Jade enjoyed spending some extra time with her best friend but she had work the next day so she really needed to get home to get Tyler ready. "So we should be leaving now as I have work tomorrow. It was really good to see you all again though."
It was so nice having a surprise visit with her best friend, it felt so good to be surrounded by everybody she loved right in that minute, life was perfect. "You shouldn't have let us keep you but it was so good to see you both again."
"You didn't keep us." Unable to stop herself she rolled her eyes at her best friend and motioned to her empty cup. "I don't know if you realised but we had ordered food and drinks so we were going to be staying here for a while anyway so there." Poking her tongue out for effect she got up from her seat and pulled on her jacket. "Come on Ty."
Tyler pouted and tried to argue with his Mom but she gave him that look that terrified him as it normally meant bedtime would be early if he argued with her so he got out of the chair and dragged his coat around the other side so that she would help him put it on.
Once she had helped her son put his coat on they said their goodbyes and parted ways with the family again.
Taking her son's hand she led him towards the door smiling at the way he enthusiastically waved goodbye to Sophia before he would actually leave. "Come on you, we have to get home as there are things to do."
Jade kept a tight grip on her son's hand as she led him through the streets and back to their home. What she didn't know though was that they were being tailed by a certain female that had it in for her best friend.
She followed them all of the way home on foot making sure to take note of what road they were on and what building they went in to because that would come in handy for when she had had a chance to really think of a plan of action and how to proceed in getting that annoying woman out of her house and away from her family.
There was something about her walk home that was putting Jade's nerves on edge but as a woman she was far more used to having to protect herself when she was out alone than she would like but that normally came in the evening when it was getting dark and not in the middle of the afternoon.
Slipping through the main door in to the apartment building she gave a grateful smile to the person that had held the door open for them before she firmly shut the door behind them but didn't breathe a sigh of relief yet, not until she had gently pushed her son in to the apartment and shut and double locked the door behind them.
It was hard not to pull furniture in front of the door of her apartment as she felt so on edge by it all but she couldn't do that as it would scare her son. "Why don't you go and play with your new toys Ty and I will get you a drink." With her son safely playing with his new toys she pulled out her phone to text her best friend to let her know what was going on but then she thought about it a little more and realised that she didn't want her to worry as she had enough on her mind and if she told Paul then he would tell Stephanie and it would be the same issue but she really wanted to tell somebody in case that it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her.
I feel like I am crazy saying this to you but I don't want to worry Steph or Paul with everything going on with something I can't talk about. Anyway on the walk back from the café with Ty just now I swear it felt like we were being followed. I have walked that route hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times before and never had that feeling before so if the worst happens to me you'll know where the cops can start lol I hope you had a good Christmas and I will see you tomorrow.
Sending the text to Shawn it just felt right to trust him with it as he was Paul's friend and she didn't think he would judge her as he knew her situation and hopefully if the worst did come to the worst he could give the Police a starting point to find her killer. Not expecting any sort of response from him until she saw him in work she placed her phone on the top and sat down on the couch for five minutes.
Periodically through the Christmas holiday Shawn had been checking his phone for any important messages, there hadn't been any and he was very happy with that but as he checked his phone late on December 26th it seemed different. He read the text through three times but was still torn on whether he should actually approach Paul with it. "Bec I need you to look at this."
Groaning at her husband she had told him not to work over Christmas but he just had to defy her. "Do you ever do as you're told?"
"It's not work. I've got this text from Jade that I can't decide how concerned about it I should be."
"Why is Jade texting you and not Stephanie or Paul?"
His wife was going to think that he was crazy that he was actually wondering the deeper reasoning behind her statement in the text about that. "She said that she didn't want to worry them with everything going on, which makes me wonder what Paul hasn't told me."
"Or she is simply talking out of her ass and really she is just after extra days off after Christmas."
Rolling his eyes he thrust his phone at his wife. "Read it for yourself."
Slightly offended by her husband's behaviour she took his phone and was prepared to tell him off once she had finished reading the text but as she read through the text she realised why he was struggling so hard to have a coherent discussion about it. "What is going on with Steph and Paul that she doesn't want to tell them? Saying that though, for Jade to feel that on edge after an experience in the middle of the day where she felt like she was being followed then it sets my feminine alarms to go off. You should respond and say something about you are happy that she felt like she can confide in you and you're always here for her and maybe do some digging about Paul and Stephanie if you're feeling nosey."
"Okay, thanks babe."
Is everything okay with Paul and Steph? I know that his family is here. Never feel like you're bothering me if you need an ear. Is there anything I can do? If you need me call me, any time.
He had his wife read the text before he sent it hoping that she would open up about whatever it was he was missing about his best friend because he sure as hell felt like there was something which bothered him a lot.
