Fall Into Me (Into Me Series Book Three)

Chapter Thirty - Fake

Jet's POV

I fucking told him I had a bad feeling. I fucking told him I wanted to go home. I looked his punk ass in the eye and said "I have a bad feeling about this," and he kissed me and said, "You're just in your head."

Am I, Jackson? Am I now? Is it all just in my head? Gas-lighting-ass mother fucker...

If looks could kill, I would have slaughtered him by now.

"Caroline," I growl, raising an eyebrow at her.
She smiles a sickly, sweet grin at me, "Oh, hi, Jet! Funny catching you here!"
"Yeah. So funny," I spit. "Here, where we play a show every Friday, every week."

Anger courses through me like venom. My skin burns red. My breath is short and sharp.
My fists are balled up at my sides. I have the overwhelming urge to swing them at her.

"What do you want, Caroline?" Connor asks, sounding as annoyed as I feel.
"Oh, Connor! I'm glad you're here! I want to introduce you to Brock," Caroline says, motioning to the guy.
I can't help but burst out laughing, "What the fuck kind of name is Brock?"

Jackson looks between Caroline and myself, clearly lost as to what he should do here.

"What, did your mother not love you?" I ask Brock.
"You're hilarious, you know that?" Brock questions me, his shit-stained colored eyes narrowing at me.
"Someone has to be," I challenge.
"Lord knows it's not gonna be the white guy named Brock," Brian grumbles just loud enough for Jackson, Riley, Connor, and I to hear.
"Well, I've tried to be serious in the past but life keeps making me the fucking punchline so I'm just rolling with it," I shrug. "What can I say? It's the trauma. Nice to see you finally found a man with more than one brain cell, Caroline."

"Brock here is a politician. He's one of the members of the House of Representatives for Texas," Caroline brags, looking smug as shit.
Brian bursts out laughing, "Oh how the mighty fall."
"Oh, ew," Riley replies without missing a beat, "That's a fucking cesspool of a state."
"I take back my previous statement about the brain cell," I mutter to Jackson.

Jackson snorts, trying to cover it with a few coughs. The corner of my mouth threatens to turn up, but then her voice cuts through it all again.

"How are things with you, Jet?" she wonders, tilting her head.
"Great, actually," I smile, crossing my arms against my chest.
"Are you still working at the ER in a feeble attempt to secure validation by looking after everyone else and putting their needs ahead of your own to make you feel wanted?" she asks.

Okay. Damn.

I offer her a strained laugh, "No. I'm actually a legal nurse consultant that makes a six-figure salary."
"And a damn good one at that," Jackson interjects, his hand resting to fall on the small of my back.
"Oh! Bubbles! You're still around, huh?" she asks. "I would've thought you would have left her by now."

"Why? Cause that's what you did?" he quips. "Because you couldn't handle your own jealousy? Because loyalty is too difficult for you? Or is it cause you finally realized you don't have a place in Jet's life anymore because she finally realized that she is so much better off without you?"
"That all of us are better off without you," Connor adds.
"Fucking Texas? A fucking bureaucrat?" Riley questions, still stuck on Brock. "BLEGCH!" he gags, throwing his whole body into it.

My palms ache from my fingernails digging into them. My head pounds from the pressure building inside of it. Something inside of me begs me to throw my morals and manners aside and to fucking tackle the bitch.

"I just wanted what was best for you, Jet. I'm sorry that you didn't see it that way," Caroline sighs.
"Sure, okay, make yourself the hero," I scoff. rolling my eyes.
"It's not my fault our friendship fell apart," Caroline argues.