Page 47 of Jace

He is definitely not okay with it.

Chapter Thirty

Aurora

“Another round,” Bree lifts her hand up, pointing to our table. The waitress nods as she walks by, heading toward the bar.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink?” I ask Presley, as she sits at my side, nursing a bottle of water.

“I’m fine with being the sober one, believe me. Being hungover and dealing with Kayson isn’t fun.”

I feel for Presley; her ex is a fucking mess. She isn’t one for talking about everything that happened, but what I do know is the guy is a douche. She has never admitted it, but I’m pretty sure he’s hurt her physically before. She up and left him in the middle of the night and showed up on our doorstep with a two month old. The mark on her cheek and a handprint sized bruise on her arm said all I needed to know. She isn’t one to ask for help, and she doesn’t trust easily. In her mind all men are the same, selfish assholes and in the end all they do is hurt you. In one way or another, everything ends badly.

“Lauren is a Godsend, but she has class tomorrow so there won’t be any relief. This,” she holds up the water, “is all I need.”

She seems so sad.

She has seemed sad for weeks.

The waitress pauses next to our table, placing another round of shots and taking the money Bree offers.

We’ve been here for a few hours, talking, laughing, and drinking. Luna, Bree and I, all feeling pretty good and Presley babysitting us. She’d already warned off a few men that moved in thinking we were single ladies on the prowl. Hearing her tell them that we each had big, mean tattooed men that would eat them for breakfast if they got near us was hilarious. I don’t know if she made some kind of deal with Daxton, or even Jace but tiny or not she was one hell of a bodyguard.

Luna somehow convinced Pres to go dance with her, leaving both Bree and I behind, swaying in our chairs to the beat of the music.

“It’s probably not the time, but I’m not sure when the right time is.” I look to my left to find Bree watching me. Tears in her eyes and instantly my own emotions flare up without control. “Why didn’t you ever come to me?”

“What? When?”

“You know when,” she places her hand over mine, giving it a squeeze, “I could have been there for you.”

“You have Piper and Daxton and you don’t?—”

“No,” she interrupts me, her nostrils flaring. “If you’re hurting you come to me, you don’t hurt in silence. Damnit Aurora, I am here for you, always.”

“I know,” and I do. “I was confused and ashamed…and so angry.”

“Nothing will ever stop me from being here for you. Yes, I have Piper, and Daxton, but never will that mean I am not right here for you too. You are my family, my best friend.”

“I didn’t know how to face what I was feeling. It all sort of came rushing out of me at once and the person to witness it was Zac.”

“I hate that I was living my life and you were hurting. I hate that I was blinded to it all and that you felt I had too much going on that I couldn’t be there for you too.”

“I knew you would be, it was never that. I think this was more me hating the fact that some stranger took my sense of security.” I take a deep breath. “He made me feel weak and you know more than anyone that I hate that feeling.”

My parents made me feel that way my entire childhood and they still degrade and belittle me whenever they can. They called me after I was released from the hospital not to ask me how I was, but instead to tell me how embarrassed they felt. How Jace, myhusband, made them feel unwelcome. I’m not oblivious I know how they are; they barge in attempt to toss around their power and in this situation, they had none.

Jace took that power from them.

He stood up and took charge. He protected me without a moment of hesitation and the fact that it was my parents he protected me from didn’t stop him.

“Right now,” Bree clears her throat leaning a little closer. “You promise me that you will always come to me. I don’t care where we are, or what we have going on in our lives, we come to each other. We are in this together Aurora, always and forever, me and my bestie.” She smiles, and I try to blink away the tears, but one escapes rolling along my cheek.

“You got it, I promise.”

“Why the tears ladies,” Luna bumps into the table as her and Presley rejoin us.

“Just happy,” Bree chooses to focus on the good. “I’m here with three of the greatest girls and I’m about to marry an amazing man, I have a beautiful little girl. All is good.”

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