“Thank you.”
“I just hope you realize that this is the calm before the storm,” she says after a minute.
“What do you mean?”
She gives me a pitying look that doesn’t sit well with me.
“It means, I’ll be here for you when the storm hits if you let me. Because it will hit, Bo. And it’s going to hurt like hell when it does. The numbness only lasts so long.”
Dread prickles against the back of my neck, but I brush it off.
“I hope you’re wrong,” is all I manage to whisper.
***
Ruby is still asleep in my guest room when I leave for work. Corbin didn’t call her because she told him what she was doing. He respects her. He doesn’t yell at her, well, not unless she’s just triple dared him to wear something ridiculous. Even then, it’s not the same.
It’s real love. It’s not fake. All the love people have shown me can’t be anything but fake if they don’t respect me.
As I walk down the street, I try to ignore some of the numbness that has ebbed since she showed up. Now there’s a knot in my stomach, and I can’t define what it is.
Right as I pass by the coffee shop, my eyes come up to meet a set of blue ones that have me stumbling and almost tripping. Jax moves toward me, holding two coffee c
ups, and wearing an apology in his eyes.
“I got you one,” he says, holding it out for me. “Just the way you like it.”
My eyes flick down to the cup, then back up to him. Another piece of that numbness ebbs, and my gut clenches.
He clears his throat and pulls the cup back when I don’t accept it.
“I’ve been trying to catch you for the past two days. I was hoping we could talk.”
The hustle and bustle of the Sterling Shore morning sidewalk traffic isn’t ideal for a standing conversation. But I’m not going to sit down with him.
“No,” is all I say before walking off, ignoring the searing pain that starts to bloom in my chest.
No. No. No. Please no.
“Bo,” he groans, tossing away the coffees so he can chase me.
When his hand gently grabs my elbow to slow me down, I have to fight back the tears just from feeling his touch.
Noooo.
“Bo, I’m so fucking sorry. Cody showed me pictures of you with them, and I blew it all out of proportion. I’m sorry. Please, please, please forgive me.”
My eyes come up to meet his, and the torture that rests on his face tears away another section of that numbness.
“No,” is all I whisper, but it’s more to me than him.
His lips purse, but determination stays in his eyes. I have to get out of here.
I try to walk away, but he moves to be in front of me. When I go to sidestep him, he blocks me.
“We can dance like this all day, baby,” he tells me, sounding like the cocky guy he is. “Or you can listen, because I hate not having you. It’s fucking miserable. I’m an idiot, and I’m sorry.”
More of that blessed numbness is stripped until I’m almost bare, feeling everything trying to crash at once. When the first tear falls, he reaches up to wipe it away, but I jerk back before he can touch me.