Page 36 of My Girl to Use

“I’m not coming back,” I repeat. “And if you don’t fix what you did—if you don’t make this right—I will make sure every secret this family has is public by the end of the week.”

“Jaxon…”

“I’m serious,” I continue as if she didn’t call my name. “Try me.”

“What do you want?” she asks.

“I want you to fix it,” I say, my voice steady, even though everything in me is still burning. “You tell her the truth. You make it clear she has nothing to worry about. No threats. No pressure. You stay out of my life.”

“That is not how this works,” my mother replies. But there’s hesitation there now, something that wasn’t there before.

“It is now.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“No,” I snap back, shaking my head even though she can’t see it. “I made one when I let you control anything about me for this long.”

I hear a quiet exhale. Then, “Fine.” The word is reluctant. Tight. But it’s there. “I will…resolve the situation.”

“That’s not enough,” I press. “You stay away from her. From both of them.”

“Agreed.”

I don’t thank her. I just end the call. The silence that follows is thick, but different now. Not suffocating. Cleared out.

Sienna lets out a slow breath. “Well…that escalated.”

I drag a hand through my hair, already moving toward the door. “I need to get back.”

She nods immediately. “Go. And Jax?”

I glance back at her.

“Don’t let her push you away again,” she says firmly. “That girl loves you. I saw it.”

My heart kicks hard. “I know,” I reply quietly.

And then I’m gone.

???

By the time I get back to Wilder House, my heart is racing again, but for a completely different reason. I take the stairs two at a time, barely slowing down before I get to my apartment.

It’s empty. I grab the key Zora gave me to her place, hoping that she hasn’t left. Bolting back into the hallway, I reach her door and push it open.

“Zora!”

I stop. She’s in the middle of the room. Packing. Bags open on the floor, Levi’s things half gone. Everything drops out of me.

“No,” I breathe, stepping forward. “No, no, no. What are you doing?”

She freezes when she sees me, her expression shifting instantly. Panic flashes across her face before she tries to cover it.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” she says quickly.

“I know,” I admit, moving closer. “I know why you did it.”

She stills. “What?”