“No, no, I knew you could. I just didn’t want him to do that.”
“No, you wanted to fight with him. You wanted to have it out again because you’re still pissed at him.” Azalea sent her an accusatory look, daring Jewel to deny it. When all she got was silence, she knew she’d hit the nail on the head. “You are both morons.”
She spun on her toes and walked into her office with her phone in her hand. She sent Eli a text, telling her everything was fine and thanks for the assist. With a heave, she sat in her chair and pushed papers around her desk as she tried to focus on the lesson plans for the next morning. She needed to concentrate on something other than the chaos in the other room.
It was thirty minutes before Jewel knocked on the door gently. “I’m sorry.”
Azalea turned, still miffed. “I bet you are.” She couldn’t get the anger out of her tone even if she wanted. Her night was supposed to be quiet, calm. That was the story of her life. Yet in the last month, Jewel and Brady had managed to rope her into drama she couldn’t care less about. She had no desire to be with him, ever, and Jewel should know that and trust her.
“Lea—”
“Not tonight, J. I’m too tired, and I still have to get ready for lab in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jewel paused, her lips parted like she wanted to say something. They had a brief stare-down before Jewel conceded. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Azalea said nothing else as Jewel left the house. She watched her jog to her car and slip behind the wheel. The taillights faded as Jewel drove off. Rain continued to pour down from the sky, barely visible in the pitch-black night. Her heart ached.