“No!” Ethan’s shout came from somewhere below and behind me. I carefully turned in the tree.
“She was heading this way,” Asher answered. I moved to another branch, being careful not to shake the leaves and give myself away. There. Ethan and Asher were both huddled behind a barrier. The little shits had set a trap for me. I grinned, took aim, and hit Asher on the shoulder.
“Damn it.” Asher moved and tried to hide more of his body behind the barrier. “Anyone see her?”
“No!” They answered in unison. I snickered silently.
“She’s around here somewhere!” Ethan snapped. He began to move. I couldn’t hit him in the back, but… I took aim and fired.
“Fuck!” Ethan snapped.
“What?” Miles called.
“She got my ass!” Ethan rubbed his butt cheek, cursing the entire time. I couldn’t stop myself. I started laughing and couldn’t stop. It didn’t take long for Asher to figure out where I was.
“She’s in that tree,” Asher announced. I kept laughing. Everyone came out of cover, took off their masks and looked up.
“Get your ass down from there!” Zeke snapped. I shook my head, still laughing.
“Lexie, be careful,” Miles warned.
“She totally cheated,” Ethan pointed out.
I took off my mask and looked down at him, tears in my eyes. “A-are you butt hurt?” I burst out laughing, holding on to the branch below me. The others chuckled. Ethan’s look promised retaliation.
“That is cheating, Red,” Isaac chimed in.
“You were supposed to be on my team!” I reminded him. He chuckled.
“Ally, can you climb down?” Asher asked with a smile.
I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I just didn’t want to try while I was still laughing.” I let the gun hang on the sling and started moving down the tree branches. When I was almost down, hands bit into my hips and took me off the tree. The scent of vanilla reached me before Asher put me down.
I turned and smiled up at them. “So, I guess I win.”
Asher pointed his gun at my leg and fired. It stung. “There, now no one wins.” I flipped him off. Everyone laughed.
I eyed everyone’s paint covered clothes. I was definitely the least covered. I had paint here and there, but I still had the least colorful clothes.
A buzzer was going off. Miles pulled out his phone. “Our time’s up.”
Everyone grumbled as we headed back. Then I was shot from behind, right on the butt. Twice. I turned. Zeke and Ethan were snickering.
“Hey! The game’s over.”
“That’s for cheating,” Ethan countered.
“And for hiding in the tree,” Zeke added.
“You guys planned to trap me,” I shot over my shoulder.
“You were hard to hit,” Isaac pointed out.
“You’d think the hair would make it easier to find her,” Ethan said. I was smiling as we walked into the parking lot. Once we reached Miles’ car, everyone started pulling off gear and putting it into bags. I was putting mine into a bag with the name Lexie on it when my phone rang. I handed the gun to Miles before I answered.
“Yeah?”
“It’s me.” Jake’s voice was thick.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked, tucking a stray paint-soaked hair behind my ear. Miles and Asher turned to watch me.
“Derrick dumped me.” He sniffed.
“Fuck,” I said. “I’m on my way, hon. Just text me your address.”
“See you soon.” He hung up.
I looked up to Asher. “Jake and Derrick broke up.”
His brows shot up. “Damn. Is he okay?”
I shook my head as I tucked my phone into my pocket. “I gotta head up to Dulcet.”
“Let me know if I can do anything,” Asher said.
“I will.” I turned and kissed Miles on the cheek. “Thanks, Miles.” Then I headed for the Blazer.
It took me an hour and change to pick up Hades and drive to Jake’s house. I made a quick stop for a full water bottle, tissues, chocolate, and ice cream. It was the only thing I could think of that might help. It’s what I would want if I got my heart broken. Shit. I forgot the cookies. Oh well. I was already at Jake’s house.
It was a nice cottage with an English rose garden in front next to the white picket fence. It looked like it came right out of a magazine.
We hurried up to the door and knocked. Jake opened the door looking like shit. He had deep bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his nose was red.
Heart aching, I stepped inside and hugged him. He held on tight. When he finally let go I held up the grocery bags. “I come bearing junk food.”
He gave me a half-hearted lift of the lips. He took the bag and headed into the kitchen. The house was charming, small, but then again it was only Jake and his mom. Everything looked… perfect. Neat, tidy - like no one actually lived here. It creeped me out. I let go of Hades’ leash; we followed Jake into the white kitchen. He was still only in his flaming-hearts pj bottoms. He put the ice cream away then grabbed the tissues and the chocolate before he led me to the living room couch.
“What happened?” I asked gently as I sat down on the couch facing him. Hades sat near my feet, watching Jake.
Jake sniffed. “He was tired of me being jealous.” He opened the tissue box. “I apologized and everything. I even told him I knew I was being stupid.” Tears started falling down his face.
“What did he say to that?” I asked carefully.
His breathing grew faster. “He - he said, ‘If you don’t trust me by now, you sure as hell don’t know me.’” His shoulders shook.
“Oh, honey.” I opened my arms. He hugged me. held him tight, tears running down my face as sobs racked his body. He hurt so much. I didn’t know how he could stand it. “Just breath, Jake,” I whispered to him. “Take a deep breath for me and let it out slowly.” I kept holding him tight, my hand running up and down his back. Even Hades put his head against Jake’s leg.
“I fucked everything up. He was one of my best friends,” he said between gasps.
“It’s going to be okay,” I told him. I didn’t know how, or if it was even true, but what else could I say? I rocked him side to side and tried to think of something to say. I couldn’t say it wasn’t his fault, or that Derrick was an asshole. That would be lying. Which I normally didn’t mind, but… I didn’t know what to say. So I held him close and listened as he poured his heart out. I rocked him, dumped the waste basket of tissues, got ice cream, and listened. Eventually, we put a comedy on. He fell asleep with his head in my lap while we watched it.
It was over an hour later when the front door opened. Hades’ head snapped up and he moved to my side. Dylan stepped around the corner and went still. His eyes met mine, his face grew strained. Great. I put my finger to my lips to tell him to be quiet. He raised an eyebrow. I pointed at the couch. He moved closer so he could look over the back of the couch. Hades started growling a low growl.
“Heel,” I whispered. Hades looked at me as if he was going to argue, but did as I said.
Dylan sighed and then looked at me. “You can get up. He sleeps like a log,” he whispered.
I eyed Jake. He did seem to be out cold. “You’re sure?” I whispered.
He nodded, his eyes full of shadows. “Unless you start banging pans together, he’ll stay asleep.” He moved around the couch. Hades moved so he could watch him, keeping his body between me and Dylan.
“He’s gotten huge,” Dylan muttered as he carefully lifted Jake’s head off my lap. I moved off the couch. Dylan lowered Jake’s head to the pillow that had been behind me. When he stepped back, Jake was still asleep.
“Thank God, ’cause I’ve had to go to the bathroom for half an hour,” I muttered before walking down the hall to find the bathroom. Hades was hot on my heels; he even insisted on going into the bathroom with me. Odd.
When I was done, I looked in the mirror. Okay, Dylan was here. Would I be a bad friend if I bailed on Jake? I didn’t know. I sighed. I was going to have to stay as long as I could. With Dylan in the house. Great. I took a deep, calming breath before stepping back out into the hall.
When we walked back into the living area, Dylan was in the kitchen pouring two glasses of ice tea. He picked them up and handed me one.