“I’m so sorry, Tiff. I’m so, so sorry. I can’t believe I was going to do that. That’s—”

“I know you guys have been texting each other.”

Hannah hiccupped on a sob and wiped a tear from her eye. “You do?”

“Wait, how?”

Tiffany sent another lethal warning look to her boyfriend to shut up. The message was delivered and received. He slid to the floor, cradling his head in his hands. A soft ‘oh, man’ could be heard underneath his breath. He kept repeating that phrase, no doubt seeing his life flashing before his eyes.

“I pay for his phone.” She’d gone over to Hannah and peered down. “You’re really drunk, aren’t you?”

Hannah wordlessly nodded, more tears falling from her. Then she lifted skinny arms and wound them around her older sister’s head, hugging her tight and mumbling, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Wrapping an arm around Hannah, Tiffany rocked her back and forth, brushing her hair down her back and murmuring, “I know. I know you are.”

Cord was the one who cleared his throat and suggested, “Jamie, you might want to clear out for a while.”

“Because I was rude to his girl? Jesse, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Shut up!” Jesse whipped back at him. The fury caused even me to jump back. He jerked forward, pressing against Cord again, as he drilled holes into his roommate on the floor now. “You stepped wrong, Striker. I want you out.”

“Hey, whoa.” Derek and Cord both turned at the same time. Cord spoke up first, “You’re kicking him out, for good?” Derek ended, “That’s extreme.”

But Jesse didn’t care. I saw the cold in him and shivered, he was beyond not caring. “It’s my house. I want him out. Get your shit tomorrow and don’t come back. I don’t want to hear it either.” He sent me a scathing look. I knew he didn’t blame me for what happened, but the anger was barely checked. I was scorched by it, but I knew this Jesse. He wanted time alone so when he stalked downstairs, I stayed put. I’d go in a little bit.

Kara had sidled up next to me. “Should you go after him?”

“No. I need to wait.”

Tiffany glanced over, confused, but she didn’t comment as she continued to stroke her sister’s back. Hannah was full-out sobbing now, clinging to her sister. The guys helped Jamie to his feet and he went to his room. It wasn’t long before he came back down, a bulging bag over his shoulder. He paused in the doorway, but he didn’t say anything as he left. He looked ready to apologize or say something to his girlfriend, but she shot him a dark look and turned her back to him. So he left with a defeated sloop to his shoulders.

He deserved it.

Derek and Cord went back to their rooms, leaving the girls around the sisters. Kara had gone over and was stroking Hannah’s back as well. She kept crying. It was the deep sobs, the ones that come from a person’s gut. Flinching, I could sympathize. I’d experienced the same gut-wrenching emotion.

“I’m so sorry, Tiffany.”

“Ssh. Just let it out. This is good, Hannah.” Tiffany pressed a tender kiss to her sister’s temple, moving her hair aside. “You need to feel this pain.”

And this wasn’t about Jamie anymore. This was about Dylan, her ex-boyfriend, which she’d been with for six years. I stood there, unsure what to do. The Hannah I was used to wasn’t this one. She was crass, bold, sexual, carefree, or maybe careless. I knew she was hurting. I knew she was broken, but it was always covered up. Not now. She was letting it out. Feeling a tear threatening, I swiped at it, annoyed at myself. It’d been so long since I’d been with girlfriends like this, when one needed support from me.

I found myself scared. I wasn’t sure what to do and I couldn’t mess it up. I may not get this opportunity again to show that I cared. But then Kara suggested, quietly, “Maybe you should just take her upstairs.”

Tiffany nodded, leading Hannah up the stairs with her friend following behind.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, I opened my mouth. What did I say? Should I do something? And Kara turned back, a smile to me. “You can shut off the lights. Thanks, Alex.”

Oh. Yeah. I could do that. Reaching out, the house plunged to darkness again. Myself included.

Jesse was pacing in the room when I went back down, pissed off and ready to do damage. As I stepped inside, he swung his piercing eyes to me, pinning me down. “What else did he say to you?”

“I think you heard most of it.”

He growled, “Cord said he’s been rude, but not like that. That wasn’t being rude. That was being a dick to you.”

“He didn’t know—”

“He shouldn’t have to know!” He punched the side of his closet door and it broke off. The hinge cracked open.

I rushed over to inspect his hand. There was blood, wood splinters, but I didn’t see anything too damaging. His hand would be black and blue by tomorrow. It was already swelling up. Caressing his rigid arm, I helped him ease it from the door and then touched the side of his face. He was struggling. His breath was wheezing.

“Hey,” I murmured, softly.

His eyes opened and I saw the storm inside.

“Thank you for defending me.”

“God.” He swept me against his chest and tucked his head beside mine. He breathed out, haggardly, “I’d do more than that. No one should talk like that to you.”

Pain pierced me and I had to blink back my own tears. Jesse had defended me. He stood against his roommate, did serious damage, and he’d do it again. He’d done that for me. My throat was thick with emotion and I couldn’t talk, not then and there, but I was so touched. Turning my head, I nuzzled into his until he moved to meet my lips with his.

My body quivered with emotion.

He had created a hole in my armor and it opened further that night. It was big and gaping and I wasn’t scared for the first time in a long time. I was becoming okay again.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“She was crying?” Beth sat across from me with a dumbstruck expression on her face. She had pulled her feet up to her chair so her knees were against her chest. With one arm resting over them, she reached to pick up her coffee.

We had met the next morning for breakfast. Jesse asked if he should come with, but it’d be worse if he had. The attention was going to be there, it’d be ramped up ten notches if he was with me. As it was, I had only been propositioned three times by guys in the parking lot and approached by a handful of girls. They were giggling freshmen and wanted Jesse’s autograph, if I could hook that up. I caught a few speculative gazes from other girls. I was being sized up. They were figuring out the best angle to go through me to get to him.