Chapter 17 Sloane #2
“Yes, it is.” I wipe angrily at my tears. “That’s exactly what you’re doing. And if you can’t see that, if you’re going to keep siding with him over me, then maybe I don’t want to be part of this family anymore.”
“Don’t say that.” Mom sobs.
“Why not? It’s true.” My voice breaks. “I came here today thinking I’d have a nice dinner with my family. Instead, I walked into an ambush designed to manipulate me into taking back a man who doesn’t deserve me. So yeah, maybe I don’t want to be part of a family that thinks that’s okay.”
“Sloane, please …” Chett starts, but I cut him off.
“We’re done. Really done. Stop calling me. Stop texting from burner numbers. Stop showing up at my family’s house. Move on with your life and let me move on with mine. If not, I’ll be involving the authorities.”
“You’re making a mistake,” he says again, desperation creeping into his voice. “We’re good together. We fit. That guy can’t give you what I can.”
“You’re right,” I say quietly. “He can’t. Because what you gave me was anxiety and self-doubt and the constant feeling that I would never be enough. Jax gives me the opposite of that. So no, they’re not comparable.”
I turn to leave, but Mom grabs my arm. “Sloane, please. The turkey is almost ready. Don’t leave. We can ... we can ask Chett to go if that’s what you want. Please stay.”
I look at her. Really look at her. At the desperation in her eyes. The tears. The makeup that’s starting to run. And I feel ... nothing. Not anger. Not hurt. Just emptiness.
“I can’t stay here,” I say quietly. “I can’t sit at that table and pretend everything’s okay. I can’t break bread with people who think so little of me that they’d pull something like this.”
“We don’t think little of you.” Mom sobs.
“Yes, you do. You think I’m making a mistake.
You think I’m being irrational. You think I should give him another chance because nine years is too long to throw away.
” I pull my arm free. “But you know what? Those nine years were already thrown away. By him. Not me. And I’m done carrying the guilt for his choices. ”
I look at Maggie. “Are you coming?”
She doesn’t hesitate to quickly grab her coat. “Yeah. I’m coming.”
“Maggie Elizabeth …” Mom starts, but Maggie is already heading for the door.
“I’m sorry, Mom. But Sloane’s right. This was wrong. This was so wrong.”
We’re out the door before anyone can stop us, and I’m halfway to my car before the sobs really hit. Big, ugly, gasping sobs that shake my whole body. Maggie catches up, pulling me into a hug right there in the driveway while our parents watch from the window.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
“It’s not your fault.” I pull back, wiping at my face. “It’s theirs. How could they think that was okay?”
“They’re delusional. And Mom has always loved Chett. She thought you two were perfect together.”
“We weren’t. We never were.” I dig in my purse for my keys, but my hands are shaking too badly. “Fuck. I can’t ... I can’t drive like this.”
“Then I’ll drive.” Maggie takes my keys gently. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
We’re pulling out of the driveway when my phone buzzes. Mom’s calling.
I decline it.
It buzzes again. And again.
I turn it off entirely.
“Where do you want to go?” Maggie asks quietly.
“Riley’s, I guess. I don’t ... I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“You could go to him. To Jax,” Maggie suggests.
I shake my head. “Not like this. Not when I’m a mess. Not when I don’t know what I want.”
“But you do know what you want,” Maggie says gently. “You’re just scared to reach for it.”
“Of course, I’m scared. My entire life just imploded. My family just chose my cheating ex over me. I don’t have a job, I don’t have a place to live, I don’t have anything figured out!” I scream, my voice getting higher with each panicked statement.
“You have you,” she says firmly. “And that’s enough.”
The tears come harder.
We drive in silence for a while, and I stare out the window at the snow starting to fall. At the houses decorated for the holidays. At families visible through lit windows, laughing, eating, and being normal.
And all I can think about is Jax.
About how he never would have let that happen. Never let someone ambush me like that. Never make me feel small or crazy or wrong for having boundaries.
I pull out my phone and turn it back on.
Seventeen missed calls. All from Mom.
I ignore them and pull up Jax’s number.
My hands are still shaking as I type.
SLOANE: Can I call you?
The response is immediate.
JAX: Always.
I hit the call button.
He answers on the first ring. “Sloane? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
And just like that, I break all over again.
I tell him everything. About the ambush. About Chett being there. How my parents were taking his side. The accusations, the manipulation, and walking out. Jax doesn’t interrupt. Doesn’t try to fix it. He just listens while I cry and rage and fall apart. When I finally run out of words, he speaks.
“Where are you now?” he asks.
“In the car. Maggie’s driving. We’re heading back to Riley’s.”
“Come here.” His voice is gentle but firm. “Come to the farm. Both of you. You shouldn’t be alone after that.”
“Jax, I can’t just show up …”
“Yes, you can. Please, Sloane. Let me take care of you.” He pauses. “We have way too much food. My grandmother made enough to feed an army. And you need people who give a shit about you right now.”
The offer makes me cry harder. “I’m such a mess right now,” I whisper
“I don’t care. Come anyway. Or don’t. But know that the offer stands. Always.”
I look at Maggie, who’s been listening to my side of the conversation. She nods encouragingly.
“Okay,” I hear myself say. “Okay. We’re coming.”
“Text me when you’re close. I’ll be waiting.”
After I hang up, Maggie reaches over and squeezes my hand. “He sounds like a good guy.”
“He is.” My voice is thick with tears. “He’s everything Chett never was.”
“Then maybe that disaster was worth it. Maybe you needed to see how toxic that whole situation was. How much they were trying to guilt you into going back to realize when someone is good.”
She’s right. As horrible as it was, as much as it hurt, I needed that. Needed to see that my parents weren’t going to support me. That they valued the appearance of my relationship more than my actual happiness.
And I needed the reminder of what I left behind.
And what I’m running toward.
But as we merge onto the highway, heading toward Jax’s town, panic bubbles up and tightens my chest. That showing up at his family’s Thanksgiving is too much, too fast, too desperate.
“Actually,” I say suddenly. “Can you turn around?”
Maggie glances at me. “What?”
“I can’t ... I can’t go to his place. Not like this. Not when I’m falling apart. I need to go back to Riley’s. I need time to think.”
“Sloane …”
“Please. Just take me back to Denver.”
She’s quiet for a long moment, then nods. “Okay. But you need to text him. Tell him you changed your mind.”
I pull out my phone with shaking hands.
SLOANE: I’m sorry. I can’t come. I need some time. I’m going back to Riley’s.
His response comes quickly.
JAX: Are you sure? The door’s open if you change your mind.
SLOANE: I’m sure. Thank you for offering. It means everything.
JAX: Call me later?
SLOANE: I will. I promise.
I set my phone down and lean my head against the window, watching the landscape blur past. I need time to process. To figure out what I want. To be okay on my own before I can be okay with someone else. But why does it feel like I just made a huge mistake?