Page 12 of Temporary Vows

Jack is the last person I can ask for help. When I do this, I’ll have no one left to turn to.

I just hate feeling like I’m taking advantage. Jack is seven years older than me and has always been the best big brother.

There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for me. I’ve always known that. That’s why I feel like such a jerk.

A shaky breath falls from my lips as I open the door and step out.

The cool breeze loosens my mind, but the weight in my stomach doesn’t lift.

I head to the office on trembling legs and walk into the scent of rubber and cheap coffee.

Jack’s door is already open.

He looks up the moment I approach. Surprise flashes across his face first, followed by a heartfelt smile that reminds me of happier days. No matter what is going on, Jack always looks happy to see me. When we were kids, he’d always make the bad times seem less bad.

Like when Mom first got sick, and then when she died. The biggest thing he did for me, though, was take care of me as best as he could after Dad died and the business went under.

I was sixteen at the time. Jack made sure I could still go to school, and he worked hard to make sure I could finish college without needing to tap into my trust fund and savings.

He always finds a way, so I’m praying he can help me now.

“Elodie. Hey, there.” He moves around the desk and pulls me in for a hug.

“Hi.” When we pull away, I summon one of my best smiles, even though all I want to do is cry and never stop. “Sorry to just turn up unannounced. I know we weren’t supposed to meet for another few weeks.”

We have a standing dinner appointment for the last Friday of every month. It’s our way of checking in on each other.

“No worries. What’s going on?”

I gaze up at him and think of where to start. “I’m…” My voice trails off, and suddenly, the words escape me. I then realize there’s nobestway to explain my situation. It’s bad, and that’s exactly the problem. My life’s a bomb waiting to detonate. Another sad ending waiting to happen.

“Elodie, you’re worrying me.” Jack rests his hands on my shoulders, his touch steady even as his expression darkens. “What’s going on?”

My chest feels too tight to breathe. “Jack.” I raise a hand to my heart. “I’m in trouble.”

He goes still, then his hands tighten on my shoulders, fingers digging in like he’s bracing for impact. “What kind of trouble?”

“The real bad kind.”

Jack swears under his breath, his hands dropping. “Jesus, El.” He fixes me with a hard look, jaw set. “Tell me everything.”

My gaze drops to the floor, to the scuffed tile between our shoes. I count a breath. Then another. When I look back upat him, something settles inside my chest. Not courage. Just acceptance.

Then I tell him about Clara and her loan. I tell him how I blew all the money in my trust fund and savings and how I had to take on the job at the coffeehouse to pay the loan. Then I tell him about Marcus and watch the color drain from his face when I do.

I tell him about the calls, the warnings, the way the debt stopped feeling like numbers and started feeling like a countdown. I don’t soften it. I don’t dress it up. I tell him like it is.

By the time I finish, my throat burns and my hands shake with the terror stirring in my soul.

Jack throws his hands up, then drops them to his head, his pulse pounding in the side of his neck like he’s just been struck by lightning. “Jesus, Elodie. What the fuck?”

“I’m sorry. I never thought Clara would screw me over like this.” Of course, I wouldn’t. I’ve known her all my life. It wasn’t as if I just blindly placed my trust in a stranger.

“It doesn’t matter. You should never have stood guarantor for that amount of money.”

“I thought the loan was supposed to save her grandmother. I lost contact with Clara when we moved away for college, so I didn’t know her grandmother had died years ago.”

“El, this is the kind of thing you check out. Ask for details with evidence to show what you’re paying for.”