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48. Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Seven

I panicked.

It's a rare thing to do around Sev, but I did. I woke up peacefully but then everything from the night before came crashing down on me like a tsunami.

And I ran.

Straight to California.

I grabbed the first one-way flight I could find. Packed a bag with as much as I could grab. Called Reese on the way to the airport to warn him he'd have a house guest for the unforeseeable future. He was extremely happy about it. I regretted it instantly. He even picked me up from the airport. I drowned out his non-stop talking the entire way to his house.

"When are you going to move out of this place?" I ask, gesturing to his giant house once we reach it.

"Soon, actually. Waiting for you to pick your house so I can figure out which one I want."

I roll my eyes. "None of the houses you sent me are close to what you want."

"No, but I need to make sure you're not too far away."

"Are you trying to make me move to another country?"

He laughs, slapping my leg. He grabs his bag of sour gummy worms before getting out, tossing a handful in his mouth as we walk to his front door.

"Honey, I'm home!" he calls out once we're inside. He looks at me. "Just kidding. She's not even home."

I raise a brow. "She's allowed to go out without you?"

He scoffs. "Yeah, but only because she's with Ori."

He walks into the kitchen, and I leave my bag by the door before following after him.

"Whatever room I'm staying in better be at the opposite end of the house. I don't want to hear you fucking."

"Then you should have brought headphones."

"Trust me, I did."

Reese snickers and grabs two beers from the fridge, handing one to me. I pop the cap off and take a long swig as I take a seat on a stool at the breakfast nook.

"So, tell me why you're here," he says, leaning against the tabletop.

I knew he would ask, and I've been trying to figure out what to say to him. How much truth am I willing to give at this point?

"It's complicated," I say. Because I can't decide how much I want to tell him. What I should tell him and what I shouldn't tell him aren't clear. I don't even know what my game plan is. Now that I'm here, I'm wondering if I made the wrong decision.

Should I have stayed?

I had a great night with Sev. A great night. And I ran away from him.

I mean, it's not like he doesn't know where I am. I won't be surprised if he's here too. I was shocked I didn't see him on the same plane as me. But that's not the point. And I have this sickly feeling that this time, he won't follow me. Though, maybe that's just anxiety talking.

Do I want to see if he will follow me?

I don't even know.

"I love complicated. Complicated is my favorite thing ever," Reese says enthusiastically.

"You can't comprehend complicated, Reese."

He points at me. "Fucking rude." He takes a drink of his beer. "Is it boy trouble?"

I hold his gaze for a moment, before blowing out a sharp breath and admitting it.

"Yes."

"I knew it!" he shouts, pumping his fist in the air. "Ori and I had a bet, you know. She said you just missed us, but I knew it was the jolly giant. What did he do? Did he cheat on you? Kick you to the curb? Do his farts stink really bad?"

I scoff. "Remind me how old you are? Because I'm pretty sure it's twelve."

"Stinky farts are nothing to mess with, Justin," he says way too seriously.

"You do know this is why I never want to talk to you, right?"

He holds my gaze then sighs. "You're right. I'm sorry." This time, his tone is serious and I hear the regret in his voice. "Oh, I have an idea!"

Never mind. There goes that….

Reese goes over to the bar in the corner of the kitchen. His house is way too big. Obnoxiously big and for no reason other than he could afford it and thought having a mansion would be cool. He disappears underneath the bar top, then pops back up with a small box in his hand. He snatches a bottle of whiskey off a shelf before heading back to me.

"Tic Tac Toe?" I question as he sets the box down.

"I've been wanting to play this forever, and now's the perfect time." He opens the box and pulls the glass board out, along with the small shot glasses.

"How so?"

"We'll play the game, and the loser not only has to drink the shots, but also has to share their problems." He shrugs, setting it up.

I huff out a laugh. "And you think I'm going to lose?"

Reese stares at me, unblinking. "Justin, I am the Tic Tac Toe Champion—"

"From elementary school!"

