22. Jace
22
Jace
The pounding on my door mirrors the frantic beating of my heart. As the hinges rattle, threatening to give way, I’m struck by a sense of impending doom. Whatever’s on the other side, I know it’s about to change everything. I hurry across the room to pull the door open.
Brent’s standing there, face red as a tomato, fists clenched at his side, jaw ticking, and his nostrils flaring. If this were a cartoon, I’m sure there would be smoke coming out of his ears and alarm bells ringing — that’s how angry he looks right now.
I don’t get the chance to open my mouth and ask him what’s wrong before he shoves me to the side. Once he’s standing in the middle of my room, he spins around and points a finger at me.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Me? I blink at him in surprise and shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re supposed to be my friend, one of my best friends, and this is how you choose to honor that?” He spits the question out, then shakes his head. “I trusted you.”
What the hell is happening?
My heart is racing, fingers numbing from how hard I’m clenching them into a fist, and before I can ask Brent what I did wrong, he’s swinging a fist at me. I don’t have time to dodge it since I wasn’t expecting it in the first place, and I hate the smirk that forms when a crunch echoes through the room.
Pain explodes across my face, but it’s nothing compared to the ache in my chest. I’ve disappointed a lot of people in my life, but never like this. Never someone who matters this much.
“That’s for going behind my back,” he mutters.
The taste of copper fills my mouth, and a small amount of blood drips from my mouth onto the floor, but I don’t pay it much attention before I glare at Brent in front of me. “Is that how you treat all your friends?”
He shrugs. “Only the ones who betray me.”
“Betray you?”
“Oh, Lord,” a voice whispers behind me. When Julia comes into view, she looks panicked, and she carefully hands me her phone with a frown.
I’ve heard my phone going off since I walked out of Mallory’s room — I figured she was trying to sneak out before I woke up so she didn’t have to tell me how big of a mistake last night was — and haven’t gotten the chance to check it.
Maybe not checking it was my second mistake, because clearly I made a much worse one in the eyes of Brent.
When I look at what Julia’s trying to show me, everything finally makes sense.
Right there, front and center, is an article with my name at the top highlighting that I’ve finally managed to tie myself down. Everything is starting to make much more sense now — the reason Mallory may have rushed out of the room, careful not to wake me up, and why Brent is here looking like, he wants to punch me all over again.
It details our date, including the dinner we had, and shows us sitting close together on the park bench. Mallory is looking up at the sky, trying to see the stars, and my eyes are focused on her. I have a small smile on my face, and there’s no denying the emotions shining in my stare.
Brent had every right to storm into my room like this, and even more of one to hit me.
I clear my throat, then slowly give Julia her phone back and throw her a sad smile. “Think you could give us a bit?”
She looks between the two of us, a little unsure of the request, but eventually, she nods and disappears from the room.
“Guess it’s time to have a talk,” I say softly, then shut the door and spin around to face Brent. “Want to sit?”
“I’d rather stand,” he mutters while crossing his arms in front of himself. “What’s there to talk about? You’ve been sleeping with my sister. Is that wrong?”
I glare at him. “I’m agreeing to talk to you, but say something like that again, and I’ll give you a shiner to match mine.”
The space where he hit me is already aching, likely red and swollen, but I just sit through the pain. If I were just honest with him, there’s a chance it wouldn’t have gotten this far, and that’s my fault.
I've spent my entire life building walls, keeping people at arm's length. It was safer that way – no expectations, no disappointments. I was already enough of a disappointment for my parents and didn’t need to add any more people to the list. But Mallory... she slipped through those defenses without me even realizing it. And now, faced with the possibility of losing her, I'm terrified. Not just of losing her, but of losing the version of myself I've become with her.
But how do I explain that to Brent? How do I make him understand that his sister hasn't just captured my heart – she's completely redefined it?
Brent’s looking at me curiously but keeps his mouth shut.
“You’re right. I’ve been spending nights with Mallory throughout the tour.”
“How long has it been going on?”
“About a week or so into the start of it,” I mutter.
“ Fuck ,” he hisses, then narrows his eyes at me. “And you couldn’t bother telling me? I thought all those comments you made about her were jokes.”
“They were… at first.”
“It ends. Now.”
I take a deep breath, then slowly let it out before giving him a sad smile. “As much as I’d love to give you what you want, I can’t do that.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He shakes his head. “All because you can’t stand not having someone in your bed? She’s my sister. ”
His comment has me jumping from the bed and storming over to him, blood boiling. “Enough!” He clenches his jaw at my outburst, but manages to keep his hands to himself this time around. “If I could walk away, don’t you think I would?”
“It’s easy.”
“No,” I grind out, “it’s not.”
Brent’s silent for a moment, then his eyes widen, and his mouth falls open. “Wait… you actually like her?”
“It’s more than that, man.”
Every emotion I’ve felt comes rushing to the surface, and for the first time since I started feeling them, I finally whisper, “I’m in love with her.”
“You… love her?”
The words tumble out before I can stop them. “I’m in love with her.” It’s the first time I’ve said it aloud, and the weight of the admission nearly knocks me off my feet. Love. It’s always been a foreign concept, something I never thought I’d experience. Yet here I am, willing to risk everything for a chance at it.
