Page 127 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster
Jackson raised his brow and wiggled his clothes in a “go on” motion.
“I…Haven’t you been feeling that something’soff?”
His brow arched higher, almost disappearing into the windblown locks of his hair. “That something’s off withyou?”
“No. With us.”
He scoffed.
“Jackson, please…” I stepped toward him, reaching for his hand.
He grunted and swatted me away.
I shoved the hurt down as I tucked my hands against my sides. “I love you, Jackson, and I always will. But I don’t think we workanymore. Maybe we never did, but we cared too much to see it. I just have thisfeeling…that we’re too different. And we want different things out of life. And the common ground we used to meet on is getting narrower.” A hot tear scorched my cheek. I swiped it away. “Maybe we needed this trip. To shake things up and make us realize our common ground has shrunk so much. I don’t know. But…I think…I think what we have just isn’t working. For either of us.”
Jackson opened his mouth. Closed it again. Opened it. “You’re…Lemme get this straight,babe,”he hurtled the word at me. “You’re breaking up with me?”
I hated the way that sounded.
Breaking up with me.
Breaking my heart.
Breaking my life.
“Yes.” The word tasted metallic. Like blood.
Jackson’s face reddened. A vein pulsed on his temple. Disgust cascadedoff him.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Scowled. Ran a hand through his hair. Scowled some more. Twisted his jeans in his fist. Continued scowling.
“I’m so sorry.”
“You better be fucking sorry! This is unbelievable. It’s—” He turned and rammed the heel of his palm into the doorframe. It connected with a painfulSMACK, a sound like a pellet ricocheting off a solid rock.
I flinched.
Jacksonfumed.
“Fuck, Pippi!” He winced and shook his hand, growling at me when I tentatively reached for him, to see if he’d hurt himself. “You’ve got some fucking gall to stand here, in the cottageI paid for, on the island I footed the money for you to be at and say you’re breaking up with me.”
“I—”
He moved away, chucking his clothes onto the bed, and fisting both hands in his hair. “This is…For fuck’s sake, Pippi.”
“Jackson—”
“I mean, howungratefulcan you fucking be? I buy you the trip of a lifetime.And this is the shit you pull?”
I buy you.
The island I footed the money for you to be at.
The cottage I paid for.
His words clicked together in my head. And my blood froze. “I thought you said this’d all been paid for? That you just took Zohar’s spot?”
Jackson flashed me an incredulous “are you for real right now?”look. “Pippi, honestly, sometimes I wonder if you have abrain in that pretty head of yours. People don’t justgiveshit like this away. Zoharsoldme this trip.”
