J

It's been four days since I've spoken to Mino. I texted him on Sunday, and he told me Lisa was given some medication to take and had been sleeping. Mino also mentioned Lisa was going to be starting therapy this week with a psychologist. I'm glad she's getting help. Hopefully, it's the beginning of her getting better.

I wish Lisa would talk to me. I've tried texting her a few times but never got a response. I'm worried about her and probably will be until I see her again, assuring myself with my own eyes she is getting better. Of course, I also have a lot of time on my hands now that I'm unemployed. Too bad I don't have much in savings.

I've been searching the Internet for hours looking for new jobs, but nothing is coming up. Okay, so there are the few I applied for and a bunch of others I'm qualified for, but the pay is nowhere close to what I was making with Risa. I'm so fucking screwed financially. Although, I don't regret quitting for one second. No way. I could never work for her again.

My phone chimes with a text. I scramble off the couch, wondering if something has happened to Lisa. When I pick it up, it's a text from Mino asking if I'm home. I tell him I am and he asks if I will meet him outside my apartment in ten minutes. Lisa needs her truck, and Mino doesn't think it's a good idea for him to go to the house. I couldn't agree more. Once he gets here, we're going to get Lisa's truck. I'll drive it and follow Mino back to his cabin. The only problem is it's after work, and there's a chance Everett will be there. Fuck.

I get dressed in something other than the pajamas I've been wearing all day, and take the gun and magazine out of the small safe I locked them in under my bed. I'm not sure what Risa has told Everett, but I will not let him threaten me. I have zero trust where either of them is concerned.

Mino drives us in his dark grey Range Rover. He pulls up outside of the Revere mansion next to Lisa's truck. I don't have the keys and neither does Mino, but there is a hook in the garage where a spare is kept. That much I know for certain. Thanks to the house key I have, I let myself in the door next to the garage and grab the key as quietly as possible. When I'm back outside and about to open the truck door, Everett opens the garage door and steps out onto the driveway.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jennie," he threatens.

"Wouldn't do what exactly? Drive the truck that isn't yours?"

"You're right, it's not mine. It's Risa's."

"No, that's where you're wrong. I know for a fact this truck is in Lisa's name. See, one of my many duties as Risa's assistant was to make sure all the vehicles were current with their insurance and registration, and this truck," I say as I pat the driver's side door, "is all Lisa's. Paid for, all in her name, title included."

He takes two steps closer. "Risa is very upset. She wants her daughter to come home."

"Then maybe Risa should have thrown your ass out years ago, when Lisa told her you were abusing her."

His face reddens with anger. He looks like he's about to go atomic, he's so pissed. "You don't know what you're talking about. She lies. She's lied since I moved in," he seethes.

"You would say that. God forbid anyone finds out you used to abuse a minor. I know the face of someone who's so fucking broken they want to end their life. Lisa talked to me. You were supposed to be a father figure to her, yet you did something unimaginable."

Mino stands by my side. The moment Everett came outside, Mino leaped from his SUV. "We're leaving. Let's go, Jennie," Mino states.

Everett rushes toward us. "Like hell you are."

I pull the gun from my purse, which is slung over my shoulder. As soon as I saw his anger surface, I slipped my hand inside my purse and gripped the gun, just in case I needed it. I'm glad I was ready.

Everett stops as his mouth lifts into a smirk. "You think I'm scared of you because you have a gun?"

"No, but you should be because I'm a hell of a shot."

"Risa!" he shouts. "Call the cops."

"Oh, good," I reply. "When they get here, I can tell them all about how you raped your stepdaughter, beat her, and mentally abused her. Are you ready to go to jail, Everett? I hear they treat men like you really well in there."

He spits on the ground at my feet. "Fuck you, little girl. You don't know who you're messing with."

"Big words coming from a man who abuses children." I hold the gun between us with a very steady hand. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be," he replies through clenched teeth.

Risa comes rushing from the house. She notices me holding a gun and pointing it at her husband, Mino by my side. "What's going on out here? Jennie, put the gun down. Please."

