“Thanks, Dad.” Jake’s voice breaks.

   I hear footsteps heading toward me and panic. I can’t run back upstairs—they’ll know I listened in on their conversation. Idiot!

   “Kayla?” Jake says.

   I turn around to face them. They have to know I just heard everything they said.

   “Good night, Mikayla.” Nathan gives my shoulder a little pat and brushes past me to the staircase.

   I struggle to find my voice. “Good night . . . sir.” I cringe.

   “Can’t sleep?” Jake asks.

   I shake my head.

   He’s wearing only sweatpants and nothing else. His broad chest and shoulders are on full display. His abs are ripped down to the V that leads to his . . . I’m staring.

   “Do you want to watch some TV with me?” He holds out his hand. “Nothing like infomercials to make me want to crash.” I take his hand, and he leads me to the sofa, which is now his bed. We sit down, and he turns to me. “You heard that, huh?”

   “Yeah . . . I’m sorry. I’ll make some calls first thing in the morning and find somewhere else to stay as soon as possible . . .”

   “Kayla, that’s not at all—”

   “Let’s just not talk about it tonight, okay?” I suddenly feel exhausted.

   He nods and looks away.

   “Today was Mom’s birthday,” I say quietly.

   “Christ, Kayla.” He rubs his jaw. Silence fills the space between us.

   “And Megan hasn’t tried to contact me once,” I add.

   He pulls me in and places my head on his chest. The heat from his bare skin is overpowering. “I hate to state the obvious here, but Megan’s kind of a shitty person.”

   I let out a tiny laugh. He strokes my hair from roots to tip, which is making me drowsy. “You know who isn’t a shitty person?” I say through a yawn. “You, Jake Andrews, are not a shitty person—not even a little bit.”

   “Thanks.” He chuckles.

   My eyelids are getting heavy. “Mmm,” I murmur. “My mom used to do this when I was little and couldn’t sleep. It always helped.”

   “Go to sleep, baby . . .”

   His words are the last thing I hear before he kisses the side of my head, and I give in to exhaustion.

TWELVE

MIKAYLA

   I’m woken up by the sound of a woman clearing her throat.

   My eyes snap open to see Mandy standing in front of the sofa, hands on her hips. She’s looking at something next to me. I take a few seconds to work out what the hell is happening.

   I hear a moan and feel movement next to me. I sit up quickly—too quickly. The room begins to spin.

   “Shit,” Jake says. “We must’ve fallen asleep.”

   I feel something wet on the side of my face. I reach my hand up to touch it. Drool. I drooled—on him. My eyes go to his lap to see if there’s evidence. I instantly regret it.

   He’s got morning wood.

   I immediately look away but not before a tiny squeal escapes me.

   “Shit,” he mumbles, standing up to hide or at least adjust himself. He must know I’ve seen it. My eyes dart to his lap. I try to avoid that area but I can’t. I squeal again like I’m a twelve-year-old virgin.

   Jake grabs a cushion from the sofa and covers himself. His mom giggles. “Aw, Jake, don’t be embarrassed. It’s a nat—”

   “Mom!” he yells, interrupting her. “Stop! Please. Just get out!” His hand not holding the cushion points to the door. She’s all out laughing as she exits.

   It’s just the two of us in what suddenly feels like a tiny room.

   “This isn’t awkward at all,” he sighs, shaking his head. Then we both start laughing. For a second, I almost forget about the pain.

   Almost.

JAKE

   So, she’s pretty much seen my junk in all its glory. At least it was covered up. It could be worse—I don’t know how, but I’m sure it could be.

   Lisa will be here soon. Kayla says she’s coming because she wants to take care of some stuff before everyone has to go back to work tomorrow. Personally, I think a part of it has to do with the stranger’s bed her best friend’s daughter is sleeping in. She’s probably coming just to check on her.

   After breakfast, I go looking for Kayla. I find her sitting on the sofa in the family room. She’s looking down at her phone, her eyebrows bunched together in confusion.

   “What’s up?” I sit next to her and nudge her leg.

   “Huh?” She’s distracted.

   I watch her as she stares at her phone.

   “Have you heard from Megan?”

   “Huh? Oh . . . No.”

   I remove her phone from her hand so I can have her full attention. She looks at me. “What’s going on, Kayla?”

   “I’m just trying to work up some courage.” She looks resolved.

   “What do you mean? Courage for what?”

   She’s quiet for a beat. “Sam, James’s mom, has been calling me. I haven’t spoken to her yet. She’s sent a few texts, too.” She looks away. “She’s asked that I stay with them. I don’t think she knows about James and Megan, but she knows something’s up with me and James.” She pauses. I wait for the rest.

   She looks back at me now, tears in her eyes, “I think I should stay with them, Jake, until everything gets sorted out.” I try to interrupt but she stops me. “I was with him for four years. I’m like a daughter to them. I just think that maybe . . . maybe they might need me there.”

   The lump in my throat makes it hard to speak, so I have to clear it a few times before anything comes out. “Kayla, if that’s what you want, then I can’t stop you. But it’s not what my family wants, and it’s definitely not what I want.”

   She sighs. “I think I need to, Jake.”

   “But what about James?” I can’t help but spit out his name.

   “What about him?”

   “Are you guys going to get back together? I mean, do you still love him?”

   “I—”

   The doorbell cuts her off. Lisa’s here.

   Lisa spends the day with Mom and Kayla, making phone calls and arranging appointments for next week. I can see Kayla’s preoccupied, because she’s just nodding and agreeing with everything. I don’t think she actually has a clue about what’s happening.