Kiss To Forget (Blairwood University #2) - Anna B. Doe Page 0,97
into the study just as I was finishing the final arrangements. As it turns out, there wasn’t that much to do. Apparently, when Mom found out the cancer was terminal, she made the arrangements on her own before she got too bad to be able to do so. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be pissed off at her or relieved; I guess I was a little bit of both. But before I could think too much about it and fall further down the rabbit hole, the guys showed up. Their grim faces told me they knew what had happened.
One by one, they filled the room. Hayden went straight for the mini-bar, taking the most expensive bottle of whiskey in my dad’s arsenal and unclasping it. He didn’t even bother with glasses, just took a swig from the bottle, and silently offered it to me. So we sat and drank, nobody saying anything. It was exactly what I needed at that moment, and I didn’t realize it until I saw them.
“Are you sure?” she asks, not looking at me. Shaking her head, she undoes my tie and reties it with a calm efficiency that is so like her.
“Positive.” I try to offer her a smile, but it comes out twisted. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“Last winter, my best friend’s brother scored me a waitressing job at some high-class fundraiser. They gave me this fancy uniform, tie included, so I looked at some YouTube tutorials.”
“Of course you did.” Is there anything this girl can’t do? Seriously. “C’mon. We have to grab Jade.”
Losing Mom has hit me hard, but it devastated Jade. She’s been closed off in her room, refusing to leave it. Yasmin managed to talk to her a couple of times and forced her to eat something, but for the most part, she stayed inside, crying her eyes out.
I felt completely powerless, not knowing what to do to make it better. Was there even a way? If there was, I could use it myself. I’d find a way to deal with it, somehow, some way. But Jade… she’s just a teenage girl who lost her mother, and I’m clueless on how to help her.
Yasmin’s fingers wrap around my wrist and pull me to a stop before I can open the door. “Do you want me to get her?”
I look at her for a long moment. It would be so easy to nod and have her handle it. She seems to know better how to take care of my sister than I do, but that isn’t the answer.
“No.” I shake my head. “I’ll get her. Meet you downstairs?”
Yasmin’s thumb brushes over the inside of my wrist, the move so soft and tender it sends shivers up my arm.
“Sure.”
Together, we walk into the hallway. I stand still, watching her go, her heels clicking against the hardwood as she descends the stairs. Only when I’m sure Yasmin’s out of reach, do I let my guard down. Tilting my head back, I inhale sharply.
You can do this, Cole.
Crossing the hallway, I stop in front of Jade’s door and knock. The sound echoes through the otherwise empty hallway. It somehow feels quiet, desolate, even with all my friends staying in the house. Like the very soul was sucked out of the place and has gone along with Mom’s spirit. She was the one who made this place home.
I wait a while, but there isn’t an answer.
“Smalls?” I call as I tentatively push the door open and peek inside.
Jade’s standing in front of her dresser, her hands gripping the edge of it as she cries silently.
Entering the room, I go straight to her, wrapping my arms over her trembling shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“I-it’s not o-okay,” she sobs. “S-she’s g-g-gone.”
Tightening my hold on her, I let her turn around and burrow her head into my shoulder. “I know. I know.”
“I don’t think I can do this. I can’t… Nix, it’s too…”
I take a step back so I can look at her. Her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy, cheeks pale. “We have to do it. For her.”
And I don’t think I can do this without you.
So, so selfish. Even now.
“I’m not sure I’m strong enough.”
My throat bobs as I swallow. Pushing back all the feelings that are swirling inside me, I lock them down tight. Jade needs me. I need to be the strong one. For her. Since I’m the only family she has left.
“That’s why you have me.” I wipe her tears. “We’ll do