Page 46 of The Comeback Road

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“Yes,” she hissed.

“We call him Mac for short,” Dexter said as he entered the kitchen. All three puppies circled him like they hadn’t seen him in years. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, and just started to laugh. “That’s amazing,” I wheezed out.

It took me a minute in my fit of giggles to realize that the kitchen had gone still at the sound. And I also hadn’t realized that Jace had come in right behind Dexter. I was so caught up in the absurdity of it that I missed his entrance. His mouth wasslightly agape as he took me in, and I couldn’t help but blush at the way he took me in—not my body, but the look on my face and my smile. He looked at me the way Sloan looked at Magnolia, like she waseverything.

Sloan cleared his throat and pointed his spatula at me. “Stop seasoning my food. You’re banished from the kitchen.”

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and I decided it would be best if I went to get that instead. Magnolia hollered after me, “I bet it’s Remi! She texted me that they were packing up and headed our way a few minutes ago.”

I made my way to the door, a ghost of a smile still on my face as I pulled it open, expecting it to be Remi and Raya, only to be shocked by who was on the other side instead.

“Jess?” I whispered in shock.

Jess.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Lexie

Jess stared at me with a look of matching shock. “I, uh…I think there’s been a grave miscalculation here,” she said. I almost wanted to laugh at her, but then I heard Raya’s squeal as she ran up the steps and leaped into the air, giving me almost zero time to catch her in my arms.

“Princess Lexie!” She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I masked my wince as I was still sore from my wound, but I didn’t care. Raya’s hug seemed to start stitching pieces of me back together that I hadn’t even realized needed attention.

“Hey, kid. I missed you.” I looked Raya in her eyes, and they gleamed with mischief. “Mom said you were on vacation, and it might be a while before you came back, but I always knew you’d come back!” she prattled. I completely forgot Jess was next to me until Jace made his way toward the door, a huge smile on his face when he took in Raya. But that quickly morphed into a frown when he realized Jess was there.

“Jess, what…what are you doing here?” Jace asked. He seemed almost annoyed at her presence, and I couldn’t help the small jolt of joy at that.

“I came with Remi.” She looked down, clearly uncomfortable with the current events. Raya chose that moment to chime in. “Jess lives in the extra room! Mom says it helps buy me all the chicken fries I want, so I like her.”

“A kid after my own heart, wooed by chicken fries.”

“The best kind of fries.” She put her hands on my cheeks and stared at me with such serious eyes that I couldn’t help but agree. Remi finally made her way up the stairs. Her arms held wrapped gifts, explaining her delay.

“I see you’ve met my roommate, Jess! This is Jace and—”

“We’ve met. Hey, listen, I think I’m going to take off.” Jess looked dejected, and it was a look I’d seen one too many times. I felt myself caving.

“It’s Christmas. You should come in,” I found myself saying, shocking even myself. I heard an annoyed grunt from behind me. Jess looked horrified at the sound, taking a step back as if rejecting my offer. I turned around to glare at Jace.

“Jace, that’s rude. It’s Christmas.”

His cheeks turned a bright red. “I just want you to have a good Christmas, Starlight…” Jace’s focus was entirely trained on me. I didn’t think he had spared Jess a single glance since he realized she was there. I felt a fluttering in my stomach at the way he was looking at me.

“And I wouldn’t if I knew someone was alone for it. Come on in, Jess.” With Raya on my hip, Jace as my own personal shadow, a confused Remi, and a very clearly regretting-her-life-decisions Jess, we made our way back into the house to start Christmas.

As we made our way to the kitchen, where the rest of the group was, Sloan dropped his spatula when he saw the group of us that filtered in. Magnolia wore a look of confusion but reached for Raya when she made grab hands at her, and Ihanded her off while Dexter held a look of uncertainty at our stiffened postures.

“Okay…who died?”

Despite my best efforts, I found myself flinching at her words. The darkness that seemed to dissipate in the comfort of my friends, who were becoming family, reared its ugly head. Suddenly, the room felt too small. Everyone felt too close, and I felt like I couldn’t get the air into my lungs fast enough.

A soft touch pulled at me, and I felt arms pull me in, caging me in. They felt like the only things holding me together. “I got you, Starlight,I got you.” And for the first time, I felt like I could fall apart because he would hold me together.

“I got you. It’s okay.”

I sank to the floor, but the pressure around me never gave up, never let me go. It just held me.

I was unsure of how long we stayed there, on the floor, but it had to be a long time because my muscles ached from misuse, and I realized then that my fingers were clutched so tightly to Jace’s T-shirt they had turned almost purple.