Page 143 of Losing Faith

“You’re a fucking dirtbag.” He turns away, and I was expecting him to slam the door in my face, so this is ahugewin.

I follow him into the apartment and notice they’re packing her art, but I don’t question that as I focus on Sire.

“Before you get mad—”

“I’m not going to get mad, Jackson.” He sinks into the couch, and I don’t miss how tired he already sounds of this conversation. “I’ve spent enough energy being mad about Sage and Liam and it was for nothing because now I’m incredibly happy for them. You wanna take Lis out on a date? Marry her while you’re at it. She’s always wanted to marry a rich man. I’m sure her spiritual ass will say I manifested this.”

I let out a scoff. “Okay, we both know you’re not this supportive. August? Absolutely. You? Never.”

He simply shrugs.

“You actually don’t care?”

“Oh, I care. I’m just not going to waste my energy telling you how much I care sinceyoudon’t and clearly don’t have enough respect for this friendship to tell me, and don’t say some bullshit like,I just told you.You only told me because I happen to be here.”

He’s not wrong about that last part.

“Idorespect you as a friend. I felt like shit not telling you.”

“Okay.” He doesn’t say anything else and calm Sire is scarier than angry Sire.

I open my mouth to say something, but he beats me to it.

“I trusted you to keep an eye on her because she was mentally vulnerable and you were moving in on her the whole time?” He lets out a scoff. “You’re a fucking asshole.”

I try to get a word in, but he doesn’t let me.

“I really don’t want to hit you right now, Jackson, so please stop talking to me.”

I disregard his warning. “That’snotwhat happened. You know I’m not that kind of man.”

“Clearly,” he mumbles, turning back to the painting he’s packing.

“Sire—”

“Just drop it.” He rises from the couch. “I didn’t sleep last night for this girl. I’m not her dad, and this isn’t worth me and Lis fighting over.” He rolls his eyes like he genuinely does not give a single shit about me, and I think him not caring hurts more than if he was mad. It’s as if I’m notworthhis energy.

He walks into the kitchen as Lisette walks out of her room with a smile that can replace the sun and light up the Earth.

“I found him!” She holds up her turtle, and when I see the tear tracks on her face, it’s clear she freaked out about losing him.

A smile reaches my face at how damn cute she is in her messy bun and oversized hoodie that I think belongs to her brother.

When she notices me, her face morphs into confusion. “Hi?”

“Hello.” I close the distance between us, but I don’t kiss her because I refuse to kick my best friend while he’s already down. Instead, I hand her the bag in my hand. “Get dressed. You have half an hour to get ready.”

If she was anyone else, I would’ve given her more time, but traffic was worse than I accounted for and I know she doesn’t need much time to get ready.

Her brows furrow as she looks down at my outfit and the bag in my hand. “I’m busy.”

“Yeah.” I look around the room. “What’s going on? Are you sending your art somewhere?”

“Yup.” She lights up again and I think my new favorite thing is this woman’s happiness. “You’ve misseda lot.”

“You can tell me all about it after getting dressed.” I push the bag to her, but she doesn’t take it.

“What do I need to get dressed for?”

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