Chapter 237 - Jealousy
ZAC’S POV
The wetness beneath Roxie’s eyes was the first thing Zac noticed.
Ethan standing beside her was the second.
He was close enough to have watched her cry and comfortable enough to remain there afterward, leaning near the employee entrance as though Zac had interrupted something that belonged to them.
Cold wind pushed beneath Zac’s jacket as he crossed the parking lot, but heat was already climbing the back of his neck.
What the fuck was she doing here?
He had driven to the school expecting to find her waiting. Instead, Angela told him Roxie had taken an Uber across town. Zac knew where she had gone before Angela finished saying the Corner Grill, but he spent the entire drive telling himself he could be wrong.
Then he found her with Ethan.
"Why are you here with him?"
Roxie tightened her grip around her practice bag. She showed no guilt. Her eyes were sharp and fixed on him, almost as though she had been waiting for him to react.
"I came to talk."
"You took an Uber across town to talk to him?"
"I didn’t know I needed your permission."
Permission.
She said it like Zac had found her buying coffee instead of crying beside the same guy who had held her on the kitchen floor after their last fight.
Ethan pushed away from the wall with a curse. "You two are fucking exhausting."
Zac stepped toward him.
One punch would shut him up. Zac could already see where it would land, straight across the mouth before Ethan had time to prepare.
Roxie moved between them and planted both hands against Zac’s chest.
His attention dropped to her hands.
She was touching him only to protect Ethan.
His fists closed at his sides.
"What did you say to her?"
"He didn’t make me cry," Roxie said.
She defended Ethan before Zac had even accused him.
"I wasn’t asking you."
"Then you’re asking the wrong person."
Every answer came back sharp. She had crossed town to apologize to Ethan, cried while doing it, and still acted like Zac was the one who had no right to be angry.
Ethan laughed without humor and glanced toward the employee door. "She came here to apologize. I accepted it. That’s all."
"You needed her alone outside for that?"
"I work here. Where the fuck did you expect her to find me?"
Zac tried stepping around Roxie. She shoved him back before he could pass.
"Stop."
Ethan rubbed one hand over his face. "I meant what I said, Roxie. Call me if you need help, but I’m done standing here while you use me to piss him off."
Call him.
The bastard still thought Roxie should call him.
Zac stepped forward again, but Roxie pushed harder against his chest.
"I didn’t come here for that," she said.
"You came without telling him, and now he’s standing here ready to hit me again. You knew this could happen."
Zac looked at Roxie. "You didn’t tell me you were coming here."
"Why would I?"
Ethan pointed toward Zac. "I’m not fighting you again because you can’t control yourself."
"Then go inside."
"Gladly."
Roxie said Ethan’s name, but he had already opened the door.
"You apologized. I accepted it. Go deal with your boyfriend."
The door slammed behind him.
Zac stared at it, fighting the urge to follow.
He wanted to drag Ethan back outside and force him to explain everything Roxie had said. He wanted to know how long they had been standing there, why she had cried, and whether Ethan had touched her while Zac drove across town looking for her.
Roxie stepped into his line of sight. "He’s gone."
"Get in the car."
"Where did you go?"
"I said get in."
"And I asked you something."
Zac caught her above the elbow and started toward the parking lot.
Roxie followed, but her attention dropped to his hand.
"You’re hurting me."
His fingers loosened immediately, though he kept hold of her. "You were supposed to wait at school."
"You weren’t there."
"I had something to do."
"What?"
He reached the Tesla and opened the passenger door instead of answering.
"Get inside before I go back there."
Roxie stared at him for several seconds, then climbed into the car.
Zac shut the door and walked around the front, his pulse beating hard against his throat. He pulled out of the parking lot before she finished fastening her seat belt.
"Slow down."
He kept his eyes on the road.
"Zac."
He forced his foot away from the accelerator. His hands remained tight around the steering wheel, pressing pain through his healing knuckles.
He had spent the afternoon on a private field with a freshman quarterback whose father believed a strong arm could make up for bad footwork. Zac ran the kid through the same drop until both of them were sweating despite the cold, then the father folded several bills and placed them into Zac’s hand.
