“That’s why I got a key, brother,” I tell him with a grin. He returns my grin with a fist bump. And Zoey burst into tears again.
“Youaregoing to move to New York,” she sobs hysterically.
“Zoey, I’m not going anywhere. You should know that I can’t leave you. Even if I did, I’m always just a flight away.”
She starts crying harder. “Don’t say shit like that, man,” Jax tells me exasperated.
“I swear to God I’m not going anywhere, Zoey.”
“But you will. You’ll want to be with her.”
She’s right. I do want to be with her. I want to be with Tori every second of the day. But I will never leave my sister. I won’t leave my brothers. I’ll just have to do whatever I can to make this with me and Tori work without moving. I’ve done it so far. “Zoey, you know me. You know I won’t ever leave River City. Even if I get traded tomorrow, River City is my home.”
“Go on, Zee. She’ll be fine,” Jax tells me. I didn’t realize we were already at the airport. I lean over and kiss my sister on the cheek before I climb out.
“I’ll be back in a couple of days,” I tell Jax as we stand outside the car.
“I know you will. She’ll be okay.”
“You do know I’m not going anywhere, right? Not permanently.”
He laughs bringing me into a hug. “I wouldn’t let you if you tried.”
The entire flight, I worry about Zoey. I don’t want her to stress out right now. Well, ever really.
Sometimes I think our childhood was a little too perfect. We never knew anything about our dad’s ties to the mafia. We had both parents home for every meal. We were always together.
When we were teenagers, Jax wanted to make money. He didn’t want his parents to face the burden of the costs of a teenage athlete. Rory offered him work, and I followed. We would make drops for them often.
When it was obvious that we had a future in football, Rory cut us off. What Rory didn’t know was we found other ways to get the money. Mostly from fighting. It’s how we met Maddox in the first place. It’s how we know what we can do. It’s how I know he can definitely handle himself.
Adulthood has totally sucked ass.
Mine and Zoey’s parents moved away. That was rough transition. I think it would’ve been a lot harder if not for Dina and Joseph McCabe. It was really hard on Zoey and I think the real reason our parents rented us the apartment for the three of us to share. There is no way they were stupid enough to not know Zoey and Jax were sleeping together by then.
Then I met Lacy. Actually, that’s not right. I already knew Lacy. In junior high, she moved away, and we lost touch, but I never forgot the first girl I kissed.
I loved her. I’d never been in love before and the way it consumed me felt like everything. When she got sick, I felt like my world was crumbling. I wasn’t sure how I would survive losing her. But she made me promise to be strong and keep moving forward.
I’ve tried fucking hard to keep that promise even when it has felt impossible, and there have definitely been moments when I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. Especially after my sister and best friend’s world crumbled simultaneously or when my parents died at the same time. It was so fucking insanely hard to bury them both while knowing Zoey was out there somewhere in her own world of pain.
But goddammit I trudged through it. Albeit with a different woman and bottle every night, but at least I got through it.
The last year since bringing Zoey back home hasn’t been as easy as I’ve made out to anyone not inside our little circle. We’ve all been extremely protective of Zoey. We’ve done whatever it takes to make sure nothing triggers the memories.
I’m unlocking Tori’s door still worried about my little sister.
That thought makes me chuckle. I’m fifteen minutes older than her, but even when we were the same size, she has always been mylittlesister.
I walk through Tori’s small apartment. I imagine she’s already in bed because it’s after three, so I’m surprised she isn’t in her bed. I continue to her bathroom to find her sound asleep in the tub. I’ve got to figure out how to get her to stop that before she drowns, but I still laugh.
I squat beside the tub and run a finger across her collarbone. Her eyes flutter open, those big brown eyes zeroing in on me. “You’ve got to stop sleeping in the tub, Darlin’.”
She moves to get up but winces and groans as she moves. I help her out seeing her arms, legs, and ribs covered in bruises. Her hands are just as bad with swollen knuckles and broken skin. She told me she’s been training with other kids, but you don’t get bruises like this from training with kids.
I don’t know what she’s been up to but that she hasn’t told me is what really worries me.
“What time is it?” she asks groggily as I help dry her off very gently then wrap the towel around her.