"Exactly! Meaning I learned it at a young age so it's ingrained in my brain. It's like part of me now."

"Right," I say, grabbing my beer and finishing it.

Reese and I are the same age, meaning we went to school together. Though we hung around in completely different crowds, it was hard to ignore Reese. He's been loud his entire life.

While he sets up the game, I get another beer for both of us. Maybe a little whiskey won't hurt. Maybe talking about what the fuck I'm freaking out about won't hurt either. The whiskey will definitely make it easier, so that's a plus.

I guess coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all. Though, only time will tell.

"You're cheating!" I shout, waving my hand at Reese.

"So are you!" he screams back.

"How the fuck cheating am I?" He stares at me, and I blink a few times, but shake it off. I think those words were right. Maybe not? Can't even remember what I said.

"You haven't told me squiddly dot yet," he argues.

"Squiddly dot?"

"That's what I said!"

We hold each other's gaze for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. Tears pour from my eyes, and fuck, I haven't felt this good in a long time. Can't remember the last time I was this drunk. I'd say it was at his wedding, but I was fucked up on molly, not alcohol. But I was with Reese. Looking past his annoying personality, I realize that if I let myself enjoy it, I have fun with him.

"Okay, okay, okay…" Reese says, slicing his hands through the air. "Let's get serious, okay?"

"Okay," I say as seriously as I can. I narrow my eyes.

"Hey, when did you grow a second head?" I ask.

His eyes widen. "You can see it too?" he whispers.

We start laughing again, and this time it takes even longer to get ourselves together.

Yeah, hanging out with Reese is fun. This isn't something I could do all the time, maybe not even once a week, but it feels good.

"Alright, but seriously now. I want to know what's going on with you." He says each word slowly to make sure he's saying the right ones. I think he did, but I can't be sure because I hardly remember them all. "You lost five games and gave away nothing but bullshit."

"Because your story about not being able to fuck your wife three times in a row is a legit problem?"

"It is! I need my baby satisfied."

"Pretty sure three is overkill."

He waggles his brows. "You haven't met my wife then."

"Well let's hope I never meet that side of her." I grab my bottle of beer, only to realize it's empty. I stare at it for a few seconds before Reese shoves a full one in my face.

"This one is yours," he says, pointing to the group of bottles to the right of us. "Those are the empty ones.'

I take a sip, and finally get into it. "I'm a little messed up over Sev."

"Really? I had no idea!" Reese slaps the stable. I glare. He makes a dramatically serious face. "Sorry. Go on."

"I like him, but it's complicated."

"Complicated how?" Reese asks.

"He's been stalking me." The words fall out easier than I thought they would, but I can't look at Reese as I wait for his response. When it comes, I almost fall off my stool.

"So what's the problem?"

I whip my head in his direction, meeting his crystal blue eyes that are bloodshot. Yeah, we're definitely drunk. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yep."

"Why isn't it a problem?"

"Love makes you do crazy things, man. I totally stalked Josie when I first met her."

I can't tell if I'm more shocked by him suggesting Sev loves me or that he stalked his wife.

"And she knows this?"

He shrugs. "Pretty sure. I mean, we never talked about it, but she knew I was always around and she's smart as hell, so.."

"Isn't that weird, though?"

"Why is it weird?" he asks, sounding offended. "I liked her. So I watched her to get to know her when she wouldn't talk to me. After I found some stuff out, I watched her to make sure she was safe. I also maybe made sure I was in the same places as she was so we could talk." He falls silent for a moment. "Okay, maybe a little weird, but I never said I wasn't." Shrugging, he grabs his beer and takes a long swig. Then Reese leans forward and continues. "Look, does him stalking you make you feel weird? Do you feel unsafe? Or are you more concerned about the fact that it doesn't bother you, but other people will think it's weird?"

I frown, shaking my head. "How the fuck do you do that?"

"Do what?" he asks, looking around.

