He deserved it.

Derek and Cord went back to their rooms, leaving the girls around the sisters. Kara had gone over and was stroking Hannah’s back as well. She kept crying. It was the deep sobs, the ones that come from a person’s gut. Flinching, I could sympathize. I’d experienced the same gut-wrenching emotion.

“I’m so sorry, Tiffany.”

“Ssh. Just let it out. This is good, Hannah.” Tiffany pressed a tender kiss to her sister’s temple, moving her hair aside. “You need to feel this pain.”

And this wasn’t about Jamie anymore. This was about Dylan, her ex-boyfriend, which she’d been with for six years. I stood there, unsure what to do. The Hannah I was used to wasn’t this one. She was crass, bold, sexual, carefree, or maybe careless. I knew she was hurting. I knew she was broken, but it was always covered up. Not now. She was letting it out. Feeling a tear threatening, I swiped at it, annoyed at myself. It’d been so long since I’d been with girlfriends like this, when one needed support from me.

I found myself scared. I wasn’t sure what to do and I couldn’t mess it up. I may not get this opportunity again to show that I cared. But then Kara suggested, quietly, “Maybe you should just take her upstairs.”

Tiffany nodded, leading Hannah up the stairs with her friend following behind.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, I opened my mouth. What did I say? Should I do something? And Kara turned back, a smile to me. “You can shut off the lights. Thanks, Alex.”

Oh. Yeah. I could do that. Reaching out, the house plunged to darkness again. Myself included.

Jesse was pacing in the room when I went back down, pissed off and ready to do damage. As I stepped inside, he swung his piercing eyes to me, pinning me down. “What else did he say to you?”

“I think you heard most of it.”

He growled, “Cord said he’s been rude, but not like that. That wasn’t being rude. That was being a dick to you.”

“He didn’t know—”

“He shouldn’t have to know!” He punched the side of his closet door and it broke off. The hinge cracked open.

I rushed over to inspect his hand. There was blood, wood splinters, but I didn’t see anything too damaging. His hand would be black and blue by tomorrow. It was already swelling up. Caressing his rigid arm, I helped him ease it from the door and then touched the side of his face. He was struggling. His breath was wheezing.

“Hey,” I murmured, softly.

His eyes opened and I saw the storm inside.

“Thank you for defending me.”

“God.” He swept me against his chest and tucked his head beside mine. He breathed out, haggardly, “I’d do more than that. No one should talk like that to you.”

Pain pierced me and I had to blink back my own tears. Jesse had defended me. He stood against his roommate, did serious damage, and he’d do it again. He’d done that for me. My throat was thick with emotion and I couldn’t talk, not then and there, but I was so touched. Turning my head, I nuzzled into his until he moved to meet my lips with his.

My body quivered with emotion.

He had created a hole in my armor and it opened further that night. It was big and gaping and I wasn’t scared for the first time in a long time. I was becoming okay again.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“She was crying?” Beth sat across from me with a dumbstruck expression on her face. She had pulled her feet up to her chair so her knees were against her chest. With one arm resting over them, she reached to pick up her coffee.

We had met the next morning for breakfast. Jesse asked if he should come with, but it’d be worse if he had. The attention was going to be there, it’d be ramped up ten notches if he was with me. As it was, I had only been propositioned three times by guys in the parking lot and approached by a handful of girls. They were giggling freshmen and wanted Jesse’s autograph, if I could hook that up. I caught a few speculative gazes from other girls. I was being sized up. They were figuring out the best angle to go through me to get to him.

To be honest, I had been expecting worse than this, but it was the first morning. And it was early. There was an entire day to look forward, though I’d get a break. Jesse wanted me to meet him for lunch. He explained where he ate, but it sounded complicated. He said to keep up with Cord after our class. That explained where the guys went that one time. They had lunch with him.

I nodded at Beth now. “Yup.”

“Like a breakdown sort of crying?”

“Yup.”

“Huh.” Beth bobbed her head forward, munching on her breakfast sandwich. She seemed dazed at the turn of events. “I never saw that coming. I thought it’d be longer, in three months yet.”

“She was with Dylan since seventh grade?”

“Yeah.”

“Now he’s with her best friend?”

“Ex best friend/roommate still. She’s been trying to get out of that room, but Housing said there were no other openings.”

“She could take my room.”

Interest flickered in her gaze. “Yeah, you’re right. She could.”

A table beside us was filled with girls. All of their heads were pushed together and we could hear loud whispering from them. At the glances, I knew they were talking about me. I sighed and put my toast back down. My appetite had waned suddenly. “How bad is it on the floor?”

She grimaced at me. “You don’t want to know.”