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I wasn’t sure if I was right, and that scared me. What had become of my brain? I used to be considered brilliant. I used to be praised for my knowledge of the legal system in school. It’s what secured me this amazing gig, but now I was just losing it all.
“I will sort it out,” I assured my brother.
Aiden started to say something, but then stopped.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, man.”
“No, it’s not nothing. What were you going to say?” I clenched my jaw, prepared for the onslaught, prepared to be reminded that I was failing.
“It’s just… I have to wonder if you didn’t do this on purpose. That you still hold a grudge.”
“Aiden, after everything we’ve been through, you really think that?”
“I don’t know what to think, Jackson. You’re supposed to be this brilliant attorney, and you forgot such a simple task. It just seems hard to believe that you’d fuck up this badly on accident.”
I knew he was right; I shouldn’t have fucked up something so simple. “I can assure you, Aiden, it wasn’t intentional. I have a lot going on right now.”
“Yeah, fine, I get it,” he mumbled.
“I will fix it.”
“I sure hope so. My entire reputation relies on this trial coming to light and proving that I’m innocent.”
Aiden hung up the phone, and I realized I was clenching it so tightly, I feared I might break it. The urge to throw it across the room was strong, but I resisted.
I wasn’t mad at Aiden. Not in the slightest.
I was pissed at myself for being such a fuck up.
Just like Dad, a voice said in the back of my mind.
34
Aiden
“Hey Harper, I’m worried about Jackson. Can you give me a call back when you get this?” I hated to bother Harper. I knew she was busy with her dissertation and everything else she was dealing with back at school. The last time we talked, I had offered to visit her, but she said she had too much going on so I didn’t push the issue.
I wanted to see her, I missed her every day, but I also knew that she had put up fences for a reason. She had made it clear that nothing could happen after the holidays and as much as I wanted to see her again, I knew I had to respect her boundaries.
My next call was to Nathan.
“Hey man, I’m worried about Jackson.”
“You too?” he asked me.
“You’ve been worried too?”
“How could I not be? Ever since we returned from France, he’s just been, well,off.”
“He missed a deadline for some paperwork for my case, and when we spoke, his speech was slurred. I think he’s drinking again.”
“Yeah, me too,” Nate said with a sigh.
“We need to do something.”
“What if we got everyone involved?” Nate asked. “Maybe Mom and Kat have some ideas on how to help him. I think he just needs to realize we are still a family.”
