Page 74 of Chasing After You
I’m out of my depth here, but I do know that this shit will drown her from the inside out if she doesn’t deal with it. I wet my lips, buying myself time as Mirabelle watches my face closely. “Just because shitty things are happening in the world, it doesn’t invalidate the shit you’re going through.”
“Why did you come out here?”
“Because I miss you. Because I’ve been staring at this shell of you since we drove back to Charlotte, and I’m fucking worried. Wilson’s fucking worried, and even Stacey has noticed you’re not yourself. I came out here because I’m tired of watching you punish yourself for something you didn’t even do.”
“But I did do it. I wasn’t fucking there for Bailey when he clearly needed me to be, and now Hunter is pissed at me, and I didn’t learn a goddamn thing from it because I’m fucking ignoring JJ too! He would have never let things get like this. I have ruin—”
I don’t know how else to shut her up, but it’s the only thing that comes to mind, so I cup Mirabelle’s face in my hands, pressing my lips against hers. It’s effective, stunning her into silence so I can make her listen to me. Pulling away, I wait to see if she’s going to hit me, but Mirabelle blinks, opening her mouth, before deciding to shut it. I brush away the tears on her cheeks, forcing her to see how sincere I am, because I won’t lie to her. “Then fix it. Call JJ back. You’re human, Mirabelle. You’re allowed to make mistakes, but what happened with your brothers is not on you. I was there, and I heard every word of bullshit they spewed to place blame anywhere but on themselves. I know you love them, but it’s not your fault. You’re their sister, but you’re not responsible for them because you’re not their keeper.”
Mirabelle leans against my bare chest as I wrap my arms around her. She shudders, and I hold on for dear life, hating how powerless I am to fix this for her.
I’m unable to resist pressing a kiss to the top of her head, and I know that if Mirabelle asked me, I’d do anything she wanted. She has me wrapped around her finger, and she doesn’t even realize it.
“Henry?” she mumbles my name against my skin, and despite it being the absolute wrong moment, my heart beats faster in my chest. I’m sure she can feel it, but I don’t think I care.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
I tighten my arms around her, the words nearly getting stuck in my throat, but I force them out regardless. “I’ve got you.”
~
“She was crying and you kissed her?” Andrew asks, and I roll my eyes as I set my phone down to towel dry my hair. Stacey found time in my schedule today to make up for the day I took off earlier in the week, so I had to play model with a bunch of shit in my hair that took forever to wash out.
“Yeah.”
Andrew’s laugh filters through the line. “You’re a fucking idiot.”
“In more ways than one,” I agree, but at least Mirabelle didn’t hit me.
“Does it get worse than you kissing her while she cries?”
“Depends on who you ask,” I mutter under my breath, grabbing a sweatshirt from Duke to wear tonight. With a hat, there’s a chance I can fly under the radar, but if I show up wearing anything related to the Panthers, it’s going to be a very long night.
“Oh shit. What?”
“Quinn asked out Mirabelle today.” I’m not certain, but he definitely pulled her aside while I was in the training room getting my hamstrings stretched. The only thing that kept my mood in check was seeing Mirabelle more like herself than she had been in a few days, and we’re hanging out with my sister tonight. I wasn’t willing to ruin the first spark of life I’d seen in her over something I wasn’t positive actually happened. I’m not sure if she should go to tonight’s game since Hunter will obviously be there, and I’m not sure about Bailey’s status for the night, but I can’t promise I won’t murder either of them if they upset her again. On the other hand, I don’t have a death wish so I’m not going to tell Mirabelle what she can and can’t do.
“Oh, I see,” Andrew muses, and I wait for him to finish.
“What?” I finally ask when my annoying best friend decides not to say anything else.
“You like her.”
It’d be impossible not to like her. Mirabelle’s incredible. “I wouldn’t spend time with her if I didn’t like her,” I answer, backtracking to my closet for my shoes.
“I’m not talking about liking her as a person. You’re falling for her. That’s why you’re pissed off that Quinn made a move on her.”
“It’s fine if she wants to go on a date with him,” I lie through my teeth, as my stomach twists at the thought of them together. Mirabelle is allowed to do whatever she wants.Except I want her to do whatever with me.
“Have you told her?”
No.I told Mirabelle to use me as practice for the lucky son of a bitch who actually gets to be with her because it causes me physical pain to see her hurting and upset. I haven’t told anyone, and she hasn’t brought it up again since I walked out of her room after coming in my pants like a fucking teenager. There’s been enough shit going on, she doesn’t need me to bug her about the list I told her to make. “There’s nothing to tell.”
“You’re full of shit, but I guess you’ll only have yourself to blame if she goes out with Quinn.” Okay, I’m tired of hearing these lectures from Wilson, and now I’m getting them from Andrew?
“I’m officially uninviting you from my birthday,” I say, stuffing my wallet in my back pocket, but I stop in my tracks when I see the paper on the floor in front of my door. “No fucking way,” I swear under my breath, picking it up.
