“Lola,” Aubrey says softly, and the gentleness in her voice nearly breaks me all over again.
“I’m fine,” I say automatically, but my voice cracks on the words.
“No, you’re not.” Sam moves closer, her earlier anger completely gone. “What did she say to you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter,” Aubrey insists. “Whatever she said, it was designed to hurt you.”
I shake my head, still avoiding eye contact. “Can we not do this right now? I’m already late for class.”
“I’m sorry,” Aubrey says.
“We’re both sorry,” says Sam.
That causes me to raise my gaze.
“We shouldn’t have ambushed you that way,” Aubrey says.
“We were just scared,” Sam adds, her voice quieter than usual. “Because we love you, and we don’t want to see you get hurt.”
I stare at them, not quite believing what I’m hearing. “So what, you’re okay with it now? With Jace and me?”
“I’m not sure if okay is the right word,” Sam admits. “But we don’t want to lose you over this and we don’t want to fight.”
“We want to understand,” Aubrey says. “We want to hear why, Jace.”
I swallow hard. “Because he’s different with me. You don’t see it because he doesn’t show that side to anyone else, but he is.”
“Different how?” Sam asks, sounding genuinely curious now, not accusatory.
“He’s soft,” I say, and the word feels strange coming out of my mouth, but it’s true. “When we’re alone, when it’s just us, he’s kind, and he listens. I know how he’s been with others, but this is different.”
“Do you love him?” Sam asks quietly.
“Yeah,” I say without hesitation. “I do.”
Sam and Aubrey exchange glances, some silent communication passing between them.
“Then we’re not going to stand in your way,” Aubrey says finally. “If this is what you want, if he makes you happy, then we’ll support you.”
“But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to worry,” says Sam. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to stop caring about what happens to you.”
“I don’t want you to stop caring,” I say, my voice breaking. “I just want you to trust that I know what I’m doing.”
“We’re trying,” Aubrey says. “But if you say he’s different with you, then we believe it.”
Relief floods through me, so intense it nearly knocks me off my feet. “I hate fighting with you guys.”
“We hate it too,” Aubrey says. “Even when we’re being overprotective idiots.”
I laugh, the sound watery but genuine. “I love you guys.”
Aubrey wipes at her eyes. “Okay, but seriously, what did Nicole say to you?”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. She’s just trying to get in my head.”
“Is it working?” Sam asks.
