Page 41 of Just Say Yes

Without stopping to say goodbye, I left Annie and Sylvie and walked outside.

I barely heard Logan calling after me as I pushed through the crowd, my chest tight and my vision blurred. The cold night air hit me like a slap, but it did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. I wanted to scream, to cry, to disappear.

I wanted to be the kind of woman who could flirt with or sleep with anyone she pleased. I didn’t want my feelings to get tangled up in a good time, because when it didn’t work out, then I’dreallybe a mess.

ELEVEN

LOGAN

I watchedMJ as she fled the dance floor.

I should’ve been relieved to find out MJ had dated Trent—it explained the weird tension between us. But the look on her face, the pain in her eyes ... it was like a gut punch.

What had Trent done to her?

The question rattled in my chest as I stepped to the back of the bar and pulled out my phone to call him.

It wasn’t just the fact that she had dated my friend. It was the pain that she tried to hide. He’d done something, and that settled like lead in my stomach.

The phone rang and rang, and I cursed under my breath when it went to Trent’s voicemail. “Call me. Now. It’s important.”

I hung up and slipped the phone back into my pocket and dragged a hand through my hair. “Fuck,” I exhaled.

Across the bar, the women MJ had been with looked concerned and confused. I rushed out of the Grudge and into the crisp night air after MJ.

She wasn’t on either side of the sidewalk. “Damn it.”

I opened my phone to call her, and it immediately went to voicemail. I tried to text her.

We should talk about this.

“What did you say to my sister?” MJ’s sister had her hands planted on her hips and looked ready to fight.

The redhead with her cut in, holding her hand out. “Hi, I’m Annie. I think you’ve met Sylvie.” I shook it, and she grabbed a phone from her purse. “I can call her.”

Sylvie crossed her arms, waiting for me to answer her question. I blew out a breath. “I’m not sure.” My attention fell to Annie, who shook her head. “She didn’t answer my call either.”

Sylvie raised a finger and pointed in my direction. “If you did something ...”

I liked knowing MJ had someone in her corner, even if her anger was directed at me for the moment.

I raised my hands as Annie exhaled. “If you’re just here to make her cry again, turn around and walk away now. We’ve seen enough of that.”

I hated the idea of someone making MJ cry. I stared down the sidewalk, willing her to come back.

“If she doesn’t want to talk to you, maybe you should leave her alone,” Sylvie said.

I nodded, knowing she was right.

This was exactly the type of drama and distraction I did not need in my life, but I couldn’t stop from worrying about her anyway.

* * *

MJ’sabrupt exit from the Grudge had left a curious knot in my chest, and I hadn’t heard from her since. I had tried a few more times to text her, but they all went unanswered. So, a few days later, I found myself heading to Haven Pines early. Seeing Grandpa was the excuse, but MJ was on my mind more than I cared to admit.

As I walked down the main hallway, I caught sight of her up ahead, speaking softly to one of the residents with gentle patience. Her face lit up in a soft smile as she adjusted the blankets on an elderly woman’s wheelchair, her hands moving with care.

For a moment, I just watched, trying to reconcile the woman in front of me with the one who had fled from the bar, wounded by ghosts of the past.

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