Page 139 of Good For Me

River

Idon’t go to Rose’s after all. The thought of being near my sister and her boyfriend, of watching them be blissfully in love, makes me feel like breaking shit. I don’t want to go home, either. Pretty sure I’ll start sobbing like a baby if I see my mom right now.

I drive around for a while before finally deciding on Will’s place. I’m not sure if Eva will be home, but I’m pretty sure I can count on my cousin to pour whiskey down my throat for the next few hours.

I’m halfway there before I realize my mistake. Will and Eva live in Malibu. In a fucking house on the beach. The thought of being near the water—where my relationship with Jas started, where I felt the baby move for the first time—is unbearable.

So I turn around again and head to the only other family member who I might be able to stand being around right now. My grandfather. Grandma will fuss if she’s around, but if I’m lucky, she’ll be at the bar by now.

I sit in my Jeep outside his house for a long minute, trying to get myself together enough to go inside. I can’t imagine what I look like right now. If it’s half as bad as I feel, I’m going to scare the old man.

There’s a knock on my window and I jump, startled, to see Will looking in at me. The smile drops from his face as he takes me in. Apparently, I was right about looking like shit.

I open the door, feeling very tired all of a sudden. “What are you doing here?”

“Grandma got Grandpa a new sound system for the rec room in the basement,” he says. “We’re trying to get it set up before he gets home. She wanted to surprise him.” He studies my face. “What areyoudoing here? And why the hell do you look like your dog just died?”

I ignore his question and climb out of the Jeep. “What do you mean,we?”

“Me, our dads, Reed, and Wyatt.”

I close my eyes. Fucking great. I ended up at basically the worst place I could have chosen.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” Will asks, a hand on my shoulder. “You’re freaking me out.”

“I think Jas is going to leave,” I rasp out, the words painful to even say.

He gapes at me. “No way. Did you have a fight?”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “I don’t even know what the fuck that was.”

He glances back at the house, looking worried. “Why don’t we head over to my place,” he says. “You don’t want to go in there with all of them.”

“I can’t go to your house,” I say, hearing the panic in my voice. I can’t bring myself to explain why—but it doesn’t matter anyway. A moment later my father’s head appears over the hedgerow.

“I thought I heard you,” he says. “You come over to help?”

“Fuck,” I mutter, closing my eyes. I don’t think I can do this.

“River?” he comes around to the driveway, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

I keep my eyes closed. “I had a rough day,” I manage. “But I don’t think I feel up for talking with all the guys.”

“We’ll go back to my place,” he says immediately, and I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry.

“Already ruled that out,” I mutter, rubbing my hands roughly over my face.

His hand clamps on my other shoulder. “Then we’ll kick those assholes out and you and I will stay here and talk.”

I nod, still not looking at him. God, I’m a mess.

“The guys are in the basement,” he says as I follow him into the house. “Why don’t you hang out in the kitchen and have a beer and I’ll get rid of them.”

But the universe is most definitely not on my side today, because Wyatt and my uncles are already in the kitchen, Cash passing out beers. “Hey, kid,” Reed calls out. “You come over to help?”

I take a deep breath, knowing I need to get my shit together. I can do this. I’ve talked to these men almost every day of my life. “Why the hell do you need my help?” I ask. “Does it seriously take five grown ass men to install a sound system?”

“We stopped by on our way home from the label, smartass,” Cash says, then narrows his eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”