“I’m coming in.”
I grumbled and rolled onto my back, taking my pillow with me, clutching it against my chest. I glanced in her direction as she perched herself against my dresser, her arms crossed.
“What’s your deal? You guys get into a fight or something?” She kicked my foot that was hanging off the edge of the bed when I didn’t reply, and I rolled my eyes.
“No, Eden. We didn’t get into a fight,” I muttered tightly, trying not to take my emotions out on her.
“Okay, you obviously don’t wanna talk about it.” She rolled her eyes as if I was acting like a child, getting to the point she actually came here for. “Mom wants to know if you’re gonna come back down and eat or not.”
“Not hungry,” I said as I rolled back over, aware that I was acting immature and dramatic.
I sent a text to my new favorite phone number. And then another, asking Shiloh if she was okay, and why she left without saying goodbye. I spent another few moments trying to rationalize going to Shiloh’s house to check on her in person when she didn’t immediately reply before giving up and dragging my ass out of bed. I grabbed my gym bag from my closet and pulled on the first thing I found in my dresser.
I texted Jae I was coming to the gym where he had a morning shift before hurrying out the door, shouting to whoever cared that I’d be back in time for the party. I tried focusing on my music as I drove to the gym, but I ended up playing different scenarios in my mind of what Shiloh must be going through dealing with the loss of her brother. Not to mention all the other unknown shit she dealt with that led to those cigarette burns. And I was beginning to question whether she was in a car accident at all, or if she’d actually taken a beating. That thought alone made me nauseous.
When I got inside, I made a beeline straight towards Jae to avoid talking to anyone else I knew. I dropped myself to the ground beside him and let out a groan. His stare in my peripheral vision caused me to release a calming breath and nod hello. I turned and grabbed my jump rope from my bag and started to warm up my body.
Jae was standing above me after we went through several sets on some weight machines. I caught him staring at me curiously as I adjusted my grip, the grit of the barbell biting into my calluses.
“So, don’t get me wrong, I was more than happy to hear you were coming to work out, but…what exactly did you need me for other than to spot?”
I let out my breath as I pushed the bar away from my tensed chest and back to its resting place. I rolled off the bench, wiping it off as Jae replaced some weights on the bar to prepare for his set.
“No reason,” I shrugged, avoiding his gaze.
He hummed in obvious disbelief and caught my eyes as I looked down to watch him do his set.
“And I take it there’s no reason as to why you’re in a mood?” he asked, slightly strained as he breathed through the exercise.
I rolled my eyes and sighed, giving in to the urge to vent.
“I just couldn’t stand being in the house anymore,” I shrugged.
“So, Shiloh went home I take it?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “This morning…or last night. I’m not sure. She didn’t say goodbye. I woke up and she was gone.”
Jae dropped his arms, rolling his wrists as he took a rest, and the smile twitching on his lips told me that he was about to say something stupid.
“Smash and dash?” his brow quirked and I flipped him off.
“No, you dip. Knock it off. She just…had to go or something.”
“So, what’s wrong with your house?” He paused as he proceeded to start his next set. “I thought Ruthie was coming over today.”
“Yeah, my sister and Sebastian were there when I left, but I couldn’t deal withthat.”
Jae’s face screwed up, and he repeated to me, “That? What’sthat? I thought you guys got along fine.”
“For frick’s sake,” I muttered to myself. “We do get along. I just don’t want to be around him.”
“Why? Wait, did something happen? I swear I’ll go beat Sebastian’s ass right now. Did he cheat on your sister? Did he hit her? Ruthie?” His eyes went wide with trepidation as he sat upright, his reps completely forgotten as he spiraled
“No, no. It’s nothing to do with him or Ruthie or my sister,” I said, holding up my hands to get him to calm down before he got any other dark ideas in his head.
“Okay, well, then, why don’t you want to be around him?”
I averted my gaze to the relatively empty gym, trying to come up with some sort of half-truth I could tell to not completely spill the beans. Jae tugged the hem of my shorts to regain my attention.
