Page 111 of The Roommate Remodel

I know this will be over soon. I know I’m strong enough to survive. I’ve always been a fighter.

But the one thing I don’t know? How I’ll ever get over my feelings for him.

By the time the panic attack is gone, so is Brax. Sloan told me he looked sick with worry after I ran off, like he was torn between tearing after me and busting down the door or leaving me alone.

“He chose not to stay,” I comment dryly while chopping apples for the muffin mix.

Sloan cooks when she’s happy, and I bake when I’m sad, and the fact that there’s no one to do either for makes me even sadder.

“Does it help to know he looked heartbroken?”

“It doesn’t,” I snap, chopping another apple, the dull thud of the knife strangely cathartic.

“I’ve never seen the man show emotion like this, but he looked devastated. Vale thought you’d beg Brax to stay, that this was a surefire way to force you to work things out. He was shocked youdidn’t fight for him.”

“Wait. You knew about this?” I turn to look at my sister, and her cheeks flame. I point my knife at her. “You planned this and didn’t tell me?”

“Stop pointing the knife at me.” She pushes my wrist down. “It wasn’t a plan, exactly.”

I frown. “Then what was it,exactly?” I lean against the countertop and wait for an answer.

Sloan steals the knife and resumes chopping. “Brax thinks you want him out. I thought you’d argue with him and make him stay. I never expected you to just let him go.”

“I didn’t let him go. He made his own decision. For the record, he didn’t fight for me either.” I study her for a beat. “How long have you known about the apartments?”

Her eyes drop to the ground. “Vale texted me while Brax was in the hospital. He didn’t want me to be blindsided.”

“Unlike me.” I lift an eyebrow and steal the knife back. Vale and Sloan have become so close since the guys moved in. A twinge of jealousy reminds me that they still have a close friendship, while Brax and I are in unknown territory.

“Vale wants to stay,” Sloan explains. “Brax said no. Told his brother he needs space to think about the future. Vale believes you’re the only one who can change Brax’s mind.”

I focus on chopping and refuse to look at my sister. “I can’t make that man do anything. Especially now that I...”

Sloan grabs my arm, sending the knife clattering onto the cutting board. “Don’t you even say it. You didnotbetray him.”

“That’s not how Brax sees it.” I grab the knife and slice through another apple. “He’s spent months earning my trust back after hurting me. What did I do to him? Hid crucial information that affects his career. Brax loves hockey. This team means everything to him.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference!” Sloan argues.

I turn to face her. “It might have. Brax knows people. He could have found someone to buy the team... or, I don’t know, he’d save the team himself.”

“You did what you thought was right.”

I stop chopping and pinch the bridge of my nose. “That’s just it. I protected myself and not Brax.”

She levels her gaze at me. “No. You protectedme.”

I halt mid-cut and look at Sloan. Her beautiful dark lashes. The cupid’s bow of her mouth. After her car accident, I was terrified of losing her, and I couldn’t take another loss. Watching the people I love disappear from my life, whether by choice, was suffocating me. I had already lost a piece of my past when Mom and Granny died. But when my stepmom and Dad walked away, that left me feeling abandoned in a different way. I couldn’t lose Sloan too. Even now, I’d do anything for her.Anything.Even if it meant hiding the truth from Brax.

Sloan’s face softens. “I know you kept the secret because you were afraid.” She brushes a curl from my face. “You carry the whole world on your shoulders. Who’s going to carry you?”

I don’t answer. I wish Granny or Mom were here, but they’re not. Without them or Brax, there is no one to carry me.

I had to make a choice between keeping a secret and losing my job, and I chose Sloan.Family comes first.Now I need to find my own way and see if I can handle the fallout.

She slides her hands to my shoulders and looks me straight in the eyes. “He needs time. But he’ll be back. He looked sick over losing you, Jazlyn.”

“And if he doesn’t come back?” I ask, scared of the answer.

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