“Again? Isn’t this the third time?”
I glance away from my computer and look at Marcus. The way his shoulders hang tells me he’s being serious.
“Why are you breaking things off? I thought you were in a good place with her.”
I get up and walk over to him, and placing my hand on his shoulder, I turn him so he’ll face me. Willow makes him happy and right now he needs her more than ever.
The look in his eyes scares the living shit out of me. They’re glassy, as if they’ve been drained of all life.
Fuck! Don’t you dare give up, Marcus.
“I can’t be with her. I have to let her go, the same way you let Leigh go. It would be stupid of me to allow things to go any further than they already have.”
“Is this about your father?” I’m hoping he’ll open up to me. “You’re breaking things off with Willow because you’re scared you’ll turn into him?” I shake him, hoping to get some sense into him.
Talk to me, Marcus! Let me in so I can help you carry this burden.
“We’ve talked about this, Marcus. We are not our parents. You will not become your father, and I won’t be a fucked-up mess like my parents. We decide what to do with our lives. Don’t push people away when you need them most.”
Please read between the lines.
“I’ve decided, Jax. I’m cutting her loose.”
I throw my hands up in the universal sign for I give up.
“I can’t tell you what to do,” I say as I turn off my computer. “But I can go with you for beer.”
I fucking need one to take off the edge.
We agree to meet at our usual bar before driving there in separate cars. Marcus gets there before me and I’m glad to see he’s managed to grab us a table.
As I sit down and loosen my tie, he says, “I’ve ordered the beers.”
“You mentioned a meeting earlier,” I say. “How did it go?”
I unbutton the top two buttons of my shirt and roll up my sleeves before I sit back and relax.
“As well as it could. We talked shit and never actually got anywhere.”
A waitress places two beers on the table. I know their faces but I can never remember their names. She pouts when I ignore her and down half the beer.
“Who’s the lucky girl tonight?” Marcus asks as he scans the bar for potentials.
“I really don’t care. As long as she bends over, I’m happy. It’s been a fucking long week. I still can’t believe what happened to Mia.”
“Yeah, that’s fucked-up. How’s Logan handling it?”
“Okay… I think.” I take another sip of the beer and signal to the bar for another round. “Rhett’s not taking it well at all.”
Marcus starts to peel the label from the bottle.
“I don’t blame him.”
He squints as if the dim lighting is hurting his eyes.
“You have a headache again?” I ask.
He’s been getting them a lot lately. That’s how I knew something was wrong in the first place.