Page 123 of Powerless
I know he’s suffering and that fucking kills me.
What’s worse is I pushed him away. I thought it might be better for him this way. Now I’m not so sure that’s true. I’m not sure of anything—myself included.
For years I wanted to get into Jasper’s head. Until now. Now, I think it’s best to not know what’s going on inside his head.
It hurts less that way.
“Okay, you’ve been lying here far too long. My sister is a doctor, so she’s going to come check on you.”
My head rolls across the floor to peer at Summer in the doorway to the back studio of the gym. She’s leaning against the frame while her equally adorable blonde sister stands beside her, looking notably uncomfortable in her scrubs and puffy down jacket.
She gives me an awkward wave and a tight smile, not nearly as homicidal as the night I first saw her.
I lift a hand back in their direction. “I’m perfectly fine. No cause for alarm. But you do need to replace a light bulb in here.” I gesture up to the ceiling. “Actually, if we’re offering doctor advice . . . is staring at light bulbs bad for my eyes?”
Winter shrugs. “Probably isn’t ideal.”
“Okay.” I sigh. “I’ll close them. Doctor’s orders.”
Winter lets out a dry chuckle, but Summer doesn’t. Her footsteps approach, and when she nudges my foot with the toe of her sneaker, I peek up at her.
“Let’s go,” she says. “I know what you need.”
I nod, letting my eyes drift shut. “Yeah. A time machine.”
“No. A boozy brunch.”
“Summer, it’s a Monday!” Winter sounds alarmed and it makes me laugh.
“So? You just finished a long shift, and I’m done with my clients for the day. Willa is bored and blowing up my phone about penis sizes. And Sloane looks half dead. We all got somewhere to be? Important things to do? You eager to head back to the city?”
Winter’s lips purse tightly as she shakes her head.
I point at her, already feeling a little tipsy. Lack of sleep will do that to a girl. “Girl, same. Let’s just hole up in Chestnut Springs with a hot country boy and never go back to the city. The city fucking sucks, and so does everyone who lives there.”
A small smile plays across Winter’s impassive face, and she shrugs, crossed arms rising and falling as she does. “I suppose I could drink to that.”
“Heck yeah!” Summer whoops. “I’ll give Wils a call, and we can meet her at Le Pamplemousse.”
“Here, have another one.” Willa pushes a mimosa across the table toward me in the charming, sunlit, Parisian-style cafe, drawing my attention off of Rosewood Street, the main thoroughfare in Chestnut Springs.
“I already have one.” I tip my champagne flute at her.
She points to my opposite hand. “Yeah, but that hand is empty. And I’m not going to drink it. I’m pregnant.” She rolls her eyes like I’m dumb and places the glass so it brushes up against the tips of my fingers.
“Why did you order it then?” I don’t fight it. I curl my fingers around the stem of the glass and bring it closer.
Willa shrugs with a light laugh. “I dunno, wanted to be part of the boozy brunch.”
Winter arches a brow from beside her. “You’re literallyhere.At boozy brunch. What more do you need?”
Willa stares longingly at my double-fisted mimosas. “Booze. Obviously.”
“What about some orange juice in a champagne flute?” Summer offers sweetly.
Willa makes a groaning noise. “That’s just offensive.”
My eyes bounce between the three women, and I realize I’m already feeling more human. Smiling isn’t the Herculean effort it felt like earlier.
