Page 96 of Unravel Me

Why is he ignoring us?

Cara

We know where you live, Lockwood. Nobody ignores Cara Brodie and lives to talk about it.

Jennie

Our man def journeyed to Pussy Palace last night. Might’ve gotten lost there too.

Olivia

I just wanna know if she treated you right.

Oh! Did you try that move from the audiobook? You know the scene, where she’s on her hands and knees???

Jennie

I feel like Adam’s a freak between the sheets. It’s always the quiet ones, you know?

Cara

If we don’t hear from you in the next ten seconds, I cannot be held responsible for my actions. Do you hear me, Lockwood? I. CANNOT. BE. HELD. RESPONSIBLE. FOR. MY. ACTIONS.

This motherfucker is going down.

Jennie

**Rosie-fucker

I tuck my phone away like I’ve been doing all day, because I can’t deal with these three right now. My head hurts when I think about Rosie. It means acknowledging the mistakes I’ve made, the ways I’ve failed her, and I’m not sure I’m ready to face a version of me who’s been anything other than honest.

Scrubbing a hand over my mouth, I spin away from my friends, tossing an excuse over my shoulder about needing some air. I’m not surprised when I hear the door open behind me a few seconds after it closes, but I am a little surprised to see Jaxon take a seat beside me on the bench out front.

He hands me a bottle of water. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

He huffs a laugh, looking down at his feet. “You know, I suck at relationships, but when a woman says she’s fine, she’s almost always lying.”

“I’m not a woman.”

“But you’re not fine, either, are you?”

I glance at my friend, the easy way he sits there, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “Do you really want to know?”

“Sure. I’m here, aren’t I? Plus, you look like you’re gonna puke, so you should probably do it before you get behind that camera.”

Bracing my elbows on my thighs, I focus on the water bottle in my hands, picking mindlessly at the paper label. “I’m in love with Rosie.”

“Yeah, I figured that much. You talk about her all the time, and you’re constantly grinning at your phone like a high school girl texting her crush. Or Carter texting Olivia. Garrett and Jennie too.” He sighs. “And Emmett and Cara. You guys all suck, to be honest.”

I laugh but finish with a sigh, dragging my hands through my hair. “I really fucked up, man.”

“With Rosie? I thought last night went well.”

“It did. It was great. Perfect. She’s…she’s fucking perfect. It’s just…something changed last night. She opened up about some serious stuff, some vulnerable shit that’s just…awful. Not fair. She hasn’t had an easy life, and she sat there and told me all about it.”

“Are you feeling bad about having sex after that? Because she was vulnerable?”

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