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"Go home, Cyrus!" Gwen yells sometime later, pulling me awake.
Ruby growls once and then starts barking.
I open my eyes, disoriented. I'm not in my room. I'm still on the couch. Actually, I'm on top of Jax. Ruby is curled up beside his head, barking like a killer again. I think she's still too full to move because she's not making any effort to get to the door. There's no way Jax is comfortable with his neck craned to the side to give her room.
Gwen is leaning against the front door as if she's using her weight to keep Cyrus from bursting through it. The way he's pounding on it, I think he intends to break it down.
"Gwen?"
Jax wraps his arms around me, sitting straight up. He pulls me up with him.
"What's wrong?" I ask, instantly worried Cyrus knows Jax is here and is pissed about it. I think Jax is worried about the same thing because his body is rigid against mine and he's holding me like he thinks Cyrus is going to come through the door and rip me out of his arms at any moment.
"Nothing," Gwen says…sniffles.
She's crying?
What in the world?
I wiggle free of Jax's embrace and then rush across the room to her, not even stopping long enough to grab my glasses. My eyes are blurry without them, but not so bad I can't read the clock on the Blu-ray player. It's a little after one in the morning. Gwen and Cyrus were out way later than I expected. I figured they would have been home a few hours ago.
"Gwen, what happened?" I ask.
She's been crying a lot from the looks of it. Her mascara is smeared beneath her eyes and her nose is red. Wet tracks down her cheeks tell the story of how her night went. Her red dress is wrinkled. Somehow, she still manages to look completely gorgeous.
"Your brother is an asshole," she says. And then her bottom lip quivers. "I'm never talking to him again."
Uh-oh.
"What did–?"
"Open the door, Gwen!" Cyrus growls from the other side of it. Something thumps against it hard, making Gwen jump. "Please, princess. Let me in."
"Can you please make him leave?" she pleads with me. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she's on the verge of having a full-on breakdown.
"I'll get him out of here," Jax says from behind me.
I didn't even realize he'd followed me across the room.
He catches my eye and gives me a little nod, silently letting me know that he's got it handled.
"Gwen, princess. Please," Cyrus pleads, his voice strained. Whatever happened, I think he's hurting too. I've never heard him sound so broken.
"Thank you," I mouth to Jax, wrapping an arm around Gwen when she starts crying harder.
"I'll call you in the morning, rabbit."
"Okay. Bye, Jax."
"Bye, baby."
He waits until I've got Gwen out of the way before he unlocks the door and steps out. Cyrus has given up trying to beat the door down and is standing on the balcony, his back to the door. He's gripping onto the railing hard enough that his knuckles are white. His head hangs low, his stance defeated. He looks wrecked.
Jeez. What the heck happened tonight?
Jax pulls the door closed behind him. I quickly flip the lock to keep Cyrus out. Whatever went down between him and Gwen, I don't think he needs to come in here tonight. And I'm really worried that he's going to flip about Jax being here so late.
One problem at a time.
I pull Gwen across the room to the couch, gently pushing until she flops backward onto it. She covers her face with her hands, sobbing like her heart is breaking. It breaks mine for her. I've known Gwen for a long time, and I have never seen her cry like this. I've never seen Cyrus so upset before either.
"What happened, honey?" I ask, sinking down beside her to wrap my arm around her.
"I'm in l-love with your b-b-brother," she sobs.
"I know." I rub her back, trying to comfort her.
"He a-asked me not to g-go to N-N-Nashville."
"Oh," I whisper, cringing.
She pulls away, sucking in a deep breath. Her shoulders still shake, but she manages to pull herself together enough to talk. I reach over and pluck several tissues out of the box before holding them out to her.
"He s-still doesn't think I'm good enough to m-make it," she says, wiping at her eyes. "He t-thinks I should j-just stay here and m-marry him and g-give up on my dreams."
Oh, Cyrus. You big, idiotic man.
Gwen has clung to her dream with both hands for the entire time I've known her. She wants it so bad, and she's good enough to make it too. She has an incredible voice. I know Cyrus thinks so too. He's always believed in her. But the thought of her leaving him behind makes him crazy jealous…and apparently crazy jealous Cyrus is an idiot.
"He doesn't think that, Gwen," I whisper. "He's afraid of losing you."
She snorts.
"I'm serious," I say. "You're beautiful and talented and everyone loves you. He's afraid you'll make it big and forget about him."
"You s-support the people you l-love," she says…and she has me there. She knows it too. She gives me a sad smile that breaks my heart. "I guess the two of us just aren't compatible either." Her bottom lip quivers. "Had he asked me a year ago, or a year before that, or the year before that, I would have given it up for him. I would have stayed here."
"Gwen," I whisper.
