Chapter 32
Shelley
"Shelley?” Mike picks up on the second ring.
“Can you come get me?” I whimper, pathetic and broken.
“What happened? Where are you?”
“Outside the apartment. I locked myself out. Can I stay with you tonight? Please.”
“Sure, but Jordan should be home tonight. He’s right there. You can call him. I’m sure he’ll help you get back in.”
“No. I can’t talk to him. I can’t. Mikey, please,” I beg.
His tone turns serious. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
And he is. My brother’s truck is barely parked before he jumps out the driver’s side. He takes one look at my tear-streaked face and I don’t have to say another word. Mike isn’t stupid. He knows.
“It was you? You were the one in the shower?” He runs a hand through his hair, his nostrils flaring while he seethes.
“Please don’t do this right now."
“I’ll kill him.” He runs past me and bounds up the concrete steps behind me, heading straight for Jordan’s third floor apartment.
“No, Mikey! Just take me home,” I call up after him, but it’s no use because he’s already run ahead. I wipe my face and reluctantly follow him back up to the unit I just left. The door is open, and Jordan is sitting on the couch, looking as hurt and sad as I feel.
“Get up!” Mike barks at him. “What the hell is going on?” He points at me, demanding his friend answer for my tears. “What did you do?”
“He didn’t do anything. It was me,” I start, but my brother is too distracted by his own anger to listen.
A neighbor pokes her head out of her door to eavesdrop, so I step inside and close the door behind me to give us some privacy.
Mike’s voice continues to rise, although I can tell he is fighting to keep calm, probably for my sake. “My sister?! Are you serious right now?”
Jordan is still sitting, but he turns to face Mike fully, resting his elbows on his knees, his folded hands hanging between his legs.
He slowly lifts his chin. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Miller.
Shelley can speak for herself.” His words are measured, but he sounds exhausted and defeated. I can relate.
I wipe my eyes again with the back of my hand and start to explain. “Look, Mikey, not that it’s any of your business, but Jordan didn’t do anything I didn’t ask for.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Jordan’s face falls, and he quickly brings a hand up to cover his expression, but I can still see the pain in his eyes.
“You think you asked for it?!” My brother turns his head in my direction, fuming.
“That’s not what I meant. I’d rather not get into details. Trust me, you don’t want to hear them,” I say.
Mike’s eyes widen and his ears turn an unnatural shade of red as his head snaps back toward his friend.
Jordan groans from his place on the sofa, then brings himself to stand and square off.
He’s fighting to keep his voice steady. “I know what it sounds like. And what this looks like. I swear, I’d never hurt her.
At first, I was just trying to help. Then it escalated.
Things got out of hand tonight. I think we were both disappointed in the outcome. ”
The redness fades from Mike’s features, but he’s still seething as he stands still and quiet, trying to process.
“What do you mean things got out of hand?”
“She told you, you don’t want to know.”
“You know what? I think I do. And you better start talking. Now, Jordan.”
“Mike—” I try to reason, but my brother cuts me off, still yelling at his friend.
“My sister just called me sobbing. Imagine my shock when I learned she needed me to come and pick her up because she locked herself out, but she couldn’t stand the thought of being near my best friend.
” Jordan winces, but Mike doesn’t stop. “I knew something was wrong. How long have you two been sneaking around like this?”
“Not long,” Jordan says at the same time that I admit, “Since Idaho.”
My brother spins toward me again, his face twisted with the hurt from our betrayal. “That was a month ago.”
“Nothing serious happened until recently.” I know in my soul it’s a lie. We may not have gone all the way physically, but I gave Jordan my entire heart.
“Apparently, nothing is happening at all,” Jordan corrects.
Hearing him dismiss our connection so casually tears the gaping hole in my chest further open, but I can’t argue with him. I did this. To all of us.
Mike scrubs a hand down his face. “I swear to god, one of you better start making sense. I’m about five seconds away from completely losing my shit here.”
I crack a weak smile. “I think it might already be lost.”
He points at me. “Not. Funny.”
It’s not, and my reaction is completely inappropriate for the situation. I almost feel sorry for Mike, but it’s been an emotional night, and one sad smile turns into a reluctant laugh, which causes Jordan to relent with a smile and a small chuckle of his own.
My poor brother is so confused and frustrated with us that he throws both hands in the air. He looks to Jordan first. “Explain.”
“A couple months ago, Shelley meant to send a voice memo to someone else, but she accidentally sent it to me instead.”
Mike’s brows pinch together and his mouth twists into a confused expression. I’m quick to add, “You really don’t need to worry about it.”
“The fact that you called me here in the middle of the night and you’ve both been so secretive about this says otherwise,” my brother deadpans.
“We were trying to avoid this exact reaction,” I rationalize, but I know it’s not entirely fair. This is a lot to throw at Mike at once. It’s not like we gave him a chance to react any differently. Still. “Fine. You want the truth?”
“Yes!” He huffs, frustrated and impatient.
“Okay, but you asked for this,” I warn. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear I was having trouble achieving orgasm, and thought I needed some assistance.”
My brother’s eyes widen and his nostrils flare again.
Jordan winces and takes a step back, probably afraid that Mikey’s going to take a swing at him. “I wouldn’t phrase it exactly like that.” He raises both hands in front of him, placating my brother.
“How would you phrase it?” Mikey crosses his arms, staring him down.
Jordan takes a breath, and there’s a long pause as he considers the question. “Okay, I guess I would phrase it like that,” he admits. “But I really was just trying to help her, man.”
“Sisters. Are. Off. Limits!” My brother bellows.
Jordan nods. “I know. I told her the same thing at the beginning. We never meant for it to get this far.”
I’m truly starting to get annoyed with them for talking about me like I’m not here, or worse, like I belong to Mike and can’t make my own decisions about who I let into my life.
“I’m not some baseball card you can order your friends not to touch!
” I snap at my brother. “I decide who I can and can’t talk to. ”
The veins in Mike’s neck pop and he clenches his teeth before grinding out, “I know. You’re way more valuable than that, Shell. And, again, you’re the one who called me over here to help, remember?”
I guess I should be glad we’re glossing over the whole lack-of-orgasm admission, but this is getting ridiculous.
“Look, Jordan was amazing tonight. He was kind, and thoughtful, and sweet. He was a perfect gentleman.” My voice is rough because I’ve sobbed my throat raw.
I chance a look at Jordan and immediately wish I hadn’t, because the searing pain pierces my chest yet again when my eyes lock with his.
“I just couldn’t bring myself to do anything physical tonight.
So he stopped—exactly like he should have—and I left.
I knew I’d never be able to give him what he needed with this brain and this body.
” My voice cracks on the final word, and I stop talking because the sobs are threatening to choke me again.
“Shelley,” Jordan whispers. He starts to take a step in my direction, but he freezes when I shake my head.
I wipe another stray tear away with the palm of my hand and turn to my brother. “Can we please go now? I’ll call a locksmith in the morning.”
“Yeah. Fine.” Mike tosses me his keys and motions to the door. “Wait in the truck. I’ll be down in a minute. I’m not finished with him.”
I want to protest, but I don’t have any fight left in me. So I leave, forcing myself not to look back.