42. JENSEN
42
P eople pass by me with happy faces. People going on vacation or off to see the ones they love. Their happiness annoys me, souring my mood even more. For everyone around me, the world moves at a steady pace, but since Rae left me standing in her front yard, my world stopped spinning.
On auto pilot, I called a cab, and in the same numb state, I’m now booking my ticket at the airport. The flight attendant behind the counter tries to flirt with me, but she gets nothing more than a tight smile before I thank her and continue my journey with shoes filled with lead.
The buzzing of my phone interrupts my sulking mood, and I answer it with a deep sigh.
“What?” I bark.
“Wanna tell me why Rae is crying her eyes out right now?” Bodi’s voice rumbles in my ear.
I can hear the disappointment, gutting me a little more.
“Not really,” I reply honestly.
Whatever I tell anyone, I know I’m to blame. I should’ve known my mother had something up her sleeve to make sure I wouldn’t mess up their political plans. But I was stupid enough to think she’d never use my sister against me.
“Yeah, you can share that anyway, mate. This morning, you were all lovey dovey with the girl, saying you were set on staying with her. What happened?”
I grunt, raking my hand through my hair.
“My mother came in like a wrecking ball.”
“Ew, Jay. I’m going to have nightmares now.”
“Not the fucking Miley Cyrus one, dickhead.”
“Yeah, I get that!” he screeches, indignant. “It just happened, okay?”
“You’re a fucking idiot.”
“Says the man who just left his girl with a broken heart.”
I draw in a deep breath, checking the screen in front of me to find my gate.
“She threatened Della.”
He clears his throat. “How?”
“She’s going to marry her off if I don’t come home and get back together with Emily. At least until my dad is elected.”
“That fucking bitch,” Bodi mutters with clear frustration.
“Yeah.”
I listen to the silence as I imagine how Bodi is trying to wrap his head around what I just told him while I make my way to the gate. I could’ve asked for my mom to get me the jet, but there is not a fiber in my body that wants to talk to the woman unless I absolutely have to. I’m going home, trying to find a way that prevents any wedding from happening and then I never ever want to see that woman again.
She can rot in hell for all I care.
“Okay,” Bodi drawls, “but you’re not seriously going to get back together with Emily for another three months, right? Before you know it, your mother will find a way to get you on your knees to put a ring on it.”
“You really need to stop with the song references.”
“I’m serious, Jensen!” he growls in my ear.
“I know!” If anyone has always been against my parents’ wishes, it’s Bodi.
He’s always been trying to get me to do whatever I want, even though he always supported me through everything. He’s stood by me, pissing off my mom, because if I wasn’t going to tell her to go fuck herself, that was the least that he could do.
“No! But I can’t let Della get married either. She’s seventeen, for crying out loud, Bodi! I need to fix this first.”
“And then what?” I don’t miss his mocking tone.
“And then I pray I’m not too late to win Rae back.”
“You’re really underestimating your sister.”
“I’m not. She will probably be brave enough to tell them no, but it’s only a matter of time until they find a way to get her to agree if I stay in North Carolina.”
“Like they are doing to you?” he counters.
“Yeah,” I reluctantly agree. “That psychopath of a woman has set her mind to a September wedding. That’s in two months, Bodi! I can’t let my sister deal with that alone. And I can’t promise Rae anything right now. Not before I’m sure it won’t affect Della’s future.”
“And how long is that going to take?”
“I don’t know? Weeks? Months?” I wish I fucking knew, but even if I go against my mother with full force, I have no clue what and how many skeletons she’ll pull out of the closet to make us all fall in line.
“So, that’s it?” Bodi argues. “You’re just going to let her walk? Because I can tell you, she won’t be waiting for you until you feel confident enough to pull your head out of your ass in a few months.”
“Thanks for the encouraging words.”
“Just telling it how it is, mate.”
I grind my teeth.
“Does Emily know you’re not going to be playing for the Knights next season? Does she know you’re not going to be living in LA anymore?” Bodi questions.
I listen to him, and I frown. Cocking my head as something crosses my mind, like lightning in a thunderstorm, lighting up the dark sky, I pause.
“No, she doesn’t,” I answer. Thoughts are racing through my head, wondering if I can find a solution to at least one of my problems. The one that keeps a girl tied to me for all the wrong reasons.
“You’d think she'd be cool with moving to Canada? Or worse, Russia?”
I snort. “Hell no.”
“Maybe that’s your solution. Where are you?” Bodi asks when the calling out of my gate rings in his ear.
“The airport.”
He lets out a reluctant groan. “Jensen, you’re not seriously going to do this, are you?” He doesn’t wait for my reply. “Don’t throw your life away, man. I’m sure Kay will be able to get you a team that doesn’t give a shit about what Asher Jensen wants. We just have to find a way to get your sister off the hook.”
“I know. You’re right.”
“I’m right?” Disbelief is etching through his voice, then he quickly recovers. “Okay, so what’s the plan? Do you have a plan?”
Shaking my head, a smile tugs in the corner of my mouth. “No, but I have an idea to fix one of those problems.”
“Okay, ideas are good. What is it?”
“I need to make a call. I’ll call you back.”
Before he can say anything, I hang up the phone, dialing the one person who might be able to help in more than one way.
Anxiously, I ball my hands into fists, walking toward the gate.
“Come on. Pick up,” I mumble. I need to have something to hold on to before I get on this plane, and I know just the guy to give me that kind of hope.
“Hey, man! How are you?” His cheerful voice sounds through the line, and I let out a relieved breath. Maybe this isn’t all going to shit after all.
“Like shit. I need your help.”