Mr. Mitchell Billionaires' Club Book 2 - Raylin Marks Page 0,170
together, and I know for a fact that you still struggle with hating your mom for what she did to you.”
“Don’t sit here and tell me I shouldn’t hate that bitch,” I said.
“Your hatred for the woman is being projected.” His voice was low and sympathetic. “No room for error,” he said with a smile. “It’s the rule Jacob and I live by as surgeons. We have to, or we lose a patient. You, however, live by that rule harder than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s all stemming from the bullshit you’re carrying with you because of what your mom did. You project all your shit onto something else. You can’t hold down a goddamn relationship—even when it’s a fucking stupid mistake like you made with Julia or Lillian, mostly a good one like you had with Avery.”
“No room for error?” I softened up some. “Well, in Julia or Lillian’s cases—”
“Those women were the epitome of the word error.” He laughed. “I’m not shitting you, though. You have deep-seated issues, and they’re fucking with you big time.”
“Even if I agreed that you might be correct that I don’t give anyone a chance—perhaps, in Avery’s case, specifically. I don’t know. It was like as soon as I found everything out, all I saw was my mom, someone who was okay to put her child in danger to cover her secrets. It’s just—I don’t know. It’s a lot.”
“That’s when therapy comes in, my man,” Collin said. “I work arm-in-arm with therapists, and I know they can help you get all this scarred-up shit out of your system. You need to talk to someone, though. You have to let go of this hatred for your mom.”
“And if I can’t?” I asked him, knowing he was right, even though I wished I could tell him he was full of shit. There was no denying what he was saying was accurate. “Then what?”
“You lose Avery for good, even after she was brave enough to get help and try to fix herself,” Jacob said.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, pulling off my sunglasses and looking at him as he approached. “She went to rehab? Was she using?”
“This is what I’m fucking talking about,” Collin stood and stretched. “Look at you, jumping to accusations.” He snapped his fingers. “And just like that, too.”
“She didn’t go to rehab, you dick,” Jake answered. “She and Ash have gotten pretty close since you broke up. Carmen had a friend in nursing who went through a similar situation as Avery did, so she started going to AA meetings to be surrounded by people with similar experiences who could show their support and encourage her. They’ve been going to meetings every Friday for weeks, and Ash said that Avery’s done some intense work on herself as a result. She even decided to sell that Aston Martin to pay for lawyers so she can get custody of Addison. Say what you will, but she’s taking care of herself and doing the work that needs to be done, and she’s doing it for herself, which is more than I can say for most people in her situation.”
My lips were suddenly dry. It never even crossed my mind that she would change anything, let alone face her problems and fight to do what’s right. I’d slammed the door on her and our relationship the second I saw that report. I’d lumped her into my mom’s category and threw away the key. Collin’s revelation to me that I projected my issues onto others was slapping me in the face at this very moment.
“Wow.” I looked at Collin. “You were fucking right, both of you. I guess Mom took away my ability to believe people can be redeemed, huh?” I was half-joking, but if I was honest, part of me felt like I might spontaneously cry, and I think the guys could tell.
“That’s why you need therapy,” Jake said thoughtfully.
“That’s what you gotta fix, Jimmy,” Collin said. “I’ve got some friends that you can reach out to. You just need to learn to let the fucking hate go, man.”
“Once you get some help, maybe you won’t blow up your next relationship,” Jake said with a shrug.
“Well,” I smiled at both Collin and Jake. “Glad this bike ride turned out into a Jim therapy session for us.”
“You’re lucky you have Collin.” Jake smiled. “I couldn’t give a fuck before he started talking sense into your stubborn ass.”