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“Piss off, Mia. I don’t need your fucking concern. I just want to sit and drink my damn beer in peace.”
“Nick, watch it, man,” Mac warns.
Nick closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before opening them again. I can see him visibly trying to control his temper. He turns his head to me.
“Sorry, Mia. I’ve just had a rough week. I appreciate your concern, but I promise I’m okay.”
“I understand, Nick. Please know that we’re all here for you if you need us.”
He nods and says, “I know.”
I sit back in my seat and pick up the soda sitting in front of me. I look around and see everyone watching me, except Bailey, who has her eyes on Nick. She looks like she’s going to break down any moment. Jaxon turns her around and wraps his arms around her while she buries her face in his chest. The look he sends Nick’s way is a mixture of empathy and displeasure. I know Jaxon has mixed feelings about Nick’s behavior. He hates for anything to hurt Bailey, but he also knows the pain Nick is going through.
Andrew has his head close to Chris, who you can plainly see is hurting. He’s murmuring something to her that I can’t hear. I bring my gaze to Mac and see him watching me with respect. His lips tip up at the corners, and he smiles.
He bends his body toward me and says, “My parents arecoming to town in two weeks. I’d really like if you could come to dinner one night while they’re here. They’d love to see you.”
Again, the guilt of the way I treated them makes my chest hurt. They weren’t the ones who betrayed me, but I still punished them for what I thought their son did.
“I’m sure they probably hate me. I never went and saw them after what happened.”
“They don’t hate you, Pix. They know what happened and understand you choosing to shut them out as well. They know the pain you went through.”
I look up in surprise. “They know what happened with Tessa? Everything?”
“Yes, everything, even the drugs. I was a wreck afterwards, and became even more so when you wouldn’t talk to me. They forced me to sit down and talk to them. I told them everything. I needed someone to talk to about it, needed advice on what to do.”
“What did they tell you?” I ask.
Taking my hand in his, he answers, “They told me to wait, and said not to push you. That you were hurt and I needed to give you time. They felt that you would eventually come around enough for me to talk to you and explain.” He looks down at our hands before looking back at me. “But then Tessa showed up, and it was too late. I knew you would never give me another chance after I found out she was pregnant.”
I don’t know what to say to him. I don’t know if I ever would have allowed him to talk to me. But I do know that yes, once it was known that Tessa was pregnant with Mac’s baby, the dagger that was embedded into my heart was surrounded with cement. There was no getting it out. The pain I felt that day was unlike any other pain I had felt before. It crippled me. I stayed in my bed for a week afterwards, alternating between crying and raging. I knew I was worrying my family, but I didn’t care. The pain was too great to care about anyone else. It wasn’t until Jaxon threatened to go find Mac and bring him over so we could all talk thatI snapped out of my pity party. No way was I letting him back into my house. Of course, he and Jaxon were friends, so he did eventually come to the house. I simply made sure I was never there when he was.
Doubting they truly are okay with me shutting them out, I still tell Mac, “I’ll go, Mac. I owe them that much at least. They were always there when things got bad at my house with my dad.”
“You don’t owe them anything, Mia. They don’t blame you for not coming around. They knew it would be too hard on you. But they’d love to see you again.”
I smile at him. “I’d like that, too. I’ve really missed them.”
Mac brings my hand up and flips it over so he can kiss the inside of my wrist. I have to force back the tears that are threatening to fall. I’ve missed the sweet kisses Mac used to give me. Ever since the day I grew the courage to give Mac the innocent kiss on his cheek at the lake and he kissed my wrist, he started doing it all the time. I miss so many things about Mac. I wish with all my heart I could be brave again and give us another chance, but the pain I remember feeling, the pain I still feel sometimes, holds me back. I can’t get over the image of him and Tessa together. I know it’s irrational, but I can’t help but still be hurt he didn’t recognize it wasn’t me that he was with until it was too late. But then again, even if he did know it was Tessa, he wouldn’t have been able to fight her off. The drugs made sure of that.
Beside me, I hear Bailey and Chris talking about this weekend. All three of us, along with Karyn, are going out to Lucki’s, a bar in the next town over. Bailey had to beg Jaxon to give both her and me the night off together. Of course, she didn’t have to beg too hard. Jaxon would give both balls over if it meant keeping his angel happy. I was actually shocked that Bailey was willing to go. She normally doesn’t like crowds, especially crowds that can become rowdy. She’s come a long way in the last two years, but she’s still very reserved, with good reason.
“So what time are we heading out?” I ask the other two.
“I’m picking Bailey up at eight. After, we’ll swing by and getyou and Karyn. Jaxon said he would come get us when we’re ready to leave so we can all drink. He’ll come get my car the next day.”
This surprises me as well. In the two years that I’ve known Bailey, I think I’ve only seen her drink a few beers. She prefers to stay sober so she can watch her surroundings. Men scare her, not as much as they used to, but she’s still leery around ones she doesn’t know. I’m proud of her for taking this step. I’ll have to make sure to keep an eye on her to ensure she stays okay with the situation.
“That sounds good to me.”
“Where are y’all going?” Mac asks.
“Lucki’s,” I tell him, and watch as displeasure crosses his face.
“You’re letting your girl go to Lucki’s?” Nick pipes in, looking at Jaxon in astonishment.
“I won’t be far away. I’ll be at Bounce until they call me,” Jaxon says, looking back at Nick with his pierced brow raised.
