Page 130 of The Influencer

He scowls, but I can see the concern on his face. “It’s okay, we’ve got this. Just pack. Let’s get out of here.”

“No,” I say firmly. “I’ve got this. You can go.”

“How are you gonna take your shit if you don’t have the truck—or a car?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Adam!” Jax calls out. “Get in here!”

My brother appears in the doorway, gesturing at me impatiently. “What are you guys doing? Pack.”

“He wants us to go,” Jax says.

Adam laughs. “Just fucking pack, Asher. You’re not staying here, I can handle her, let’s get moving. Come on.”

Something inside me finally snaps. “I said, get the fuck out of my apartment.”

Adam responds with a hostile glare. “No. You get the fuck out of your apartment. We should have done this a year ago.”

I shake my head at him, take a seat on the end of the bed, open up my phone, and text Jade the address.

Asher

I need your help. Can you be here soon?

Jade

Yeah! On my way.

Adam, on a tear, is in the closet, dragging out a suitcase and throwing my things into it. “This is fucking ridiculous. Every time I think you’re gonna do the right thing, you puss out.”

“I’m not pussing out, asshole. I’m doing this my way. Your way sucks. You guys can go. I know how to pack a goddamn bag.”

Adam looks at me, and there’s true distress on his face. “But will you? Ash—I know this Jade thing is temporary, but the idea of you coming back here when he’s gone—it makes me sick. You’re so fucking lost, man. I can’t watch you spiral again.”

What is this? A fucking intervention? Where was all this concern when I was popping Zoloft like Pez and putting on fifty pounds? Or sticking needles through my dick once a month because it felt better to turn it into a grotesque piece of art than be reminded of its pointlessness?

I love my brother, but he was so lost in Sawyer for so long, he hung me out to dry in a way I never would have done to him. I get that he was dealing with his own trauma and addiction, and I’m not angry with him about that, but I am angry now with him storming around here thinking he knows best about how I should be living my life when he hasn’t been involved in it for years. And calling me a pussy? Really?

I swear I feel like someone just slapped me awake from a nightmare I’ve been living for way too long.

“And I don’t want to leave you alone with her—” he says pointing to the doorway where Olivia stands with crocodile tears streaming down her face.

I stand up, straightening my spine until I’ve reached my full height in boots. “Go,” I say to him and Jax again. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Adam presses his mouth shut and shares a look with Jax who nods to the door. Jax is much less emotionally invested in this situation, but he’s loyal to Adam.

“Fine,” my brother says. “Your fucking funeral.”

I shut my eyes at the cruel sentiment. Again implying I’m incapable of doing what’s best for myself.

I wait for them to clear the room and then for the front door to slam, which it does, loudly, making Olivia jump.

“Thank God,” she says. “I knew you’d change your mind.”

I shake my head at her, too, and walk over to the suitcase to do a better job packing it up than Adam had, taking the time to actually fold the clothes. There’s no need to rush. Jade’s on his way.

“Baby, you don’t have to go?—”

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