“I don’t give a rat’s ass. That’s my little sister too,” he demands with a tight voice. He’s got a look in his eye that says he’s not going to drop it.
“Couple weeks ago. They were apparently upstairs,” I say, even though I don’t want to.
“What?! At Mom and Dad’s?”
I nod. “Ella caught them, but I talked to her. It’s all fine.” I gesture.
“What did she say?!”
“They were just making out, that’s it.”
“You’re sure? She wasn’t lying?”
I shake my head, “I know when she’s lying, she didn’t—”
“She didn’t bite her lip?”
“Nope,” I assure steadily. Mason lets out another huff; he’s tense.
I don’t see him like that often— he’s the hyper, happy-go-lucky, goofball brother. But I guess that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t absolutely burn the entire world down if he had to for Addison as well.
“So what did Ella say?”
“Well, she didn’t even tell me for a few days.” I shake my head. The memory of that argument between her and me is still fresh even though it was weeks ago.
“Why not?”
“Because Addie didn’t want her to, and Ella’s middle name is secret keeper.”
“Red flag,” Mason mutters.
“Don’t even start. I’m working on it.” My voice comes out harsher than I meant.
“Just saying.”
“She doesn’t like confrontation. Awkwardness, fighting—”
“Well, nobody does.”
I shake my head. “She’s extreme. She’s always been like that too, it’s just how she is.”
“Well, I hope she gets better. For your sake.”
“I think she will.” I end the conversation there because I’m not good at working and talking at the same time like he is. I need to focus and get this done. He wants to move in here, like, yesterday. Can’t say I blame him. I love my parents but by the time you’re twenty-four years old, you’re hankering for your own space.
Chapter 21
Ella
Why on earth did I come back here? Oh right, furniture. For some stupid furniture that I don’t even necessarily need. Jesse has everything already. If we do get married, we’ll end up getting rid of all of this stuff anyway. Whatever. I guess, until then, I’ll just have a better equipped apartment. Plus, it might be nice for me to tie up any loose ends. I did leave sort of abruptly.
My dad, as expected, has been treating me the best. I’m his little girl, his only child. Mom, on the other hand? You’d have thought I wasn’t even related to her. The coldness she puts off—it’s honestly the worst I think she’s ever treated me.
I told them the first day I got here that I had met up with Jesse again and that things between us pretty much picked up where they left off. They were surprised. Not at the fact I moved on so fast, but that Jesse Lee Jennings was still single. They didn’t even believe me at first.
They liked Jesse. He was always super respectful. They saw how much he loved me, how well he treated me, how muchhe made me smile. They were rooting for us. But when we broke up, we all got thrown for a loop. Nobody was expecting his reaction to be what it was when I told him about moving. They thought distance would be the last thing to rip us apart. They weren’t the only ones.
I still remember that day. When I got home to tell them, I could barely walk, let alone speak. I cried for days. Then days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. It was rough. I handled it terribly, but I guess that’s what they call true heartbreak.