"Not happening. I'm taking Lisa's truck and leaving. Try to come after me, the truck, or call the police, and I won't hesitate to tell them everything I know." Lisa wouldn't be happy with me talking to the cops, but I'll do what I need to, so she is protected. Even if that means she never speaks to me again, but at this point, nothing will be different. She won't talk to me right now anyway.

"Please tell her to come home, Jennie," Risa begs me. "I'm sorry about everything. I want the chance to talk to her."

"You had your chance for years when she tried to tell you what was going on. You chose to listen to your husband rather than your daughter. That's inexcusable. If you can't understand that, I don't know what else to say."

I take a few steps back and use my free hand to open the door of the truck. Mino stays next to me until I'm inside with the doors locked and the engine running. Risa and Everett watch us leave. Through the rearview mirror, I can see them arguing. Whatever happens between her and Everett isn't my concern. How she could stay married to him and love him is beyond me. His ass should be in prison.

I follow behind Mino to his cabin, putting Lisa's truck in park and turning it off when we arrive. The truck is jacked up with aftermarket tires and suspension. There's no way it can fit in Mino's garage. As soon as my feet hit the ground, Mino is beside me, ushering me into his SUV to take me back home.

"Lisa still doesn't want to see me, huh?"

He shakes his head and gets in his SUV. He turns to me. "Sorry, Jennie. I've tried talking to her about you. I told her you're concerned and only want to make sure she's okay." He starts the SUV and drives down the driveway. I let out a long sigh.

"Listen," he says. "I know she wouldn't want me telling you this, but there's something about you. I've been friends with Lisa since grade school. We got along from the start, and once she saw you, she always kept you in her sights. In the beginning, I thought she hated you. The way she treated you and bashed you daily, it was awful. But after a while, I knew it was more. Lisa has never had a serious girlfriend or had feelings toward any woman. With you, though, I don't know. She's different. She values what you think of her, and right now, I think she's worried about how you see her. She doesn't want you to feel sorry for her, Jennie."

"How can I not? She's been through so much; more than any person should ever have to go through."

"I know, but she doesn't want you thinking of her as vulnerable."

"So, I should go back to thinking she's the world's biggest dick?"

Mino laughs. "Yeah, that would work."

I throw up my hands. "I can't do that. Not after all I witnessed and what she's told me. It would be impossible."

"I'm not fully sure of what's going on in her head, but there's one thing I know for certain: she has feelings for you."

"Yeah, she can't stand me." Even as the words leave my lips I know they're wrong. I think back to her holding my hand, her confiding in me, her saying she wants to protect me. No, she doesn't hate me, but I can't understand why she's keeping me away and not saying anything.

"I know you're not dense." I roll my eyes at him and turn to look out the window. "Give her some time. I'm sure she'll come to you when she's ready."

"Promise me you'll keep me posted on how she's doing. I don't need details, just that she's still getting help and doing better."

"Will do."

As Mino is pulling into a spot at my apartment, my phone chimes with an incoming text.

Lisa: Thank you for bringing my truck.

I smile, seeing it's from her.

"Told you," Mino says.

"Oh, shut it." I can't help but keep smiling as I type a reply.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think Jennie Kim might have a thing for Lisa Manoban."

I stiffen. "I most certainly do not. It's nice to see I'm not being ignored anymore, that's all."

"Uh huh. Whatever you want to tell yourself. In all seriousness, though, thank you for going with me to get her truck. Now I don't have to drive her ass around everywhere. She was getting pissy about my driving."

"Not a problem. If you need anything at all, just holler."

He nods. "I also want you to know, I'm sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable by hitting on you in front of Lisa. I only did it to get a rise out of her."

"No worries. It was all in fun."

"You're not so bad, Jennie."

"You're not either."

I get out of the SUV and wave at Mino as he drives away. Wait. Did I just become friends with Mino? One of the many followers of Lisa? My, how things have changed.

It's been two weeks since I've heard from Lisa. Thankfully, Mino has been keeping me in the loop, and said Lisa is slowly becoming more like her old self. He said the medication Lisa is on has been helping, and she's smiling and joking a lot more. I'm really happy to hear it. I've been worried about her but knew Mino was there if she needed anything.

