Chapter 57
WILLOW
I can’t stop talking…
“Oh, want to hear something else? My brother. Right? He’s been in rehab for drinking. I had no idea it was that bad for him. But now as I think about it? He’s been a pain in the ass for a long time with it all. His ex is with one of Knox’s teammates too. And that teammate? He and I tried to hook up!”
Sandy’s eyes go wide. “Who is with who?”
I laugh. “It’s so weird and messy. Okay, I have no idea why I’m telling you this.”
“We’re just talking. Hanging out. I kind of hope you move in here.”
“You can’t be serious. With everything I’m telling you? Look, I’ve been tutoring to pay my way through some stuff. So I got the call about Jax. That’s the teammate.”
“Oh, Jax. I know that name.”
“Right. So he showed up for me to tutor. Now Jax is big and mean, flirty and sexy and all that fun stuff. My brother was dating Mila at the time. It was never a good relationship. Poor Mila throughout the entire thing. I kept my distance. Maybe I was wrong for that, I don’t know. Maybe I should have seen my brother slipping and getting worse.”
“Can’t blame yourself for someone else’s actions,” Sandy says.
“I keep telling myself that,” I say. “The thing with Jax? We tried. How crazy is that? We tried to hook up but it just didn’t feel right. So we stopped it. I’ve never had that happen. Next thing I know he’s got eyes for Mila. Then Mila and my brother aren’t together. It gets so messy…” I touch my cheeks. “Why am I telling you this?”
“I don’t know, Willow. But I’m listening.”
“Then there’s Knox. He and I kind of talked. Flirted a little. He was the guy I would text if I needed someone to save me from a bad date. That’s how this all started!”
I point to my stomach and laugh.
“Well, I think it’s a great story,” Sandy says. “I mean it.”
“A great story… and I’m alone.”
“Men are jerks. I’ll be honest, Willow. I’ll let you have the apartment for free for a month.”
“No, I would never do that. Never. I have no furniture. I have nothing! I’m pregnant and I have nothing.”
“Then maybe you should stay where you are,” Sandy says. “Stay on campus. Finish your degree.”
“What degree? General studies…?”
“Hey, it’s a degree. I have a degree in art. And I’m a property manager for six buildings. But you know what? I make six figures a year. I don’t mind the job. And I still have a passion for art. I still make stuff. I go to events and galleries. And on occasion I do sell some artwork.”
I swallow hard and nod. “Sandy. There has to be a reason why…”
“Why am I talking to you like this?” Sandy folds her hands. “I’ve been there. College boyfriend. Madly in love. Things getting intense. Then rocky. I never had anyone to talk to. Everyone around me was living differently. I ended up going to London for a summer. For an art course. Toughest decision I ever made. I wanted my boyfriend to come with me. He didn’t want to. By the end of that summer, he was with someone else. He went from sneaking around to just being open about it. I cancelled my flight home and stayed in London for another three months. I flew back home just before Christmas. It was a weird time in my life.”
“Did you and that guy get back together?”
Sandy lets out a loud laugh. “Hell no! That was college love. It was long done by then. Would have been a mistake to end up with him.”
“So you think it’s a mistake for me to be with Knox?”
“I would never say that. I don’t know you or him. I just know you two have a story together. Here’s what I can tell you, Willow. Don’t let any distance come between you both to allow a lack of communication that leads to silence, that leads to heartache.”
Sandy stands up.
I stand up. “You’re still in love with him. That guy from college.”
Sandy doesn’t respond.
She walks me to the door.
I’m sort of in a state of shock.
Sandy… the property manager… a woman I just met… somehow, someway she’s helped me find some sense of understanding in this entire mess.
“Looks like someone is here to see you,” Sandy says as she points out front of the building. “Keep in touch if you need anything else, Willow.”
Sandy’s phone rings and she takes the call.
I exit the building, ready to offer my soul to Knox to figure this all out.
It’s not Knox waiting for me.
It’s Jax.
“What are you doing here?” I call out to him. “How…?”
“Are you okay?” Jax asks. “Do I have to kill Knox?”
“Maybe,” I say. “Do you know where he is?”
Jax doesn’t answer my question.
He just wants me to get into his car so we can leave.
I look back at the apartment building.
It doesn’t make sense.
Knox and I went into that building, holding hands, in love, looked at an apartment together… and then…
Now I’m getting into Jax’s car.
He looks somber.
He reaches for my left hand and holds it.
I look at him.
He doesn’t look at me.
I just want to know one thing…
What the hell is Knox up to right now?