in the arms of his girl, my other best friend. I thought it was the start of something that would lead to a happy ending. Then you snuck out of the house, moved three thousand miles away and cut me out of your life. Then you show up here, get plastered and tell me you hate me because you love me. I moved on the best way I knew how and you should, too. It’s not healthy to hold onto Chase this way.”
A single tear fell from my eye and I had no control over myself anymore. I walked right up to Jax and ripped opened his blue button down shirt to take in the St. Michaels necklace he was still wearing. I took the necklace in my hand like the photo online and pulled, but Jax didn’t come down to me.
“ Do you love her?” I whispered as I held the pendant in my hand.
“ Does it matter?” Jax replied, as he pulled my hand off his necklace.
“ Jax please,” I begged with tears in my eyes.
“ You are not listening to me. It is not healthy for you to look me up online and come to my house whenever you want. I loved you Candice. I loved everything about you. Chase dying made me see that you were the reason why I never settled down. Then I saw the real you, the one who runs like a coward and hides when things get real.”
“ Jax, please!” I pleaded for him to stop.
“ I don’t want anyone like that in my life. I deserve to be happy, not to be hurt. Candice, you left months ago, and left a lot of broken hearts on your way out of town. I understood the anger from Christina, but to flee because of that and not turn to your friends and family was wrong. You stayed away too long so we moved on, Candice, and we are getting by just fine without you; maybe you should move on back to California.”
I was essentially speechless. I had had my heart broken many times, but never by Jax. He must really love her.
“ Is this a see-ya-later?” I asked, hoping for a positive answer, even though I doubted it. I missed Jax in my life; he was my rock of strength and my sounding board when I needed to vent. He was my best friend. The ache in my chest said that I loved him as I loved Chase, but how can that be possible? How can someone love two people the same?
“ Candice, this is not a see-ya-later. This is where you say goodbye, you go home, and you let us get on with the lives. You bailed out of our lives on the first thing flying out of New York. It is time for history to repeat itself.”
I grabbed my bags and carried them down the stairs while Jax called me a cab to come pick me up. I should have expected this. I had done everything he said and then I invaded his house and his life. I should just accept this and go on, but I couldn’t.
“ Jax, I really am sorry for any pain I caused you.”
Jax merely looked at me and nodded his head as he wandered into the kitchen and grabbed the coffee grounds. I smiled as I saw the Tim Horton’s bag he pulled out and remembered a time when we would have been enjoying that together, when our veins pumped the caffeinated goodness while we shared smiles, laughs, and secrets.
“ Jax, thank you for taking care of my dad. If you will send me the bill for the roof, I would like to pay for it.”
“ No!” Jax answered sharply. “He was a second father to me growing up; I owe him more than a roof. You can pay for the next one.”
“ Are you always going to hate me?” I whispered, as there was so much hostility in his voice. Jax hung his head and stopped what he was doing. He took a deep breath and then looked my way.
“ Candice, I don’t know what you want me to say. If I say yes, then that will hurt you and if I say no, then you will also be hurt, wondering what you might do to make me not hate you. If I say nothing, then your writer brain will concoct all kinds of other words for hate and try them all. You should just go home and let it go.”
The cab pulled up as thunder roared. The temps were not cold enough yet for more snow to fall. I was finally going to get my raindrops. I
A single tear fell from my eye and I had no control over myself anymore. I walked right up to Jax and ripped opened his blue button down shirt to take in the St. Michaels necklace he was still wearing. I took the necklace in my hand like the photo online and pulled, but Jax didn’t come down to me.
“ Do you love her?” I whispered as I held the pendant in my hand.
“ Does it matter?” Jax replied, as he pulled my hand off his necklace.
“ Jax please,” I begged with tears in my eyes.
“ You are not listening to me. It is not healthy for you to look me up online and come to my house whenever you want. I loved you Candice. I loved everything about you. Chase dying made me see that you were the reason why I never settled down. Then I saw the real you, the one who runs like a coward and hides when things get real.”
“ Jax, please!” I pleaded for him to stop.
“ I don’t want anyone like that in my life. I deserve to be happy, not to be hurt. Candice, you left months ago, and left a lot of broken hearts on your way out of town. I understood the anger from Christina, but to flee because of that and not turn to your friends and family was wrong. You stayed away too long so we moved on, Candice, and we are getting by just fine without you; maybe you should move on back to California.”
I was essentially speechless. I had had my heart broken many times, but never by Jax. He must really love her.
“ Is this a see-ya-later?” I asked, hoping for a positive answer, even though I doubted it. I missed Jax in my life; he was my rock of strength and my sounding board when I needed to vent. He was my best friend. The ache in my chest said that I loved him as I loved Chase, but how can that be possible? How can someone love two people the same?
“ Candice, this is not a see-ya-later. This is where you say goodbye, you go home, and you let us get on with the lives. You bailed out of our lives on the first thing flying out of New York. It is time for history to repeat itself.”
I grabbed my bags and carried them down the stairs while Jax called me a cab to come pick me up. I should have expected this. I had done everything he said and then I invaded his house and his life. I should just accept this and go on, but I couldn’t.
“ Jax, I really am sorry for any pain I caused you.”
Jax merely looked at me and nodded his head as he wandered into the kitchen and grabbed the coffee grounds. I smiled as I saw the Tim Horton’s bag he pulled out and remembered a time when we would have been enjoying that together, when our veins pumped the caffeinated goodness while we shared smiles, laughs, and secrets.
“ Jax, thank you for taking care of my dad. If you will send me the bill for the roof, I would like to pay for it.”
“ No!” Jax answered sharply. “He was a second father to me growing up; I owe him more than a roof. You can pay for the next one.”
“ Are you always going to hate me?” I whispered, as there was so much hostility in his voice. Jax hung his head and stopped what he was doing. He took a deep breath and then looked my way.
“ Candice, I don’t know what you want me to say. If I say yes, then that will hurt you and if I say no, then you will also be hurt, wondering what you might do to make me not hate you. If I say nothing, then your writer brain will concoct all kinds of other words for hate and try them all. You should just go home and let it go.”
The cab pulled up as thunder roared. The temps were not cold enough yet for more snow to fall. I was finally going to get my raindrops. I
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