Burn Into Me (Into Me Series Book Two)

Chapter Twenty Two - Brothers

Jet anxiously shakes her leg, which in turn makes the entire car shake. She runs the palms of her hands up and down the tops of her thighs, trying to soothe herself. I wish I could just reach inside her chest and take all of the worry away. I grab her hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She glances over at me, offering a small smile. I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles a few times, littering her skin with little pecks.

"I love you," she rasps.
"I love you," I breathe.

I set our hands back on the center counsel as her and I turn our attention back to the front door of the mental health facility. I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that I missed the fuck out of Riley. Even though he hasn't been himself lately, he still finds a way to bring comedy and light to everything he does. He still finds a way to make us all laugh in the darkest of situations. Work has been tense. Everyone seems to have a strain on each other, including Connor and I. We've butt heads before, don't get me wrong, but nothing like this. I guess none of us realized the kind of influence Riley had on all of us.

Fuck. I'm so thankful that he's okay.

Jet sucks in a quick gasp, bringing me back to the present. Before I can process what is happening, she throws open her door and takes off sprinting, not even bothering to close the driver's side door behind her. I watch her run at Riley, jumping into his arms and tackling him in a hug. He laughs, stumbling just a little, resting his head on Jet's shoulder. I can tell by the way that Jet's chest shakes that she's crying. Hopefully, it's happy tears. She's been crying a lot lately, it's getting sorta hard to not make her cry.

I step out of Jet's Blazer and walk over to the pair, who laugh together about something. Riley and Jet are two cuts from the same cloth. I'm grateful that they have each other. Jet needs someone to get her through the shit Caroline has done to her. Riley needs someone to get him through the shit his family has done to him. In each other, they found solace, or some poetic shit like that.

I finally reach them, smiling at their laughter. I clap Riley on the shoulder, catching his attention. He smiles just a bit wider when he sees me, pulling me into a hug. I tense up a little, not really liking being touched by anyone that's not Jet, but let myself give into it. Jet gives me a proud look, the happy tears still rolling down her face. I'm just happy the kid is okay. I blink the tears away quickly, trying to shove them down deep before anyone notices. But of course Jet notices, a small and sad smile gracing her lips.

"Come on, let's go home," I offer, smacking his back a few times.
"Okay, sounds good," Riley mumbles, releasing me from his arms.

We all file into the car, buckling ourselves in. Jet starts driving, Bad Omens playing over her speakers. She hums to herself as she watches the road. Slowly, a tense silence overtakes the car. Jet's eyes keep flicking between the rearview mirror where Riley sits and the windshield. Her eyebrows are furrowed slightly and she gnaws on her lip in worry. The foot that's not on the gas shakes aggressively. I can tell that she wants to talk to him about everything so desperately, but is trying to respect his space. She's going to be the best mom, I swear.

"I- I'm sorry," Riley stumbles. "Figure I should just get this out of the way now since it's making us all tense as fuck."
"You don't have to talk about it, if you're not ready or if you don't want to," Jet rushes, looking at him in the mirror. "You also do not have to apologize for anything at all."
"I'm sorry I scared you guys and I understand if you guys are pissed at me," Riley apologizes.
"Pissed?" I ask in a confused tone, my brows furrowing. I glance over to Jet who wears the same pinched expression that I do.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jet questions.
"I know we have a lot of super important cases coming up, Jackson, and I'm sorry that I couldn't hold it together long enough to do my part," Riley stumbles.
"Shut the fuck up!" I rage, turning to look at him. I don't even know where the hell that just came from. I guess it's the idea that he thinks that I care more about work and the team than him. That pisses me the fuck off.
"Jackson..." Jet warns, shooting me a look.