Page 40 of Just Don't Call Me Yours

Drew lets out a bellowing laugh. “Good. With you here, maybe she’ll leave me alone for once.”

Jackson grins. “She does love me, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

Drew claps him on the shoulder. “Confident last words, my friend.”

A breath of laughter leaves Jackson’s lips as he passes Drew and nods to Janet in the kitchen. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, dear.” I can’t see Janet, but a hint of uncertainty laces her voice.

Matt hangs behind Jackson, watching him with a hint of apprehension as the two enter the family room. I can’t help feeling it, too. There’s a storm brewing behind Jackson’s steel eyes, and I have no idea what put it there.

He gives a tight-lipped smile to Rae and me before collapsing into the far end of the couch I’m sitting on. “I forgot you’d be here, Red.”

“I didn’t think you’d be here either.”

The corner of his mouth twitches, but he looks away from me to focus on the TV. “I wanted to give you one more thing to be thankful for.”

Following his dismissal, I also watch the game. I don’t care about football, but if I keep staring at Jackson, I’m going to keep analyzing him. “And yet it has the opposite effect.”

Matt eyes Jackson’s bag at his feet. “So, you’re staying here tonight?”

Jackson looks at Matt. “I don’t have to. I might drive back to the dorm.”

Matt shakes his head, finally taking his seat next to Rae again. “No way. Just stay here.”

Jackson scans the room, taking in the four of us. “Is there room?”

Rae must see something off about him too, because she says, “We’ll make room.”

Jackson opens his mouth like he’s about to insist otherwise, but then pauses. “Thanks.”

He turns back to watch the game, but his knee bounces as he does. I think back to before his first gig when Matt said Jackson rarely gets nervous, and it brings a frown to my lips. I stare at his knee and feel the sudden urge to put my hand on it. I want to know what happened. I want to know why he’s here. And more than anything, I want to know what could make him more nervous than getting on stage in front of a crowd of people for the first time.

28

jackson

Touring with a band is all I’ve ever wanted, and the fact that my dad basically wants to disown me because of it is messing with my head. I’m still excited. I still feel good about my decision to drop out next semester. But, at the same time, there’s this crushing feeling of what if he’s right?

If he’s right—if this is really a waste of time that’s going to turn into a waste of my life—I’ll never live it down. I want to prove him wrong. No, I need to prove him wrong. I need to show him I know what I’m doing—even if it feels like I don’t.

I also have to tell Matt.

When he answered the door, I kept things vague. I told him my dad was giving me shit, and I needed to get out, but I have a feeling he knows there’s more.

I hate feeling like I’m letting everyone down. Matt will be out of a roommate, and it’s my fault. I think he always knew this was a possibility, but it’s happening sooner than we both expected. The only thing making me feel less guilty is that he has Rae. She’s good for him, and I know he’s crazy about her.

Janet comes out of the kitchen. She’s eyeing me the same way her son has been for the past twenty minutes, but I try not to let it bother me. It’s a mix of pity and uncertainty, and it makes me wish I drove back to campus. She knows my dad and I don’t always see eye to eye, but we’ve never had a fight like this. He’s never kicked me out of the fucking house. My hands start to shake at the thought, and I quickly wipe them on my jeans.

“So, what?” she asks, the playful tone of her voice not matching her demeanor. “I don’t see you for months and then you come here and don’t even give me a hug?”

I give her my best smile and get to my feet. When she hugs me, she squeezes a little tighter than she normally would and rubs my back like I’ve just been benched for the big game.

Well, I guess I sort of have been, but being fired from a shitty job is probably a more accurate comparison.

The kind gesture makes me think of my own mom, and I can’t help wondering what she’s doing right now. Did she let my dad have a piece of her mind, or did she shut herself in the bedroom and cry?

When she releases me, she looks around the room. “I love having all of you here. We’re just waiting on Emmet and Grandma.”

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