Page 44 of Fight from the Heart

I don’t play that way.

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As it grows dark outside, I hear muffled voices come from below. Ethan and Ella have arrived, and I feel safe enough to leave the room. My suitcase made it to the bedroom, and I change my clothes, wanting a shower but accepting a fresh outfit as second best.

Exiting the room, I notice eyes follow my movements as I cross the landing and descend the stairs to the living room. Jacob’s slanted eyes tell me he’s spent the day drinking, and I’d feel sorry for him if I didn’t already feel sorry for myself. I slept with a man still attached to another woman. Maybe she’s young. Maybe she’s entitled, but she’s still his woman. My skin crawls.

“Hey, you guys finally made it,” I say to them as eyes shift around the room, sensing the tension between Jacob and myself.

“We did, and I’m starving. I want all the New York experiences,” Ethan teases.

“Let’s order Chinese.” Ella suggests her favorite place.

“Have you eaten?” she addresses me next, and I shake my head. I haven’t eaten all day when I think about it, and Ella’s head turns to her brother.

Jacob struggles to stand as I admit to not eating, and Ethan follows him to the kitchen area where the open space isn’t separate enough to dilute their discussion.

“What the fuck is your deal, man?” Ethan whispers, but his voice carries.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jacob states, slurring his words.

“Well, I am worried.” His eyes shift to me and back to the man holding himself up by the kitchen cabinets. “Because I’m worried about her. What happened?”

I don’t need to hear Jacob to know the name he says under his breath, and Ethan tugs at his hair, holding his wild curls at the top of his head.

“What did she do?” Ella whispers to me, and I meet her eyes.

“She conveniently showed up just as we arrived.”

Ella’s eyes widen in horror, and Jacob turns to face us.

“I didn’t ask her to be here.” His voice projects, but I don’t know how to respond. His eyes land on mine. “I only want time with you.” He scrubs a hand down his face. He’s telling me something, but I can’t read him. I don’t want to guess his thoughts. He’s a master of words, so he needs to use them.

Looking back at Ella, I lower my voice. “She was all over him. Wrapped around him, kissing him, calling him baby.” I swallow around the lump in my throat. I’ve made such a huge mistake being here, thinking I was someone to Jacob.

“I don’t think I should be here,” I whisper.

“Bullshit!” Jacob yells from the kitchen, and I flinch at the aggressive tone.

“Hey,” Ethan interjects, as things are spiraling out of control. Jacob shoves at Ethan, but Ethan pushes back, pinning Jacob to the cabinets behind him. Ella screams next.

“Jacob.” Something in the firmness of her voice turns his head to her, and his face crumples. What the hell? I don’t know what I’m witnessing other than a scene from their history somehow. Jacob’s eyes travel to me.

“I’m sorry, angel.” Ethan releases Jacob, and Jacob stumbles to his bedroom. His door closes with an audible click, and the tension in the room deflates like a released balloon.

“What the hell?” Ethan turns to us and then rushes Ella, who’s visibly shaking. “I’m sorry, princess.” He strokes her face, and she leans into him.

“It’s not your fault,” she murmurs to his chest, and for the second time today, I feel like an intruder in this room. Ella turns to me, still leaning against Ethan. “And I’m so sorry you saw him like that.”

I shake my head, dismissing her distress. This isn’t Ella’s issue. Jacob has a problem. Several actually. His past. His alcohol. His recent relationship.

“She’s so volatile for him. So destructive. Did she hit him when she was here?” I think about Mandi’s raised hand and how Jacob caught it, warning her.

“Has that happened before?”

Ella’s sad eyes answer the question. “He doesn’t understand that’s not how love works.”

Jesus.