Page 89 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
“Sure. Um, thanks.”
Callie looks and sounds extremely uncomfortable, but she’s sitting too far away for me to comfort her. I send her a smile that she ignores, then Jonah places his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze that somehow transfers to my windpipe. I glare at him in warning, but he ignores me too. Fucker.
Hammond goes on to give us a debrief of shit we already know, andwhen he dismisses us for the buses, I grab Jonah’s arm, so he hangs back with me. I wait for everyone to filter out before I speak.
“Back off, Jo.”
He arches an eyebrow. “Fuck you, Tor.”
“I’m serious. This isn’t a joke. She’s not some groupie for you to fuck with.”
Jonah rolls his eyes. “I’m not treating her like a fucking groupie, Torren, but maybe you should ask yourself why me interacting with her pisses you off so much. And don’t tell meit’s for the job. You’re only a possessive asshole when youcare.”
I grit my teeth, but I don’t deny it, and he laughs.
“Fuck, man. I know you so well it’s almost sad. Have you kissed this one yet?”
“She’s not athis one,” I spit out, and he smirks.
I bristle. I walked right into his trap.
Jonah’s real good at using people like pawns in a one-sided game, and you’ll never even realize you’re playing until it’s too late. The balance is tipped in his favor, and it’s frustrating that he thinks he’s got it all figured out when I’m still fucking scrambling to understand it myself. I hate how well he can read me. I hate how Ican’tread him—not anymore—and that makes me feel exposed.
I shake my head with a laugh, forcing myself to appear unbothered. Forcing myself not to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’s got the upper hand. I know it’s futile, but I do it anyway.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say with a sigh, and Jonah scoffs.
“Sure.”
“I just don’t want to screw this up. It’s too important.”
“You tryin’ to convince me or yourself?” He shakes his head. “Never mind. Doesn’t fucking matter to me.”
I stare at him, running my eyes over his blank face. He’s sober. He’s only observant when he’s not fucked up, but I can’t read him, and it pisses me off. I hate when he turns to stone like this. I hate even more when he’s right. Right now, I’d almost prefer the antagonistic, asshole version of him, but we only get that when he’s high.
I resist the urge to argue and walk toward the door.
“Let’s go before they leave us.”
I don’t look behind me to make sure he follows.
I reach the parking lot and jog to catch up with the girls, making sure to position myself next to Callie. I take her hand even though there are no paps in sight. I feel her look at me, but I keep my eyes on the pavement in front of us. I keep them there until I hear squealing, then I whip my eyes up to see Sav sprinting across the parking lot with her dog barking and running beside her.
I don’t realize what’s happening until Sav launches herself at someone and wraps her arms and legs around them, letting loose a stream of laughing sobs as the dog circles around them with her tail wagging and her tongue lolling to the side.
“Who is that?”
I look down at Callie, but it’s Mabel who answers her.
“That would be Levi.” Mabel laughs. “Tor, I might have to bunk with you guys for a while.”
I nod. I don’t blame her. Sav and Levi have been apart for weeks. I wouldn’t want to be trapped on a bus with them, either.
When we catch up to Levi and Sav, he’s already put her back on her feet, but she’s still got her arms thrown around his neck like a lifeline with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I wanted to be here yesterday, but this was kind of a last-minute decision. I couldn’t get a flight out until this morning.”
Levi smooths Sav’s hair back, and she beams up at him in a way that would have pissed me off a year ago. It doesn’t now, though, and I don’t stop the small smile that curves up my lips.
