Jesse Lee doesn’t lie. Yeah, I forgot this little detail. It’s true, then. A couple of weeks ago, she said it.
She asked for me.
I turn away, fighting the pleasure the thought brings me. It’s like a ball of light expanding in my chest.
“So how did it go?” he asks.
“As if it’s any of your damn business,” I mutter, turning to go. “Stay out of this.”
“Oh, come on. You jumped at the chance to take her home.”
“What the fuck ever.”
“Ocean.”
I stop in my tracks but don’t turn. “What?”
A pause, then, “Are you okay, buddy?”
Fuck. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine. You sound pissed as hell.” Jesse sounds uncertain. “Didn’t mean to step on your fucking toes, man. Sorry.”
I’m scaring my friends, dammit. I’ve been in a black mood for months now. “Forget it.”
“It’s just that I thought you liked Kayla, and Amber said Kayla likes you, so… Are we good?”
Amber said that?
I glance at him over my shoulder. “I’m good.” But the lines of worry between his brows seem deeper than usual. I turn around completely. “Are you okay?”
“No.” He slumps on his stool. “I need a favor.”
“What sort of favor?” My budget’s tight as a drum, and time is also on short supply of late, but this is Jesse. “Hit me.”
“It’s for a friend of mine. Jason.”
If there’s one thing you should know about me is that I’d do anything for Raine, my brother, for my good-for-nothing parents, and I’d do anything for my Damage Control family. No matter what. Even when things are rough.
So I nod. “Tell me what you need.”
***
The next morning as I drive out of town I’m half-regretting my promise to Jesse, but I’d never take it back. It’s just that, hell, life is a bitch already, and dammit, I don’t need more shit.
Then I remember what Jesse said and feel fucking bad for regretting it even for a minute. I sometimes forget others have had it worse than me.
Life sucks ass.
So I’ll do my best to help out Jason. But I’ll deal with this later, when I return to Madison. Right now my thoughts are all tangle
d up to what lies ahead, where I’m heading.
Where I don’t wanna go. Where I swore I’d never return. Yet here I am.
Back in hell.
Must be a flaw in my making, one of many. This need to protect, to care for people who never once cared for me. Making sure they cling to life and don’t drift into nothing, when nothing was all they ever had to offer.