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“A little yeah,” he agreed. “But we have to get past the awkwardness eventually. There’s no way we can both work here if it’s going to be super tense for everyone.”
“True. I just thought it would take longer than this.”
Jay had too, but he was glad it hadn’t.
“Do you think this means things will work out between you two?”
“I’m not even thinking about that right now,” he told her. “It doesn’t seem likely because my life really is a bit of a mess at the moment.”
Janessa narrowed her gaze at him as she crossed her arms. “You really only have yourself to blame for that.”
“I am aware,” he told her, his voice tight as he turned to shove his things into his bag.
“So, what are you going to do to fix it?”
Jay straightened and met her angry glare with one of his own. “You think I’m not trying to fix this? You honestly think that if I saw a way to make this better for everyone, I wouldn’t take it?”
Without answering, Janessa turned and left his office.
Anger and frustration were still rolling through him when he left the clinic and drove the short distance to Charli’s, hoping and praying that Peyton would be more amenable to coming with him than he usually was. After he parked at the curb in front of the house, he sent a quick text to Will.
Still coming over? Mind picking up some pizza if you are?
He sat for a minute to see if Will replied, really wanting to be able to tell Peyton that Will was coming over. He’d probably still order pizza even if Will wasn’t coming, because that wouldat least make it more likely that Peyton would eat supper without complaint.
Will:Sure. I can do that. I have no plans.
Jay could almost hear the sarcasm in Will’s words. He was still struggling to get over Daphne, and he was spending far too much time on his own. Will wasn’t exactly the most outgoing guy, and it had gotten even worse now that he was going through a breakup.
He hated not being able to be there for Will like he would have been had he not needed to focus so much of his time and energies on Peyton. It felt like he was failing his best friend, even while Will had been there so often for him.
Charli greeted him as he walked into the kitchen, waving her phone at him. “Do you have plans for supper?”
“Will’s picking up some pizza for us,” Jay said, glancing around for Peyton.
“Would he pick up an order for us too?” she asked. “Then maybe you guys could join us here for supper.”
Jay couldn’t deny the appeal of that idea, but he didn’t want to overwhelm his sister. “Are you sure?”
“Completely sure,” Charli assured. “I think Layla would like it if Peyton hung around a bit longer.”
Jay wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity to put off making Peyton unhappy for a few more hours. If hanging out there would make him happy, then they’d hang out there.
“Place your order,” he said. “And I’ll call Will to let him know that he needs to pick up your pizzas, too.”
Charli smiled at him. “Perfect!”
“What’s perfect?” Janessa asked as she joined them in the kitchen.
“Will is picking up the pizza for supper,” Charli said.
Janessa frowned. “He’s coming here for supper? Or is he just dropping the pizza off?”
“He’s staying for supper with us,” Charli told her. “Along with Jay and Peyton.”
Jay watched his sister for a minute, trying to figure out her reaction. He understood her not wanting to be around him. But Will? That didn’t make sense. Puzzled by her attitude, he tapped out a quick message to let his friend know about the change in plans.
“What’s going on, Nessa?” Jay asked as he slid his phone into his pocket.
