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I sighed. “It’s a bad life, Jax.”
“Stop it, Tom. When are you going to stop feeling sorry for yourself? Get back on the ice? Do what you love?” he asked.
Tears stung my eyes. “When I’m dead.”
“Hey,” Jackson snapped. “Don’t say shit like that. Look at me.” When I did, his face was pinned into an angry grimace. “I know you’re miserable, but can you try to smile a little bit now and then? This is important to Maverick. I promised him the perfect wedding, and that’s all he wants. Just give me that.”
I pressed my lips together as I nodded. “I know, I’m sorry. I don’t want to ruin this for you.”
“Are you going to hide up here the entire time? Mom’s cooking. You should come down and spend time with everyone. Don’t you want to see Blake? You guys had a good thing going.” Jackson moved closer. “I want to spend time with you, too.”
The last thing I wanted to do was leave this room. “Yeah, just let me get dressed and make myself more presentable.”
“You know you can talk to me, right?” Jax told me. “About anything. About the accident, about everything that’s going through your head. I’m your brother, but I’m also your friend.”
My throat grew tight. “Yeah, thanks, but I have a therapist for that shit.”
“Jesus, Tom,” He dragged a hand down his face. “You used to be such a happy kid. I know the accident fucked you up, but hell. You remind me of how Maverick was when we reconnected. Maybe you need to get laid.”
“Not happening. No one wants to come near this.” I waved a hand at my face. That wasn’t true. There had been a couple of times I’d needed to scratch that itch. As long as they didn’t have to look at me, men didn’t have a problem with me fucking them. It was easy to keep the lights off. To not kiss them or let me them touch my face.
Jackson grunted. “That’s bullshit. Look, just get dressed and come downstairs before Mom has my ass for it, okay? She made meatloaf.” He turned to head back to the door. “I love you, kiddo.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Love you, too, Jax.”
Chapter Two
Blake
I knew seeing Tommy was going to be difficult, but I had no idea it was going to be like this. No one had thought to tell me he had taken a skate to the face. He took a fucking skate. To his face. After he ran from me, I grabbed my phone and Googled him. The articles were overwhelming, but the pictures... I couldn’t even look at them. If I had known, I would have... I don’t know. I would have dropped everything and been there. I would have left the Mulligan tour, flown to his bedside, and been there for him even after what he had done. Even if he didn’t want me.
Except, no one had told me.
Not his parents, not Jackson. No one.
I was currently sitting in on the worst dinner of my life. Killian, Matthias, and Dean Frost, Maverick’s brother and my guitar player, had gone to visit Helena, Killian’s sister, leaving me alone with Jackson, Maverick, Tommy, and their parents. I wondered if I should have gone with them. It might have been less awkward.
I stared down at the plate of food before me and pushed the uneaten meatloaf around with my fork. I had no urge to eat, even though I knew it would be the best meal I had eaten in weeks. I remembered Adele Olson’s meatloaf and how amazing it had been. The last home-cooked meal I’d had was probably when Maverick had cooked for us on the bus while Killian muttered under his breath about it being poisoned. Normally it was takeout or TV dinners for me because I couldn’t be bothered for anything else.
“Maverick, sweetie.” Adele looked so happy as she looked around the table. “You have no idea how excited I am to see you. Fran and I are so delighted to welcome you into our family.”
Maverick blushed so red; he looked like a cherry tomato. “Thank you,” he murmured softly before he ducked his face into Jackson’s shoulder. Jax beamed happily and pressed a kiss into Maverick’s white hair. It was sweet, the love the two of them shared. Something I never saw coming.
My eyes drifted over to Tommy, who was staring down at the table, his lips pressed in a tight line. The scar was bad, but it didn’t take away from how gorgeous he was. He must have felt me watching him because suddenly those dark eyes met my greens.
“What?” he mouthed.
I looked away so fast I was surprised my eyes didn’t pop out of my head. Why was he mad at me? I didn’t do anything to him. He was the one who’d betrayed me. Although I was the one who hadn’t said goodbye.
“Blake, Tom, you two must be excited to be able to catch up, maybe rekindle that relationship you started.” Adele nodded at us like we had been keeping in touch all these years.
As if I had been the one to hold his hand while he was in the hospital after his accident. Not that he had lied to me. Blackmailed my mother into going to rehab with the promise of money. Despite my not wanting that.
Tommy grunted. “Not really.” He stabbed his baked potato with his fork.
“Tom,” Jackson growled from across the table. “We talked about this.”
Maverick looked between the two of them. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
