Page 46 of My Turn

“Not yours?”

I looked down at my sandwich and started peeling off pieces of the crust. “They’re not around. Even if they were, I would be with Jayce’s family.”

“Whatever the situation is, it’s good that you have them. Being alone for the holidays isn’t good for anyone.”

I hummed my agreement, not sure what to say. Being alone was better than spending time with my own family, even if I could. Since my mom got out of prison two years ago, I’d only spoken to her twice. At first, I wanted to see if we could have some sort of relationship, but it had been so long.

When my parents got arrested, I was sixteen, which meant I couldn’t live on my own. I only had a part time job andAlbany wasn’t exactly a cheap place to live, so it wouldn’t matter anyway. I had no savings, no credit, and not enough income to qualify for a rat-infested cardboard box. My options were to move across the country to live with an aunt I hadn’t seen in five years or find another option. Thankfully, my brother was an adult and was able to be my guardian, but I actually lived with Jake’s parents. It was better for me and Ben because he wouldn’t have been able to support me. Once we graduated, me, Jake, and Jayce pooled our funds to rent a two-bedroom apartment while we went to college. It all worked out, even if the process was a bitch.

My dad was still locked up. He’d received a harsher sentence since he was worse. Child abuse in New York was taken seriously enough that someone could earn up to twenty-five years. He got fifteen while my mom received eight.

They weren’tthatbad. At least, I didn’t think so as a teenager. Maybe I was just used to it. If anyone asked me back then, I would have said they were harsh. Tough love and all that. A slap to the face or being thrown down the stairs once in a while wasn’t the worst thing a kid could go through at the hands of an adult, plus I knew foster care could be a nightmare, so I never said anything about what went on at home. When I started dating Jake, I spent a lot of my time with him anyway.

I didn’t hate them, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to have a relationship with them. Like I said, it had been a long time. I’d lost interest in any of that. Ron, Sara, and Charlie were my family and I was completely happy with that.

My phone buzzed, drawing me out of my thoughts.

Jayce:Where are you?

A smile tugged at my lips. I hadn’t spoken to him much over the weekend for obvious reasons. Hearing from him, though, was like being given a warm blanket in the middle of winter.

Alana:Work, duh.

Jayce:If I have to hunt you down, I’ll make you regret it.

Alana:Jesus. Put the claws away. Ms. Kim’s old room. Remember?

Jayce:Like it was yesterday.

“You have a nice smile,” Mike noted. He smirked at me and I cleared my expression. I didn’t know I’d still been smiling.

I gathered my phone and the rest of my sandwich, stuffing it back in the bag. When I got to my feet, he did too.

“You leaving?”

“Yeah, Jayce-”

I stopped abruptly. Somehow, I felt his presence in the room. I wasn’t sure why the back of my neck prickled and my stomach felt heavier suddenly. A hand pressed against my lower back, which helped me avoid swaying.

Great. Anxiety was going to attack at random now and send me into a whole episode. Was that PTSD? No, that seemed a little dramatic. Then again, I’d been bound and assaulted… Don’t think about that. Don’t freaking think about it.

Jayce’s hand moved around my side, allowing him to tighten his arm around me. His fingers rested just above my waistband and shifted my shirt so that he was touching my bare skin.

“You remember Jayce,” I said awkwardly, looking at Mike.

His lips were thin while he nodded. “Yup. I remember his right hook too.”

“I’m left-handed,” Jayce pointed out, sounding smug.

Oh, I was hating this dynamic already.

“I’ll see you after the last bell,” I said before pulling away from Jayce and turning toward the exit. He followed me into the hall silently. When we made it to my door, I whirled on him. “What are you doing?”

He raised a single brow. “Am I doing something?”

“You were rude.”

“By correcting him?”

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