Page 95 of Broken Boundaries

Oh my god. I never sleep that long. I guess I needed it after last night.

“How are you feeling this morning?” She sits next to me on her bed.

“Like shit,” I admit.

“Are you still thinking about leaving?”

“I feel like I have to, Jazz.”

“You don’t. You can’t leave me!” she whines, which makes me smile. I hate that I’ve finally made a friend and now I’m going to have to leave her. But she’ll be fine. Everyone is always fine when I leave. I’m always the one who isn’t fine.

“I don’t belong here. All I’m doing is pissing off Zach and ruining Brooks’s life.”

“First of all, fuck Zach. He deserves to be pissed off. Everything that is happening to him is his own damn fault. Second of all, I highly doubt that Brooks thinks you’re ruining his life. The man has been calling and texting me all morning. And third of all, stay for me. We can grow old together. Get lots of cats and yell at kids for running through our yard.”

I can’t help but laugh at that because I can totally picture it. The two of us in rocking chairs on a front porch, gossiping about everyone in town. That would certainly be fun. But knowing I was so close to Brooks… I don’t think I could do it.

“Why don’t you come with me?” I ask her even though I have no idea where I’m going. Maybe I’ll go back to Florida, or maybe I’ll find a new place. Start over all on my own. I’ve done it before. I’m sure I can do it again.

She gives me a pointed look. “You don’t even know where you’re going. And I like it here in Blue Haven. My family is here. You’re my family too now, so you belong here.”

I sigh. “I don’t know…”

“Listen. Don’t be mad, but Brooks is in the living room.”

“What!”

“He really wants to talk to you, and I think you should hear him out.”

“Jazz, I told you, I can’t hurt him any more than I already have.”

“And you think leaving him without any explanation won’t hurt him?” I hang my head. She’s right. Of course, she’s right. “That’s what I thought. So hear him out. If you still want to leave after you talk to him, then I’ll help you pack.”

My friend, who is always happy, looks so sad right now. I hate that it’s because of me.

“Alright,” I respond softly. It’s not that I don’t want to see Brooks, but seeing him again—seeing the hurt in his eyes—is going to make it so much harder to leave.

“Here. Let’s just…” She starts patting down my hair, and I realize I must look like I just rolled out of bed because I did. “Ok, that’s a little better. Gotta make sure you still look hot. I’ve got a stake in this game.”

I laugh as she leaves the room. My heart feels like it’s going to beat through my chest as I listen to Brooks’s heavy footsteps come down the hall toward Jazz’s room.

He knocks gently before slowly pushing the door open. I stay seated on the bed, but I can’t take my eyes off him. Even with dark circles under his eyes, he’s still the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. He’s in a dark henley and my favorite pair of jeans. Instead of his cowboy boots, he’s opted for his work boots. The ones he always leaves by his front door in case he has to leave quickly. The fact that he’s wearing them today makes me wonder if he ran out of his house the second Jazz told him where I was, but I shake the thought from my head. I have to be strong. I can’t ruin this man’s life any more than I already have.

“Hey.” He stays on the other side of the bedroom, which I appreciate since this is already going to be hard enough. Being close to him would be too much, but my fingers twitch with the need to touch him.

“Hi.”

He swallows like he’s nervous. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

My eyes sting from the threat of tears. He sounds so defeated. “I-I can’t do this, Brooks. I can’t ruin your life. You don’t deserve that. I have to leave Blue Haven.”

“Darlin’, the only thing that’s gonna ruin my life is if you don’t come home with me.”

Home. I thought I finally had one…

“I don’t have a home. I thought maybe… but all I’ve done is cause trouble. Zach is never going to forgive us. This whole town is going to hate me.” I hate the way my voice shakes, but there’s no sense in hiding how upset I am. “So, I’m going to go. That will be easier for everyone. It’ll be easier for you to repair your relationship with Zach if I’m not here. You can just tell him I was a mistake.”

Brooks crosses the room and kneels down in front of me. “Aspen, those words would never come out of my mouth. You are not a mistake, and you never will be. Yeah, Zach is pissed. He has every right to be. But that’s not your fault. It’s mine. I made this choice because I wanted it. I want you.