BEAUTIFUL BROKEN MESS (Broken, Series #2)(97)

Without raising her head, I hear Em’s upbeat voice pronounce, “It’s fine. He’s going to be fine. He wouldn’t just leave like this. He just needs time. He’s fine.” There’s something off about her tone. Something too cheery. It’s almost as if she’s trying to convince herself more than us.

Mom whispers in her ear and then turns and finally faces me. She opens her arms and says, “Come here, Jace. You aren’t handling this well, are you?” I don’t say anything because I can’t cry in front of everyone. I just move into her arms and lift her up in a hug. “He’ll be okay, love,” she whispers in my ear.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next three days float by like this, all of us just sitting around staring at Jaxon’s eyelids. Coach comes by a couple of times each day to check on his progress. Players from his team filter in and out. Quinn and Cole decide to continue attending classes, so they come by before and after. I haven’t spoken to Em and she hasn’t said anything to me. I know my mom can feel the tension in the room, but thankfully she hasn’t asked about it.

On Wednesday, Max knocks on the door and steps inside. Em doesn’t even lift her head from Jaxon’s chest. When she’s up, she’s unusually cheery and perky. She floats around the room, cleaning and straightening items that don’t need it. I’ve yet to see her look upset and she hasn’t even cried. I’m not sure if that’s healthy. Aren’t girls supposed to cry in times like this? But pushing away the people you love isn’t exactly healthy either. Audrey...f*ck, I miss her.

“Hey man, how’s it going?” Max asks, while handing me two to-go bags from a local fast food joint.

“Same,” I pinch out.

“His scans are looking better. The swelling has gone down a bit,” mom elaborates for me.

“Damn, that’s good news,” he breathes out. He looks over at Em and offers a sympathetic look in her direction. “So, where’s Audrey?” he asks me directly.

Fuck.

My mom’s head whips around to look between Max and I. Quickly, she inquires, “Audrey Mills?”

Max’s smile grows wide when he says, “That’s the one. Your son is a lucky bastard.”

I can feel her eyes boring into my skin and then she whips her head back around to look at Em, who hasn’t moved a muscle.

“Audrey hasn’t been with Jaxon in years. He’s with Em now,” she states in a confused tone.

“What? When the hell were Audrey and Jax together?” Max blurts out. “That’s weird.”

I stand up and clasp my hand firmly onto Max’s shoulder and steer him out the door. When we reach the hallway, I say, “Thanks for that, dude. You’ve got a big-ass mouth.”

“Where is she?” he asks, completely ignoring my comment. I shrug my shoulders and glance down at my shoes. “You f*cked it up, didn’t you?” There’s nothing I can say because he’s right. I couldn’t have messed this up any better. But right now I need to be here. My focus is Jaxon, no matter how often my mind drifts over to Audrey.

“I didn’t tell anyone about our relationship. Jax used to date her back in high school and that ended beyond f*cked up. I was going to tell Jax and then time got away from me...”

“You were a *,” he seethes.

“Yeah I was, okay? But I was finally going to tell him the night of the beach party.”

“How convenient. I knew there was something weird going on, but I didn’t realize you were keeping her hush-hush,” he says.