Jack In The Box novel Chapter 45

Riley

I probably hadn’t been to a party in ages; at least not since that Halloween party last year and here I was today, dressed up in a rose-gold sleeveless sequin dress that had a long slit starting from mid-thigh until the ankles. I had a lovely pair of glitter heels to go with it and my hair was just done in simple beach curls. If I should admit, I looked downright fucking hot, excuse me for my crude language.

It was my birthday today; I’d just turned twenty-six and Ken was acting like he had forgotten all about it. He’d called me from work and when I thought he was going to wish me, he’d said he was calling to ask if I was making his favorite dinner tonight. I’d hung up on his face.

Had he forgotten about all the three story cakes I made for him? Had he forgotten how far I always went to call up his friends and set up his birthday party? How about the special edition volumes of the stupid comic books I gifted him all the time? And when it came down to wishing his sister on her birthday, he’d forgotten. I tried to tell myself that it was all a little act so he could surprise me later on that night but as the hours dragged on, I started to wonder if the party was going to only happen in my head.

I sat alone at the bar, wearing my best dress and looking like a woman who’d been stood up by her boyfriend. How pathetic was my life at this point? Ezra had called me that afternoon, and I thought he knew about my birthday and that he wanted to wish me but instead he’d said he wanted to meet me tonight and talk about something.

So instead of coming dressed up in casuals, I’d ended up wearing my birthday dress. Maybe I was fishing for compliments, maybe I wanted him to say ‘Oh, that’s a lovely dress, what’s the special occasion?’ and then I would say, ‘hey, it’s my birthday today.’ And then he’d respond. ‘Oh, happy birthday, Riley. Since you’re all dolled up, let’s celebrate.’

Ugh. Yeah I know. Pathetic even wasn’t the word suitable for me right now, more like desperate. I was even ready to celebrate my birthday with my ex-boyfriend’s brother. I call him ex-boyfriend because I hadn’t heard from Jack for around six months now. He hadn’t tried to get in touch with me, never wrote a letter and never passed any other letters to Ezra which told me that he’d ended things. Jack was smart. He’d opted out of confrontation. That coward. Granted that he’d asked me to wait, but can a person wait for six months not knowing where she stood?

It had been tough. Those cold nights, lying there alone in bed thinking of what life could been if Jack was still around and then crying into the jacket that belonged to him and still smelled of him. Even Ken was giving me pitiful looks now and then.

And there were these thoughts that kept running through my mind. What if Jack had changed his mind about me? Maybe he’d thought I wasn’t good enough, maybe he met someone (that particular thought always brought tears to my eyes), the mere idea of another woman having her hands on him made me want to actually stab somebody.

Jack had been way out of my league, so I should just admit that I’d had an adventure with the most dangerous, smoking hot bad boy and it just somehow didn’t work out. Deep down I knew I wouldn’t find someone like him because I’d always compare every man with Jack.

The buzzing of my phone stopped my train of thoughts. And I was surprised to see who the message was from.

Paul the Bully: Hey Nurse Riley, Happy Birthday!

How is it that I wasn’t getting any happy birthday’s from my brother or my new best friend, (I’m looking at you Ezra), but I get a goddamn text from Paul Bennet?!

Maybe the sun rose in the west too. Did I mention that since the time Jack left, Paul’s been acting really nice which was kind of strange. He wouldn’t just pass by, he took extra time to bring coffee to me if we shared the same shift.

Shocker, right? And I’d started to wonder if it was another one of his devious ploys of bullying me.

Me: Thanks!

Paul: See you soon.

“Sorry, I’m late.” I heard Ezra’s voice from behind me. He pulled me into a warm hug and propped himself beside me on the bar stools. “I’m so glad you could come.”

Ezra had cropped his hair short from the ends and it was growing on the top. He wore a simple white t-shirt over ripped denim jeans. He looked so much like Jack, yet the two brothers were different. My heart sank whenever I looked at Ezra because it kept reminding me of him.

“Of course, I would.” I said. “Did you notice my new dress?”

“Yeah, you’re looking so beautiful.” He said barely even looking at my outfit or me, “I’m kinda blinded by all that glitter.”

Ask me, what’s the special occasion? C’mom Ezra!

“Can I order you a drink?” he asked instead.

“No, I’m good.”

Ezra ordered Jack Daniels on the rocks. The bartender smiled shyly at him, she was cute with a short boy-cut hair. She looked like a short pixie. Ezra smiled back at her and winked, holding a little note between his fingers. He read it and slid it inside his denim pocket.

Well at least someone was getting some action in bed tonight.

So totally not jealous.

If only.

Con Calma by Daddy Yankee was blasting from the speakers, and most people had left to join the dance floor.

He turned his attention towards me. “So, the reason why I called you here.” Ezra said with a serious face.

“What happened?” I felt my stomach turning. Ezra wouldn’t call me if it wasn’t important.

Ezra leaned in closer, “There’s another murder. This one is quite similar to the ones that were orchestrated by Dr. Aaron Shaw.”

I stared at him in shock. This couldn’t be happening again!

“You mean a copycat killer?” I had a sinking feeling.

“Exactly.”

“Why do you think anyone would want to copy those murders that were linked to you and Jack?” I asked.

Ezra shook his head. “I don’t know. It happened here in one of the private lounges.”

“What?!”

“Yes, but keep your voice down. We don’t want people to know about it. Do you want to see? Maybe help me if you can notice any clues.”

“Am I allowed to?” I asked.

“If I’m with you, Riley, you’ve nothing to worry about.”

I gave him a nod and he led me through the throngs of people. I was feeling quite uneasy, why was this happening again? We walked past the crowded dance floor towards the door with golden handles.

Ezra opened the door and a blast of confetti momentarily blinded me.

“Happy Birthday, Riley!” There was a loud unison of familiar voices. Apart from Ezra, Ken and James were here too. And also Paul Bennet who had a foolish grin plastered on his face. His red hair was longish, his freckles looking lighter. I didn’t miss the way his eyes moved from bottom to top, literally like a scanning machine.

Well, at least Paul knew I looked amazing in the dress. Even he couldn’t stop appreciating what he was seeing in front of him.

“Aw, thank you so much guys.” I said as I hugged each one for the surprise that I hadn’t seen coming. I should have known.

Ezra was laughing and I hit him playfully. “You guys should have seen the look on her face when I told her the murders were happening again.” The others laughed with him, making a total fool out of me.

“Riley’s expressions were totally like ’Not this again please.’” Ezra was tearing up with all that laughter.

“I hope you had fun making jokes at my expense.” I said faking a pout but also loving the attention from all these men.

The lounge was cozy and I could tell it was one of the best ones in the club. Ezra had made sure of it. It was decorated with gold and pink balloons. My name was a balloon of individual letters. A small snacks bar was set in the corner stacked with fries and slider burners. And then I saw the little empty plates of food on the floor. The traitors had started eating and boozing way before I even got here.

And the cake...

Well, the cake was a Barbie look alike of me, dressed in a nurse’s uniform, sitting on top of the cake, holding a bloody knife. I laughed and looked at them, “Seriously, guys? Whose idea was this?”

They pointed at each other. “It was Ken’s idea.” Ezra confessed.

“I’m so touched, all of you.”