Trenton tugged his phone back out of his pocket, but I was too far away to see what was on the screen. By the time I made it to his side, he’d silenced the ring and put it away.
“Yeah. It’ll be okay. You—” His head made a small jerk to the right, his eyes darting to the pocket he’d just taken his hand out of. He shoved it back in, but didn’t pull out his phone. “You’ll be alright. Well, I just stopped by to see how everything was, but I can’t stay. Got things to do.”
“Sure. Not a problem.” Carson glanced at me, his chin lifting and one eyebrow raised as, once again, Trenton pulled out his phone.
It was strange, that was for sure. Trenton rarely used his phone, and he certainly wasn’t one to let the device distract him from his friends. I was thankful Miller had dozed off again. I didn’t want Trenton to be embarrassed by his behavior once he realized what he’d done.
He turned, that distraction driving him to ignore his friend standing near where Miller snoozed on the couch. I gave Carson a shrug and pointed toward the door. “I’m gonna head out.”
“No worries. I’ll tell him you had to go.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” By the time I’d turned from Carson, Trenton was already out the door. I raced to his side, stopping him as he climbed into his Jeep. “Hey, what’s going on?”
Trenton tossed his phone in the cup holder and looked down at me. “Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it here.”
Placing a hand on his arm, I asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He pulled away, climbed into his Jeep, and looked up at Miller’s house with a deep frown on his face. “Everything's fine.”
I nodded and stepped back, and Trenton was reversing down the driveway before I could even say goodbye. My car sat in the space beside where Trenton had parked, and I rushed to it, jumping inside and racing after Trenton. I didn’t know if he suspected something, or if something else was going on. But I needed to make sure he was alright.
He was just getting out of his Jeep when I pulled into my driveway. I beat him to the front door, unlocking it before letting him in. “Trenton?” I stopped in the middle of the living room with a hand on his arm. “What’s going on?”
He pulled away, not so much to get away from me, but to pull that blasted phone from his pocket again. This time, I could see the screen and the nickname he’d typed in when his brother had become too much over a month ago: JonASSthan.
Trenton silenced it once more, then tossed it on the couch.
“What does he want?” I raced after him as he wove his way through the boxes set up like a maze around the house. He pulled to a stop in front of the bed, turning and dropping onto the edge of the mattress before he finally looked at me.
“He wants me to come home for my birthday.”
My lips pressed into a straight line. “I told you, you are home.”
“And I told you, he doesn’t see it that way!” The boom in his voice startled me. Trenton had never raised his voice at me before. He was always the calm one. The one who thought things through before he’d react. The loud sound had me taking a step back.
He pulled his hair off his shoulders with his characteristic calm, tying it up at the back of his head with the band around his wrist. Then he buried his face in his hands, plopping down on top of the mattress.
“I’m sorry.” He lowered his hands and glanced over at me. “I’m not trying to scare you, love. Come here.”
Deep inside, there was still a part of me that remembered the physical and mental abuse I’d suffered since I was a kid, and it screamed at me to run away. I’d done everything I could to distance myself from that life, and from people who would use me and abuse me for their own twisted needs.
But I knew Trenton. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. He was kind to a fault, letting people like his brother walk all over him instead of standing up for himself.
That part of me, the part that had fallen in love with Trenton after I’d promised myself I’d never allow myself that kind of vulnerability again… it guided me forward like a hand to the back. He pulled me to the mattress, tucking me in against his chest as he curled himself around me. His face was so close to mine I went cross-eyed trying to look at him, so I let my eyelids fall shut as he pressed his forehead to mine.
“You know Jonathan won’t take no for an answer,” he started, his fingers combing through the long strands of my hair. “He blames you for me not coming home every time he calls.”
A breath huffed out of me, and Trenton dropped a kiss to the tip of my nose.
“I know he’s trying to control me. It wasn’t until I fell for you that I realized just how bad he’d been. You helped me realize that, love. You’ve helped me more than I can ever say. But he doesn’t see it that way. He thinks he will make me change my mind if he keeps on me. He’s even trying to put Madeline against me. She’s been calling, begging me to listen to Jonathan. And it’s just so much. I hate that I’m disappointing them.”
I twisted on the bed, putting enough distance between us so I could look into his eyes. “You don’t owe them your happiness.” I brushed a rogue curl away from his face. “You don't have to give up your life to make your brother happy. Isn’t that why you went into surfing? Instead of football and finance like him, or music and business like Madeline? You said you wanted to distinguish yourself by not following in their shoes.”
“I just wanted to make my parents happy.” He’d never sounded more broken, and it felt like my heart was being ripped in two.
“I know, baby.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head into my chest. “It’s okay if your life choices make them upset. You’re not living for them. You’re living for you.”
He stilled as he listened, as my words rolled around in his head. I needed him to understand and accept this. It was something I’d only learned after years of abuse, and I would do everything in my power to help others escape the torment I’d lived through.
Finally, Trenton lifted his head. His sea-green eyes sparkled in the sunlight trickling in through the open windows. “And you, love.” His hand pressed against my back, pulling me until my body was pressed against the length of his. “I’m living for you too.”
“See? You don’t need him. Not if he steals your happiness.” I smiled, and the look on his face was so full of love and light that it nearly broke my heart. “And besides, you can’t leave. You promised we’d celebrate your birthday together.”
“Yeah.” A smile curled the corners of his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. There was a battle being waged in their depths, and I could only hope Jonathan didn’t ruin everything I’d worked so hard to keep from Trenton.