AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stone,” she breathed as he stepped into the hallway. He didn’t turn around to look at her, just stopped in the doorframe, waiting her out. “Thanks for letting me stay here. I know you needed someone to be here to help you, but I just wanted to say that—thank you.” He nodded and turned left to go to his bedroom. She knew that he was done talking and chasing him down to demand something more from him wasn’t a good plan. Jo needed to keep her head in the game and finish packing. She had to be downtown to meet his boss in an hour and had no time for regrets. Jo would just have to save all of those for when she got back to her little apartment later. Then, she’d lock herself away in her room, away from her brother, and cry over what could have been if she had just been brave enough to tell Stone what she wanted from him.
* * *
Jolene had spent two miserable days locked in her bedroom, trying to get through the weekend without having to spill her guts to her brother about her failed attempt at a relationship. Jacob had knocked on her door a few times and when she shouted for him too, “Go away,” he took the not-so-subtle hint and left her alone. But today, she was going to have to face the music and get back to life. Today, she was going to have to face Stone for his therapy at her office, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to handle it.
A quick shower was all she had time for and by the time she got to her kitchen and found her brother and some woman sitting at her kitchen table, having breakfast, she was sure that she was going to be late. She needed to leave for work but finding a stranger in her apartment had her wanting to ask her brother a few questions.
“Um, hi,” she said.
“Hey, sis,” Jacob said, seeming more chipper than usual.
“You want to introduce me to your company?” she asked.
“This is Lisa, my girlfriend,” he said. The woman shot him a dirty look and held out her left hand to Jolene. She didn’t miss the huge diamond on Lisa’s ring finger, but she exchanged pleasantries with the woman before turning her attention back to her brother.
“Can I see you back in my room?” she asked Jacob.
“Sis, you’re being rude,” he insisted.
“Well, I’m sorry that you find my behavior rude, but I didn’t expect you to be inviting your new friends back to my apartment. I’d like to talk to you in private, but we can do this in front of your girlfriend if that’s what you want.”
“I didn’t know that you were coming home,” Jacob said. “If I had, I wouldn’t have had Lisa over. When you came home two days ago, I tried to talk to you, but you locked yourself away in your room to sulk and I figured that you wouldn’t care if I had company over. She’s going to move in here with me.”
“No, she’s not,” Jolene spat. “In case you’ve forgotten, this is my apartment. Sure, you’ve helped with the rent since moving in, but the lease is still in my name.”
“Don’t be like that, Jo,” Jacob insisted. “I thought that you’d be happy that I’m finally happy.”
“I am happy that you’re happy. I just can’t have your girlfriend moving into my already overly crowded apartment with us.”
“It won’t be forever,” he assured, “just until we can find a place of our own. Things are tight right now, you know that.”
“Well, does Lisa work?” she asked. She didn’t want to judge a book by its cover, but Lisa looked like she worked down at the local strip club, from her lack of clothing.
“Yes, she works,” Jacob answered when Lisa made no move to. “She works at the mall at the Piercing Pagoda.”
“She does piercings down at the mall?” Jo asked. Yeah, she was totally judging the woman, but she couldn’t help herself.
“We sell jewelry too,” Lisa said, crossing her arms over her chest. Jolene caught sight of the sparkly ring on her finger again and looked back at her brother.
“What’s up with the ring on her finger?” Jolene asked Jacob. “Is that from her work or did you give her that?”
“I gave it to her, not that it’s any of your business,” he insisted.
“Is it an engagement ring?” she asked. “Are you two engaged?”
“Again, none of your business,” Jacob spat.
“Let me get this straight,” Jo said. “You want to let this woman you’ve known for what, less than a month, move into my place and you don’t want to disclose any information about your relationship to me because it’s none of my business. Do I have that right?” she asked.
“That about sums it up,” he said, defiantly raising his chin at his sister. When he did that, it reminded her of how stubborn her brother was when they were kids. She would almost find the whole scene funny if she wasn’t so angry at her brother.
“I can’t do this anymore,” she said, “I have to go to work. We’ll talk about this more tonight. I don’t want her here when I get home,” she said, pointing to Lisa.
“Be reasonable,” Jacob shouted at her. “You’re just being a bitch because things didn’t work out with you and Stone. You had to move back home because he didn’t ask you to stay with him, and now, you’re taking your anger out on me and Lisa. I won’t let you treat her that way.”
“Okay, what will you do if I don’t stop, Jacob? Are you going to move out and find your own place to stay?” she asked. Yeah, she wasn’t playing fair, and maybe she was being a bitch, but she couldn’t help herself. She was dealing with a broken heart and Jacob was right, she was taking it out on him and Lisa. Having to walk away from Stone broke her heart and what was worse was that in the two days that she spent in isolation, she realized that she was in love with Stone. None of that mattered now though. He didn’t ask her to stay and that spoke volumes. Stone didn’t want her and that nearly broke her.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said, pouring her coffee into a to-go mug, “maybe I am upset that Stone let me leave, but there is no way that I want to turn my apartment into your bachelor pad. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to work.” She didn’t bother to tell Lisa that it was nice to meet her or anything else that would be forced and come out as a lie. She’d have to deal with Jacob and his new girlfriend later. Right now, Jo was going to have to put on her armor to face Stone. She needed to practice her poker face. Otherwise, she’d give away that she was in love with him and that was the last thing she needed. She didn’t want Stone because he felt a sense of obligation or even worse, pity for her.
