Page 109 of Changing Rules

“I…”

Bella’s words from the party the other night play in my mind. She scoffed when I accused her of taking away my choice. At the time, I didn’t understand it. Now?Wow.

“It’s ingrained in us to protect our loved ones. I get it. But sometimes we need to give them the space to figure out how to take care of themselves.” Drew sits down beside me. “If you have any chance of getting her back, you need to show her you understand. Show her withyour actionsthat you’ve changed, that you believe in her and trust her to take care of herself.”

“Okay, but how am I going to do that when she keeps avoiding me?” I bite out, pulling on my hoodie. I should shower, but right now, all I want is to get the fuck out of here. I’ll clean up at home. “Both times I spoke to her, it was like staring down the field, the clock ticking, and not finding a single opening.”

“My wife can be like that too. She doesn’t take anyone’s bullshit, and once she’s set on something, she’ll make sure everyone knows where she stands.” He crosses his arms over his chest. His gaze is heavy, pinning me to the spot.

“If your goal is to make me feel like shit, you’ve succeeded,” I grind out.

“No. My goal is to tell you you’re not doing enough. You crashed her party, showed up at her house, and you’ve been leaving flowers on her porch for a week. So what? How do you know she isn’t tossing them in the dumpster as soon as she finds them?”

“I…” I shut my mouth. That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. I pull on my jeans and then toss my things into my duffel. With every second that passes, my blood pressure gets higher. I need to get the fuck out of here and let off some steam. “I gotta go.”

“Xander,” he calls, his tone dripping with disappointment. “I’m trying to help you.”

“I know. Thanks,” I mutter without turning around. “I’ll catch you later.”

I head out, set on going home and taking Milo for a walk. Then, after a long shower, I’ll fill up on carbs and turn on shit TV until I pass out.

I want this day to end.

Halfway home, Marco calls. “Hey,” he says, his voice tinny through the speakers.

“What’s up?”

“Got plans tonight?”

My frustration rises, threatening to boil over. But none of this is his fault, so I take a deep breath and slowly exhale.

“Not really. You?”

“Meg’s meeting Izzy for dinner, and then they’re headed to the club.”

My gut twists. “Which club?”

He hums. “I don’t know yet. They were on the phone when I came home from practice, so I only caught part of the conversation.”

Meg is still pissed, and this won’t help him find his way back into her good graces. And he’s doing it for me. Again. I don’t deserve friends like him and Drew.

“They’ll probably be pissed if we show up, but maybe this’ll give you a chance to talk to Izzy. Sounds like Jess will be there too. What do you think?” he asks.

From what I’ve heard, Jess and Bella have become good friends, and according to my mom, she all but ghosted Audrey. Not that I can blame her if what Mom said was true. Apparently, my sister pulled the “it’s Bella or me” card.

I wet my lips. “I know they can take care of themselves, but I’d still like to be there to keep an eye out.”

After Drew kicked my ass with his words, I want to do better. And yeah, part of me wants to protect her. I always will. But more than that, I want her to know I’m not going anywhere, that I love her.

She’s mine.

“Yeah, I’m in.”

Marco barks out a laugh. “Meg’s going to rip me a new one, but…let’s go clubbing.” The line crackles as he blows out a breath. “Would it be okay if Josh joined us? I promised to invite him next time I went out.”

I poke my tongue in my cheek, rapping my fingers over the steering wheel. “As long as he stays away from Bella, I’m fine.”

“Ha. I’ll let you be the one to tell him that.”

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