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Lilah:Hey, douchebag, pick up a damn phone and tell your mom about you and Lexi.
Jax: Shit. She invited her to dinner, didn’t she?
Lilah: Uh-huh.
Jax: Tell Lexi I’m sorry.
Lilah: Oh yeah? About which part exactly?
Jax: All of it.
Lilah: She doesn’t need your pathetic apology. She doesn’t need anything from you.
I return the phone back to her, feeling a twinge deep in my heart from his words, like a butterfly fluttering back to life. No, I won’t let his empty words get to me as though they mean something. I lay my head on Lilah’s shoulder, grateful I have her. “Thank you,” I whisper.
“Us girls have to stick together. I’ll always be there for you, Lex.” She leans her head over mine. “Oh, and have you thought anymore about that voodoo doll? Because I wasn’t joking.”
“You’re dangerous.” I grin.
“You know it. No one hurts my girl.”
I may not know how to pick men, but I sure knew how to pick a best friend. There are people who’ll be there when life is good and when life is awful, but then there are friends who’ll put on their armor and go to battle for you even when you’re not ready to do it yourself.
* * *
JAX
“Thanks for finally returning my call.” Mom’s irritated voice vibrates through my cell. “Are you and Lexi coming over for dinner tonight?”
I recline back in my brown suede couch. “I’ll be there. She won’t.”
Mom pauses before pulling in a sharp breath. “Why not, dear?” There’s a hint of accusation in her tone.
“We broke up. I don’t wanna talk about it.”
She blows out an exasperated sigh. “What did you do?”
“How do you know it was me?”
“Because I know you, my boy.”
“She wasn’t the one, that’s all.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me.” Her tone turns stern. “You’ve lied enough.” I stay silent, not sure what she means, but kind of afraid to find out. My mother’s normally very reserved, she rarely ever raises her voice and when she does, youknowshe’s pissed.
“So, you won’t admit it? Fine! I know she was never your fiancée. I knew it since the moment I met her.”
Shit.
“Still aren’t talking? Okay then, I’ll keep talking instead. I guess Lexi never told you about our talk at my party. And no, she never admitted to it, but she didn’t have to. That girl looked shocked when I mentioned the ring upon meeting her, and that’s when I finally realized how correct my suspicion has been since the moment you told me about the engagement.”
“Mom…”
“Don’t Mom me,” she cuts me off. “You need to hear me and hear me well. You need out of that head of yours. I’ve been begging you to seek help for how long now, Jax?”
“It won’t help, goddamn it!” I instantly regret how harshly I spoke to her just now. She’s only trying to help.
She lets out a small sigh. “I love you son, and I know you miss your brother, but what happened isn’t your fault. People die, Jax. Sometimes they’re old and sometimes they’re far too young, but we all die. That's life, and we have to take the good with the bad because if we don’t, if we deny our own happiness no matter how long it lasts, all we’re left with is pain, and that's no way to live, sweetheart. And that’s how you’ve been living ever since Jace died.”
