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“Shady . . .” He gulps, looking away before he finds my eyes again. After speaking with Jade, I looked around for him. I guessed he’d find his way to the least populated area, but when I got out here all I heard was what I think was him talking to my brother. Once again, that world has come to try and tear apart any normalcy in my life. I won’t have that.
“You know what? I don’t want to know what you have to tell me. I want you to leave,” I say.
“Shady, wait. I don’t know what you heard but—”
“What I heard is you once again choosing them instead of me. God, I’m such an idiot. I thought you were different now. I thought you got away from it all,” I snarl. I’m not doing this here. I don’t bring my shit to work, and I’m not about to bring it to my boss’s house. “You need to leave.”
“Me? What about you Shady? You ran away from all of this. This lifestyle. Me,” he says as he waves his hand towards the house. “But you ended right back in the same shit. You want to judge me? I did get out. I was done. And you know what? Iamdone. You need to talk to your brother.”
“I’ve got nothing to say to him or you. I’ve heard enough, just like I did the night you told my father you chose the job. You need to leave,” I growl again. I feel the heat of a hand before it touches my shoulder. When I look up, Jesse is standing at my side. I feel him sway on his feet a bit as he squares his shoulders.
“Shady, you good? We have a problem here?” he says. The Callaway presence is as strong as ever.
“She’s fine,” Niko growls out.
“You’re right. She’s fine—but you’re not,” Jesse says as a calm façade settles over him. “I believe she told you to leave. I also believe you might be a smart man who can find your own way out.”
Niko’s jaw is tight as he looks from Jesse to me. When he meets my eyes there’s a question there, one that asks if this is really what I want. I nod, watching as a defeated look settles onto his face.
“Fine, I’ll go. But Shady, call Nathan,” he says as he heads towards the door. He pauses when he reaches me, and his hand slides up my arm. I don’t look at him; instead, I stand a little taller. But then his whispered voice drifts into my ear. “I did choose you. I’vealwayschosen you.”
He kisses the side of my head before walking away. The heat from his body has been replaced by a bone-deep coldness that makes me shiver. I have no idea how I feel—shattered, maybe? I don’t know what I am. But I know this time is different.
“Can someone take me home?” I ask Jesse before walking across the porch and down the steps. I lean over into the bushes at the bottom of the stairs as I wretch up this night on his lawn.
