Killian gasped. “Babe, I am a bad ass, okay? I will one hundred percent take her out if she hurt my dude.”
“No one hurt me, and you don’t have to take anyone out,” I assured him, but it was nice that Killian would offer to do that. “Besides, Mav would probably beat you to it. And break some kneecaps, too.”
Matthias roared with laughter. “He would totally do that.”
“You’re not wrong.” Killian nodded in agreement. “Scary as hell when he wants to be.”
I grinned. “He is.” My mind drifted back to the way Maverick acted after Beau had ghosted me. How he had wanted to protect me from him so he wouldn’t hurt me again. “Anyway, you’re here, so let’s get you settled in.”
“By the way, you have no food,” Killian commented as I started toward my room, thinking about how I should probably change the sheets in the guestroom. “What? I’m hungry, and I checked,” he told Matty.
I shook my head. At least my time back in California wouldn’t be boring.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Dean
Ihadn’t heard from Beau in two weeks. That was fourteen days. The text messages that I had sent him went unanswered and unread. Had he decided that he had had his fun, but it was over? He had promised me he wouldn’t ghost me again. My eyes burned with unshed tears as I stared at my phone like some stupid teenage girl with a crush. How had I been so stupid to believe him? I could hear the sound of Killian, Matty, and Blake laughing in the other room, and I knew that I should go join them, but I couldn’t. I was sick and tired of pretending I was happy when my heart was too broken. It felt like when Helena had miscarried and shut me out. Speaking of my ex-girlfriend...
“Hey.” Helena picked up on the first ring, her voice happy on the other end of the line. When I didn’t say anything, she quickly changed her tune. “Dean, are you okay? What’s going on?”
The tears I had been fighting spilled down my cheeks. “It’s stupid. I shouldn’t have called you.”
“It’s not stupid if you’re calling me and sound like you’re crying. Are you?” she asked. I heard the sound of her footsteps and then a door closed. “Talk to me, please. What’s going on? Wait, is it Beau?”
A choked sob escaped my throat. “He did it again, Hel. He... I...” I gasped as I tried to catch my breath and suddenly, I was transported back to those nights when my father would beat Maverick. The sounds of his screams, begging him to stop. How I would try to help him. Sometimes Mav would just cry and let mewhile other times, after Jax, he would push me away and tell me he hated me, that he didn’t need my help. What a time to think of that.
“Do you need me? I have some vacation time that I can use,” Helena whispered softly. “Take some deep breaths for me.”
I closed my eyes and did as she instructed. Maybe it was time for a couple of therapy sessions, too. I hadn’t done that in a while. “I’m okay. And no, I don’t need you to come here. I’ll be back in Canfield soon enough for the wedding.”
“Which we’re going to talk about, but circling back to you...” Helena wasn’t going to let me change the subject. “What did he do? You were so happy the last time we spoke.”
I sighed and began to tell her what had happened. And I told her everything. Right down to the sex part. After all, when we had gone through everything together, why hold things back? When I was done, I was crying again and got up to grab some tissues from the box on my dresser to wipe the wetness from my face.
“I am going to murder him,” Helena hissed. “That mother fucking asshole had the nerve to take your virginity like that, and he thinks he can just cut you off? Fucking prick. He has no idea who he messed with.”
The laugh that escaped my throat caught me off guard. “Now you sound like your brother.”
“You told Kill?”
“Well, not exactly.”
“Hold on one second, Dean.” I could hear her talking to who I assumed was Ryan, and then she was back on the line again. “Sorry about that. Anyway, what did you tell Killian exactly?”
I dropped onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. “He thinks it’s a girl. I just... I don’t want him to get all weirded out on me. Not that I think Killian is going to judge me for being bi or whatever because I know he won’t, but I just... I’m not ready.”
“Because you think Beau is going to come back to you,” Helena said like she could ready my mind.
Fresh tears began to flow. “That’s stupid, right? Because all my texts are unread, and he clearly made his decision. Maverick said he hasn’t been around the apartment, and Jackson hasn’t heard from him, either.”
“Doesn’t he have a kid?” Helena asked. “Aren’t you friends with him, too?”
I missed Cole, too, but I wasn’t about to go through him to get to his father. “I am, and he’s at hockey camp right now. And I’m not going to reach out to him like some desperate asshole.” I looked up at the sound of light knocking on my door before Killian stepped inside.
“Oh, is that her?” He made obnoxious kissing noises. “Are you all in love and shit?”
I gave him the middle finger. “It’s your sister, dickhead.”
