"Your favorite place is the grocery store?"

Jackson gave me an offended look after he parked. "What's wrong with the grocery store?"

He forced me out of the house to go to the grocery store? I could be in bed right now.

"All the best things happen at the grocery store," he continued, smirking at my confused expression. "I mean really, it's pretty entertaining — I've seen a divorce in the making over what brand of cheese to get."

"Are you serious?" I knitted my brows together.

I want to go home, dammit.

No, I want to go to Kallie's work and demand her to talk to me.

Kallie's work...where Elliott worked too. He left before Kallie got to my house earlier, saying something about helping with inventory.

Kallie wouldn't say anything to him, would she?

She was mad, but I didn't think she'd do that to me. I hoped, at least.

Shit, I'm having trouble breathing again.

"Totally!" Jackson laughed. "It was fuckin' hilarious. They were in such a heated argument, they didn't even notice their kid pouring cereal all over the floor. Goin' to the grocery store is like watchin' a movie."

I gave him a blank stare, but the sound of his deep laughter was making it a little easier to breathe.

"You comin'?" He asked as he cut the engine. "This is just a pit stop; I gotta grab somethin' real quick."

I rubbed my eyes that were still itchy and swollen and shook my head. "I think I'll stay here."

"Okay," he shrugged, opening his door. "Be right back."

I bit my nail as I watched him saunter toward the automatic doors, my eyes traveling down as the image of those stupid boxer briefs invaded my mind again.

Dammit Brylee, get it together.

Before he got to the doors, he turned to go up to a seemingly homeless man sitting on the sidewalk — a skinny yellow lab laying next to him.

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip as he crouched down, scratching the dog's head with a big smile on his face.

"I'm so screwed," I whispered to myself, letting my head fall back as I squeezed my eyes shut.

With every minute that passed, I regretted not slipping a jacket over my long sleeve shirt more. Jackson took the freaking keys with him, and it was getting cold.

I frowned at a man walking past the truck, wearing a short sleeve polo.

Okay, that doesn't mean anything. I've seen men wearing shorts when it's snowing. It's cold.

I was contemplating going into the store before I saw Jackson walk out, and I almost physically swooned when I realized what he was doing.

He went back over to the homeless man, three bags on one arm and a bag of dog food over his shoulder.

The man's face filled with glee as he stood and shook Jackson's hand enthusiastically.

Jackson said a few more words and crouched down to pet the dog again. Then he stood, patting the man on the shoulder before turning to walk this way.

I nervously twisted my hands in my lap as he got closer, urging my heart to calm down.

Act normal. You didn't see anything.

Fuck, how am I supposed to act normal when all I want to do is grab his face and kiss him?

Everyone else walked around that man like his homelessness was contagious or something, but Jackson? He treated him like a normal person.

I mean, he was a normal person; life had just handed him the short end of the stick.

Most people didn't see it that way, but Jackson did.

I bit the corner of my lip when he climbed in, and looked down at my lap.

"Ready?" He asked, so I nodded as I tugged my sleeves over my hands to warm them.

Then I saw Jackson's arm move toward me out of the corner of my eye, so I turned to see him reach behind the seat.

After rummaging around for a second, he dropped a black hoodie in my lap.

Without skipping a beat, I pulled it over my head and shoved my arms through the sleeves. I breathed in the heavenly scent surrounding me, and threw him a grateful smile.

If someone would've told me the mix of cologne and stale smoke was heavenly a couple months ago, I would've laughed in their face. Yet, here I was.

He looked down at his hoodie swallowing me whole, then up to me. The corner of his mouth twitched up before he cleared his throat and started the truck.

And there goes my heart again.

I need him to be an asshole, otherwise I don't think I'll be able to handle it when he pushes me away again.

"Did you get what you came for?" I asked when I pulled myself together, noticing he didn't have anymore bags with him.

He nodded, pulling a can out of his own hoodie pocket and tossing it in my lap.

I picked it up and looked at him, wrinkling my nose as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"I don't like tuna."

"Good thing it's not for you," he chuckled.

I frowned at him, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Where're we going?"

"To meet a friend of mine," he said simply, still looking forward.

"To give them tuna?"

"She loves tuna," he took his eyes off the road long enough to give me a crooked smile.

She?

I pursed my lips and turned away to look out my window, cursing the jealousy that was running through my veins.

Why is he taking me to give some other girl food?

We were both silent for the next few minutes, until he finally pulled into a small park I never even knew about.

The grass was patchy and unkept, and the rusty playground looked like it needed an upgrade years ago.

"This is your favorite place? Where's your...friend?" I asked hesitantly with a small frown.

"Yeah," he tilted his head to smirk at me, then pointed to a small opening in the trees next to the swing set. "We usually meet over there. Mama and I used to come here all the time and hangout with her."

I nodded silently, and he huffed out a small laugh before getting out of the truck.

He said this is his favorite place, and it's where he meets up with some other girl?

I sound like a freaking possessive girlfriend — and I don't even know if I'm allowed to call him my friend.

Jackson opened my door, stepping to the side and dramatically sweeping his arm out. I breathed out a half assed laugh as I hopped down, and he closed the door behind me.

I had to give it to him, he was trying really hard to cheer me up. It made me feel warm on the inside.

But Kallie was a piece of me, and it didn't feel right to be happy when I didn't know when — or if I'd see her again.

Not to mention, he's taking me to meet another girl.

"It used to be a lot nicer," he said as we fell in step with each other.