"Get inside people's heads like that. You see through their bullshit and know what the problem is, but don't call them out on it. Instead, you make them face it."

"It's a gift. Josie hates it too. This one time when she had her period—"

"No!" I shout, holding a hand up and shaking my head. Which I instantly regret because it makes me dizzy as fuck. But I do not want to hear about women's periods. Ew. "Can we order food?"

"Pizza it is," he says, to which I am grateful. A man who can appreciate greasy normal food like pizza. He gets on his phone and orders food. While he's doing that, I think about what he said.

What actually is it about Sev that bothers me? I never had a problem with him following me because I always felt safe with him. It was overwhelming at times, but that's because I don't like having anyone around me. I'm used to being alone. But that's how I made myself. Not actually what I want, at least not all the time. I wasn't always like this. I used to tolerate people more. But as I got older, more and more people left, so I stopped bothering.

"I don't care that he stalks me. I'm afraid of what he makes me feel," I say the moment Reese puts his phone down. He darts his gaze to me and nods.

"It's scary when someone makes you feel something you aren't used to. Especially when you've been hurt in the past and know what it's like to have that pain. You want to avoid it. But you'll never get the ice cream if you don't milk the cow."

I slowly blink at him, letting those words settle in. Did he just say that?

"What the fuck does that even mean?"

"You know, like the saying you miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

"How is that anything like what just fell out of your mouth?"

"Ice cream is made from milk. If you don't get the milk from the cows you will never have ice cream."

"Right, because this is the 1800s and I can't go to the store and pick from fifty different flavors."

Reese leans over the counter and grips my shirt. "Where the fuck did your sense of humor go?" He shakes me, but then I slap him upside the head, and he backs off. "Listen, I like the guy and—"

I jump to my feet, ripping my shirt up and pointing to my ribs where Sev's name is. His almost finished name. Only one letter left. Just one single letter left…

"Oh shit, did you do that?" Reese's eyes widen as he moves around the counter to get a closer look.

"No, moron! He did. He's been kidnapping me and carving his name into me." I gesture to my ribs again. He bends down, getting so close I feel his breath. I shove him back.

"This is intense," he says.

"Exactly."

"He actually carved his name into you."

"Just about."

"The guy's insane."

"My point!"

He stands up, putting his hands on his hips and looking me dead in the eyes. "He's so in love with you it's not even funny."

"What?" I bark. Reese smirks. "I show you this and your response is to tell me he's in love with me?"

"Yep. I mean, look at it. That's not easy. And he kidnapped you? You're like a fucking gorilla. You think that shit was easy? He put in a lot of work. Time and effort. Planning. It's serious, Justin. The man wants your babies."

I just stand there, staring at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what is actually happening right now.

I shake out of it and respond, "Have you seen him? Kidnapping an actual gorilla for him would be easy."

Reese shrugs, lifting his hands palm up as if to say maybe; maybe not.

I drop my shirt and run a hand through my hair. I can't believe I'm hearing this right now. Can't believe I'm not arguing with Reese about this!

"Justin, it's okay to have feelings for this guy. It doesn't mean you have to marry him. Just allow yourself to like him and see where it goes. Have you ever actually done that with anyone?"

I shake my head. "It's not that easy. This guy is all in or all out. I'm pretty sure if I even admit I like him he'll chain me to his bed."

"Maybe that's what you need."

My head falls back on my shoulders, and I sigh heavily. Why did I think Reese would be on my side?

He continues before I can say anything. "Obviously I don't mean literally, but maybe you need someone to push you. I like him. A lot, actually. And seeing you two together? It looked… nice. I mean, you seemed happy."

"I was high on molly, thanks to you!" I argue, glaring at him.

He waves me off. "Nah, even before that. There's this look in your eye." He wiggles his fingers near his eyes. "The weird love thing."

"I do not love him."

"Maybe not, but you could. You're just stopping yourself."

I let those words sink in for a long moment before responding. But I don't get the chance to say anything because the front door bursts open.

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