Page 85 of String Theory


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“So I’ve been told.” He flicked his eyes in Ari’s direction. Ari wanted to die.

This dinner was pretty thoroughly ruined, and he was starting to wonder if this relationship—Jax’s with his parents—could ever be salvaged. The prospect of being caught between them for years to come turned the ball of anxiety in his stomach into a rock. “Jax,” he croaked helplessly, wanting to do something to make this stop.

Jax looked at him, and his eyes burned with anger and hurt. Ari nearly swallowed his tongue. He wanted to reach out and soothe that hurt, but the set of Jax’s shoulders told him that was a no go.

“Well, if you have no other skills,” his mother started, and God, Ari couldn’t take any more of it.

“Maman! Jax isn’t stupid.” He wasn’t, and he needed her to know that she wasn’t outsmarting him in this game. He fully understood her not-so-hidden subtext. “He got into an MIT doctoral program,” he added to underscore the point.

His parents’ jaws dropped—but Jax went even more rigid.

“Jax is brilliant,” Ari added, because he was, and it frustrated him that his parents couldn’t or wouldn’t see all the ways in which Jax was wonderful.

“MIT.” Ari’s father recovered first. “That is impressive.”

His mother was eyeing Jax critically, as if trying to make this new knowledge fit. “MIT,” she said. “In what program?” Her tone was less nasty, and Ari began to hope that this could be salvaged—that he could get his parents to see the Jax Ari saw.

Jax threw his napkin on the table. “You know what? That definitely doesn’t matter. I think I’m done here.” And he stood up and walked out.

For a long moment, Ari stared after him, shocked. The front door slammed shut, and each Darvish jumped.

His mother huffed. “Well, I never—that…boy—” she gasped, working herself up into a rant.

Ari threw down his own napkin and bolted for the door. He couldn’t let Jax justleave.

Jax was striding down the sidewalk, tapping his phone, and Ari ran after him. “Jax!”

“Go back inside,” Jax snapped without looking back.

Ari ignored him. He grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. “Jax, wait, please.”

Jax’s eyes were dark with anger. “I’m pretty sure that we have nothing good to say to each other right now, Ari, so why don’t you just turn around and go back to yourparents.” He spat out the word like it was dirty, or maybe like he’d rather have replaced it withassholes.

That didn’t feel true—Ari had a hundred things to say, likewhat the fuck were you doingandplease stay—but he didn’t think Jax would hear them. “I told you they would be like this,” he said helplessly.

Jax laughed sharply and jerked out of Ari’s grip. “Yeah, you did. But you didn’t mention you’d be letting them walk all over you. And me. You were supposed to be my ally.”

That was rich, considering the lengths Jax went to provoke a response. “Allies? You didn’t exactly consult me before you started poking the bear!”

“You never stood up for me evenonce!” Jax shouted. “Not one time! If that was a preview of what I can expect in the future, count me out. I have no interest in fending off your asshole parents on my own—”

“Jax!” Ari protested, frantic. He needed Jax to stop talking, needed enough time to gather a reason Jax should stay. “Would you keep your voice down?”

“Oh, right, I forgot,” Jax snarled. “It’s okay to say whatever horrible thing you want, as long as nobody hears it.”

Ari’s heart sank.

Jaxhadheard.

“Like I said, I don’t think we have anything to say to each other.” Jax’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “Do we?”

What could Ari say? He didn’t want Jax to go. “I told you they would be like this,” he repeated hoarsely. He hadn’t invited Jax to meet them because he knew they would hurt him. “You said you could handle it. Instead you drove the train right off the cliff!”

Jax’s eyes went hard, and he half turned away from Ari. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat as the wind picked up. “Yeah, fair enough,” he said. “You told me your parents would be like this. Just like I told you the one sure way to hurt me is to point out all the ways in which I didn’t live up to my potential.”

Ari knew in the moment he shouldn’t have brought up MIT, but he was so desperate to keep dinner from crashing so spectacularly—

“Go back inside, Ari,” Jax said hollowly. He was already turning the rest of the way, giving Ari his back. “You’ll catch a cold.”