Hooked by Love
Page 122

“I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper. I might not know anything else, but I know that.
I just hope that’s enough.
I’m not going to cry.
I’m not.
We’ve got this.
I’m also not going to puke, even though that’s all I’ve been doing for the last few weeks.
Jace says it’s fine.
We are fine.
But it just feels like one thing after another.
“I thought you said a room would come available for us today. Didn’t you say today?” Jace asks, leaning on the counter of the housing department.
“Yes, I thought so, hon. I’m sorry,” Mrs. Annie says, and she looks as defeated as we feel. We’ve been in here a lot lately and she knows our whole story—that we are desperate to get housing on campus. Being married, we want to sleep together. But I can’t stay at the Bullies’ house long-term, and he can’t stay in my dorm. “I thought the couple that was staying in the room I wanted to give you was gonna go off campus, but they decided it was cheaper to live here, so we are completely full.”
It is. A lot cheaper.
“We only have ten family dorm facilities. It’s a small campus, honey. I’m so sorry.”
Jace lets out a long breath, the dark circles under his eyes hurting my heart. He’s been working double at the coffee shop while busting his ass on the ice. If I thought he worked hard before, he is working double time now. He is determined to not only get into the draft but go number one with the highest entry contract. He doesn’t want to fail me, as he keeps saying. No matter how much I said he couldn’t fail me if he tried, he’s running himself into the ground. And he won’t let me stop him.
“Okay, can we stay on the waiting list, though? Maybe after Christmas, someone will move?” I say, wrapping my arms around his arm.
He looks at me and I know he doesn’t like it. “Yeah, is that okay, Mrs. Annie?”
“Of course, guys. I’ll keep you in the loop if anything changes.”
We both nod and then wish her a good day as we head outside in the freezing cold. I’m bundled up tight in my jacket, and he pulls his beanie down over his ears before wrapping his arms around me.
“That sucks.”
“Yeah,” I say as we walk toward his car. “It’s okay, though. We could go get an apartment off campus. That one we looked at the other day would be okay.”
He shrugs. “But it’s like two grand to move in right now. I’ve got the money, but with your co-pays, monthly bills, and no telling what else could come up, I really wanted to stay on campus. Especially since my scholarships pay it all, you know?”
“Yeah,” I agree, and he’s right, but that isn’t feasible right now. So we need another plan. “I can always call and ask my dad—”
“Hell no, I’m not asking your dad—who doesn’t support us—for help. He already cut off your credit cards, Av. You ask, he’ll get even more pissed and stop paying for school. Thankfully, your car is already paid off.”
As he shakes his head, I can’t bring myself to tell him that my dad isn’t paying for my schooling anymore after this year. I haven’t told Jace because I figure it doesn’t matter. We’ll be moving to wherever he gets drafted to, and then I’ll start school there.
“Jace,” I say, stopping him when he tries to walk off. “Let me help.”
“No, you focus on your internship and school, okay? I will figure it out.”
He goes to walk off again, but I stop him once more. “We are a team, Jace. You aren’t the star of the relationship, no matter how amazing you are,” I yell, my frustration about the whole thing getting to be too much to handle. He meets my gaze, worry swirling deep inside his eyes. I hate that. I don’t want him to worry, but I know that it’s unavoidable. Everything is just so up in the air. “This is a partnership. Let me help.”
“I know, Avery. But I want you to focus on the big stuff like school and your internship. Let me worry about this. I mean, we are doing okay living apart. You still sleep at the house, even if you aren’t supposed to. But it’s fine, no one will tell on me.”
“But it’s not fair to anyone else. Especially Markus, despite the fact I think he is a douche. But the rules are there for a reason, and you are setting a bad example.”
“He made a mistake; he isn’t a douche. Greatest guy I know, but I don’t care. I want you to be happy—and with me. So the guys are fine,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s fine.”
“It isn’t,” I say sternly. “You are tired, you’re stressed, and it isn’t okay.”
“Rather me than you,” he says, shaking his head, and my eyes widen.
“Is that what this is about? You don’t think I can handle it?”
“No, Avery, please, can we just drop this and go? We have an hour before we gotta get to your appointment.”
“No, we can’t just drop it. I can handle this. Let me help.”
“How? Tell me how?”
“I can call my dad.”
“And what? You want me to stand by and let my wife’s dad support us? No fucking way.”
Throwing my hands up, I yell, “You and your damn pride.”
“No, you are my responsibility, my wife,” he says, lacing his fingers with mine. “And I will provide for you, okay?”
“You can’t do it alone, Jace. Maybe we should ask your mom? Your brothers? Lucy?”
“Hell no, Avery. We can do this. I don’t need help,” he stresses, his eyes telling me something entirely different. He’s just as scared as I am. It really hasn’t been that bad, sort of living with him and living in my dorm, but I don’t want him to get into trouble. I doubt that his coach would really come down hard on him since he is doing his mom, but still, I know how proud Jace is. He wants to be the best, he wants to be a good example for his team, and I’m threatening that by being there.
When a tear runs down my face, I wipe it away quickly, hoping he doesn’t see it. But he does. “Fuck, Avery, don’t cry. It’s fine,” he says, wrapping me up in his arms.
“I just worry about you.”
“Don’t,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “It will work out. Maybe I can go plant some drugs in someone’s dorm room and get them kicked out?” he jokes and I smile.