Page 133 of Splintered Hearts

I twist to face Brianna being unhelpful in the back seat. “Thank you.”

Pouting, she grabs my hand. “You’re doing so great, really.” I ease a little, focusing on her tiny face. Today, her eye makeup makes her look like a road warrior fromMad Max. “Cute.”

“I thought it was fitting.”

All week, while Noah went to work, Xavi took me out to practice being in a car. The first two times we barely made it out of the driveway before I hyperventilated so hard I nearly passed out.

This time, with the power of gummies that have an unspecifiedlevel of THC, I’m managing. Poorly. But managing. If it fucking kills me, I’m doing this. “You feeling it?” She giggles.

That makes me smile. “Thanks.”

“At your service.” She bows. My stomach roils, but I keep my breathing steady. Xavi hits a pothole and I nearly shit my pants. “Watch it!”

“Sorry. Sorry. I didn’t see it.”

Focusing on Brianna, now between the seats, I shake my head. “Why aren’t you driving?”

Xavi snorts. “You don’t want that.”

“Shut up!” She glowers. “I’m a fantastic driver.”

“With fantastic tickets.” Xavi beams. “How many points are you at? You seem to collect them like they’re gold stars.”

“Fuck off. I’ve had two tickets.” She folds her arms over her chest, leaning back against her seat. “Stop sign came out of nowhere.”

“Right, and the left at the red light.”

“No one was coming!”

“Except your ticket in the mail for running that red light.”

Ignoring their bickering, I press my head to the glass and try to breathe. Try to remember why I’m doing this. “Hey.” I open my eyes, seeing Xavi’s hand rest on my knee. “This is huge progress, Jamie. We’re fifteen minutes from home. This is amazing.” Noah had gotten a car. Seeing him go out with Mark, or his new friend Bo, has made me want a little piece of myself back too. “We can go back. You’ve made great progress today.”

“No. No, I’m doing this.” Taking a breath I think about the end goal. What I want. I can do this. I just need to keep calm. I’m fine.

“So... any particular reason we’re so interested in being in a car?” Bri asks, and I can practically see the grin on her face.

“No.”

“Nothing to do with Noah getting a car?”

I twist in my seat, glaring at her. “Shut up.”

Sitting up between the seats, she grins. “Jamie’s got a boyfriend,” she teases. “A cute little boyfriend with a cute little butt.” She giggles.

“Shut up!”

“Noah and Jamie, sitting in a tree—”

“Can you shut up?”

“Not a day in my life, sugar.” She kisses the tip of my nose, sitting back in her seat, pleased as goddamn punch.

“We’re really happy for you, no matter the reason for any of this. It’s incredible,” Xavi says quietly. “You just seem so happy lately. I love it.”

I’m not going to get away with not talking about it, and honestly, I don’t feel all squirmy like I usually do talking about the way I feel. “He makes me happy.” More than happy. This type of euphoria isn’t something you can buy, snort, or smoke.

“Aww, cute!” Bri swoons.

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