Chapter 9: They return to the house and enter ,
Jaxson barely has time to turn before Brandon's fist slams into the wall inches from his head.
"Say it again," Brandon growls, chest heaving, eyes dark with fury. "Say you love her."
Jaxson doesn't flinch, but his voice shakes when he answers. "I do."
The silence that follows is deafening.
Brandon lets out a bitter laugh, shaking his head as if this whole thing is some cruel joke. "You love her," he repeats slowly, like the words taste wrong. "And yet she's out there somewhere, alone, hurting, because you were too damn scared to do anything about it."
"That's not fair," Jaxson snaps back, finally losing his calm. "You think this hasn't been tearing me apart? I wake up thinking about her. I go to sleep hearing her laugh in my head. I've wanted her for so long it scares the hell out of me."
"Then why didn't you choose her?" Brandon shouts.
"Because she's your sister," Jaxson fires back. "Because if I screwed this up, and I knew I would, you'd never forgive me. Because if I hurt her, I wouldn't forgive myself."
Brandon steps closer, their foreheads nearly touching. "You already hurt her."
That lands harder than any punch.
Jaxson's shoulders sag, the fight draining out of him. "I know," he whispers. "And that's the worst part. I thought keeping my distance would protect her. I thought walking away was the right thing."
Brandon's voice cracks. "She thinks you don't want her. She thinks she's not enough."
Jaxson closes his eyes, pain slicing through him. "She's everything."
A sharp buzz cuts through the moment. Brandon's phone lights up.
Unknown number.
He answers instantly. "Brinley?"
A shaky breath comes through the line. "Brandon… I'm scared."
Brandon's face drains of color. "Where are you, Bee? Talk to me."
"I—I don't know exactly," she says, voice trembling. "There's a diner with a blue sign and, someone keeps watching me."
Jaxson is already grabbing his keys. "Put it on speaker."
Brandon hesitates only a second before doing it.
"Brinley," Jaxson says gently, his voice completely different now, soft, raw, unmistakably hers. "It's me. I need you to listen to me, okay?"
There's a pause. Then a broken whisper. "You don't get to sound like that now."
His chest tightens. "I know. And I deserve that. But I need you safe first. Please."
She sniffles. "I didn't mean to disappear. I just couldn't breathe anymore."
"We're coming to you," Brandon says firmly. "Don't move. Go inside the diner if you can."
"I'm already inside," she murmurs. "I just… I didn't know who else to call."
Jaxson swallows hard. "You can always call me, Brinley. Even when I'm being an idiot."
For the first time, a tiny crack appears in Brandon's anger, because he hears it now. The truth in Jaxson's voice. The love he tried to bury.
Brandon meets Jaxson's eyes. "If you hurt her again,
"I won't," Jaxson says without hesitation. "Not by fear. Not by silence. Not ever again."
They don't shake hands. They don't forgive each other.
They don't have time.
Because somewhere under a flickering blue diner sign sits a girl with innocent eyes and a shattered heart, waiting to see if love is brave enough to finally choose her. I don't think Brinley will l forgive me, and I don't blame her but all I want to do now is get to her and make sure she's safe and keep her safe even if she pushes me away.