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Me: She gave me back my key.
Mia: …
Mia: …
Mia: …
Mia: Wait, what?
Me: She gave me back my key and left. End of story.
Mia: I’m so confused right now.
Me: Why? Were you expecting her to show up?
Mia: Okay. DON’T be mad. But…
Me: What, Mia?!?
Mia: Momma and I had lunch with Shaw and Aunt D. We kind of ganged up on her.
Mia: But she left before the food even arrived. She was going to see you. To tell you she was sorry and she loves you. NOT TO GIVE YOU BACK THE KEY. I swear, Jags. I swear to you, she was coming to make up.
My heart turned to lead, and my knees gave out. I dropped on the edge of my bed, realizing my mistake in not going after Shaw. I should have made her listen to the truth. Not just let her walk away.
Was it too late?
Of course, it fucking was. She wasn’t going to listen to anything I said about the subject now. Only a few minutes had passed, but it was too much time for Shaw to trust that I wasn’t making it all up.
Me: I fucked up.
Mia: …
Mia: How?
Me: I have a history with one of my neighbors. From years ago. But Shaw knew about it. The girl is in a relationship with the love of her life now. I swear it. But last night, their AC wasn’t working, and I let her and her girlfriend stay in my extra room. You couldn’t even breathe in their place last night, so they didn’t go back for a change of clothes and I gave them T-shirts to sleep in. Shaw showed up as they were leaving, but she only saw the one I have history with.
My phone gave what sounded like an angry ring in my hand just as I hit send, and I swiped my thumb over the screen to accept the call.
“You did what?” Ma exploded in the background, and I knew I was on speaker.
I thrust my free hand into my hair and fell back against the mattress with a groan. “To make things worse, I was in only a pair of boxers because I’d just woken up.”
“So, Shaw saw your neighbor—whom you have history with—dressed in only your T-shirt and you in only a pair of boxers?” Mia reiterated.
“Yes.”
“This would be funny if it weren’t so damn tragic,” Mia muttered. “Only you could get yourself in these kinds of situations, little brother.”
“I told her it wasn’t what it looked like.” I sighed heavily. “But, of course, she didn’t want to hear it. She said we weren’t together, so it wasn’t any of her business. Then she gave me back the key and walked away.”
“I need to call Dallas,” Ma said in the background. “Shaw is going to need someone to pick up the pieces.”
“I want to pick up the pieces!” I cried. “How do I fix this?”
“Well, you could try the truth,” Mia offered.