Jade was enjoying spending time with her son but when her phone went off she almost flew to the ceiling as it scared her. Getting to her feet she walked across the room muttering to herself that she needed to calm down because she couldn't go around being jumpy for the rest of the day for Tyler's sake. Not knowing what to expect when she picked up her phone she was surprised to see Shawn's name and with the speed of the response she felt her stomach doing somersaults, what if he was firing her for being inappropriate? Now she felt like she was just going crazy so just opened the text and hoped her brain was just working at the speed of light.
Scanning the text quickly looking for the word 'fired' she was surprised when she didn't see it so re-read and then re-read it again. Why was her boss acting like he cared? Maybe he was afraid of Paul because he was afraid of upsetting Stephanie, but then she didn't think that Paul was like that. At this point she refused to think about it any longer or her brain would explode so she instead sent a quick response reaffirming that she was fine and moved on with her afternoon as she needed to start dinner soon so that her son went to bed on time.
After texting Jade he went back to his family however this time he did keep an ear out for his phone and when it did go off he excused himself from his family to check it.
They're good, it's just Christmas. Thanks, I appreciate it.
The response was weird and vague. "Hey Rebecca." Once he had his wife's attention he finished what was on his mind. "I will be leaving earlier in the morning. My gut just tells me that this is something I need to do."
She didn't know what her husband had planned but if it was something he needed to do then she wouldn't question him or stop him. "Okay."
Paul waited until he was in bed with Stephanie before he approached her about the text that Shawn had sent him. "Hey. Can I ask you something?"
Lifting her head from the book she was kind of reading as she wasn't really taking any of it in but was still trying at the sound of her boyfriend's voice she was both confused and concerned. "Uh . . . sure? I mean I can't stop you asking anything you want."
Sniggering he rolled over and rested his head on her shoulder. "If you don't want me to ask then I won't."
"No it's fine, honest." She lifted her hand to stroke his cheek gently. "What is it that you want to ask me?"
He turned his head to kiss her hand before he rested his head back on her shoulder. "Has Jade said anything to Shawn about Megan?"
Not even thinking about the fact that he was leaning on her shoulder she sat forward practically tipping him off. "Why would Jade talk to her boss about Megan?"
Sitting back up before he ended up sprawled on the bed he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Because she knows that he and I are friends or something?"
"I don't think that they have the kind of relationship where she would discuss things like that. Care to talk about what is behind it all?" Something was clearly bothering him or going on, she just didn't know what it was.
"Nah, you're okay thanks." It could have been nothing more than a coincidence so he really didn't want to say something that may wrongly incriminate Jade.
Although she knew that he was lying she didn't have the desire to push him and potentially argue over nothing. "Okay. If there is something you just have to tell me and I will have words with her."
"I know, thank you." Pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's cheek he settled back in to his pillows and picked up his phone again to check his emails.
The next morning Jade felt like she was losing her mind. "For fucks sake Tyler I am going to kill you." She muttered to herself as she walked across the room to find her son. When she spotted him sat on the floor playing with his new toy she stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Tyler James, what do you think that you are doing?" Before her son could even answer her there was a knock at the door and she couldn't help the scream of frustration that left her lips.
He knew that he shouldn't laugh but having been in the position of having to get two children ready in the morning he knew that the scream he just heard was because Tyler was not doing as he was told and it was always nice to know that other parents dealt with that too.
Swinging the door open Jade was stunned to see her boss in front of her. "Oh shit. I'm not late am I?"
"You are not late."
"No offense but what are you doing here then?" She was hesitant to invite him in because the apartment was a mess as she hadn't bothered to clean up since they brought the gifts back at Christmas.
The hesitancy was understandable but he wasn't going to be deterred. "I came to pick you up. If I'm honest after your text yesterday it just felt right to pick you up, just to be on the safe side. Are you okay with this?"
He was overreacting, she was absolutely certain of it, but if he was willing to go out of his way to be there right in that moment that it would be wrong to turn him down. "Yeah it's fine. Come in, I need to get Tyler to stop playing with his toys and get ready and I need to finish getting myself ready too. I promise I'll try to make sure we're not late."
As he stepped inside the apartment he noticed how small it was and how it looked to be in as bad shape structurally inside as it was outside. "Why don't you focus on you and I will get Tyler ready for you, or at least I'll try and we may get halfway there by the time you're done."
"Okay sure. Let me just talk to him to make sure he remembers you." Walking the short distance to her son's bedroom she popped her head through the door and rolled her eyes seeing him still sat on the floor playing. "Tyler, do you remember Uncle Paul's friend Shawn?"
"Maybe?"
"Okay well he is going to help you get ready whilst I get ready and then he is going to take you to daycare and me to work. Is that okay?"
"Okay." He had no real feelings either way; he just wanted to keep playing.
She knew he was going to be trouble no matter what so just gave up; turning to Shawn she forced a smile. "Good luck."
