Page 125 of Burn With Me

My phone rings just as I step out of the elevator, P-Kitty greeting me with a soft meow like he always does. Seeing it’s my aunt, I decide to answer, even though all I want is a shower and to make my own calls before going back to the hospital.

“Hey, how are you, kid?” she asks softly. Her voice is thick with grief, and I can tell she’s been crying.

No one could ever accuse her of not loving my uncle. She loved that man so damn much. Sometimes, I wondered how anyone could lovethathard. Whether they were divorced or not, I know she must be hurting as much as I am right now.

“Numb,” I tell her truthfully. “It hasn’t fully hit me yet. I called Wilkins to make sure nothing got leaked to the press. The reading should be Wednesday.”

“Jackson, stop. I don’t care about the will. I care about you. I tried to get the jet, but by the time they would have been able to get it ready, it just made more sense to take a flight from here. I’ll be there soon, okay?” Her tone is soothing, and even though I’m nearly thirty-five, all I really want is to curl into a ball and have her stroke my hair like she did when I was a kid.

“Are you going to come to my place first?” I move to the kitchen as we talk, putting food in P-Kitty’s bowl before shrugging out of my suit jacket and heading upstairs to start the shower.

“No, we’re just going to head to the penthouse–” she starts, but her words make me freeze on the steps as another wave of rage courses through me.

“You’re not staying there, are you?”

“Well, since Ginny is at The Bryant, yeah, I did plan on staying there.”

“You saidwe. You better not be bringinghim.Your little boy toy isn’t stepping foot in his home!” I don’t care that he’s her husband. How dare she think she can bring Tyler into the place she shared with Scott for years.

“Jackson, I know you’re upset but–”

“I’m not kidding, Aunt Sadie. I do not want that fucking kid in his house!”

She’s silent for a few moments, and I can hear the low-mumbling of Tyler telling her that he can stay in a hotel.

“Yeah, sounds like a great plan,” I mutter.

“Okay, Jackson. You win. We’ll stay in a hotel,” she says.

“Youdon’t have to. It’shimI don’t want there. I can’t even believe you were going to do that, how disrespectful–”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Tyler’s voice comes over the line. “I understand you’re hurting, Jackson. I really do. And I am sorry for your loss. I have no problem staying in a hotel because the last thingIwant is to be disrespectful, but you will not speak to my wife that way. Is that clear?”

My fist flexes at my side. I raise my phone to my forehead while my jaw clenches, and I let the air in my lungs escape slowly through my nose, struggling not to shout at this man who thinks he can just waltz in and stomp all over my uncle’s memory.

“Jackson?” My aunt’s voice sounds from the speaker, and I slowly bring the phone back to my ear.

“Keep him away from me,” I tell her, my voice low and as even as I can make it.

She doesn’t get a chance to respond as I disconnect the call.

By the time I make it back to Ginny, her parents have arrived.

Christine is weeping at her bedside as Ginny does her best to console her, even though it should be the other way around. Calvin’s gaze swings to me as I walk in, the shame apparent on his face.

“I’m sorry about your uncle, son,” he murmurs, unable to look me in the eye as he says it.

“I’m not your son. Your son will live the rest of his life in a maximum security prison, at the mercy of men whom I’ve employed to ensure his time there serves as a reminder of what he took from Ginny and what he took from me.”

Calvin swallows thickly, his bushy gray mustache twitching as he sniffs and nods. “If there’s anything we can do–”

“You should have put him in line when they were younger,” I snap.

Christine’s cries have turned to soft whimpers as she watches the exchange between me and her husband, her hand lying limp in Ginny’s, who has a tired expression plastered on her face as she lets me speak.

“You should have paid more attention to the way he treated her. It was your job to protect her. You’re a fucking parent! It was yourjobto notice those kinds of things!” My voice rises as I continue.

Calvin nods and swallows a sob. “I know. I know we failed as parents–”

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