In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (24 page)

“
She
misses you,” I said. “I know she does. She doesn't think
she's made you proud.”

“
I'm
very proud of her, Jackson,” she said. “I'm just as proud
of you and Tim as well. You're all great kids. I just don't
understand how after one time together, you both went separate ways.
I always thought the two of you would grow up and see that you
belonged together.”

“
Tim's
always been a great friend. Without him, I wouldn't have you and dad.
I wouldn't have a family. He doesn't think I'm good enough for her.
He never has. When we were thirteen, he made me promise that I would
never be with her at all. I did it. I had no idea. Sure, I liked her,
but I could do that for him. I did a fine job until that party. She
took off, and her friends didn't know where she was. I went looking
for her. Something happened that night. We talked for hours. Not that
silly crap we always did. It was real. Neither of us planned for
anything to happen, but it did. She went back to her room, and I went
back to the beach to think. I didn't want to walk away from her, but
I felt horrible for going against Tim. He was right. I wasn't good
enough for her. It took everything in me to leave that night. I've
regretted it every single day since then. I hope you and dad can
forgive me.”

“
He
feels the same way I do about the two of you,” she said. “We
both love you, Jackson. You are not too good for her. You are perfect
for each other. What would you have done if Tim hadn't made you
promise that when you were so young?”

“
I
wouldn't have left that night. I missed her so much that year. You
have no idea how horrible I felt for missing her graduation. When I
saw her that night, there was no place else I wanted to be. I didn't
want to be in the room partying with a bunch of girls we'd just met.”

“
What
did you come to talk about, Jackson? I can tell you need something.
What is it?” she asked, as she filled a bowl with chili and set
it in front of me.

She
sat down on the chair next to me and waited.

“
I
needed to talk to you about what she said at the reception. I didn't
want you to think badly of me. The craziest part about it was Tina.
She asked me to fix it with you so I had my family. She wasn't even
worried about what you'd think of her,” I said.

“
You
were both young. I totally get that. I know you would never hurt
her,” she said. “What else is on your mind?”

“
We've
been talking since she went home,” I said quickly. “She'll
only talk through text messages. I've tried to call her, but she
won't answer the phone. I think she's afraid to talk to me. It's not
been romantic. We've talked about work, family, and everyday things.
Some nights we've gone back and forth for hours.”

“
Okay,”
she said.

“
I
can't stop thinking about her. You know how hard I work. She's all I
think about there too. No matter what I do, she's there. I can't wait
to get home just so I can talk to her. I don't know what to do. Tim
hates me, and I don't blame him. I let him down. He would be so upset
if he knew we were talking. Part of me knows I should leave her alone
forever. That's what he would want. I just don't think I can do it.
She would be mad if my friendship with him ended because I was still
talking to her. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about
her since she left. I love having your family as my own. I really do.
You will never know how much you mean to me. I regret my decisions
that night I was with her. I should have told him, and I shouldn't
have let her go. I care about her.”

“
I
know you do. She cares about you too. If she didn't, she wouldn't
have lied about that guy being her boyfriend. It was because of you.
I watched her. She couldn't keep her eyes off of you. What are you
going to do?” she asked.

“
I
honestly don't know,” I said. “I guess I have to figure
out which relationship is more important.”

“
No
matter what you do,” she began, as she put her hand on my arm.
“You're still family. You just have to think about things and
decide what you really want in your life.”

I
ate in silence with her right there. Neither of us said anything
else. I wanted to make sure I was gone before Tim got back with his
dad. He wasn't someone I was ready to face. There were some things I
needed to figure out first.

Tina

Sunday
morning came, and I couldn't wait to see if he'd sent me a message. I
grabbed my phone and turned it on to find nothing there. After my
shower, I still hadn't gotten a message. Was that it, I wondered? Was
he already tired of talking to me? Maybe he'd met up with someone
after we finished messaging Saturday night and was still with them, I
thought. After the week we'd had, I honestly thought he was in it for
at least a bit longer. A sad feeling washed over me. Why did I let
him get to me?

I
climbed back in bed and grabbed my e-reader to pass the time. Before
I realized it, my stomach was rumbling and the book I'd started was
finished. I made myself a frozen meal and fell onto the couch to
watch television. Five hours had gone by without a single word from
Jackson. I wanted to send him a message, but I knew I needed to let
things go the way he wanted them to. There was no way I was pushing
anything.

I
was deep into watching a girlie movie with tears running down my face
when my phone rang. Without thinking, I answered it.

“
Hello,”
I said.

“
Tiny?”

Oh
crap! I didn't mean to answer to him. I sniffled and wiped the tears
from my eyes before I paused the show I had been watching.

“
Jackie?”
I asked.

“
What's
wrong?” he asked quickly.

