I’m dead asleep when I hear my phone go off.
I ignore it, though, knowing it’s him.
All I see is him and her together, and it really boils my blood.
Stupid whore.
Stealing my man…
Blah.
When my phone signals another text, I reach for it, bringing it under the covers with me. The warm cocoon I’ve built for myself, where I’m safe. Like I suspected, it’s Jace. I know I should ignore it, but I can’t. Opening the text, I see a video and then two simple words.
Jace: Watch me.
Raising a brow, I hit play and then the video takes over my screen, the picture shaking on his end. When his beautiful face comes into the frame, my heart aches. He hasn’t shaved, scruff covering his thick jaw. His hair is hanging messily in his eyes, pushed down by the gray beanie he favors. His eyes are dark and red, like he’s had a rough night. I wish like hell the first thing I think isn’t that he was with her.
“I really think you should do something else here. Why don’t you send her—” I hear Jayden say, but Jace waves him off, looking at the camera.
“Shut up, it’s recording,” he says, his eyes dark and intense. “Avery, if you hit play, thank you. Thank you for watching, for giving me a chance to win you back.”
“Jesus,” I hear Jayden moan, and I can’t help but smile. Especially when Jace appears to throw a pillow at him. “Ow!”
“Shut up,” he snaps before looking back at the camera. “I’m so sorry my brother is a dick, but he’s the only person who knows how to play a guitar that I know, other than Jude. But he’s actually flying to Jersey at this very moment. I mean, I guess I could have come and done this in person, but I really didn’t want to have you slam the door in my face. But if you don’t answer me back in an hour after I send this, then I just might.”
“Oh my God, can we do this? Some people have things to do.”
I giggle at the annoyance in Jayden’s voice as Jace glares at him. “You suck. Really.”
“Stop talking so much and do what you planned. Even though, let’s be honest, I wouldn’t text or call you after listening to what we just practiced.”
“I hate you. I really do.” Jace glares and then turns back to the video. “So yeah, here it goes. What I want to say. What I’m feeling. What I want. Which is you.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I hear Jayden moan, and I swear, I love these two.
“Shut up and start playing!”
Jace looks back at the camera, and I listen as the beautiful melody to the beginning of “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran starts to play. I freaking love this song, so damn much. And when Jace starts to sing it, badly, of course, I know I just fell in love with it more. The words before were heart-wrecking, but now, the beauty of the lyrics is enhanced by the man I love. He may not be able to sing, but the words are coming from his soul. His eyes are locked on the camera, and his fist is moving with each word as he sings just for me.
Horribly, but I don’t care. He is beautiful, he is hilarious, and he’s doing this for me. Even if I’m not sure he should have to. I should be singing to him, but he’s fighting. He wants me. I do matter. As he gets to the chorus and he sings, desperately, from his soul, I can only smile with each jerk and fist pump he does. When the music stops, though, and Jayden takes the phone despite Jace’s protests, I laugh.
Jayden runs out of the room and into the bathroom across the hall, locking the door behind him. I have no clue what is going on, but the grin on my face is unstoppable as he struggles with the phone. Holding it out, Jayden looks at me, his green gaze locking on to me. I’ve never been intimidated by him, but I am now.
“Listen, Avery, please call my brother. Let him apologize so none of us ever have to listen to him sing again. I mean, that was torture. I didn’t know he was that bad,” he says quickly as Jace beats the door down. “He loves you. You have to realize that. And you make him happy. So please, give him a chance. If not for his sanity, for my family’s. Because I’m pretty sure if he calls my mom in a drunken state, crying like a fourteen-year-old girl whose boyfriend broke up with her and smashed all her One Direction CDs, she might come after you with a shotgun,” he says with a grin and I smile big. Then I’m laughing as Jace screams obscenities at his brother, his fist coming against the door like King Kong. “Love like this doesn’t come along often, you know? Don’t let some misunderstanding, or whatever the hell happened, come between you two. Real lovers work it out. They communicate instead of giving up. You’re not a quitter, I know you aren’t, so just call. Okay?”
And then the screen goes black, going back to my messaging app.
I can’t help but wonder if Jace killed Jayden, but before I can even text him, there is a knock at my door. Pushing the blankets down, I look toward the door to find Matty taking up the whole space. Just like that, my grin is gone and I’m glaring. I haven’t talked to him, or anyone, since last night. No one has checked on me, so I’m a little surprised to see him.
“What?”
He makes a face and then chuckles. “Man, your face is fucked up.”
My scowl deepens because I don’t know what he is talking about. “What do you want?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he gives me a pointed look. “Mom told me to come apologize. But since I did nothing wrong, I refuse to. But tell her I did.”
Is he being real? “Please, I’m not covering for you ever again.”
He rolls his eyes. “Such a fucking drama queen.”
“And you’re a dick.”
“I don’t know why you can’t do what you’re told.”
“’Cause you aren’t my dad. You’re nothing to me. So, bye, Felicia.”
He glares, and for the first time in my whole life, I’m scared. What the hell is wrong with him? “You’ve always been so jealous of me. Get over it. You can’t be me.”
Confused, I shake my head. “I don’t want to be you, and I never wanted to be. I only wanted you to love me. I’ve tried to love you, even when you don’t deserve my love, but you’re so cruel to me.”
“I don’t want it,” he yells at me. “I don’t want anything from you but for you to disappear. You know what?” he sneers, coming into my room, stopping in front of my bed. “I wish you had died. I wish you were never born. You ruin everything. You’re nothing but a waste of space.”
