Before she could finish the sentence, Xavier cut her off. “True, I’ve got to get out of here. I can’t do this.”
“Of course you’re going to run away. I shouldn’t be surprised. Like father, like son.” She spat the words out so fast, anger fueling her sharp words.
A slow hissing sound escaped Xavier’s lips. He shook his head at her. “Nice, True. Really nice.”
As he beat a fast path away from her, hot tears burned her eyes. With a quick look to make sure Jaylen was occupied, she made a beeline to the ladies’ room, where she proceeded to sit in a stall and sob. How had this happened? She had been completely blindsided by Xavier’s change of heart. Maybe she had read everything between them wrong. If so, she needed to let romance pass her by for the rest of her days.
Somehow she managed to get home without breaking down again. Jaylen talked a mile a minute about his bowling scores and how he had beaten Coach Stone. She put on a smile, laughed at his jokes, and sucked up her heartache. No matter what was going on in her world, it was her responsibility to make sure Jaylen’s life was free of strife and drama.
Once they got home, True took a shower, got into her PJs, and curled up on her bed. She felt completely broken. This time was different from the Garrett breakup. Her pain right now was so gut-wrenching, as if something had been violently ripped away from her. She felt tears coming on again, and even though she tried to stem the tide, they pooled in her eyes.
Just then, Jaylen came to her room to kiss her good night. He stood by her bed and looked down at her with a troubled expression etched on his nine-year-old face.
“True, what’s wrong?” Jaylen reached out and ran his hand along her cheek. He was such an affectionate child, always wanting to provide comfort and love. She wasn’t sure what she had ever done to deserve him.
“I’m just a little sad,” she admitted. There was no point in pretending nothing was wrong, since Jaylen already detected the telltale signs of her being upset.
“Is this about Xavier? Did he do something to hurt your feelings?” Her brother was peering into her face as if seeking truthful answers. His beautiful brown eyes oozed compassion. Jaylen was her little empath. He knew her so well and picked up easily on her emotional state. Clearly, she wasn’t doing a very good job at masking her feelings.
Okay, suck it up, she told herself. She had traveled down this road before, and she’d made it through the storm. But that had been different. What she felt for Xavier was epic. A love story. Or so she’d thought.
She blinked back tears, willing them not to stream down her face. The last thing in the world she wanted was for Jaylen to be angry at Xavier. He was his beloved coach and friend. She didn’t want to take that away from him. Xavier continued to be the strongest male figure in his young life. They shared such a beautiful friendship, and it hurt just knowing it would fade out when Xavier left town.
“Xavier and I aren’t going to work out,” she told him. “But it’s no one’s fault,” she quickly added. “Sometimes people just meet each other at the wrong time for it to be right.”
Jaylen nodded as she spoke, resembling a wise old owl. She had always believed that her little brother was wiser than his years. “Don’t be sad it’s over. Be glad it happened.”
True burst into laughter. “That is so corny.”
Jaylen giggled along with her. “I know, True. I’m a corny kind of kid. But you made me that way.”
“Naaah,” she said.
“Yaaah,” Jaylen insisted.
“Do you know how much I love you?” True asked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. True wanted to stretch this moment out so she could protect Jaylen from all the slings and arrows of life. One day he might have his heart smashed into smithereens, and there wasn’t a single thing she could do to prevent it.
“I have an idea,” Jaylen said. “To the moon and back, right? I’m a pretty lovable kid.”
“I can’t argue with that. Now off to bed.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Scoot. I’ll make you chocolate chip pancakes in the morning.”
He let out a whoop of excitement and began to dance around in a celebratory fashion.
“Okay, no more stalling. Bedtime,” she said, trying tokeep a straight face. Jaylen’s exuberance was such a gift. Although she still had an ache in her soul about Xavier, her little brother made everything better. In the end, he was her true love story.
Jaylen placed a kiss on her forehead and pulled the covers over her so she was tucked in, completely reversing their roles. “Night, True. I love you.”
“Love you back. Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” she said, laughing as he let out a loud groan. She watched as he padded out of the room. Jaylen’s sweet words and endless support served as a pick-me-up.
As she drifted off to sleep, thoughts of Xavier flitted through her mind. Not the Xavier from a few hours ago, but the one she’d fallen in love with over the past few months. The funny, sensitive, warm Xavier who had come into her life like a blazing comet. The one who supported her dreams and always seemed to have her back. The man who seemed to know who he was and where he was going. She didn’t know what had happened to that guy, but she wished with all her heart that he would come back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
To say he was in a funk had to be the biggest understatement of the century. Xavier woke up feeling like roadkill, and he hadn’t had a single drink last night to explain the way his body felt. He’d had trouble falling asleep last night as his encounter with True replayed in his mind. His behavior had been cringeworthy. He should have been kinder and gentler, but he’d been so frustrated and angry. He had allowed fear to take over.
All he’d wanted to do was untangle himself from the situation, but he’d made a mess of it.
Accusing her of using him had been so over the line, but he’d truly wondered if that was the case. She’d been absolutely horrified by the accusation, and he couldn’t say that he blamed her. Xavier wasn’t sure how he could ever face her again.
