“Your girlfriend just threatened me!” Mandy screams.
Jason turns to me and I shrug a shoulder with indifference coursing through me. He sets his gaze back to her. “Get out of here and leave me alone, Mandy. I don’t want to have to tell you again,” he says, not stern enough in my opinion.
He has a lot of compassion for others unless they pose a direct threat to himself or his loved ones. I love this trait of his, but it makes it difficult for him to take a stand in these situations, explaining part of the reason why Mandy won’t leave him alone.
“Does she know about us?” she asks.
“I do,” I answer for him, taking charge, “and like I said, if you don’t leave him alone, you’re going to have to deal with me. Just because you slept with him doesn’t mean he loves you still.” I knit my brow. “What was it you said she was? A distraction, right?”
His eyes go wide. “Parker!“
I raise my hand up to stop him and look back at Mandy. “All you were was a distraction to him because in truth, he always loved me. Never you.”
“You’re going to wish you were never born!” she screams.
“Someone already beat you to that.”
Mandy lunges for me, but Tommy grabs her by the arm again and hauls her back.
“Fuck! Let me go, Tommy!” She struggles under his grip.
“Only if you promise to leave all of us alone.”
“Fine! Let me go!”
Tommy releases her and she storms off.
“You fight dirty,” he says, grinning and raising his hand. I meet his high five and smile.
“Parker, what the hell was that?” Jason asks, his eyes narrowed at me.
I cross my arms in front of me again. “Doing something you should have done.”
Tommy slips inside.
“That was cruel and uncharacteristic,” he points out.
“Maybe.”
“Are you taking your anger out on her instead of me?”
“I don’t know, J,” I answer, annoyed. “Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”
“No, but you give barbs,” he replies, the tension increasing in his voice with each word. “You don’t go for the dig, then twist it.”
“What was I supposed to do?” I throw my arms out. “She was trying to waltz into your room right in front of me.”
“You didn’t have to be so heartless.”
Sarcasm sharpens my tongue. “Oh, and harassing you is kind?”
We stare at each other, agitated. I’m still hurt and he’s struggling to keep himself together since Mike’s death. We can’t keep this up and expect to be unscathed at the end. One of us has to walk away. “I’m going home.”
I step inside and grab my purse. “Bye, Tommy.”
“Leaving so soon?” he asks, the confusion plain on his face.
“Yeah. Ask your roommate. I’ll talk to you later.”
I walk back out to Jason waiting with his hands planted on his hips. “Parker—“
“I can’t do this emotional roller coaster right now,” I interrupt.
“And you think I can? I still miss my dad every day.” He jabs his finger into his chest. “Add that to what you’re feeling right now and that’s how I feel,” he says, anger adding an edge to his tone, then pointing to me. “You don’t have the corner market on hard knocks. You’re not the only one who’s suffered.” He pauses a breath. “You didn’t want to be sheltered. You wanted to face things. Or is that just when it’s on your terms and it doesn’t include me?
“You can’t keep punishing me for a mistake I made when I was trying to keep you safe. You’ve always been my first priority.”
His words sting and the truth of them drives in deep. “Jas—“
“You think this is easy?” he asks, raising his voice. “It’s not. I was depressed up here without you. After Dad died, I didn’t think I would make it. I can’t do this alone, but you need to trust me. I’ve proven myself to you many times over. You said you could forgive me anything, Parker. This is anything. Walking out on me when we disagree about how you treated Mandy won’t solve anything.”
Despite knowing how right he is, I can’t stop myself from pushing against the wrath he is directing at me. “Your stalker,” I say, my tone harsh. I know it’s wrong as soon as I say it. He didn’t ask for Mandy to stalk him. He sure as hell didn’t ask for me to give him shit for it either.
“She’s still a person, Parker! She still has thoughts and feelings just like we do