Now, as we walked into the house, I wished for the first time that we could maintain the silence. I knew before Rule opened his mouth that I was going to hate what came next.
“I think it’s time we go our separate ways, Jinx.”
Of course he did.
Because that was how Rule handled emotional shit. He pretended that he was meant to be alone. It wasn’t the first time he’d said something like that to me.
I shook my head.
“You don’t really have a say in the matter anymore.” Rule looked around. “I’m moving out. You can keep the house. And the business.”
Thatwas new. Usually, he told me I needed to move on with my life, to find some semblance of happiness with someone because he was tired of carrying my weight. I always ignored him because we both knew he didn’t carry shit. I was as much invested in our business as he was. And from the day I picked him up from that fucking prison, I’d been by his side. As a friend, as a lover, as a business partner. Not taking handouts but helping him build the life we had.
Rule sighed. “I’ll be gone in the morning. You can let Rhyan know she can keep the dog if you don’t want him.”
The dog.
Not once since we got Waldo had Rule ever referred to him asthe dog.
Yeah, he was coming apart at the seams. It was only a matter of time.
I waited until Rule made it to his bedroom before I followed. I found him standing inside the room, staring at the bed. The pillows and blankets were askew, a vivid reminder that the three of us had slept it in together last night. Another way we’d been pretending that everything was fine. I guess, in a sense, it had been much better than the current status of our relationship, but still.
Rule turned to face me. “What part of go away do you not fucking understand?”
I didn’t leave.
“I don’t need you, Jinx. I don’t even fucking want you!”
I still didn’t leave.
His face hardened, and for a brief moment, I saw every ounce of pain and anguish he’d dealt with in his life etched in the lines. “I’m so sick and fucking tired of—”
“Stop,” I said, the word coming out raspy, but the sound was there.
Rule’s eyes went wide.
For the first time in my life, a confrontation didn’t instill panic. There was no tightness in my chest or a roil in my gut.
In fact, I felt a calmness I’d never felt before. I forced more words, these just as raspy and soft as the first. “I’m not leaving.”
Rule gasped.
It would’ve been comical if it weren’t for the fact I had stunned myself. My voice was weak, but the sounds were coming, and my brain wasn’t having an issue relaying the information.
I stepped forward and whispered, “You’re stuck with me.”
He swallowed, and I swore I saw tears in his eyes, but they didn’t fall.
“We will fix this.”
“I don’t—”
“Stop,” I said again, a little louder this time, closing the gap between us.
“Jinx.”
“Rule.”
