“I will never hate you. I will never leave you. I will never judge you.”
The words caused my throat to close and my eyes to fill withtears. Blinking rapidly, I turned my head away from him. “Jett . . .”
“You need to tell me. He’s off, more off than normal, and I know it’s more than he has a paper due. I can’t help him if I don’t know how,” Jett spoke quietly.
“You should speak to your twin.”
“I’m speaking to you,” he countered. “We both know Gray won’t tell me shit unless he thinks I already know.” Turning on my light cream sofa, he faced me, even though I wasn’t facing him. “You’re not a coward, never have been. You jumped into that water the first day we met, completely fearless. You’ve been fearless ever since.” He reached out and pulled my hair gently. “You’re my family, Quinn. He’s my brother, mytwin. Don’t shut me out like he is.”
“I’m not shutting you out.”
“Then be honest with me. Do it like when we were kids and we played question and answer. Don’t think about it, just tell me the truth.”
I hated that game when we were younger, and I knew I would hate it now. Turning in my seat, I faced him like he was facing me. His eyes were full of concern as he watched me cautiously, probably scared I was either going to break down or run. To be honest, I wasn’t sure which one I was going with either.
“We’re too old for games, no?” I asked him as I plucked the sleeve of my sweater.
“Nah, I play hide the sausage with Ava every chance I get.”
The sheer ridiculousness of his statement made me laugh, and then we were both laughing. It eased the tension and weirdly made me feel calmer. Clearing my throat, I ran my hands through my hair as I moved in my seat, getting comfy, crossing my legs in preparation.
“You tell me, I’ll tell them. Deal?” Jett asked me as he sat up straighter. “Like we used to do.”
“You mean when I told you in secret I thought Dustin was cute,and you told Gray and Ash, and Gray punched him three days later?” I asked him with a smile. “Or the time I told you, in secret, that Gina wanted to make out with me, and Ash asked her in class if it was true and could he watch?”
“Okay, we’re dicks, but you already know this.” Jett gave a shoulder shrug. “And Ash ended up screwing Gina at the summer fair. He was always her end goal, not you. He knew it, everyone knew it, just not you.”
“Wow. My one and only female admirer, and you take that illusion from me too?” I asked him in mock outrage.
“I genuinely thought you knew, fuck, I thought everyone knew.”
“Ugh, I hate you all.” I pulled a cushion into my face and yelled. Firm hands tugged the cushion from me, and I looked up into his unwavering stare.
“Fine. What do you want to know?”
“Was it abortion or adoption?”
I swallowed as I met his steady look. My throat was tight, and I was a little unprepared for how he just came right out with it. “Adoption. I would never . . . I wouldn’t.”
“Did you change your mind?”
“Yes.”
“How far along were you?” Jett’s face was set, and I couldn’t read him. His foot nudged mine, and I rubbed my nose.
“Sixteen weeks.”
“Four months?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “When did you decide to go to an adoption agency?”
“About ten or eleven weeks, I think.”
“When did you find out you were pregnant?”
“Seven weeks.”