"Why's it your favorite place?" I asked as we came up to the small opening, and Jackson held back a branch, nodding for me to walk through.

I ducked under his arm to see a dirt path, covered in leaves and branches.

"You'll see when we get there," he said, coming back to my side.

I looked up and gave him a brief smile before focusing on the uneven ground. "Where's there?"

"You'll see," he huffed. "Do you have any patience?"

"No," I responded immediately, looking back up to frown at him.

"I know," he frowned back before chuckling and turning forward. "That was rhetorical."

I pursed my lips as I watched the side of his face — until I stepped on a small branch, and it began to roll under my foot.

Jackson quickly gripped my upper arm before I busted my ass, then stepped in front of me to put his hand on my other arm.

"You're not very outdoorsy, are you?" He looked down at me with a teasing smile.

I shrugged him off and crossed my arms. "I'm outdoorsy."

I like to sit outside. That counts as outdoorsy.

"Sure," he patted my cheek and turned around, making me glare at the back of his head. "Don't worry, we're almost there."

I dropped my eyes to the ground to watch my step as I followed him. "And...where is that again?"

"Esta maldita chica," he mumbled under his breath. "You're 'bout to make me change my mind."

I huffed, but decided to stay quiet.

We didn't walk much further before Jackson turned off the path, stepping over overgrown weeds until he moved a thick line of branches out of the way.

I eyed the branches that were still poking out where he expected me to walk through and sighed. Making sure his sleeves were covering my hands, I stepped past him and pushed through.

On the other side was a clearing so small, you'd have to already know it's there to find it.

There was an oddly shaped tree in the middle. It looked like it had fallen a long time ago, but still managed to continue growing, making it resemble a curved bench.

"How'd you find this?" I asked, running my finger along a jagged line down the center of the tree.

"It got struck by lightning," Jackson said, dodging my question.

"The universe can be cruel," he mumbled, stepping around me to sit down. "But somehow, we still survive."

He was talking so low I wasn't even sure it was meant for me, so I awkwardly hugged my arms around me and took in my surroundings.

I quickly noticed a small metal box peaking through dead leaves underneath the tree, so I bent down and reached for it, but Jackson's hand smacked mine away.

I glared at him before sitting down next to him. "What is that?"

"Letters."

"Letters?" I echoed, raising my brows expectantly.

He nodded before pulling the can of tuna out of his pocket. "To Mama; this was our spot."

"Oh," I tried to say, but no sound came out.

Am I sitting in her spot? Is that disrespectful? Maybe I should just stand.

I moved to get up, but froze when Jackson's hand landed on my shoulder. I turned to look at him, but he was frowning down at his lap.

Then he pulled away, clearing his throat as he opened the can, and I gave him a confused look.

I was even more confused when he started clicking his tongue, until I heard rustling in front of us.

A small black cat suddenly emerged, letting out high pitched meow's as it trotted happily up to Jackson, rubbing against his legs.

"Careful, Tormenta. I think the pretty girl's jealous," Jackson chuckled as he reached down to pet the cat, and my face heated up.

Oh God. I'm an idiot. I was probably so obvious too, fuck.

But wait, did he just call me pretty?

"This is your friend?" I stupidly asked, watching as the cat greedily ate the tuna when Jackson sat it on the ground.

"Yeah," he turned to smile at me, still chuckling. "She was a kitten when we found her — probably around seven or eight now. We were gettin' ready to leave because it was about to storm, and she came runnin' up to us. We tried to take her home, but Papa flipped shit; he hates cats. So we brought her back when it stopped raining. Been comin' to see her ever since — she's a real trooper."

"Tormenta?" I asked as I cautiously leaned down to pet the purring cat.

"It means storm."

"Fitting," I sat up straight, giving him a soft smile.

"She had cancer," Jackson blurted out quickly before pressing his lips together, making me pull my head back in confusion.

"Really? She looks pretty healthy to me. Maybe a little skinny," I furrowed my brows and looked back down at the cat eating in front of us. She had a couple bald spots, but I assumed that was just from living in the woods.

"Not Tormenta, niña tonta," Jackson laughed humorlessly as he reached down to pat right above her tail. She started purring louder as she lifted her head, licking her lips.

Oh. Shit.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, resting my hand on his forearm.

I could've slapped myself. I couldn't think of anything better to say than sorry?

"She beat it," he said in the same soft tone, eyes focusing intently on my hand.

"What?"

"She beat it," he repeated with a small shrug, finally looking up to me.

The way his eye squinted slightly almost made it look like he was in physical pain, but he opened his mouth to continue anyway.

He stopped himself before anything came out, sighing and looking back down at my hand.

So I did the first comforting gesture I could think of, and slid my hand down to grip his.

He briefly glanced at me, giving me an empty smile before his eyes traveled back down. Then he flipped his hand over, lacing his fingers through mine.

"She had these — uh, moods," he pulled his brows together. "Most days, she was fine, but other days...she was so sad. She told me she just feels deeply, whatever that means. But one day, I guess the sadness took over."

Wait, so she beat cancer, and then ended her own life? Oh my God.

"I found her," he whispered, and my heart dropped to my stomach.

I tightened my grip on his hand as I watched him squeeze his eyes shut.

Fuck. I don't know what to do here.

"You don't have to say anything else," I whispered, running my thumb across the side of his hand.

"No," he sighed shakily, opening his eyes when Tormenta rubbed against his leg. "Just gimme a minute."

I nodded silently, leaning over to rest my head on his shoulder.

I normally hated waiting, but right now?

I wanted nothing more than to sit with him, and wait.