Free Finding Dandelion (Dearest #2) by Lex Martin Page B

instead of laying off , you get laid on .” He laughs at his own joke.
    “You’re such a gossip whore. You want juicy details so you can get your jollies off some hot boys.”
    He feigns offense and then laughs. “As long as someone gets a hot boy.”
    Although I smile at Travis for trying to make me feel better, I’m thinking I’m done with guys for a while, and I’m definitely done with Jax. I can’t think of one thing that would persuade me otherwise.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER THIRTEEN
     
    - Jax -
     
    My sister clearly isn’t expecting me, and she looks like I grew horns and a tail for trying to save her high-school crap from the dumpster. The last time we spoke, she told me to toss it, but deep down I thought she’d want it someday, so I packed up her yearbooks and photos, which means we’ll have to talk about Daren, a conversation we’ve been avoiding for years.
    Clementine hasn’t spoken to our mother since her freshman year, so our mother is converting her room into a storage area. I’m not sure what initially pissed her off, but Clem refuses to call her. As much as I hate to admit it, my sister and I are a lot alike. If we’re worked up, it can take a while to talk us off the ledge.
    Clem paces in her small bedroom, eyeing me like I’m the enemy.
    So maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing to say, asking if she was still in love with Daren to explain why she never dates and hardly has any friends, but I’m tired of her deflecting me. It’s probably unfair to say this now since I think she’s seeing that guy Gavin, who’s sitting in the living room, but he’s the first person she’s dated in three years.
    The moment the words are out of my mouth, she looks like she wants to yank my heart out of my chest.
    “What do you even know about me, Jackson? I lost my track scholarship, so I’ve had to work my ass off for the past two years to pay for my tuition. My professor attacked me when I was a freshman. I’d say I’m doing pretty damn well considering.”
    The air thickens in the room, pressing against me as though gravity has intensified somehow. My head tilts. My eyes close.
    Someone hurt my sister?
    I swallow. And then swallow again.
    “What do you mean your professor attacked you?” My jaw tightens so hard it hurts. At the beginning of her senior year in college she decides to tell me someone did this to her as a freshman. I stand in the doorway of Clem’s bedroom at a loss for words. “Fucking hell, Clementine. Who is this asshole?”
    She shakes her head. “Forget about it. There’s nothing you can do. I’m fine. Now .”
    I don’t miss the jab.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?” Growing up, Clem and I were inseparable. Even if our parents were the most self-absorbed jerkoffs in the world, my twin and I were close. Until she broke up with Daren. My relationship with my sister has never been the same.
    The hurt in Clem’s eyes is unnerving. I’m so used to my sister being made of steel.
    “You didn’t back me up with Daren.” Having her say that out loud is more painful than I thought it would be, but she doesn’t know the whole story. “Why would you care about this? Besides, Mom and Dad didn’t seem to care.” She stares at me like she might bore a hole through my body. “You know, they don’t pay for my shit like they pay for yours.”
    Did she call them and they didn’t do anything?
    A familiar bitterness clenches my stomach. Of course our mother didn’t do jack shit. Because it didn’t affect her. Why would she bother? Our father, though… Just because he spends most of his time in Europe on business doesn’t mean he wouldn’t care. That he wouldn’t want to protect my sister.
    But at the end of the day, Clementine felt alone.
    Fury sweeps through me. Had I known, I would have done something. I don’t know what, beat the shit out of her professor, cut off his balls—something. And what the fuck does she mean our parents don’t pay for her stuff? They’re