Chapter 63

JAX

"Okay, listen to me, Jax,"Willow says. "There will be some written stuff to hand in. It's not about getting answers right as much as knowing the information. So let's look at this case study… are you paying attention to me?"

"Not really," I say.

"Wow. Honesty."

"Willow, let's take a break for a second."

"You just got here."

I place my hand on the open book. "I'm going to do just fine on this one. Okay? The example is a small carpet business. The guy in charge has too much inventory. Right? So at first he used cash to buy the inventory. Now he's cash strapped. So he's using credit for other things. Now he's facing interest charges and minimum payments which will get him nowhere. This isn't a business failure. It's an inventory issue."

"What should he do?"

"Unload the inventory," I say. "He needs to keep better track of what customers are ordering. Unload what he can. If he has to break even or take a loss, oh well. Lesson learned."

"Inventory," Willow says. "Remember what FIFO means?"

"I've got it," I say. "Depending on the business… for example, perishable items… you have to know how to rotate and prepare. First in… first out… I've got it. And there's inventory for last in…"

"Okay," Willow says. "Now, let's talk advanced depreciation."

"No," I say.

"No?"

"I want to talk about you."

"What about me?"

I close the textbook.

I stare at Willow.

As she stares back, she blinks a few times. "Look, Jax, I don't know what you're thinking right now… but this stuff is important. This is just the business class. We still have other classes to get through."

"Then I guess I'll just fail and get kicked off campus."

"Yeah, thanks. And I'll get blamed for it? Just what I fucking need!"

Willow jumps up and covers her mouth.

She turns and runs away.

I grab for her but she's gone.

Right into her bedroom.

The door slams shut.

And I'm sure she's locked it.

I take a deep breath and slowly stand up.

This is a good time for me to just leave, you know?

But Willow… there's something there between us.

She's like a little sister to me for some reason.

I walk to her bedroom and turn the knob.

"Unlock the door, Willow," I say. "I'm not leaving until we talk. You're not going to hide from me. You're not going to win this."

"You won't understand!"

"Give me a chance…"

There's silence.

Then I hear the lock twist.

I turn the knob and open the door.

"So are you fucking Mila regularly now?" Willow asks.

My jaw tightens.

That's what this pissy attitude is about? Why does it matter? Are you jealous that I'm fucking Mila and not you?

"Just say it, Jax. Go ahead. Tell the truth."

"Yeah," I say. "If you want to know. I'm fucking Mila as much as I can. As much as she wants me to. You're in a shitty spot here, Willow. Not fair to you."

"Oh?"

"I've been after Mila for some time now. I've completely disrespected the fact that she was with someone else. If given the chance, I would have fucked her sooner than I did. Meaning, yeah, guess what? I wish she would have cheated on your brother with me. Is that what you want me to say?"

"I want to hit you in the face for that, Jax."

"Do it," I say. "You need it, Willow."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"I'm not joking. I will hit you."

"I'm not joking either. I'm telling you to hit me."

Willow swallows hard and makes a fist and puts it against my jaw.

She licks her bottom lip.

She blinks fast.

"Do you want me to accept responsibility for his actions?" I offer. "Will that make you feel better, Willow? Will that fix your little broken heart? Because your douchebag brother can do no wrong ever?"

"Fuck you!" Willow yells.

She doesn't punch me but she does slap me.

She catches my jaw perfectly and I actually see a couple stars dancing in front of me for a second.

Willow clutches her hand to her chest as her eyes fill with tears.

I reach for her hand and gently squeeze it.

I place my left hand to the middle of her back and pull. "Come here, Willow."

She falls into me and instantly breaks down.

I touch her hair and just hold her.

"I'm sorry for hitting you, Jax," she says.

"No you're not. You've wanted to hit me from the moment you met me."

She looks up at me. Tears running down her cheeks. "That's true."

"I am sorry about your brother. He's an asshole though. He has a big problem with drinking. I do hope he gets help and gets back on his feet. Nobody deserves to live in that kind of darkness forever. And it fucking sucks that it's falling on your back too. It's not right or fair to you."

"Thank you for saying that," Willow says.

"Look, I know how messy it is. No matter what, Ward was going to lose. I was either going to fuck his sister or his girlfriend."

"You are such a cocky bastard," she says.

"I know. But I'm right. This thing with Mila… it means something to me. And believe it or not, Willow, you matter to me too. You need someone to cry to? Call me. You need someone to punch? Throw it at me. But don't lose sight of yourself."

"How can you be such a dick and then say such perfect things? How can you look as hot as you do… and I don't want to fuck you? What is this?"

"I guess it's friendship."

"I don't know if I like it," Willow says.

"You think I want this? My shirt is covered in tears and boogers and I'm not even getting my cock played with."

"You're such a pussy."

"Did you just call me a pussy?" I growl.

Willow snorts and starts to laugh.

She throws her head back.

I let her go and she stumbles back, still laughing at me.

I step up to her again, my eyes wide.

I'm annoyed.

But she's laughing.

When she stops, she takes a breath, then starts to cry again.

What am I supposed to do now?

What else can I do?

I hug Willow again… and let her cry her eyes out over her douchebag brother.