Page 89 of Wild Hearts

“Love you, bye!” I hang up and drop my phone into my handbag. I greet my friends with a smile as I open the door. Ivy barely even looks up at me and Harley gives me a pained grimace.Well, this is going to be fun.

“Are you okay?” I ask Ivy, while Harley drops onto my couch and turns the television on.

She shrugs and pulls out her phone to check it.

“Have you heard from him?”

Ivy shakes her head. “He’s not returning Harley’s calls either. He won’t speak to any of us. Brady says he barely even comes out of his room.” Her voice cracks.

“Oh Ivy,” I pull her in for a hug. “Everything will be okay. He just needs time.”

She untangles herself from my embrace and sits down on one of the stools at my breakfast bar. She places her phone in front of her and spins it around with her finger. “I feel so guilty.” Her voice is barely a whisper.

“What? Why?”

“If they hadn’t been with us at Theo’s Baptism, they would have been home with Maribel. They could have had more time with her.” She sniffs.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference.” My eyes lift to Harley who rubs a hand over his face. “Maribel didn’t want that. If she had, she would’ve asked them to stay home.”

“Harley’s right,” I say, sitting down next to her and resting my hand on her shoulder. “You have nothing to feel guilty about.”

She nods, but doesn’t look convinced. “Why is it that every bad thing that has happened in my life is always associated with my dad?”

Harley and I share a look, neither of us knowing how to respond. It doesn’t matter, she doesn’t want us to say anything.

She looks up with tears in her eyes. “Dad moving out was the cause of you and Brady breaking up and look at what happened to you because of that.” I open my mouth, but she shakes her head. “When Dad told us they were having another baby, Brady got hurt.”

“He was distracted...” Harley murmurs.

“And now Lachy and Jordan were at the stupid Baptism when they should have been with Maribel. Not to mention you running into Tarshia’s brother.” A tear slips down her cheek as she looks up at me. “Jeremy Willis is the common denominator here.”

I was not expecting this. “Ivy, you can’t blame your dad. All of these things, they’re just a coincidence.”

“Brady was right to ignore his attempts to contact us. I should have listened to him. All Dad ever does is hurt people. I hate him.” She breaks down, dropping her head onto her arms as she cries.

Harley steps forward to comfort her while I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Brady. I walk into my bedroom for some privacy, pulling the door closed behind me.

The phone only rings twice before he answers. “Hey Rookie,” he says, his voice thick with sleep. “Everything okay?”

“Not really,” I reply, dropping onto my bed and covering my eyes with my arm. “Did I wake you?”

He yawns. “Yeah, Jordan wanted to hit up a party on campus last night. We didn’t get home ‘til three.”

“On a Tuesday?” A twinge of annoyance rolls over me that he’s out with other people and not with me, but I push it away. He’s just trying to be there for Jordan.

Brady ignores my judgmental tone and asks, “What’s going on?”

I chew on the inside of my cheek. I feel terrible for tearing him away from Jordan, but his sister needs him. “Ivy’s in a bad way. I think you need to come talk to her.”

“Where is she?”

“My apartment.”

“I’m on my way.”

He’s going to come. A fluttery feeling starts low in my stomach. I’ve only seen him three times in the last three weeks.

“Brady,” I murmur before he hangs up.

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