It was the first money Zac had earned that Arthur could not freeze, cancel, or take away.
For nearly an hour, he had felt good about it.
He already had another session arranged, and two fathers had asked about weekend training. If he kept going, he might earn enough for gas and food without borrowing from Dylan or touching Mr. Robinson’s money.
He planned to tell Roxie when it sounded like a choice instead of desperation. One afternoon of work and several folded bills felt pathetic beside the Tesla he was still driving.
He could explain the job now, but Roxie would ask why he needed money. She would ask what was happening at home, why he kept avoiding his parents, and why most of his clothes remained stuffed inside a duffel on Dylan’s floor.
He was not ready to answer any of that.
"You were supposed to wait for me," he said.
"You never messaged."
"I said I’d pick you up."
"You weren’t there, and I had somewhere to go."
"To Ethan."
"To apologize."
"You could’ve called him."
"I wanted to say it to his face."
"You were crying."
"He forgave me."
Zac glanced at her. "Did he touch you?"
Her face hardened. "No."
The answer should have settled something.
It did not.
Ethan had still stood close enough to see her cry. Roxie had still chosen him when Zac failed to show up. She had still protected him in the parking lot.
Zac wanted to make her account for every minute, but the bungalow appeared ahead.
He turned into the yard too quickly and stopped beside the charger.
Roxie opened her door as soon as the car stopped. Zac got out and slammed his door while she pulled her practice bag from the back seat.
She reached the porch first, unlocked the bungalow, and pushed inside. Her bag hit the floor beside the couch before she spun toward him.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Zac shut the door hard enough to shake the frame.
"What were you apologizing for?"
"For treating him like shit after he helped me."
"He attacked me."
"You shoved him first."
"He was holding you."
"My legs gave out."
"You called him after our fight."
"Because you left me alone."
Her shout filled the living room.
Zac crossed part of the space between them. "You always run to him when something happens."
"Because he comes when I call."
The answer struck harder than it should have.
"So he’s your fucking hero now?"
"He’s my friend."
"He’s waiting for me to fuck up."
"At least he stayed."
Zac hit the wall beside the hallway with the side of his fist. Pain tore through his knuckles, sharp enough to clear his head for half a second.
Roxie’s body jerked.
Regret hit him immediately, but the anger remained. He hated that Ethan had stayed. He hated that Roxie had needed someone and Ethan had been the one standing there. He hated hearing that he failed her.
"Stop comparing me to him."
"I didn’t say your name."
"You knew what you were saying."
Roxie turned toward the kitchen.
Zac caught her arm and pulled her back, but she tore free so quickly that her shoulder struck his chest.
"Stop fucking grabbing me."
"Then stop walking away while I’m talking."
"I can go wherever I want."
"Look at me."
"I’m tired of looking at you while you lie."
She pushed past him toward the kitchen.
Zac caught her wrist before she reached the doorway and pulled her back.
Roxie spun toward him. "What?"
"You looked at Ethan just fine."
She laughed once, sharp and bitter. "There it is."
"You had no problem crying in front of him."
"And you had no problem dragging me away because you saw me with another guy."
She turned her face away.
Zac caught her jaw before he had time to think about the movement.
His fingers closed beneath her chin, his thumb against the heat of her cheek as he forced her eyes back to his.
"Look at me."
Roxie stopped fighting.
Zac expected another shove. Instead, her eyes widened and locked onto his with a sudden alertness that cut through his anger. Color rushed into her cheeks and reached the tips of her ears. Her lips parted, and her pulse jumped beneath his thumb.
She had flinched when he hit the wall.
This was different.
Her body had gone still, but she showed no fear in her face. Every part of her seemed focused on his hand, his anger, and how close he stood.
She liked it.
The realization sent heat through him before guilt followed.
He had grabbed her because he was furious. Because Ethan had watched her cry. Because another guy had been standing beside her when Zac arrived.
He should not like the way she reacted to being held.