Take Care of Her

Respect Man

Walking into work the next day was awkward; I felt as though all eyes were on me. I ignored them and continued to my desk in the marketing department.

My family owns a large jewelry company, and I went the marketing route while my brother was learning to take over for my dad. I was thankful I didn't have to take over; it seemed like way too much work.

Setting down my bag, I stretch my arms, ready to get started on the latest project. I had a ton of emails to go through and go over everything my team has done. Taking a couple of days probably wasn't the smartest idea, but necessary.

"Hey! Are you okay?" I look up as Keanen approaches my desk, and I smile at him.

"Yeah, I'm good, why?" He rolls his eyes at me before smacking me upside the head. I rub the back of my head softly.

"You never take off time unless it's something bad, were you sick?"

"First of all, ow. Second of all, no. I just needed a couple of days to get some personal stuff figured out." He looks at me for a solid minute before sighing and shaking his head at me.

"Okay, fine, I'll be over in thirty to catch you up. April is trying to go contemporary with the design." I sigh but nod, contemporary isn't what's trending right now.

"Sounds good. Come by when you're ready."

The day moves quickly with all the work I have to catch up on, and soon I find Keanen and me heading out of the building together.

"Wanna go grab a drink?" I ask him, glancing over at him.

"Can't," he smiles at me, giving me a wink, "I have a hot date tonight with this guy I've been talking to." My heart warms for him, and I smile back at him.

"Well, that sounds way better than a drink with a friend. You'd better tell me all about this tomorrow!" He promises he will, and we wave goodbye to each other.

Grabbing a taxi, I head home by myself, thinking about the things I could make for dinner. I quickly thank the driver and head inside once we pull up to my house.

Heading for the kitchen, I quickly pull off my shoes and decide to make a quick sandwich before heading to bed.

I've never felt more exhausted.

____

Thankfully, the week passed by quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for lunch with my parents.

I have been dreading this since the blow-up with Aiden. I know what they are going to say. And I really don't want to hear it.

Despite that, I dress nicely and take a car over to my parents' place. Albert opens the door for me as always, he's their butler. Has been since I was a child.

"Hey, Albert, how are you doing today?" He nods and smiles at me softly,

"I'm doing quite all right, you know how we old people get." He starts laughing quietly, and I shake my head at him. "Sorry to hear about Mr. Young, Jenn. I know it's hard." I warmly grab Albert's arm.

"Thanks, Al. Mom in the kitchen?" He nods his head, and I make my way into the kitchen.

I walk in to find Jan and Mom talking and making food. I smile at them before walking up to my mom, giving her a small hug. We've never been the touchy-feely family.

"Hey Jenn, it's good to see you. You look better than I was expecting," I frown at her.

"Did you want me to show up looking like a hobo?" She laughs and shakes her head, turning back to the stove.

"No, but you know how you get with that depression, sometimes you just crash and have a hard time. I figured that with everything with Aiden would have caused you to crash." I frown and glance towards Jan. She just smiles at me, trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Thanks, Mom, but I'm doing fine." She glances at me.

"I can see that. Well, anyway, good for you. You did something I was never able to do. Leave the bastard." My heart tugs at this confession, but I remind myself that no matter how many times any of us try to help, she refuses to leave.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't going to let myself become stuck in a relationship like that." She nods without responding.

"Well enough of that, go and grab Addie and your dad in the backyard. Food is ready."

Turning my head to the backyard. Dad is playing with Addie in the yard with our childhood dog, who's getting quite old, but loves a good run in the yard.

"Hey guys, food is ready!" I holler, and Addie comes running to me. I smile and pick her up when she gets close. "Hey, lady!"

"Auntie! I missed you!" I give her a big squeeze and a kiss.

"I missed you more. Now let's go eat. I'm starving!" She giggles, and I head inside, my dad following us.

We all sit around the table and get our food, silently. My heart is beating fast, I'm just waiting for it.

"Where's Justin? Why doesn't he ever come on time?" Mom complains, looking to Dad.

"Don't ask me, I keep telling him to be here on time or I'd drag his ass here, but he ignores me still."

"Calm down, I'm here." Justin's voice echoes through the dining room, having just gotten here. He sits down next to Addie, across from me.

"Be respectful of everyone's time and actually show up on time," Dad lectures, staring down Justin. Justin avoids his look and instead starts grabbing food. "I don't know what is wrong with this generation, so disrespectful. Can't even respect the vows of a marriage," he picks up his fork and points it at me, "let me tell ya, Jenny, me and your mom worked through all our problems, we didn't call it quits whenever it got hard." I glance over at my mom.

"That's right, we weren't willing to give it up, now look at us. Thirty-five years strong," I glare at her slightly. She was literally just telling me she wished she could leave my dad.

"One argument and you're so quick to throw in the towel, demand a divorce. I swear, women have no respect for a man these days." My dad continues, and I avoid looking at him or saying anything.

That's what you do when my dad gets like this. Don't say anything.

"I'm sure Aiden has been working so hard lately to make you happy. It was just a mistake, Jenn. I'm sure he's sorry." Mom mentions casually sipping her soda. I roll my eyes at her. At least they got it out of the way. I'll never hear the end of it. But now I don't have to anxiously wait for them to lecture me.

I look down as my phone buzzes; it's Tyler. I look up at him as he sits at the table with a blank face. I look back down and stand up,

"I'm so sorry, family, something important came up at work and I have to go." My dad glares at me,

"Justin is the CEO. I'm sure someone else can deal with it. If he's not being summoned, it's obviously not an emergency." I sigh and look to my mom.

"It's about marketing, which Justin knows nothing about. I'm the boss. I have to fix this situation before we lose money," I explain quickly. Mom nods.

"You'd better go take care of it. Give me a call tomorrow." I nod at her, smiling.

"Sorry, love you guys. So great seeing everyone." I pat Tyler's shoulder as I leave.

Once I get outside, I sigh heavily. My parents are exhausting. I'm thankful Tyler gave me an excuse to leave.

Even Justin, big mean Justin, wouldn't stand up to my dad.

I decide to head home, get in some comfy clothes, and watch a few movies while doing some work.

Once I get home, I head upstairs and change quickly. I pause though when I hear glass shattering downstairs. My heart skips a beat. I hear something else break, and I immediately close my closet door and call Justin.

He doesn't answer, so I call him again. More glass shatters, and I can hear footsteps. I texted 911 to get them here, and they told me someone is being sent. No answer from Justin.

Huddling in the back of the closet, I call Tyler, no answer. They must still be at my parents'. Panic settles in when I hear more stuff being broken. I call Justin one last time, only to get no answer.

Thinking quickly, I call Noah. As soon as I hear it pick up, I whisper, "Noah, it's Jenn."

"What's wrong? Why are you whispering?" He asks, obviously confused.

"Justin won't answer his phone, and someone's in my house," I explain quietly as I hear this person start to walk up my stairs slowly. Dragging something against the wall.

"What? Where are you?"

"Hiding in the closet, they're coming upstairs. Noah, I'm terrified," I admit to him, hearing my heart in my ears.

"Stay there, stay quiet. I'm on my way."

"Please hurry," I whisper right as the door to my room opens. I hold my breath.

"Oh, Jennifer," his voice is sing-song like, and I instantly know who it is.

"Aiden," I whisper, my eyes widening. My phone still pressed against my ear, I heard Noah cuss, and for some reason, I felt less panic. Aiden wouldn't hurt me, not really.

Aiden wouldn't hurt me, right?