Page 64 of Don't Leave Me

He really cares about where my head is at and made sure to give me his phone number in case I ever needed to talk to him. Before we headed back inside the house, he told me any time I wished I could talk to my dad, I could call him instead.

“What up, squirt?” Jax bangs on the glass, making Sophia shriek and latch onto my arm.

“You’re such a jerk, Jax!” She bangs right back.

Jax sticks out his tongue, a grin taking up most of his face. I don’t think I’ve ever tormented Sydney as much as Jax does to Sophia. Yet, my girl doesn’t stay mad at him. Sure, she’ll yell and hit him, but she doesn’t do anything more. I'm shocked she doesn’t retaliate though.

“Does she ever do anything to get back at Jax?” I lean in and ask Wyatt so Sophia can't hear me.

She’s too preoccupied with Jax and Cody though. When Cody saw Jax teasing Sophia, he came up from behind and slammed him into the glass. That brought a massive smile to Sophia’s face.

“Sometimes. Normally Cody sticks up for her and Jax rarely takes things too far. Though, I’ve seen her do some nasty things to Jax in the past.”

“Like what?”

“Well, he teased her at school when she was a freshman and he was a sophomore. She put hair removal cream in his hair gel.”

“Seriously? What happened?”

“All of his hair fell out.” He chuckles. “He was so mad, until he got to school and all of the girls swarmed him. Some thought he looked cute with a bald head. Others wanted to know what was wrong that he lost his hair. I think he had dates lined up for weeks after that.”

“How pissed was Sophia?”

“She wasn’t pissed at all. She actually didn’t go to school that day because when she saw Jax without hair, she started crying and couldn’t stop. Wes told her to stay home and think about how stupid it was to do that to her own brother. When Jax got home, she threw herself into his arms and begged him to forgive her. She couldn’t handle the idea of him being mad at her.”

“Wow, that’s not the response I was expecting.” I shake my head. I wish I knew what Sophia was like when she was younger. I know I would’ve followed her around just begging for her attention if we had met earlier.

“She tries to act tough, but she’s not, Peck. She wears her feelings on her sleeve and doesn’t have the heart to be mean to anyone. She’s just like Charlie.”

“They’re both amazing.”

“Yup. They steal your heart before you even know what’s going on and refuse to give it back. Even when your life takes a wild turn, they’ll always be there for you, holding your hand and offering you comforting words when you need it. I know if Charlie never entered my life, everything would be completely different for me.”

“I don’t plan on going back to a life without Sophia. I’d be lost without her.”

As soon as the buzzer sounds and the game starts, our conversation quickly ends. We’re both too wrapped up in the game and watching Jax and Cody dominate the ice.

Sophia spends most of her time on her feet. She’s screaming and yelling like a crazy fan, pounding her fists against the glass.I stare at my girl with wide eyes, wondering what the hell has gotten into her. Gone is the sweet and innocent woman I'm used to. In her place is this aggressively protective sister.

“Is she always like this?” I motion to my girlfriend who is shrieking at the ref for putting Jax in the penalty box after he was slammed into the glass right in front of us.

“I’ve seen her at games Jax and Cody aren’t playing in and she’s fairly calm. But put her family on the ice and she’s crazy.” He shakes his head with a smirk. “Obviously, I’ve never been around her when she watches me play, but Jax and Cody say she acts about the same. I guess she’s slightly less intense, but baseball isn't as intense of a game either.”

“You know I can hear the two of you, right?” She says without taking her attention away from the action. “Wyatt, stop making me sound insane. Peck, you’re in love with a crazy person. Deal with it.”

I chuckle and reach forward, wrapping my arms around her waist. I tug her onto my lap and hold her down when she tries to stand again.

“I don’t care if you’re crazy. I’ll always love you,” I murmur in her ear. She stops struggling against my hold and leans into my chest.

“And I’ll always love you.”

“I’m only giving you back for two months, Sophia. I expect you to return and be living in that new house in sixty days. Do you understand me?” Wes wraps his daughter in a tight hug and doesn’t let go.

“Yes, Daddy. Though that means Pecker needs to move in ninety days.” She smiles at me over Wes’ shoulder.

“Why ninety?” I frown at her. “I’ll have to find a new job before I can move.”

“Don’t worry about that. I'm sure with Mason and Maddox’s help, we can find you something.” Wes waves off my concern.

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