Without giving it a second thought, I turned the truck in the opposite direction from home. At a stop sign, I texted my mom to let her know where I was going to be and asked her not to let anyone else know. As soon as she replied, I powered off my phone and tossed it into the glove box.
When I pulled up outside the apartment building just off campus from Vanderbilt, I was startled. I didn’t even remember the drive. My brothers had always been my safe place, but with them all the way in Arkansas, I’d sought out the closest connection to them.
Getting out of the truck, I walked over to the entrance and went straight up to Aspen’s floor without even seeing anyone. It took him a few minutes to answer the door. When it opened, I was greeted with the sight of the love of my brother’s life standing there in nothing but a pair of boxers, his hair unkempt, and the imprint of his pillowcase against his cheek.
Blinking a few times, he finally focused on me. “Who do I need to kill?” he growled, pulling me into the apartment and slamming the door before wrapping me in a brotherly hug.
It was only when his arms were around me, the scent of his body wash reminding me so much of Jackson, that the sob I’d been fighting since I’d ended the call with Pixie forced its way free, and I collapsed in my friend’s arms.
“P-p-please don’t tell m-my brothers,” I begged.
“Shh,” Aspen soothed, stroking my hair back from my damp face. “Don’t worry about them for now. I’ve got you, Doe.”
He guided me over to his couch, and then a box of tissues was pushed into my hands. Pulling several out, he started mopping up my face, but the tears never stopped. “In all the years I’ve known you, I have never seen you cry like this. Fuck, I can’t remember you even shedding a tear.” He tilted my chin up, his eyes searching mine. “Did Jenner do something to hurt you?”
“M-my h-heart hurts,” I whispered brokenly. “It hurts so much, Asp. And I can’t make it stop. I-I c-can’t push it down or lock it a-away. H-how do I make it stop?”
Dropping the soaked tissues, he cupped my face in both his hands. “Doe, I really need you to tell me what happened. Okay, sweetheart?”
“I-I thought I was s-s-special.”
He groaned. “You are special, Doe. The most special girl I have ever met.”
“Am n-not,” I sobbed.
Aspen’s fingers dug a little harder into my skin. “You have about two seconds to start explaining what happened, or I’m going to drive down to West Bridge and put a bullet in the bodyguard.”
“Th-there’s someone else,” I got out in a hoarse voice. “And her name is P-Pixie!”
“What the fuck?” He growled. “He’s cheating on you with someone who has the name of a fucking fairy?” His brows pulled together. “Or a cat. That would be a cute cat name.”
“Aspen!” I cried.
“Oh, right. That’s totally off topic.” He pulled my head to his bare chest, and because he smelled so much like my brother, I wrapped my arms around him. “Whoever she is, there is no way she’s more beautiful than you. Or sweeter. Or smarter. This bitch couldn’t hold a candle to you, Doe.”
“I don’t even care about any of that,” I muttered. “Sh-she said that she is the only woman in Jenner’s life. Obviously, he’s been playing us both.”
He pulled back a little so he could look down at me. “Wait, that’s what she said? That she’s the only woman in his life? Did she say she was his girlfriend?”
“No, because I didn’t want to hear it. So, I hung up on her and came here.”
“Doe, you are the only woman in my life, so really, she could just have been a friend?” He said it like a question, because he knew that theory sounded as weak as it actually was.
I pushed away from him and slouched down on the couch. “Bullshit. I’m the only woman in your life because you’re madly in love with my stupid brother. Jenner is one-hundred-percent straight. No way they are just friends. And her name was in his phone with all these cutesy emojis. Hearts and butterflies on either side like it was precious to him.”
“How is your name in his phone?” he asked curiously. “Jackson’s name is ‘Trouble’ in mine.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it. But his is ‘Love of My Life’ in mine.”
He patted my leg. “I’m going to make you some tea. Watch some television or call your brothers.”
“I turned off my phone,” I told him as I grabbed a fresh tissue to wipe my face. “And left it in the truck.”
“You ghosted him?” he asked with a laugh. “Good for you. Don’t go all She-Hulk and bust his shit. Just fade away and pretend the bastard doesn’t even exist. Classy. I like it.”
“Yeah, now if I could just stay gone…”
17
Jenner
“Jenner, man, are you alive?”
On instinct, I reached for Doe, ready to shield her from Luca’s eyes as his voice called out. When I came up empty, my eyes snapped open, and I sat upright in bed. The alarm clock on the nightstand said it was after ten. I hadn’t slept that late into the day since before boot camp.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I pulled the covers over my bottom half just as the bedroom door opened and Luca stuck his head inside. “Hey. Pixie called Violet to make sure you were okay. She couldn’t reach you.”
Suddenly everything hit me, and I groaned. “Is she okay?”
“I’m not sure. Vi just asked me to come check on you. I knocked for ten minutes and started to get worried when no one answered. Thought maybe you were sick or something.”
“I must have crashed hard last night. Yesterday was rough, man.”
“I can’t imagine,” the baller said with sincere sympathy in his voice. “You need anything?”
“Nah. Thanks, though.” I grabbed my phone and saw that I had missed texts and calls from Pixie. Worried, I scrolled up to the first missed message, praying she was okay. But as my eyes scanned over the words, I realized I had bigger problems.
“Fuck.” My gaze went around the room, hoping Doe would magically materialize. When I saw the closet door was open, my stomach dropped. I could see the empty hangers. “Have you seen Doe?”
“Saw her driving off about an hour or so ago. She seemed in a hurry.” He shrugged. “Let Vi know how Pixie is. If either of you needs anything, just say the word. I’ll make it happen, bro.”
All I could do was nod as I hurriedly tried to call Doe, but it went straight to voice mail. Cursing, I hit Pixie’s number while Luca shut the door on his way out.
“Jenner, thank God!” she cried. “I’ve been worried sick all morning. I thought for sure you got murdered, and that girl—”
I cut her off. “What did you say to her, Pixie?”
“I can’t honestly remember the conversation, but I let her know she was full of shit.” She gave an amused snort, and that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach only got worse. “I mean, really, did she actually think she was your girlfriend? You have never had a—”