Page 35 of A Touch of Heaven

I swallow hard; my mouth is completely dry. “The guy that you killed? We…who’s we? Chase… Did he?”

Chase told me, he told me he and Jax helped Asher. I just didn’t know what he meant. Oh god, I’m going to be sick.

“Why? Why help him?”

He gives me a sad smile. “Because brothers aren’t just born through blood, Brooke. They’re made. You don’t understand what it’s like for him, B. He had no one. His parents are a joke. You know they sent him away when he was a kid. He spent two years in a psych hospital trying to deal with his sister's death, and they didn’t visit him once. They only let him come home because the hospital told them he needed to. Chase and I—we’re his real family. We’re brothers, Brooke, and we will always support each other through anything.”

“Even murder?” I ask.

“It’s not murder, Brooke, it’s justice.” I nod because I get it. I wonder what kind of girl that makes me.

Am I someone who could accept this?

“Asher said to me earlier that Chase hates himself because of me, that I need to be stronger for him… What does that mean?”

Jax chuckles, shaking his head.

“Wow! That motherfucker… If we did that to Harper, he would kill us,” he exhales slowly before looking directly at me. “Listen, Brooke. Asher let you in tonight for reasons I think I know, but I can’t be sure. I’ve told you what I’m willing to tell you for now, but Chase, I won’t tell you his story. If you want to know why, then you need to talk to him about it, and it’s his choice if he wants to let you in.”

I scowl, thinking back to the earlier parts of last night.

“Yeah, well, Chase can go fuck himself after sleeping with Chloe last night.”

Jax looks shocked; his mouth opens wide. “No way he slept with Chloe.”

I nod.

“She was sneaking out of his room, told me so to my face while she left this on my arm.” I show him the marks on my wrist, and his eyes darken.

“I swear, Brooke, that girl will never get near you again. I need to go and have a little talk with Chase. Find out what the fuck he’s doing.”

I shake my head. “Nah, leave it. It doesn’t matter, anyway. He’s not my concern and I’m not his. As far as I’m concerned, they deserve each other. They’re both as fucked up as each other.”

Jax takes my hands in his, pulls me up, and grins. The same cheeky grin that seems to appear on his face when he has a secret that no one knows, and he’s dying to spill it.

“Sure, Brooke, whatever you say. I trust you’re not going to go spilling any of our secrets with anyone?”

I shake my head. “No, of course not. I just wish I could do more. Asher looked so small tonight. He just looked so broken. It was scary. I’m not used to seeing him like that.”

Jax pulls me into a hug. One that I desperately needed, even though I didn’t know it.

“You’re an amazing girl, B. Always wanting to help, but I think with this, you just gotta let it run its course.” He keeps his arm around me, and we silently walk back to the house.

“I’m going to grab some sleep before anyone else is awake.”

He nods at me. “Yeah, I get it. It’s been one hell of a night for you. First Chase being an ass, then Nate kissing you, then Chloe, and now Asher.” He exhales, and I’m shocked at how much he knows.

“Hey, listen Brooke, you’re already strong. You’re still standing despite everything that’s been thrown at you in the last twenty-four hours. Don’t let anybody tell you anything different, Okay?”

I take a moment to absorb what he said and realize he’s right. I lean up on my tiptoes, kissing him on the cheek. “Okay. Thanks, Jax.”

I wander upstairs, my feet barely carrying me up to my room. Even though I think sleep will never come, it does but so do the nightmares. I dream of a pretty young girl with Asher’s eyes, whose dress turns to blood as she screams.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

BROOKE

Iwake up, realizing it’s already dark out and I’ve slept away the day. Hearing talking downstairs, I pull on shorts and a crop top and freshen myself up before heading down.

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