Beautiful Broken Rules (Broken, Series #1)(106)

I jumped at the sound of his voice. “I’m just heading out,” I whispered back, but not moving forward.

“You were standing here when I went to the bathroom five minutes ago.”

“Um… I guess I just zoned out. I’m still really tired,” I lied.

“You two are like sad little puppies. I don’t understand it,” he continued whispering so we wouldn’t wake him up.

“This wasn’t my choice.”

“I don’t think it was his either.”

I didn’t want to talk about this with Jaxon’s brother, no matter how good of a friend he was to me. “Hey, do you want to do a quick study with me later for English?”

“Sure, want to just do it now?” he asked.

“I need to shower first, but I’ll be right back.”

“See you in a bit, babe.”

I hurried down to my place and pulled the t-shirt over my head. I balled it up and held it to my nose. It didn’t even smell like Cole anymore. It smelt like Jaxon and I mixed together. I quickly tucked it under my pillow alongside his shirt that I’d never returned. Cole wouldn’t be getting that one back for a while either.

I rushed through my shower and wrapped my wet hair up into a messy bun. I had a busy day ahead of me; there wasn’t time for blow-drying and styling. I needed to run through my review for the English exam today, and then after class, I would have to hurry over to the hotel and make sure all the preparations were done for the Auction tomorrow night.

I walked up to the guys’ apartment door and debated whether I should knock or just go right in. I used to walk right in when Jax and I were together. Besides last night, I haven’t been over here since our break-up. If Jax was still sleeping, my knocking would wake him up, and I didn’t want to interact with him right now. I turned the knob quietly and slipped inside. The couch was empty and Jace was in the kitchen cooking.

“Hey, Ems, that was fast. I thought girls took showers for like hours?” he asked, laughing.

“I wish. I don’t have time today though. Do you mind if we study in your room?” I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and handed me a plate of eggs and bacon. “Yeah sure. This plate is yours with the nasty chopped onions in it.”

“You put onions in my eggs?” I asked, surprised. “How did you know I liked them like that?”

“Take a wild guess. He came in here, chopped them up, and threw them in without asking. Does he care that I hate onions? No. I had to start over and re-make my plate,” he grumbled.

“Jaxon did that?” He nodded his head and continued walking for his room. “You know he makes no damn sense,” I said.

He walked into his room and I closed the door behind us. “You’re trying to get my ass kicked, aren’t you?” He nodded toward the closed door. “Why don’t you just talk to him, Em? He’s never happy anymore…“

“He wanted this. I messed up and now I’m paying for it.”

“You’re just making both of you miserable. Didn’t we have this conversation with Quinn once?” When I didn’t respond, he continued, “He is going to get pissed that the door is closed…”

“We aren’t together anymore, Jace. If I want to go into some guy’s bedroom, I can. He can get over it; that’s what happens when you break up.” I sat down on the edge of his bed.

Jace’s room was just as tidy as Jaxon’s always was. Their mom really had taught them well. Where Jaxon’s bedroom was bright with light grays and whites, Jace’s room was darker with a black comforter and black-and-white pictures on the walls. I noticed a pair of used boxing gloves hanging from the ceiling in the corner above his bed. On his desk sat a model car that was an exact replica of the one Jaxon drove around in Texas. Next to the car was a framed picture of him, Jaxon, their beautiful mom and stunningly gorgeous dad, all standing together in front their massive barn.