Page 59 of Unbreakable
I rubbed my lips together and stared out the airplane window. “How did you know things were over with Sydney?”
Jack blew a sloppy breath out of his lips. “It was a lot of things. In the beginning, she always convinced me to hate people along with her. I started realizing how those people weren’t actually bad people, and were kinda cool. And if I pushed back on her about someone being fine and, you know, worthy of basic respect, she got so mad at me. I don’t know, man. She was just mean.”
I chortled, surprised by his statement. “You’re mean, Jack.”
He put a hand to his chest. “Excuse me! I’ve come a long way. Now I’m just mean on the ice.”
“I’ll have to ask Mara whether that’s true,” I said.
“No, really. Sydney wasn’t just mean. So many things she did were selfish. That’s not how Jeanine is, though, right?”
I picked at my nails. “I think she’s the opposite. She gave up too much of herself and it’s just now hitting. But it’s my fault for taking so much.”
“How come?”
I rubbed my forehead. “I don’t know, man. I’ve known she hasn’t been doing well since we moved. I guess I thought if we didn’t talk about it, she’d get over it somehow.”
Jack scoffed. “Well, that’s one thing Sydney and I were good at: fighting. God, she could dish out some nasty ones. If she had a feeling, I knew it right away.”
“And I’m sure you were shy too,” I said, smirking at him.
He screwed up his face into a sneer. “Ha ha, you’re so edgy, Pickles. Look in the mirror. You’ll fight with me about something stupid, but you won’t fight with your wife who needs you.”
“I don’t like fighting,” I said. “I like us to be peaceful.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes you need to fight. If you sit on everything, neither of you will get what you want.”
I laughed, impressed. “Since when did you become a marriage expert?”
“I’ve had two now. I’m a pro.”
“I . . . don’t think that’s how that works,” I said.
“Look: Sydney taught me to fight her. Mara’s teaching mehowto fight without being an irrational dickwad.”
“Wonder what the next one will teach you,” I tease.
“You wanna go?” he snapped, turning to me and going to stand, but his airplane seatbelt held him in place. “We could fucking go. Right here in the aisle.”
Colton’s head poked over the seat in front of us. “You make him mad, Pickles?”
“He said Mara wouldn’t be my last wife,” Leroy shouted. “Take it back, fucker!”
“It was a joke, Jack,” I said, putting my hands out.
“Don’t think I won’t deck your ass—” Leroy started.
“No friendly fire!” Colt shouted over us.
“I think maybe you’re still an irrational dickwad,” I muttered.
“Say it again, punk!” Leroy yelled.
“You’re just proving my point,” I said.
A hand slapped me upside the head, to which I yelped. “Say anything else about my wife, and today might be your last day on this planet.”
“You need to be like Leroy, Pickles,” Colton said.
