Everyone except Emily. She’s standing in the doorway. Blocking the only exit.
“I became a police officer because I wanted to help people,” I say, my voice steady even though my jaw aches from clenching it. “You all remember when I caught Chad Whitlock bullying that sixth-grade kid when we were sophomores.”
“Of course we do,” Xavier says. “You handled it.”
The bastard deserved worse. Who de-pants a sixth grader in the middle of a packed hallway?
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since. And my goal was always to come back here. Yeah, I spent a couple years in the city getting experience. More calls. Faster pace. But it was always temporary.”
It’s so quiet now that the only sound in the room is people breathing, and my heart racing in my ears.
My gaze lands on Emily. “It was always about coming home. About protecting the people I care about.”
Emily swipes her palms on her jeans, color spreading across her cheeks. Her eyes flick to the others in the room before returning to me. “Oh….”
The word slips out softly, like she’s only just realizing how far things have gone. I don’t care if she’s embarrassed. She deserves to hear this.
“And not to listen to a girl with a sharp tongue who hooked up with a guy she’d known for five minutes. Just to be a brat.”
Her head snaps back. “Jake, that’s not–”
“I’m not done.” I don’t want to hear anything she has to say. “What I do in the privacy of my home is none of your business. Who I date is none of your business. And no, I don’t use professionally issued police equipment to sleep with women.”
She bites her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. And I don’t fucking care this time. “And I would never force a woman to have sex with me.”
Emily’s face drains of color. “I didn’t mean….” The word cracks out before she coughs and clears her throat. “That’s not what I was saying.”
“Save it for someone who wants your opinion.” I stride toward her.
She jumps to the side so fast her elbow slams into the wall. “Jake–”
“Stop.” I turn back once more.
For a split second she looks exactly like the girl who used to sit beside me on her parents’ couch, stealing popcorn out of my bowl and laughing at the worst parts of horror movies.
My chest tightens. Then she opens her mouth again. Whatever she’s about to say doesn’t matter anymore.
“I don’t want your apology,” I say quietly. “Or your opinion about my life.” My jaw locks. “Leave.”
Emily freezes for half a second like she wants to say something else. Then she steps out of the doorway.
No one says a word as she walks down the hall.
Chapter Sixteen
Emily
Oh, my God, what did I do? My shoes hit the steps slapping, one after the other, as I nearly fall down the stairs. What was I thinking? My heartbeat thuds in my ears as fast as a snare drum roll.
My God, I acted like a total jealous, catty bitch, and all because when I looked into Jake’s bedroom, I saw him with his arm around Ruby’s shoulders, and they were smiling at each other.
But that wasn’t the worst thing. The worst thing was the look on his face when he saw me–pity. Pity for the little girl who’d always crushed on him, catching him flirting with someone else and feeling sorry for her.
I don’t want his pity. His embarrassment. His guilt.
As my feet land on the living room floor, I swipe my sweaty palms on my leggings. What in the hell is wrong with me? Ruby is my best friend. If they decide to date, I should be happy for her. Iwillbe happy for her.
The stairs and hallway are still in need of renovation, but the living room and dining room are updated with new wood floors, windows, and sheetrock.
