"Any time. Just think on it all before you come to any decisions. We have our own decisions to deal with too," Sofia stated as she glanced at Grayson.
"I hope my involvement doesn't affect anything," I said as Elena released me from our hug and squeezed my hand.
"Not really, but it is something we're taking into account. Interpersonal relationships are only a small part of the bigger picture in these kinds of things. We need to take it all into account," Sofia said, although I wasn't sure if it was even reassuring.
Whatever, I needed to wrap my head around everything that had happened and everything I had learned. I felt exhausted, like I'd just had the entire world dumped into my lap and told to set it on fire.
I needed a drink. Or a nap. Maybe both.
We said our goodbyes and made our way out of the club. The cool night air was a welcome reprieve, clearing some of the fog from my head. Elena's arm remained hooked through mine asJackson guided us toward a sleek black car, opening the back door for us.
"You hungry?" he asked once we were settled inside.
"Starving," Elena said before I could answer. "Late night doughnuts?"
Jackson's mouth quirked in what might have been a smile. "Know just the place."
I sighed as I closed my eyes, my mind reeling.
Eric was a mafia man, with blood on his hands more than likely. Everything I thought I'd known about him was a lie now, a cover for the truth.
The trust I'd started to have for him was gone now, and yet… I still wanted him. Some stupid, naive, fucked up part of me still wanted him.
When he'd pinned me to the wall, my body had reacted to the dominant display. I'd always been a sucker for it. Apparently I had issues.
You can trust me with your life.
Could I though? Could I trust the man who'd lied so easily to me, kept things from me? Sure, Sofia believed it was to protect me, and maybe it was, but it still hurt. It still meant the man I thought I knew was nothing more than a front, a mask for someone much more wicked.
What kinds of things had Eric done to keep his position? Had he killed people? tortured them?
Could I handle that?
"You look like you're about ready to jump off a balcony," Elena noted quietly from beside me.
"I wish I could, this is a mess," I muttered, and she squeezed my hand again.
"Want to talk about it?" Elena pressed lightly.
"With Doughnuts, for now, let me spiral and try to untangle it all," I said with a sigh.
Thankfully, Elena knew when to let me process and sort through things, and she fell silent as we drove, simply holding my hand comfortingly.
Having her was the only reason I wasn't falling apart completely. She and Anna had always been my anchors in life.
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in a brightly lit doughnut shop that smelled like sugar and coffee. The fluorescent lights were harsh after the dim club, but somehow comforting in their normalcy. Jackson sat across from us with his own coffee, watchful but giving us space to talk.
I had done my best to make sense of everything, and I'd managed to calm my frayed nerves and emotions to some degree. As for what to do, I wanted to talk it out with the one person who knew my situation the most.
Elena bit into a chocolate glazed doughnut, waiting for me to start.
"He lied to me," I said finally, staring at my untouched vanilla cream-filled. "Or at least, he didn't tell me the truth."
"About being in the family business," Elena confirmed.
"About everything. About who he is now, what his life looks like." I picked at the doughnut's surface. "How am I supposed to trust him again when he couldn't even be honest with me?"
"Did he have a chance to be?" Elena asked gently. "You said you just reconnected. Maybe he was working up to it."
