I yank open all of the curtains, one by one.
They’re empty, of course.
“I’m losing it, Layla.” Pressing a hand to my chest, I let out a relieved breath. “This is better than a master bedroom,” I tell her as I try to convince myself. “This way I can get some space from your dad and decide what I’m going to do.”
I can’t stop replaying that fight. How Jace stood up for me.
Closing my eyes, I try to regain my footing.
Maybe… maybe we can hash things out when he’s done with his meeting. I glance at my phone. The guys have been talking for a while, long enough for the bus to start moving. I need to feed Layla, but I don’t want to interrupt the band meeting. Especially after what just happened. So I give Layla little bites of a chewy granola bar. Eventually, I give her a toy and curl up with a pillow.
Nestled in a bunk bed, I can hear more than in our old back bedroom. Muffled male voices and the hum of the tires. The whoosh of the air conditioning through tiny vents along the wall. Some mechanical vibration deep in the wall.
Feminine laughter makes my eyes pop open. If that’s Marlowe, I’m fucking done.
I pick up the baby and head toward the front of the bus where I find her sprawled on the couch next to Cooper. “Aww, come on, Jace. Come sit by me.”
“I’m good, Mar.” He’s sitting with his back to me at the kitchen counter where I was earlier.
Twirling a long lock of red hair, she grins at me. “Hey, girlie. Nice to see you.” I’m so sure. “Are you gonna join us?”
Everyone turns to stare at me, and I roll my eyes. “No. They’re all yours.”
I grab something to eat for the baby and retreat to the bunk. Every now and then, I hear Marlowe laugh and I grit my teeth.
“Layla, I can’t handle this,” I whisper to my sweet darling.
“Rara.”
Her beautiful smile breaks my heart. When I leave Jace, I’ll have to leave Layla.
She stands, and the bunk is just barely high enough for her to bounce on her toes and not hit her head. I have to lie on my back, and I have her on the inside by the wall.
“Rory,” a male voice says on the other side of the curtain.
I open it and find Jace. “What do you need?”
“Just wanted to talk to you. See if we could hang out.”
“I’m not hanging out in the front of the bus with Marlowe.”
“Wouldn’t expect you to.” He glances toward the back. “What about back here? With the table?” When I don’t say anything, he leans against the wall and looks down at me. “Babe, you can’t stay in here all day.”
“Why not?”
He holds out his hand. “Please. I didn’t know she was traveling with us. No one told me. Cross my heart.” When he makes the motion across his chest, I see his bloody knuckles.
He did punch his best friend for me.
It’s what makes me relent. At the very least, I’ll hear him out. That’s what mature people do, right? But that doesn’t mean I have to accept what he says.
He throws down a blanket for Layla to play on and gives her a few toys, and he sits next to me. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.”
Pushing up my glasses, I nod and turn to look out the window. “You didn’t have to hit Cooper for me. I’m used to him being an asshole.”
Jace grabs my hand. “That’s the point. You shouldn’t have to be used to him being a dick. I kept thinking he’d warm up to you.”
“You guys have been the priority in each other’s lives for a long time. I understand why he feels like I’m the usurper,” I say, feeling my walls start to slip.