"We'll be fine, don't worry." He waited for her to walk to what he assumed was her bedroom before he walked in to Tyler's room and sat down beside him. "Good morning Tyler."
"Hi. I remember you from Auntie Stephie's."
Well he remembered him so it was progress. "That's me. So what are you up to here?"
"Just playing with my new toys."
"And what about getting ready for daycare? Don't you want to tell all of your friends for daycare about your new toys?" He wasn't entirely sure how to sell leaving to the little boy when he didn't know him a lot and didn't know the triggers for good behaviour.
Lifting his head from his toys Tyler looked at the man sat on the floor with him all dressed up and was hopeful. "Do you think Mommy would let me take one of my gifts with me?"
"I'm not sure about that but maybe if you were a good boy and were all dressed ready to go then it would help even if she does say no."
Tyler was so excited at the thought of showing off his toys he jumped to his feet and ran out of the room before returning quickly with his shoes and sat back down and began to put them on the wrong feet.
Quickly putting a halt to the little boy's attempt he took the one shoe from his hand and handed him the right shoe. "I want to make sure you're comfortable in your shoes."
"Thank you Mr Shawn."
When Jade was ready and walked out in to the lounge she fully expected to have to go in to her son's room and shout at him to get ready but what she was not expecting was to see him sat on the couch with his coat on but not done up as well. "Do I want to ask what you bribed him with to get him ready like that?"
"Mommy can I take one of my toys with me?"
"Why do you want to do that?"
"I wants to show everyone my new toys. Can I . . . please?"
The puppy dog eyes were torture for her. "As long as you promise to keep it safe and bring it home with you again tonight you can take one small toy with you."
"Yay." Pulling his favourite toy out from his behind his back he sat it on his lap. "I ready."
Bending down she pressed a kiss to her son's head. "You are too much." She turned her attention to Shawn who was looked decidedly proud of himself. "Thank you. I just need to grab my coat and we can head out."
"No problem, I am the boss so I have all of the time in the world."
He may have all of the time in the world but she did not, she needed that money to pay for Christmas and bills. One minute later and she had her coat on and her bag in her hand. "Come on Ty; let's do that coat up so that you don't freeze to death."
"Mooooom."
She wondered what he was whining about until he turned around and his coat was already done up. "Thank you Shawn."
"Don't sweat it."
Opening the front door she let the boys out before she grabbed a hat and gloves for Tyler and shoved them in to her bag before she shut and locked the door behind her.
Shawn stepped out in to the bracing December air and looked back waiting for Jade and Tyler to join him.
Before she even opened the door to get to the street she made sure that she was holding her son's hand tightly, yesterday had freaked her out and as she stood there just a few feet from the street she felt like she was going to throw up.
Opening the door they walked out to join Shawn and she plastered a smile on her face but it was fake. Not entirely paying attention to what was said she just let the tugs on her arm by her son guide her but the longer she was on the street the more freaked out she was feeling. "Can we hurry up please Shawn?"
There was something about the look on her face that had him opening the passenger door for Tyler to jump straight in. He waited until the little boy was strapped in to his daughter's car seat and the door was shut before he said anything. "What's wrong?"
"I feel like I am being watched again and I just want out of here, which is an odd thing to say when I really enjoyed my time off and spending time with my son."
He hadn't thought anything of it but when she mentioned it he could feel eyes burning a hole in to him too. Spinning around on the spot he started looking for what it was but could see nothing so decided the best course of action was just to get out of there.
Stepping out from the shadow Megan was less than impressed with what she saw, clearly whoever that girl was knew Shawn also, hell she may have even been having a secret relationship with him, and was heavily involved in her daughter's life.
It may have been overprotective but Shawn followed her when she took Tyler to the daycare and then walked with her to the office.
Jade was trying so hard but it was damn near impossible to concentrate when all she could think about was the feeling of somebody watching her twice in the past day.
It was mid-morning when suddenly some random woman came barrelling in to the room. "I have a bone to pick with you bitch."
Staring at the strange woman like she had three heads she didn't dare stand up and act like she was confronting her and making the crazy lady crazier. "I'm sorry but I think that you have the wrong person."
Stacey shook her head and glared at her. "I know who I am after and I am after you you crazy home wrecking bitch."
"Again, you have the wrong person. I suggest that you leave before I call security on you."
"Of course that would be something that you would do. You weren't satisfied breaking up Shawn's marriage so I assume you had a hand in helping your bestie break up mine."
At this point Jade felt like her head was going to explode. "I don't know you and I don't have to justify anything about my life to you but may I suggest you leave here and find the nearest Psychiatrist for a full mental evaluation."
Shrieking in anger Stacey was not about to let her get away with that. "I'm not above showing you how much of a slut you are."
Hearing a shriek outside of his office after everything over the past twenty four hours had Shawn flying out of his seat and out to investigate but he wasn't expecting to see what he saw. "Megan?!"