I've wanted to text her and talk to her but resisted. A lot of what Mino told me has been running through my head. Yes, Lisa treated me badly back in high school. I will never forget what she did to me, but now that I know the why, it's a little easier to push those experiences to the back and remind myself she was hurting, too. No, she shouldn't have taken it out on me, but if in some way, it helped her deal with what she was going through at home, then I'm not so upset about the teasing. Besides, years have gone by. I'm a grown woman living on my own. I'm no longer the teenager who didn't fit in with the popular kids.

There have been many times since I graduated that I wanted to call Nayeon. After high school, she became impossible to get a hold of. She also started hanging out with new people—ones I didn't know. Once she was accepted into the new group, I was invisible. I'd like to say it hurt, but a part of me was expecting it—waiting for it. She was my closest friend, and yet, she ditched me at the first chance she got to be with a popular crowd.

Since then, I've kept to myself. I don't need friends if they are going to turn around and be fake. No thanks. I will not be used, and I will not invest my time in someone who only wants to be my friend because of what I can do for them. Looking back, I think that might have been why Nayeon was my friend in high school. She knew she'd get to see Lisa every day if she was with me, and by laughing along Lisa might notice her.

Now that I have no job, it's only become more apparent how lonely I am. No work to bury myself in. Nothing to occupy myself with outside the constant worry about how I'm going to pay my bills. I have nothing to do. I'm bored out of my mind. Well, not in this current moment but overall.

Stepping into my closet, I flip through my suits to find something to wear to the interview I have today. It's my first one since I left Risa. The CEO of a small technology company is looking for an executive assistant. The pay and benefits are good. I just hope I don't mess it up and can actually land the job. Last night during my weekly call with my parents, I told my mom about it. She wished me luck and said they would be fortunate to have me working for them.

I settle on a black pantsuit with a lilac blouse. I'm super early for the interview, so I stop at the local café to grab something to perk me up a little. I was too nervous to sleep well last night. I tossed and turned for hours, only getting minimal sleep.

The café isn't crowded since it's midmorning. I step up to the counter and rap my fingers on the polished countertop while I peruse the menu. I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for. I finally decide on a large iced coffee with caramel, since it's warmer out today, and step off to the side to wait for it to be made. Someone giggles behind me and I still. I know that giggle. It's the same one I heard for four years in high school every time a cute boy paid Nayeon any attention. Do I turn around and acknowledge her, or maybe be more nonchalant and peer over my shoulder like I don't know she's there? I decide that nonchalant is the way to go and add in a hair toss when I glance over my shoulder.

There she is. Her smile is wide, her blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail, showcasing her cheekbones. It's been a while since I've seen her. I have to admit, she looks great. She's very pretty. I still can't stand her, though.

She catches my gaze, and her smile immediately drops. "Jennie?" she utters.

Then the person sitting across from her, whose back is to me, turns around. Lisa. What in the ever-loving fuck is she doing here with her? Anger heats my veins. Of all the women, in all the county, she's with her. And I had to have coffee this morning.

I face forward again, trying to block out what I just saw, but it's no use. I know they're there, and they know I'm here. Why am I even mad? I have no right to be. It's not like Lisa and I are a thing, or even friends, for that matter. But didn't Mino say Lisa has feelings for me? He sure has a funny fucking way of showing it.

I groan. I need to get the hell out of here. Where's my coffee? It's a simple order. I blame the caramel. I had to get fancy, didn't I?

A chair scrapes across the tile floor. No, no, no. Coffee? Hello? Someone please hand me my cup. Shit, I'll take any cup at this point. Doesn't even need to be the one I ordered.

She's behind me. I can feel her presence, hear her breathing. Son of a bitch. She couldn't have stayed seated and ignored me, could she?

"Nini."

Nope, not turning around. Not acknowledging her. I was the one who was there. I was the one who helped her leave that awful house. Yet, I'm the one she won't talk to. She'll talk to Nayeon, though. Fucking figures.