My heart just hurts as I go up on my knees, holding his gaze. “What did I do to you, Matty? Why on earth do you feel all this animosity toward me? You’re supposed to love me.”
“I don’t, and I never will. You stole something from me that I can’t ever get back, and I’ll never forgive you for that!”
Confused, I search my brain for any basis for his accusation, but nothing comes to mind. “What the hell? What?”
He shakes his head. “Just fucking disappear. Don’t come back. No one loves you anyway.”
Whoa. Wait.
That was one of the last texts Caleb sent to me. Word for word.
But before I can stop him, though I really don’t know why I would, he stomps out of my room, slamming my door hard, and rattling the pictures on the wall. Falling back on my haunches, I just shake my head. What was he talking about? And why would he say those things? Those exact things? I just don’t get it, but I have no problem doing what he said. He doesn’t want me in his life, fine. There is someone out there who does.
Someone I love.
And I can’t let this go on any longer.
Opening my texts, I hit Jace’s name.
Me: Can you talk?
He answers within seconds.
Jace: Yeah.
After touching his number, I don’t have to wait long before his voice comes over the line. “Hey.” His voice holds so much promise it hurts, and my eyes fall shut.
“Hey,” I say shyly, chewing on my nails as silence stretches between us. Clearing my throat, I look up at the ceiling, blinking back the tears as I whisper, “I love the video.”
I can hear the smile in his voice. “Jayden is a dick.”
I smile. “Yeah, but then you gotta thank him, ’cause I want to talk.”
“Yeah, I guess,” he says softly. “But I don’t want to do it over the phone, Avery. This isn’t something that can be solved with words. I need to feel you against me. I need to look into your eyes, wipe away your tears.”
Swallowing hard, I nod, a tear rolling down my cheek. I miss him so much. “Yeah, I agree.”
“Did you drive to the airport?”
“No, I had a car pick me up.”
“Can I pick you up?”
My heart flutters as I slowly nod. “I would love that.”
“What time does your plane get in?”
“7:10 on Monday night.”
“You couldn’t change it to earlier?”
“No, I already tried. Everything was booked.”
“Can you send me the flight info?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Awesome,” I say breathlessly, my chest feeling empty from where he has my heart. “I miss you.”
“God, Avery, I miss you so fucking much,” he groans. “I just want you home now.”
“Me too,” I whisper. “I hate it here.”
“Two days. And then I’ll take you to get ice cream, we’ll talk, and we’ll leave all this nonsense in the past. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Because I love you, Avery. I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you.” Swallowing hard, I bite into my lip. “I’m sorry.”
“No, not now. Wait. Because I need to say it too.”
I blink back the tears as I nod slowly. “Okay, but how’s your leg?”
He chuckles. “Well, because I kicked in your door, they wouldn’t let me play last night and we lost.”
“So I guess that’s my fault?”
“I mean, if you want the blame, I’ll let you have it,” he teases and I grin. “No, it’s mine. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad that I kicked your door.”
“Maybe I should have opened it?”
“Yeah, that would have been nice. My knee and my team would have thanked you for that,” he says and I laugh. “But that’s a conversation for Monday, okay?”
“Okay,” I agree. “But one thing?”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing happened with Delanie Cunt Collins, did it?”
He scoffs. “Fuck no, my heart is in New Jersey.”
My mouth turns up into a full grin and I let out a sigh. “And my heart is in Nashville.”
“Damn right, and you aren’t getting it back.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Good,” he says, and then he yawns loudly into the phone. “Shit, sorry. I’m so damn out of it. I woke up to Jayden in my bed. It was freaky.”
I laugh at that and my face hurts from grinning. “I’ll let you go.”
“Okay, go mingle with that family of yours.”
I pause. “Yeah, about that… I kind of told them to fuck off and that I don’t want them in my life.”
“Holy hell, that’s amazing,” he says and I laugh. “Or wait, am I supposed to say something else?”
“No, it’s good. Matty said something crappy, of course, and I hit him. Then he pushed me into the counter where I busted my nose.”
He pauses. “Excuse me? He did what?”
“It’s no big deal.”
“Um, yes, it is. What did your mom, dad, or hell, anyone do?”
“Nothing.”
“What? Are you serious? I’ll kill him,” he says, his voice full of venom.
“Whoa, killer. Siblings fight.”
“I’ve never put my hands on Lucy—neither have my brothers. You don’t hit girls.”
He really is perfect.
“Just stay in your room, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Okay, call me if you need me to come up there. Or better yet, I’ll send Jude to come get you.”
“They aren’t holding me hostage, Jace.”
“Fine, go to a hotel. I’ll get you a room.”
“Jace, be real.”
“If I’m real, I’d fly you home. Now I’m worried.”
“Don’t be. I’m fine.”
He pauses and then clears his throat. “Like really, really fine? I’ve been so worried that you would…”
He trails off and I know what he is talking about. The cutting. But he has nothing to worry about. “I haven’t hurt myself. At all.”
“Good. That’s really good.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Okay, will you text me later?”
“Yeah, text me when you wake up.”
“Cool. Okay, I love you.”
“I love you.”
I hang up, looking down at my screen as it goes to a picture of him and me. It was the day we were with Angie, having a blast. It was the day I knew I loved Jace Sinclair and that he was the last guy I’d ever love. It’s such a special picture, something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.
It’s a picture of my forever.