Page 7 of Comeback
I shove both hands in my pockets.
“I know that you don’t trust me, but I’m not going anywhere. I mean not emotionally. I don’t know where life will take me physically, but I want him in my life. You’re protective of him and I get that. I’m even grateful for it. Knowing he’s had you all these years makes me thankful. I don’t want to come between you or anything like that. I just want to know him. And nothing you do is going to scare me off, so you can stop acting like an asshole. It doesn’t suit you.”She signs the words as she speaks, then pauses and adds,“I’m sorry if I didn’t sign all that correctly. It’s been a while since I signed with anyone.”
My gut twists with the sincerity splashed on her face and the words that are nearly perfect – her signing of it and what she said. I’m even impressed that she called me out for being an asshole.
The thing is people can promise a lot, but their actions are so much more meaningful. And so far, her actions haven’t convinced me that she’s going to stick around. I hope for Brogan’s benefit, she does.
“You signed it perfectly,” I say. Her face lights up before I push past her, fleeing from my own bedroom.
As the night winds down and people leave, it ends up that me, Brogan, London, Cody, Tripp, Merrick, and Sabrina are the last ones standing. We’ve moved into the living room, sitting around on the couches. Music still plays from my room, but I turned it down so I can hear the conversation better.
Not that I’m following a lot of it. I seem to have a singular focus on Sabrina, which means I keep missing what other people say. It’s pretty standard for me to stop trying as hard to keep up with things by the end of the night. At some point, my brain getstired from the constant work of listening to the person speaking and reading their lips.
The guys are used to it, especially Brogan. Sabrina catches me staring, not for the first time.
“I should go,” she says, standing. She seems to be the glue holding the party together because everyone else stands in agreement that it’s time to go too.
“Are you sure you don’t want to crash here tonight?” Brogan asks her before wrapping her into a hug.
“Thank you, but I’m fine. I’m always out at this time of night.”
“Right.” Brogan smiles at her. “Let’s hang soon. Text me when you get a night off.”
“Okay.” She nods, then London hugs her as well. I stay seated on the couch.
“Wanna share a ride?” Merrick asks her.
Brogan clears his throat loudly.
“Relax.” Merrick laughs. “I just want to make sure she gets home safe.”
Sabrina smiles, laughing so quietly I can’t hear it. I think she likes how protective Brogan is of her. She glances over at me. I’m the only one that hasn’t said goodbye to her.
“It was good to see you again,” she says.
“Yeah.” I tip my head slightly in agreement. I can feel the tension as everyone watches us, but I ignore it.
A few minutes later, the party is officially over. London heads to her and Brogan’s room to get ready for bed, but my buddy plops down on the couch next to me.
He lets his head fall back as he lets out a tired sigh then glances at me.“You good?”
“Yeah. Too much Jäger.”
One side of his mouth pulls up in a grin, then it falls, and his brows knit.“Do you think she’s staying at some shady place? She wouldn’t give me a lot of details.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.” Though now that he’s mentioned it, I’m picturing her sleeping on some ratty couch in a shitty part of town.
“You don’t mind that I invited her to live with us, do you?”His brown eyes search mine. I’ve never lied to Brogan. We’ve been through too much. It always seemed pointless. He can read me better than anyone anyway.
Still, I consider it before finally admitting, “It might be a little weird. I don’t really know her.”
“That’s even more of a reason for her to be here. I want you to get to know her. You’re two of the most important people in my life.”
Telling him I have no desire to get to know her feels crummy, so I stay silent.
“If you’re cool with it, I’m going to ask her again. The two of you will be friends. I just know it.”
“Why would we be friends?” I ask, struggling to imagine what he thinks he can see so clearly.
