“I was tracking you guys on the app Jetty and I use,” said Max. “Ryan told me you might need help getting stuff up to the penthouse and taking the car to the nearest rental place.”
Harrison nodded gratefully. There weren’t many people around, but the few who were had stopped what they were doing to look their way. “I appreciate it. We should get Jett upstairs first and then worry about the car.”
It was early morning in Toronto. The press had to be on to what had happened by now, so he was half-expecting one of them to pop out from behind the nearest bush and shove a camera in their faces.
“We in Canada yet?” Jett asked sleepily beside him, his eyes squinted shut as he shifted into a sitting position.
“We’re outside your apartment,” said Harrison.
Jett’s eyes flew open, and he gripped the armrest. “What? You’re fucking kidding me.” He glanced around, his eyes landing on Max, who waved. “I thought I was only asleep for an hour.”
“Let’s get you home, Jetty,” Max said with a cheerful smile. “I’m going to order us breakfast.”
Jett had looked almost back to his old self when he first opened his eyes, but Harrison watched as reality quickly crushed the light out of him, turning him back into the sullen man from before. He nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt, getting out of the car without another word.
It was easier to deal with the suitcases between the three of them. They could have asked the service workers for help, but the less people who knew Jett was home, the better.
Harrison was too tired to talk, but Max chatted quietly with Jett as they rode the elevator to the top. He didn’t seem phased when Jett refused to engage in the conversation, content to keep things as normal as possible.
Harrison checked his messages and saw that Jett’s dad was about to land in Toronto and would be there by lunch, and Park had messaged him no more than a hundred times. Which was almost as obnoxious as Arlo’stwohundred messages.
He gave Mr. Fraser a quick update and then texted Park and Arlo, giving a brief description of Jett’s mindset so they would stop pestering him. Arlo would understand, but Park texted back and was less than pleased.
Harrison wanted to see if he could coax Jett through this gently first before he tried using Park to snap him out of it. At least he could pocket the tactic as a last resort.
The second they were inside the penthouse, Jett took Fenwick and disappeared to their bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him.
Max shot Harrison a look and said, “It’s bad, isn’t it? I mean, it looked horrible on TV…”
“It’s worse,” said Harrison. “It’s so much fucking worse.”
“Ryan said that Coach Adams wants to release a statement, but he’s okay with doing it for Jett if he wants.”
Harrison felt defeated as he handed Max the keys to the rental. “I think he might have to. Jett isn’t thinking clearly. I feel like he’s been fighting against himself since it happened. He might need a few days.”
“He’s your star player. He’s going to get all the time he needs.” Max took the keys and gave Harrison a kind smile. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes, so just think about what you want to order for breakfast, and we’ll see if we can get Jett to eat something.”
Harrison shrugged defeatedly and went to sit on the couch while he waited for Max to return. The second the sound of the front door closing hit him, he slumped into a puddle of exhaustion.
He didn’t know what to do now.
The obvious answer was giving Jett some space, waiting for his dad to get there so he could talk to someone who understood, and trying to be there for him when he needed him.
But he wanted to bust the door down and hold onto Jett—anchor him like he had done that night in the shower when Harrison had been fighting his demons.
If the situation were reversed, Jett would do everything he could, including scaling the outside of the building to shatter the bedroom window, to get to Harrison. He knew he should do the same, but he felt guilty about wanting to interrupt Jett if he was trying to grieve the situation.
He had to go to him. Hehadto. Harrison would deal with the consequences later.
With his mind made up, he stalked toward their bedroom, halting once he was in front of it to give the handle a few twists. It was still locked, and there was nothing but silence on the other side.
“Jett, let me in,” Harrison said, cringing at how stern his voice came out. “Right now.”
There was a chance that Jett was in the shower and couldn’t hear him. The thought of his boyfriend sitting in freezing waters to numb himself from pain had his heart hammering in his chest.
He wouldn’t, would he?
“Jett.”
