, begging silently that Lola would answer.
"Why are you doing this right now?" Her eyes narrowed to slits, and her jaw clenched in anger.
"Because for the first time in over a century, we have vampires in Wild Cliff, and they have all been coming after you. I can't protect you if I don't know why they're after you!" Jax threw his hands in the air.
Lola stood frozen in her spot.
"Who are you to them? How do you know them? Give me something, Lola."
She looked into his pleading eyes and sighed. He wanted to protect her, but what about when he knew the truth? Would he still want to protect her then, or would he wish that he had let her go?
"Have you ever heard the story of the Doe?" Lola asked. Her voice was soft like silk as the words slipped from her lips.
When the words reached Jax's ears, however, they were everything he never wanted to hear. The story of the Doe was a folklore, a fairytale of something that didn't exist. A person born to live in pain- for others to use and for no one to keep.
"Lola," he whispered. His eyes widened. They glistened in pain, and his heart was beating so fast that it was visible on his shirt as it moved over his chest. "Please don't tell me," he added.
Lola didn't know all the details. She had bits and pieces that she'd been told, but she did know one thing. "I'm a Doe."