“I know it’s not what you wanted, and the last thing I want to do is destroy the friendship we’ve made, but yes. I do.”
There’s a few tense moments of silence, all of which I’m certain he’s going to throw another punch to the other side of my face, but the movement never comes. Instead, his posture loosens, and he lets out a breath that I hadn’t realized he was holding. Then I’m being tugged against him for a quick hug.
“Well, that’s all you had to say,” he says, all previous anger lifted from his voice.
“You didn’t want me touching her or going near her.”
Brent shrugs. “That’s because I thought you were fooling around, not taking women seriously, and I didn’t want that for Mallory.”
Speaking of Mallory. “Oh shit, I have to go talk to her.”
I move to make my exit, but Brent darts his arm out in front of me with a shake of his head. “You don’t want to do that right now, man.”
“Why the hell not? She’s seen the article, and I need to make sure she’s okay.”
Even though it paints us in a bright light, highlighting our secret love, it doesn’t change the fact that there are some vicious fans who would love to see Mallory drown because she has what they don’t. Who knows how many people have already made horrible comments—what kind of guy would I be if I ignored them and turned a blind eye?
“She’s packing, Jace,” Brent says, his voice heavy with regret.
“Packing?” The word feels like a punch to the gut.
The realization crashes over me in trying to hold onto Mallory, I might have cost her everything she’s worked for.
He nods. “Sweet Surrender fired her.”
Everything stops. My breath gets caught in my throat, and it dawns on me even further why she hurried out of the room. Sweet Surrender wanted to meet with her, likely to talk about the article, and it ended up with her being fired.
Fuck.
This article has set off a chain reaction that's rippling through everyone's lives. Sweet Surrender's reputation could be damaged by firing its marketing manager over a personal relationship, and the dynamic within Raising Havoc could be forever altered.
And Mallory... God, Mallory. Her career, her dreams, everything she's worked so hard for – all potentially in ruins because of our relationship.
“Because of me?” I know the answer, and I still can’t help but ask.
“Yes and no,” Brent says. “They blamed you for all the mistakes she made, said that she was too distracted to do her job, and they couldn’t deal with the liability.”
“And now she’s leaving?” I shake my head and frown. “More of a reason for me to go up there, Brent.”
“Not right now. It won’t end the way you want it to. Let her get these feelings out on her own. It’s what she needs.”
“What the hell do I do?”
“Hope that your love is enough,” he whispers.
I scoff. “Maybe it would be if she knew about it.”
Brent blinks. “You didn’t tell her?”
“You’re the first one I told. It was scary, and I didn’t want to face her rejection.”
He nods, then gives me a small smile. “It might not help right now, but I’ve seen my sister around a lot of people, and you’ve brought a change out of her. A good one. She seems happier, and I just thought it was because she was dating Trevor.”
“ Trevor? ”
What happened that he would get the idea that she was dating him? A hand lands on my shoulder, the gentle squeeze catching my attention, and I glance at Brent, who’s smirking at me. “Calm down, dude. It was my mistake. A stupid one, obviously.”
“You’re okay with all this?”
He chuckles. “There are worse people she could end up with, but I’d definitely choose you above anyone else.”
That admission causes me to frown. “Why?”
“Are you kidding? You’re one of the best guys I know. Always looking out for the people you care about, always seeming to find light in the darkest of moments, and it helps that you’re killer on guitar.”
His praise warms something inside of me, and I glance toward the door. “Think you could help me out with something?”
Not long after we started our conversation about how I’m going to get back to Mallory and express my feelings to her, Julia ended up joining us and adding to the plan.
As we start to formulate a plan, I’m struck by the absurdity. Hours ago, my biggest worry was keeping our relationship a secret. Now, I’m plotting to win back a woman I never officially had. The stakes have never been higher, and failure isn’t an option.
For now, I’m going to listen to Brent’s advice and give Mallory the necessary time to deal with her feelings, but the moment I can’t take being away from her any longer, I’m going to make my move. That means I need to be prepared.
I already know I’m going to miss the hell out of her — even now, my fingers are itching to run through her hair while she lays across my chest — but I’m willing to give her the space she needs.
Brent walks out of the room about twenty minutes later once our plan is put into place, and Julia hangs back for a moment until her husband disappears from our sight. She sighs and looks me in the eye, then smiles. “She loves you, too, you know?”
“You sure about that?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” she whispers. “But don’t tell her I said that.”
“Do you think I have a chance of getting her back?”
“Normally, I’d say no — she struggles with commitment — but I think you’re exactly who she needs, and eventually, she’ll realize that herself.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Julia shrugs. “That’s simple — you prove it to her. Fight and don’t stop.”
“Never will.”
“Exactly.” She rubs a hand over her growing belly, then glances at the open doorway. “Better get back.”
Once she’s gone, all I can think about is how much longer it will be before I can have Mallory back in my arms and pressed against my chest. It’s only been less than an hour, and yet I'm desperate to find my way back home.
The silence in the room is deafening, broken only by my own ragged breathing. The taste of blood lingers in my mouth, a coppery reminder of Brent's anger. My face throbs where he hit me, the pain a constant, pulsing presence.
I've spent too long playing it safe, keeping people at arm's length.
Not this time.
I don't have all the answers. But for once in my life, I'm ready to take that risk.
This time, I'm all in.