Page 41 of Jacked and Jaded

“Yeah, Jackson said the same thing about Ryker. I get it. I do, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.” Calliope dropped to the floor and propped her back against the closet door. Zoey dropped down next to her. She tested the waters by slowly reaching out to take one of her hands.

“Why was I mistake and you weren’t?” she whispered right before she Zoey took her in her arms and hugged her close.

Jackson had plannedon giving Calliope a full week to process everything he told her. The problem was, he couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to see her. He needed to see her like he needed to breathe. And if truth be told, he was afraid she might skip out on him again if given too much time to think. With that in mind, he decided on a sneak attack.

Jackson pulled his truck to a stop in his dad’s driveway. He hopped out and glanced across the street and saw Chris’s bike there, but Maureen’s car was gone. He was surprised to see Zoey’s car in the drive, though. Interesting.

Opening the back door, he reached in and unfastened Ryker’s buckles, freeing him from his car seat. The kid all but leaped into his arms. Luckily, he was ready for it. He set him on the ground and before his son could ask, he handed him the toy motorcycle he’d just bought him at the Harley shop. Jackson had needed a couple of new tees and there was no way he was leaving that store without buying his kid the toy motorcycle that “looked just like Grandpop’s.”

From what Maureen and Chris told him over the phone, Calliope had destroyed her bedroom after his visit explaining Zoey and Ryker. He was sure it was hard for her to hear. It had been damn hard for him to tell her he’d had a kid with her best friend. It wasn’t his intention to purposefully hurt her, but if they were going to have any kind of relationship, they had to get it all out in the open so they could move forward. And theyweregoing to have a relationship. He inwardly laughed at himself for using the word “relationship.” It only went to show how bad he wanted her.

Seeing Zoey’s car in Calliope’s driveway was both good and bad. He was happy that Zoey was there trying to mend fences, but he was worried that whatever she said might make things worse between him and Calliope. If Zoey’s visit resulted in Calliope pushing him further away, he wasn’t going to be happy.

“Gwanpop! Gwanpop! Guess what I got?” Ryker tore across the yard waving his new toy in the air. He didn’t stop until he ran into Maverick’s legs, shoving the motorcycle in his face.

“Well, now that you’re closer I can see you’ve got yourself a fine new bike. And it looks like you’ve been eating macaroni and cheese again.” His dad laughed as he accepted the toy.

“How long has she been over there?” Jackson nodded his head toward Calliope’s house as he joined them on the porch.

“Not long. Just got here. Chris took Maureen to the store right after she got there. Told him I’d keep an eye on things until he got back.”

“It wooks just wike yowahs,” Ryker pointed out to his grandpop.

Maverick was checking out the toy and grunted. “It does look like my bike. Why don’t you go inside and show Grandma?” He stood and opened the door since Ryker wasn’t tall enough to reach it yet. “You going over?”

“Yeah. I’m going to get her to talk to me. I was going to give her more time, but I’m done waiting. Keep an eye on Ryker for me?” he asked his dad as he watched the house across the street.

“Yep. We’ll be inside. Your mom’s making cookies.”

Jackson hurried across the street and went to the front door. He tested the knob and found it unlocked. What the fuck? They couldn’t leave the door unlocked with the threat of Clint still hanging over their heads. He should tan her ass. The door opened on silent hinges as he pushed it open. He was surprised to find the living room empty. The sound of two female voices coming from the direction of Calliope’s bedroom told him where they could be found. He stopped halfway down the hallway, eavesdropping on their conversation like a nosey old woman. Since Calliope wasn’t answering any of his texts, he now found himself reduced to sneaking around and spying on the woman so he could figure out where her head was at.

“My God, Zoey, you were supposed to be my best friend.” The pain in Calliope’s voice ripped at his guts.

“I am your best friend.”

“No. That’s where you’re wrong. A best friend doesn’t ignore you for years. A best friend doesn’t fuck the man you’re in love with. A best friend sure as fuck doesn’t get pregnant by the man you love. How could you? How could you do that to me? I loved you like a sister and the minute I leave town you jump into bed with Jackson? You knew how much I loved him. And you knew how much it hurt me when he said what we did was a mistake.”

There was silence for a moment and then he thought he heard someone crying. Fuck.

“I’m so, so sorry, Calliope, but I wouldn’t change a thing because I got Ryker. I take that back, I would have told you I was pregnant as soon as I found out.” There was a pause, then Zoey continued. “Believe it or not, me and Jackson were a mistake. We never should have been together and we both knew it as soon as it was over. But we got something really terrific out of it.”

“Yeah, Jackson said the same thing about Ryker. I get it. I do, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.” He thought maybe Calliope was crying when he heard her sniffling.

“Why was I a mistake and you weren’t?” Her whispered words tore and Jackson’s heart. He’d really fucked things up with Calliope. The best thing he could do for her would be to walk out the door and never bother her again. But he was a selfish bastard when it came to Calliope so he was going to keep after her until he finally broke through all her barriers keeping them apart.

He silently beat his head against the wall behind him. Should he stay and walk into her room or should he leave as quietly as he entered? Knock on the door? Or just leave and pretend he was never there?

“Are we good now? ’Cause I really want us to be good now. I’ve missed you so much.” Jackson waited on pins and needles to see what Calliope’s response would be. If she forgave Zoey, surely she could find it in her heart to forgive him, too, right?

“Yeah, we’re good, I guess.” Calliope’s voice was rough from tears.

Deciding he was going to take a chance, he went back to the door, opened it and closed it hard enough to get their attention. “Anyone here? Calliope, you here?”

He heard some giggling coming from her room and smiled. He’d missed that.

“Back here. We’re in Calliope’s room!” Zoey shouted, letting him know where to find them.

He stopped in the doorway, his brows dipping at what he was seeing. “Uh, what’s going on?”

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