AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s absolutely that easy. Just tell me what to do. That’s how it’s always worked.”
“I don’t think it’d be wise to try to send you back out into the world for literally any reason just yet. You haven’t exactly been stable at any point in the years that I’ve known you, and it’s even worse right now.”
“I’m fine, Memphis.”
“That’s cute. And not at all true.”
“We’re not talking about me right now,” I insisted.
“We probably should,” she said and laughed. “You’re the only one who’s been walking around this place looking for any reason to fight with anyone who breathes near you.”
“I haven’t done anything to you.”
“But everybody else?”
“Trista —.”
“Trista spent weeks crying anytime you left a room, Jersey.”
“She cried today, too,” I said quietly and couldn’t stop myself from glancing down the hallway where she’d disappeared. The formerly emotionless, master manipulator spent weeks crying alone over me. Well, not even really alone. That motherfucking punk seemed to be ever-present these days. Who knew how much time they’d really spent together while I was hiding from all of them?
“Oh, my God,” Memphis said. “I can actually see you getting pissy all over again right now. Just because she cries? Women have emotions, Jersey. You might want to come to terms with that.”
“That’s not —. No. I’m not mad that she has emotions. I was married to a woman who was nothing but emotion. Trust me, women and emotions are actually a strength of mine when I’m in the right mindset.”
Memphis froze entirely at the mention of my wife.
“I’m really sorry that I looked into it so hard, Jersey,” Memphis said quietly. “I’m sorry I didn’t have the chance to be the one to tell you. I’m so sorry that it happened that way.”
“It’s got nothing to do with you, Memphis,” I said and shook my head. “Bryson all but told me himself that he was the one who did it. I think I just chose to believe that it was part of the torture rather than to really believe what he was saying. Made it easier somehow.”
“And now that you do know for sure?” She asked.
“Now,” I said and chuckled. “Now, I really don’t trust myself much.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I don’t trust myself to not call Trista by the wrong name. I don’t trust myself to not black out and hurt her just because she’s the one who draws the emotion out of me. I don’t trust myself to not hurt everyone else in this house just for being in this house when I always thought I’d be alone by the time I needed to be here.”
“I’ll tell the other two again to keep their distance,” she said. “But they’re not the problem, Jersey. You need to make your peace with Utah being around here. We’re going to need him.”
“We won’t.”
“You can’t possibly be that cocky.”
“And yet, I am that confident.”
“You’re a nightmare. That’s what you are,” she said and laughed. “Be better for Trista, Jersey. Get it figured out.”
“You know, I don’t think I ever would’ve expected to see the day when you ended up on her side.”
“She’s been through enough.”
That was hard to argue with.
She’d handcuffed me to a bed, slashed the tires on my car, stole my money, still managed to walk right off with whatever was left of the heart I thought I didn’t have anymore, and left me to disrupt every part of all our lives when I decided I was keeping her despite the repercussions of such a choice. I was staring down the hallway where she’d disappeared again with all those thoughts bouncing around in my skull.
“Just go be with her,” Memphis said. “The other two are gone. It’s not like you need to be doing anything else right now. She just needs your attention, Jersey. I got the feeling that she doesn’t really know how to do relationships. She wouldn’t know how to tell you what she needed even if you asked.”
