Page 109 of Mostly Loathing You

I guess that makes sense. Every reason I was so dead set on keeping things private suddenly sounds trivial; I just wish I’d come to that realization before Hannah left.

“Did she tell you about the tour?”

His words sting on contact despite it being good news. She has worked her fingers to the bone for years, and now she is about to get what she has longed for: a spot on a national tour. I know I’ll miss her while she’s gone, but I also know that our bond is too strong to be broken by distance, even if she wants it to be. She’s my parents’ best friends’ daughter. Hannah will always have a home with me, no matter how many miles apart we may be.

“Yeah, she told me.”

“And what are your thoughts?” Jackson leans toward me, brows raised.

I can feel his piercing blue eyes boring into mine, and my stomach twists with nerves. I am sure he can see the truth in my gaze and know what I have been too afraid to admit out loud; that I’d willingly give her anything if it means she’s happy.

“I’m really proud of her,” I say finally, softly.

Jackson smiles knowingly, revealing a flash of white teeth, and his eyes sparkle with amusement. He chuckles lightly as he asks, “So you’re really in love with her, huh? When did that happen?”

My heart sinks into my stomach as I try to answer his question. I pause for a moment, rewinding the last few months to pinpoint the exact moment I fell for her. We had been seeing each other for a couple months, but it feels like itwas much longer. Since seeing her again over the summer, I’ve found myself hanging on every word or phrase she utters. I couldn’t hold onto my animosity anymore, even though I desperately wanted to. Instead, I found myself chasing her every response, my entire body coming alive when she smiled or laughed, but more often than not, when I pissed her off.

It was like a high I couldn’t obtain—it was as if I couldn’t get enough of her.

“A while.”

“Hm,” Jackson hums with a grin.

“What?” I pin him with a glare.

“Nothing,” he laughs, clearly thinking something he isn’t telling me.

“Oh, fuck off, tell me.”

“It’s just…” He trails off as he leans forward. “I feel like it should have been more obvious to me that something was going on.”

“Why?”

“Well, for starters, you snapped at my mom twice for being even remotely mean to Hannah.”

Even now, even amidst everything that happened, he still refuses to acknowledge the weight his mom’s scrutiny has on Hannah. It’s not my place, and yet it spills from my lips without reserve.

“She’s horrible to her, Jackson. Has been for years. It honestly bothers me a bit that you haven’t stepped in. I shouldn’t have had to, but I’d do it again if necessary.”

He stares at me in a way that makes me think I’ve pissed him off, but then he nods in agreement. “You’re right.”

Of all the responses I expected, that’s not one of them. Jackson has always had a rose-tinted-glasses approach to hisparents, so much so that his mother’s treatment of Hannah has managed to fly under the radar with him foryears.

“She’s lucky to have you, Liam.” The sincerity in his voice causes my stomach to sour, the reminder of where Hannah and I stand washing over me.

“Well, she doesn’thaveme anymore.”

“Oh, but she does.”

“We broke up,” I remind him, yet his fixed gaze is unwavering.

“You and I both know that doesn’t mean shit when it comes to you being in her corner.”

He’s right, but I just nod in agreement. Any other approach might cause my shell to break, and I don’t think either of us wants to be here when that happens.

“Thanks, man.”

“For what?”

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