Page 46 of Always a Chance
With that, he was gone. No emotion. No regret. He just walked away. I leaned back on the swing. That was way too easy. So, why did I feel like a terrible human being?
22
JOHNNY
I still wasn’t sure where things went wrong by the time I walked into my apartment to find Aidan and his oldest sister Angelina on the couch watching a movie. His sisters usually came around a lot after bad breakups, when they wanted to remind themselves not every guy in the world was a gigantic jerk.
Still, it felt strange. Angelina and I dated a few years ago. We were friends now, but she was not the person I wanted to see when all I could hear was Talia’s rejection.
She hadn’t been wrong. She was leaving. But this wasn’t a simple fling, fleeting feelings. It was us.
Aidan hit pause on the movie when I collapsed into a chair.
“Uh oh.” Angelina leaned forward. “I know that face.”
“Me too.” Aidan sighed. “What happened?”
“Nothing. I don’t have a face. You guys don’t know my faces.”
They shared a look, one I knew all too well. The James siblings all had a remarkable resemblance to one another, and they could read each other’s expressions easily.
Aidan knew better than to press, so he left it up to his nosy sister. “What’s her name?” she asked.
“I am not talking about this with you.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Especially you.”
“Why me?” She rested her elbows on her knees. “Is it because I’ve seen you naked?”
“Whoa.” Aidan shot to his feet. “I think we need a snack. Who wants a snack? Something gooey that’ll keep us from opening our mouths. I sure do.” His face was as red as a tomato when he scurried toward the kitchen.
“Thanks for that.” I groaned. “And for the record, yes. It’s weird talking about another girl when I—”
“Smashed my heart into a billion pieces?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I’d hurt her, sure. And I regretted it. But I’d hurt every woman I dated since high school and couldn’t seem to stop. None of them were her.
“A thousand pieces?”
“Maybe a hundred.”
She nodded, satisfaction shining in her eyes. “Yeah, well, my brother punched you, so I guess it was worth it just to see that.”
I lifted a brow. “Are we calling that a punch now? It was more like a light tap to my eye socket.”
“You bruised!”
“I bruise easily.”
“Stop getting off topic.” Her eyes met mine. “Is the Johnny Kelly really upset about a girl?”
“I do have feelings, you know.”
“Sure you do. What did this girl do, and how can I learn her tricks?”
I sent her a glare, not in the mood for Angelina’s particular brand of dark humor. She took nothing seriously. It was why I’d liked her. We were the same, both a little lost and a little broken. I wasn’t a beer drinker, but I heard good things about the brewery and bookstore she owned with her sister. It fit, her owning a place like that. She could handle anything that came her way.
Aidan returned with a bowl of popcorn. “I was going to cook, but I didn’t want to miss any of the non-sister stuff.”
I stood, scowling down at them. “I hate you both.”
