Page 75 of When Our Stars Aligned
I scoff at the statement. How did I turn into an emotional human being? I never should’ve strayed from being closed off; it was easier then. Okay, I wasn’t happy being like that, but the hole in my heart Aly left proves that I should’ve kept everything buried.
“You really didn’t think this through, did you?” Travis looks at me. “She came out here to get away from her crazy-ass ex. He would’ve found her a lot faster if she used her real name. Plus, it’s not uncommon for professors to go by different last names. Don’t you remember a few years ago a student at some community college in California failed a class, so he looked up his professor’s info, went to his house, and beat the crap out of him?”
“I get the need for privacy, especially because she was trying to hide from her ex, but why out of a billion last names did she choose mine?” That’s the million-dollar question.
“Did you ask her why?”
I lower my head. I’m sure Aly was going to explain everything to me, but I was in too much of a rage to listen. “No. I think she was going to tell me, but all I could think of was Maranda walking around pretending like we were happily married while I was off deployed.”
“Aly is not Maranda,” Travis says sternly. “And I really don’t think she has a malicious bone in her body. I think you need to talk to her.”
“Yeah, maybe…” I contemplate. Perhaps there really is a reasonable explanation and these last few days of hell were all for nothing.
“Good. Go across the hall and talk to her, but please, for the love of all things holy, take a shower first. You cannot go over there looking and smelling like that. Your clothes look like they’re about to grow legs and walk right off of you.”
I want to protest, but I know I can’t let Aly see me the way I am. I’m surprised Travis lasted this long standing in such close proximity.
“While you take a shower, I’ll start cleaning up this mess.” He opens the window near my bookshelf and an icy breeze blows past. “Hopefully the cold air will get the smell out faster.”
Travis begins cleanup duty while I head to the bathroom to shave and shower. While I’m washing the last few days away, I rehearse how I will approach Aly and what I will ask her. Will she even want to talk to me again?
I’m coming to my senses now and am realizing Travis was right. I’m an asshole. Parker is as common a name as Smith or Jones, and she most likely changed it so her douchebag of an ex wouldn’t find her. Suddenly, I have a sense of urgency to go seemy girl and grovel. I really fucked up this time.Why do I do shit like this?
Stepping out of the shower, I hear Travis clamoring in the kitchen. “Everything okay out there?” I peek into the hallway.
“Yup,” Travis calls back. “Got it all under control. Do you have dishtowels anywhere?”
“Yeah, I’ll grab some.” I head to the closet in the hallway. It’s basically a catch-all for random things. As I reach up to grab a dishtowel, I take notice of the box I’ve had on the shelf since Thanksgiving. Gram’s box. I pull it down and run my hand over the smooth white top. A squiggly handwritten “J” in black ink is all that’s written on the outside. Gram struggled with handwriting after her stroke. I’m sure it took a lot of effort to just write that letter. I run back to my room and place the box on my nightstand, thinking that maybe today will be a good day to open it.
I walk back towards the kitchen to the sight of a sparkling clean countertop and two large trash bags propped up against my door. Travis is in the living room folding the blankets I’ve been using.
“I have no problem scrubbing the kitchen or straightening things around here, but I draw the line at laundry. Like hell will I wash your nasty underwear.”
“Thanks for all your help, man.” I fold the clean kitchen towel over the handle of the oven. I don’t know what I’d do without Travis in my life. We’ve gotten so used to picking up the slack for each other when times get tough.
“No problem.” He folds the last blanket. “I don’t mind helping and it gets Gus out of the house for a bit.” We both turn towards Gus, who is now sleeping on his back with all three paws in the air.
“So, are you gonna go talk to her?” Travis asks, turning his attention back to me.
“Yeah, I thought about it and you’re probably right, but I still need answers.”
“And if you’re okay with those answers, do you think you two will get back together?”
“I don’t know. I mean, yes. I feel like I can’t breathe without her. But what if it’s an answer I don’t want to hear, or what if I accept the answer, but she’s so upset with me that she doesn’t feel the same way anymore? Maybe the damage is done.”
“It’s been four days. I’m pretty sure she hasn’t fallen out of love with you, dickface.”
It’s been four days since everything happened? I completely lost track of time. God, I’ve been so messed up.
“I need to do this. Fix this. I need to listen to her side,” I say.
“Good, now let me get out of the way. When you two get back together, you’ll be all over each other and I don’t need to see that shit.” He grabs the two garbage bags and steps out into the hallway. “Come on, Gus!”
Gus ever so dramatically slides off the couch, stretches, and reluctantly follows behind Travis. For a moment, I feel bad that his nap has been interrupted, but I toss that thought aside because I need to get my head on straight if I’m going to have a talk with Aly.
My heart pumps rapidly as I knock on the door of 312. The door opens to the sight of a sleepy-looking Michelle, who is still in her pajamas and holding a cup of coffee. She freezes mid-yawn when her eyes meet mine.
“Jax! Oh…umm…were you looking for Aly?”