“
Nothing,”
I said, trying to hide my emotions.

“
Don't
nothing me, woman. I'm driving right now, and you're freaking me out.
What is going on?”

“
I'm
fine,” I said.

“
What's
Chris' number?” he asked.

“
Why
would you need his number?” I asked confused.

“
He
either knows why you're crying, or he's the reason. You two know too
damn much about each other. I don't like it, Tiny,” he said.

“
I
haven't talked to Chris all weekend. He has his daughter right now,”
I snapped at him. “I don't really care if you like it or not. I
have a life, Jackie.”

“
I
know you do,” he whispered. “Please tell me why you're
crying. I can't fly out today. I have to be at the office early
tomorrow. I will cancel though.”

“
I
was watching a movie,” I said. “It made me cry. You could
have watched it too, but you were busy elsewhere. Your loss I guess.”

I
let out a laugh. There was no way he would have wanted to sit through
the movie. It was hard enough to get him to watch the entire movie
the night before.

“
You're
crying because of a movie. Are you sure?”

“
I'm
positive,” I said. “What are you doing today?”

I
knew it was none of my business, but I didn't care. He could hang up
the phone if he didn't want to answer. I wasn't meaning to answer for
him anyway.

“
I'm
on my way home. I have to get some work done today since I spent so
much time watching a movie with someone last night. I have to prepare
for tomorrow.”

“
Where
are you on your way home from?” I asked.

“
I
was eating a bowl of the best chili in world,” he said. “What
did you do all morning?”

“
Are
you serious?” I asked. “I was at home, under the covers,
reading until I realized I needed to eat. Then I got up and cooked a
frozen meal, and you were at my mom's house eating like a king.”

“
It
had cheese, corn bread, and sour cream on top. Mmmmm,” he said.

“
Do
not make that sound on the phone, Jackson,” I said.

“
Why
not?” he asked.

“
You
don't even like sour cream. You're just saying that to make me
jealous. I bet she didn't even have corn bread.”

He
laughed into the phone, and I felt a tear slip from my eye. I missed
him so much. The sound of his voice made me feel things I didn't need
to be feeling.

“
Mmmmm,”
he said again.

“
Stop
it,” I yelled.

He
laughed again, and I started laughing with him.

“
I'm
hanging up on you. You're not supposed to call me,” I said.

“
You
were the one that answered. I couldn't believe it,” he said.

“
Bye,”
I said.

“
Don't
hang up,” he said in a soft tone. “I have an hour left to
drive. Stay on the phone. You know you missed my messages this
morning. I know you won't admit it, but you missed them.”

“
I
guess my mom doesn't hate you then,” I said. “She still
fed you. She only feeds people she likes.”

“
We
talked for a couple of hours. Your dad was with your brother at a
movie or something. I had your mom all to myself.”

“
Did
you talk about what I said at the reception?” I asked
nervously.

I
hadn't spoken to my mom except for a few minutes to tell her we were
leaving early to go home. I was a little worried about what she
thought of me.

“
We
did,” he said.

“
Does
she think less of me because of it?” I asked.

“
No,”
he said. “She said that she always thought we were going to end
up together.”

“
Why
would she think that?” I asked. “You were always so mean
to me. You picked on me all the time. Did you tell her it just
happened? Did you tell her it never happened again?”

“
Why
would I say that?” he asked. “It did happen again. I'm
not going to lie to her. I told her I've had a crush on you since I
was fifteen.”

“
You
did not,” I said.

“
I
did,” I said. “Not going to lie. She loves you so much.”

“
What
else did you talk about?” I asked.

“
That's
between me and your mom. If you want to know, you can ask her.”

“
Why
do you work so much? Do they pay you to work on Saturday and Sunday?
It seems like you go above and beyond. I hope they appreciate you
there. You need to slow down, Jackie. You've been working every
moment this entire week. I don't even think you sleep. I'm all about
being responsible. I just think you need to think about you. Tim was
gone for almost a week, living it up. You were working your ass off
the whole time. What about you?”

“
I'm
fine,” he said. “I have my reasons for working so hard.
It keeps me busy. I'm proud of the man I am and what I've done with
my life. You should come visit. I could show you where I work, and
you would love my tub. I wouldn't be able to get your ass out of it.
I think you'd be proud of what I've accomplished.”

“
I'm
sure I would be very proud of who you are. You know I don't care
about money or anything else. Are you happy where you work? That's
all that matters is that you're happy and that you take time for
you,” I said.

“
I'm
happy right now,” he said, and I couldn't help but wonder what
he meant exactly. “I don't need a vacation. What would I do
anyway? I'll make a deal with you.”

I
didn't say anything for a minute. Talking to him was harder on me
than I thought it would be.