Page 88 of The Other Room

The one where we’d spent all night tangled in each other’s arms.

The scent of her shampoo still clung to the pillow, and I inhaled a deep breath of it. Agony ripped through me while I pulled her blankets up over my chest. Jo needed space tonight, and if I tried to force the issue and find her, I knew she’d make good on that promise to tear my face off.

But just in case she checked her messages, I sent her one anyway.

Me: I am not with Nikki. I swear to God, Jo. It was a total misunderstanding, and you’ll know that once you learn the truth. I love you. Only you. Always have and always will.

Setting my phone on the nightstand, I folded my arms and laid my head back on them. Petunia hopped up on the bed, and after giving me wary stare, she curled up along my side.

“We’ll get her back, Petunia. We have to.”

Her soft purrs soothed me while I stroked what remained of her patchy coat.

Jo had to come home eventually, and when she did, I’d be waiting.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JO

––––––––

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Jenna whispered into my ear. For a moment I drifted back in time to high school, and my older sister was waking me up to make sure I didn’t miss the bus.

Then I remembered Jenna’s favorite wake-up call involved dumping cold water on my head.

I shot up in bed, pressing my back to the wall while I struggled to grasp the current calendar year.

“Whoa! Easy there, tiger!” She laughed.

I looked around, and seeing I wasn’t in my childhood bedroom, but instead in Jenna’s lavish guestroom, I exhaled a deep sigh.

“Sorry, flashbacks to you waking me up high school.”

Her smile grew, and she pulled a glass of water out from behind her back. “You mean when I used to dump water on your head?”

“Don’t you dare!” I shouted, lifting my hands to shield my face.

Jenna’s laugh filled the room, and she set it on the bedside table. “Just kidding. Those are expensive sheets, so I wouldn’t dare. I thought you might be thirsty.”

“Thank God.” I blew out the breath trapped in my lungs. “I’m literally traumatized by that. You were such an asshole!”

She dipped into a curtsy, then giggled and flopped on the bed beside me. “Yeah, I was an ass growing up. But aren’t you glad you have me now?”

She pulled me in for an obnoxiously tight hug, and I struggled to get free. “Quit hugging me, you weirdo.”

“I can hug my baby sis anytime I want.” She squeezed harder. “How are you feeling today?”

And just like that, the reason for my tortured night in her guest room came crashing back into me like a semi-truck.

The vision of Nikki with her arms around Matt’s neck. His arms around her waist. Her lips pressed to his neck. It felt like time had rolled backward twelve hours, and I shuddered.

“So, you gonna tell me what the hell happened yet?”

Heaving a sigh, I closed my eyes, hoping the vision of Matt and Nikki together would fade to black.

No luck. Even with my eyes closed they stayed stamped behind my eyelids.

Last night I’d lied when I wrote the note to Matt about where I was headed, hoping to prevent him from showing up here. Instead of going out of town like I’d said in my note, I’d dropped in on Jenna. When she’d opened the door, I stood there blubbering, unable to form the words to tell her what had happened.