Justin was standing in front of me, and I swear it was like the boy I’d left behind had been swallowed up by a lean mass of muscle. He just looked so different from what I remembered nine years ago. The anger on his face was transparent and somehow made him even more incredibly hot. It just would have been better if it weren’t directed toward me.
His skin was a beautiful shade of bronze that complemented the natural golden streaks in his dark blond hair. The smooth face I remembered was now rough and unshaven. A rope and barb wire tattoo wrapped around his bicep. He was wearing camouflage cargo shorts with a tight white ribbed tank that hugged his chiseled chest.
An indeterminate amount of time passed as I just took him in. Even though I was too stunned to say anything, my heart was screaming. I knew deep down my reaction wasn’t just because of my physical attraction to him. It was because despite all of the changes, one thing had stayed exactly the same. His eyes. They reflected the same hurt that I remembered from the very last time I saw him.
His name finally managed to roll off my tongue. “Justin…”
“Amelia.” The deep, throaty sound of his voice vibrated through me.
“I wasn’t sure if you were ever going to show up.”
“Why wouldn’t I have?” he sneered.
“Well, I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”
“You’ve overestimated your significance to me. Of course, I was going to come. This is half my house.”
His words stung. “I didn’t say it wasn’t. It’s just…I hadn’t heard anything from you.”
“Interesting how that goes.”
Clearly uncomfortable with our sparring, Jade cleared her throat. “I was just asking Amelia if she wanted to have dinner with us tonight. Maybe you guys can catch up.”
“Apparently, she already has plans.”
I turned to him. “Why do you say that?”
“Oh, I don’t know…because you’re holding a bag that smells like dirty snatch?”
“It’s fresh seafood.”
“Doesn’t smell very fresh to me.”
“God. We haven’t seen each other in nine years, and this is how you act?” I turned to Jade. “Is he always this rude?”
Before she could answer, he cracked, “I guess you bring it out in me.”
“You think Nana would be happy right now with your attitude? Something tells me she didn’t leave us this house so that we could fight with each other.”
“She left us both this house because we each meant something to her. That doesn’t mean we have to mean anything to each other. Anyway, if you cared so much about what Mrs. H. thought, maybe you shouldn’t have run away.”
“That’s a low blow.”
“The truth hurts, I guess.”
“I tried to contact you, Justin. I—”
“I’m not talking about this now, Amelia,” he said, speaking through gritted teeth. “It’s old news.”
It was unnerving to hear him call me by my actual name. Aside from the very first day we’d met, he’d always called me Patch or Patchy. Hearing my name come out of his mouth felt like a slap in the face for some reason, like he was trying to emphasize how much we’d grown apart.
Justin went from hot to cold as he shut down, heading back outside to retrieve the groceries from his car but not before slamming the door behind him.
I shuddered, looking over at Jade whose eyeballs were moving back and forth from side to side in confusion.
“Well, that was a nice start,” I joked.
“I don’t know what to say. I’ve never seen him act like that toward anyone to be honest. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. Believe it or not, I probably deserve it.”
The only thing worse than the rude reception he’d given me was his blatantly ignoring me during dinner and for the rest of that night. That hurt more than anything he could have ever said to me.
***
If I thought the evening was horrible, lack of sleep assured that the next morning was even worse.
Apparently, Justin found a way to take out his anger—by taking it out on Jade. Let’s just say playing guitar wasn’t the only talent he’d fully developed over time. Jade’s moaning in the middle of the night as Justin pounded into her woke me up. The walls literally shook. It was impossible to go back to sleep after that. I tossed and turned, my thoughts alternating between rehashing Justin’s words to me from earlier to imagining what that scene in the other room actually looked like. Not that I really should have been thinking about the latter, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.