Page 16 of His Secret Obsession

“I practically raised him, Maddie.” He sounds accusatory, his body vibrating with tension as he waves a hand through the air. “So, I should just do what now? Watch in silence as he wastes away all his potential? Ignore the fact that he doesn’t pull his own weight, parties every weekend, and acts like I don’t exist? That’s how you handle him these days, right?”

The blood drains from my face even as anger races through me. I clench my fingers so he doesn’t see them shaking. “You asked me a question and I answered it,” I say through gritted teeth. “Don’t get mad at me just because you don’t like it.”

Jax tilts his head to the side, studying me with an unreadable expression. “Why are you even still with him?” he wonders aloud, his voice dipping into a near whisper.

My head rears back. “What?”

“You heard me.” Jax shrugs, his hard stare stuck on my face. “Either answer the question, or don’t.” The silent implication is clear, and it makes me want to fume. If I don’t answer his intrusive question, I’m a coward in denial.

I cross my arms. “Why would you even ask me that?”

“Why did you give up a prestigious internship in the city, move to bumfuck nowhere for a man who can’t be bothered to hold down a job, where the only work you can find is a shitty sales position that will barely pay your bills?” He shakes his head like he’s disappointed, and for some reason, that feels like a stab to my gut. “Loyalty is a good thing, and you have it in spades. I’ll give you that. But if you continuously give your loyalty to someone who no longer deserves it, it will only hurt you in the long run.”

I stare at him, speechless as the silence stretches between us. He meets my gaze head on, giving me a scathing look like he’s daring me to disagree.

“You don’t know shit about our—”

The ringing of a cell phone interrupts me. Jax’s head snaps over to the counter, where his phone is lighting up, something dancing across the screen that I can’t see from here.

“That’s the fire department. I have to get that.”

I clench my jaw as he strides across the room and holds the phone to his ear. “Parker speaking.” He’s silent for a moment, his angry eyes still boring into me. I see the moment the fight leaves him, a reluctant resignation making his shoulders dip. He sighs. “Be right there.” He pockets his phone, barely glancing at me as he walks away. “They need me to help cover a shift tonight,” he says. He pauses at the bottom of the stairs like he wants to say something else, and for a moment, he looks regretful. Instead, he nods towards the kitchen. “I made some extra food earlier and left it out in case you were hungry when you got home.”

He walks up the stairs, coming down moments later with his gear as he hurries out the door without another word.

“Asshole,” I mutter under my breath. My stomach chooses that moment to growl, and I begrudgingly walk into the kitchen. I’ll gladly eat the food he left out, but that isn’t going to make me forgive him anytime soon.

He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and it’s none of his business.

I warily eye the food containers before pulling the plastic lids off. The smell makes my mouth water as I’m greeted by the sight of a grilled cheese sandwich, a bowl of tomato soup, and a pickle.

Damn it.

I love pickles.

That does make it difficult to stay mad at him.

I heat the food up before taking it with me to the kitchen table, where I eat by myself in silence. I stare at the clock as the skyturns dark outside and there’s still no sign of Luke. And I let Jax’s words run on repeat through my mind.

“But if you continuously give your loyalty to someone who no longer deserves it, it will only hurt you in the long run.”

Am I staying loyal to someone who doesn’t deserve it?

Jax

Iblink, my eyelids drooping as my mouth stretches into a wide yawn. It’s a little past one in the morning as I quietly amble up the stairway, reminding myself to avoid the creaky spots so I don’t wake anyone. My shift at the fire station technically wasn’t due to end until seven. But the night was unusually quiet, so they sent me home.

I spent the entire shift thinking about my interaction with Maddie.

The exhaustion and weariness bracketing her dull eyes when she stumbled in after her first shift at the store flashes throughmy mind. I hated that look. Loathed it, actually. The urge to pull her into my arms had never been stronger. If I were Luke, I would work myself to the bone to make sure she never looked like that again.

I remember the way those tired eyes dipped down to my lips and lingered there. The way she shivered when I succumbed to temptation and allowed my thumb to caress her ankle. The smoothness of her skin against my rough callous made my stomach tighten. When she looked down at me, I could have sworn I saw desire.

Then I ruined it by opening my mouth.

Honestly, she was right. I had no right to get upset just because I didn’t like the answer she gave me. But it kills me that Luke will barely speak to me these days. And instead of focusing on him, I was fussing over his girlfriend— whom I have no right to try to take care of.

It pisses me off that Luke is squandering his chance.

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