gave him a panic-stricken look. I mouthed the words please and sorry before shutting the door in his face.
By the time I came out of my room, Justin was headed toward it. I closed my bedroom door behind me, cocked my hip to the side, and fastened an angry look on my face. It was harder than I thought, because while I was still pissed at him, I panicked on the inside. If he found Dash here there would be blood, and I couldn’t put Dash in that position.
“What are you doing here, Justin?”
He dropped his eyes. “I wanted to stop by before work and apologize about last night. You know how I am when I drink . . .”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I know.”
The sound of nails scratching against wood scraped behind me. He craned his head in that direction. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s just Hail.” Trying to get to Dash. I swallowed a lump in my throat.
“Dumbass dog.”
“No one asked you to be here,” I snapped.
His eyes turned to slits. “Stop being so defensive of your fucking dog! It’s an animal, not a baby. God, sometimes you are so fucking sensitive. Look, it took a lot for me to come here. I should be at work already, but I wanted to say I was sorry. Now are you going to hear me out or what?”
My heart pounded against my chest, but I took a deep breath to slow it. Justin’s arms were still loose at his sides so I knew his anger was at a safely low level. No need to heighten it. “I’m listening.”
“Like I said, I was drunk and pissed off because my truck got towed and Mark had to take me to pick it up. We’d just gotten back to my place when you texted.”
My mouth popped open, the question of where he’d parked in order to get towed on my tongue, but I stopped it. He often parked in the covered area of his apartment complex despite not paying extra for the space. I reached for his hand, noticing he wasn’t wearing his watch. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He pulled his hand back. “Because I stopped needing a mother years ago, Blake.”
The way he said my name hit my chest with guilt, as if the jab was directed at me and not his estranged family. I swallowed hard, now understanding his outburst last night. I’d been the direct catalyst for his family kicking him out, and even though I’d tried for years, I’d also failed to reunite them, and he had no one to help him in tough situations like that.
“I’m sorry I took it out on you, but you going out with a bunch of science-geeks only made it worse. They don’t have your well-being as their first priority like I do. You shouldn’t have sprung that on me.”
“I hadn’t planned on going out . . .” I rubbed my palms over my face. Explaining all the reasons he didn’t need to worry about me as much as he did was too long a conversation to have while Dash was locked in my closet.
“Where’s your watch?” I lightly grazed his wrist, shocked that he didn’t have it on. He’d worn the gold piece every day since we were sixteen. It’d been his aunt’s father’s and she had slipped it into one of the boxes that Justin’s uncle had left on the porch the night he’d kicked him out. I’d always believed the watch was her way of saying goodbye and that he wore it as his way of saying he still needed her. In my darker moments, I looked at it and only saw a golden reminder that I was the reason for his abandonment.
He held his wrist out, gazing at the empty spot for a few seconds too long, before shrugging. “I sold it to get my truck back.”
I sucked in a breath. “Justin, you could’ve—”
“Don’t. It wasn’t a big deal. Thing was a pain in the ass to wear anyway.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I knew that wasn’t true, but the look in his eyes quickly shut my commentary down. He wasn’t in the mood.
“About last night,” he forged on, returning to the original reason he came over. “Can we both agree that we’re sorry?”
I glanced up at him, his tall frame made his head nearly touch the ceiling
By the time I came out of my room, Justin was headed toward it. I closed my bedroom door behind me, cocked my hip to the side, and fastened an angry look on my face. It was harder than I thought, because while I was still pissed at him, I panicked on the inside. If he found Dash here there would be blood, and I couldn’t put Dash in that position.
“What are you doing here, Justin?”
He dropped his eyes. “I wanted to stop by before work and apologize about last night. You know how I am when I drink . . .”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I know.”
The sound of nails scratching against wood scraped behind me. He craned his head in that direction. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s just Hail.” Trying to get to Dash. I swallowed a lump in my throat.
“Dumbass dog.”
“No one asked you to be here,” I snapped.
His eyes turned to slits. “Stop being so defensive of your fucking dog! It’s an animal, not a baby. God, sometimes you are so fucking sensitive. Look, it took a lot for me to come here. I should be at work already, but I wanted to say I was sorry. Now are you going to hear me out or what?”
My heart pounded against my chest, but I took a deep breath to slow it. Justin’s arms were still loose at his sides so I knew his anger was at a safely low level. No need to heighten it. “I’m listening.”
“Like I said, I was drunk and pissed off because my truck got towed and Mark had to take me to pick it up. We’d just gotten back to my place when you texted.”
My mouth popped open, the question of where he’d parked in order to get towed on my tongue, but I stopped it. He often parked in the covered area of his apartment complex despite not paying extra for the space. I reached for his hand, noticing he wasn’t wearing his watch. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He pulled his hand back. “Because I stopped needing a mother years ago, Blake.”
The way he said my name hit my chest with guilt, as if the jab was directed at me and not his estranged family. I swallowed hard, now understanding his outburst last night. I’d been the direct catalyst for his family kicking him out, and even though I’d tried for years, I’d also failed to reunite them, and he had no one to help him in tough situations like that.
“I’m sorry I took it out on you, but you going out with a bunch of science-geeks only made it worse. They don’t have your well-being as their first priority like I do. You shouldn’t have sprung that on me.”
“I hadn’t planned on going out . . .” I rubbed my palms over my face. Explaining all the reasons he didn’t need to worry about me as much as he did was too long a conversation to have while Dash was locked in my closet.
“Where’s your watch?” I lightly grazed his wrist, shocked that he didn’t have it on. He’d worn the gold piece every day since we were sixteen. It’d been his aunt’s father’s and she had slipped it into one of the boxes that Justin’s uncle had left on the porch the night he’d kicked him out. I’d always believed the watch was her way of saying goodbye and that he wore it as his way of saying he still needed her. In my darker moments, I looked at it and only saw a golden reminder that I was the reason for his abandonment.
He held his wrist out, gazing at the empty spot for a few seconds too long, before shrugging. “I sold it to get my truck back.”
I sucked in a breath. “Justin, you could’ve—”
“Don’t. It wasn’t a big deal. Thing was a pain in the ass to wear anyway.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I knew that wasn’t true, but the look in his eyes quickly shut my commentary down. He wasn’t in the mood.
“About last night,” he forged on, returning to the original reason he came over. “Can we both agree that we’re sorry?”
I glanced up at him, his tall frame made his head nearly touch the ceiling
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