Free Come to Me Recklessly by A. L. Jackson Page B

had ruined everyone’s night.
    Especially mine.
    “Christopher,” Aly attempted, taking a step forward, and I lifted a hand to stop her.
    “Not tonight, Aly. You said you were being honest with me. I can accept that. But I have to be honest with you. I’m really pissed off at you right now. You should’ve told me.”
    She cringed. There was no question Aly hadn’t done it maliciously, because there was nothing in her that was bad. But she had this thing about her, keeping secrets from me when she thought she was protecting me, when she thought she was protecting what was important to her.
    I didn’t appreciate it when she pulled it when she started hooking up with Jared, and I sure as hell didn’t appreciate it now.
    Jared clapped me on the shoulder as he passed. “Come on, man, let’s get you home.”
    I hated the guilt that was etched in deep lines across Aly’s forehead, so I went to her. As I approached, she lifted her head, and I dropped a swift kiss to the frown marring her forehead, going for the light that I always used, the fuckup who was always laughing because he didn’t give a shit about anything.
    Tonight it wasn’t so easy to pretend.
    “Don’t worry about it,” I tossed out, doing my best to convince her it was nothing when we all so obviously knew it was something. I turned to walk away.
    Her soft voice hit me from behind. “There’s never a time when I don’t worry about you, Christopher.”
    I slowed but didn’t look back. I stepped out into the night. Gusts of wind whipped along the desert floor, stirring up dust and leaves. The high-pitched trill of bugs echoed from the dense trees Jared had planted out front.
    I slowed, breathing fresh air in while I fought against the pull begging me to look in the direction I knew Samantha had to have gone, like I was being drawn into the darkness.
    That same suffocating tightness got all locked up in my chest, and I wanted to lash out, because I hated feeling this way. Hated feeling out of control. Hated feeling like I was quickly losing my grip.
    A long time ago I learned how to be comfortable.
    One second of Samantha? There wasn’t one cell inside me that was comfortable, every single one of them trembling with some kind of unease. Funny how I’d been the one who was supposed to be
trouble
, the one everyone warned her to stay away from, guarding that sweet little heart from whatever destruction I would bring.
    And maybe she should have stayed away.
    I knew I wasn’t good for her, that I was being selfish taking from something that was so pure and good.
    But what I never anticipated was how I should have protected myself from her. I had never expected that she’d come ripping through my life just as fiercely as I’d gone ripping through hers, both of us tearing everything apart, leaving us wrecked.
    Jared clicked the fob to his truck. The running lights flashed in the driveway and the locks popped. Climbing in, we slammed the doors shut in unison, the overhead lights dimming slowly, leaving the two of us sitting in a charged silence, staring out the windshield.
    “Sorry, man,” he finally said, slanting his gaze in my direction. “That was messed up. Should’ve said something, but really, I didn’t think it would matter all that much.”
    I shrugged, grunted. “It doesn’t.”
    Low, disbelieving laughter rumbled from him, and his mouth twisted up in a wry smile. “Really? Sure doesn’t look that way to me.”
    “Just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
    “Right.”
Sarcasm dripped from the word, laced with an undertone of sympathy. “I don’t think I’ve seen you so spun up since the night you found me with your sister. And we all know how that ended.”
    I shot him a warning glare. “Fuck you, man. Don’t even start on me. I don’t need your two cents when it isn’t welcome.”
    Releasing a low chuckle, he turned over the ignition, and his giant truck rumbled to life. He dug for the stash of gum he kept in the door side