as Rogue said, “Yes.”
I opened the door and found them lying close to one another on Chase’s bed, a fact that set a line of jealousy scoring through my heart. But I didn’t say anything. JJ wouldn’t lay his hands on her, he knew better than that. And I knew they needed each other to get through this grief, I just wished I could be a part of it.
Rogue was wearing one of Chase’s black band t-shirts with knee high socks. Her eyes were puffy as she sat up and JJ looked pointedly at the ceiling, ignoring me. Mutt was laid out on the end of the bed on one of Chase’s blankets, upside down and sniffing the air as I brought the nachos closer. He didn’t ever spend any time with me anymore, even my chicken treats not enough to buy his love. He started vomiting up his chicken in the mornings sometimes too and I swear he looked me in the eye while he did like he was punishing me. He’d never gotten over me shouting at him when I’d almost shot Chase and I swear he was going to hold it against me until the end of time.
“I got you something to eat,” I said, offering the food to them.
Rogue took it with a sad smile of thanks and my gaze moved to JJ.
“Can I talk to you, brother?” I asked.
“Is it Crew business?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then no,” he said simply, placing a hand behind his head as his eyes slid onto me, full of iciness. I’d never really experienced being on the end of JJ’s wrath, and I didn’t much like it.
“Just talk to me,” I commanded.
“I said no,” he gritted out.
“JJ,” Rogue tried gently, but he only shook his head.
Mutt jumped up, moving to try and snag a nacho as Rogue placed them down on the nightstand. My gaze snagged on a photo sat there of the three of us – me, Chase and JJ on a night out a few years back. We were all laughing, our arms slung around each other and in that shot you could hardly even see the emptiness in my soul where Rogue should have been. We looked happy, like a family, unbreakable. My jaw tightened and my heart crushed to dust. I turned my head away, needing to look anywhere else and my gaze settled on JJ once more. If he wouldn’t talk to me in private, then I’d just have to say my piece right here.
“I know you’re angry with me,” I started.
“Wow, you should have been a private investigator, brother,” he said dryly.
“Can you at least fucking look at me?” I growled, unable to contain my frustration.
“Yes, boss,” he said, his eyes moving onto me as he sneered. Great, this was fucking worse.
“You have to know everything I do is to protect us, I never wanted any of this,” I said earnestly. “I have a duty to our family, it wasn’t easy to banish him.”
“I get why you did it, Fox,” JJ said in an empty sort of voice. “But maybe I’m getting tired of you doing things in our best interest without consulting us first.”
I bit back my immediate snippy response and tried to hear him out, looking to Rogue as she nodded her agreement.
Give me fucking patience.
“Go on then,” I growled, folding my arms as I gazed at them both. “Give me hell, tell me what an asshole I am.”
They shared a look, seeming intrigued by that idea and Rogue started it off.
“You’re an overbearing, bossy dick,” she said and I nodded, figuring that was fair.
“You’re controlling and domineering, and you don’t listen to anything we fucking say,” JJ snarled next.
“You think just because you’re the Harlequin prince, you can treat us like you treat all the rest of your men,” Rogue said with pursed lips.
“And you call us family, but when it comes down to it, you won’t listen to our opinions because you think the great Fox Harlequin knows best. Always. Even when you fucking don’t,” JJ snapped, venom in his eyes.
“I’m just trying to protect you,” I said heavily, feeling the sting of their words.
“Your way of protecting us is sometimes suffocating,” Rogue said, though her tone softened a little as she gazed at me.
“Don’t spare his feelings, pretty girl, it’s always suffocating,” JJ said with a glare.
“Alright,” I growled. “I’ll try to be less…controlling. Is that what you wanna hear?”
JJ shoved to his feet, stalking toward me and for a moment