Page 48 of Winning Her

I arched an eyebrow at her. “What are you talking about?” I said. “I still have plenty of work to do here—”

She cut me off by crossing the space between us and slamming her fists down on my desk. The force of it was enough to make a loud sound that made me jump. I tried to play it off as I shrugged, even though she didn’t look like she cared in the least that I was a bit ruffled by her behavior. I glanced down at her hands, wondering if she felt okay after slamming them so hard, but I figured she would snap at me if I asked, so I kept my mouth shut. My little sister was just a tad bit angry.

“You are going to get Jessi back,” she outright demanded.

I blinked, not understanding. “I’m sorry?”

“You will get your ass on the family helicopter,” she said through gritted teeth. “You will go and retrieve my friend, big brother, and you will bring her back. I know you probably don’t understand because you have a black heart, but she is the closest thing I have to a best friend.”

“I didn’t know the two of you were so close,” I said tentatively. What was she on about anyway? Get Jessi from where exactly?

She let out a sigh, her whole body shuddering as the air passed between her lips. Her head ducked down, and she stayed in that position, bent over my desk, for a moment. When she stood up, she looked a bit calmer than before. She removed her hands, shaking them out, then flipping a lock of hair back over her shoulder.

“There’s something going on between you and Jessi, isn’t there? And don’t even pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about right now, Trent, because if you try, I will hit you.” From the steel in her gaze, I knew she meant it. She was not playing around. I backed away from her a little.

“I know the Jessi you’re talking about.” I frowned at her, just slightly, smoothing a hand down the front of my shirt as I finally found my composure again. “If you’re asking whether there is anything between Jessi and me, then yes. It’s none of your business though.”

She scoffed, giving me the stink eye. “It is my business if just your mere presence sends my friend packing, big brother.”

The words were said derisively, but I hardly cared, because her words had just sunk in for me. And my composure was gone again as I looked up at her with shock.

Jessi was gone?

I opened my mouth but couldn’t bring myself to say the words. I didn’t want to think it. I was with her just last night! Granted, she wasn’t there when I woke up, and her boxes were gone… A coldness flushed over me as I figured out I’d been wrong. I’d thought she just put the boxes away so she could do her job. Why would she have left without saying anything?

My eyes drifted to my phone. I picked it up, noting absently that there was a slight shake of my hands as I did so. I unlocked the screen, and her number was still there. I dialed it this time and put the phone to my ear. Emily stayed quiet through my silence, though she did start pacing the room in front of me. The phone rang and rang… until it cut off.

She wasn’t picking up.

“Did you speak to her?” I asked, looking up at Emily. “Did she tell you she was leaving?”

Emily scowled at me. “I had to hear she was leaving from another source. I called her, and she must have been on her way there in her car already. That was an hour ago. I would have come here immediately, but I was at home and I wasn’t properly dressed.”

“What did she say?”

It didn’t sit well with me that Jessi was closer to Emily that she would talk to her instead of me, but if there was a way to change things…

“She didn’t say much,” Emily admitted. “To be honest, I don’t know a lot of what went down between the two of you. I just have a bunch of rumors, most of which she confirmed. She sounded fine over the phone but I know that she’s not, and it’s because of you. She ran because she thought you would put her through more heartbreak.”

Jessi…

“Why didn’t she just talk to me…?”

It hurt to think that she would rather run from me than talk to me. Just what did she think last night was? Or the other night? I hadn't exactly clarified anything myself, but surely she knew my words from yesterday were sincere? I might have tried to lie to myself after our first time together, to convince myself I felt nothing for her. I knew that wasn’t true anymore. If she had just asked me yesterday…

I never did give her that apology, though. And I didn’t say everything that I should have, just what I thought she needed to hear to get her to stay. I should have asked if she was going to stay instead of assuming she would just because I said so.

“Fuck,” I muttered, dropping my face into my hands. I’d made a lot of mistakes with Jessi.

“I guess you finally realize that you were in the wrong,” Emily said, though her voice was completely sarcastic. “Well, that’s good, but what I want more than you realizing is you doing something. Whatever it is you’ve broken in my friend you will fix it, or else. I don’t know or care what’s happened between the two of you since you’ve been back here, but dammit, you will fix it!”

Her voice rose as she spoke until she was shouting at me, and I leaned back in my chair, feeling chastised. I was more than a little stunned at her vehemence, though there was still a small part of me not over the shock that Jessi was gone.

“I haven’t done anything to hurt Jessi,” I started, trying to defend myself. “She probably just got the wrong idea because we haven’t talked about anything—”

I cut myself off at her laugh full of derision as she folded her arms and cocked her hips to one side. She arched an eyebrow at me as she smirked.

“Oh, big brother. Don’t tell me that along with a black heart you happen to have a selective memory as well? I know I just said I didn’t know or care what happened between the two of you, but I’ve heard rumors from reliable sources, and we both know you’ve been mean to her in the past.”