Bad Rep (Bad Rep #1)(89)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

“Is that f**king Eli?” Raymond demanded. I nodded.

Then Raymond was in there, pulling Jordan off of his cousin. Raymond was a big guy. He out-weighed Jordan by at least thirty pounds. He yanked on Jordan’s arms and hauled him up to his feet. “Fucking stop it!” Raymond roared. For such a chilled out stoner, he was kind of intimidating.

Eli got to his feet, blood running down his face. I jumped in front of him and held my hands up. “Please, just stop,” I begged, my eyes pleading with him. I looked over my shoulder at Jordan, who was shaking in his fury. Jordan had busted his lip and there was a nasty cut above his eye. His cheek was swollen and he watched me calm Eli down with a look that made me tremble.

“Get out of here, Eli,” Raymond ordered. Eli hesitated, looking at me.

“I’m not sure I should leave Maysie with this f**king lunatic,” he said, shooting a murderous look in Jordan’s direction.

“Get the hell away from her, or I’ll break your f**king arms!” Jordan yelled, struggling against Raymond’s hold. Riley stood in the corner with Cicely, her face pale. Our eyes met and my friend mouthed “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head and turned back to Eli. “Just get out of here. I’m fine. I’m so sorry this happened.” My shoulders slumped. Eli looked as though he wanted to put an arm around me but shooting a look at Jordan, he must have thought better of it.

“Okay, but you know how to find me if you need me,” he told me.

“Thanks,” I murmured. Eli started out the door and turned around before leaving.

“And that fighting thing…uh, yeah, maybe we should re-think that.” He glared at Jordan and then with a final smile to me, he left.

“Now, can I let you go? Are you done?” Raymond asked Jordan, giving him a little shake. Jordan’s shoulders were tense but he nodded. Raymond loosened his grip and Jordan yanked free, breathing heavily.

“We okay here?” Raymond asked me.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Thank you so much,” I whispered, my voice failing me. Raymond looked at me for a minute then he collected Cicely and left, closing the door on his way out.

Jordan stood in the middle of my trashed living room, taking deep breaths. I was in absolute shock with what had just happened. Why the hell was he even here? But his lip was bleeding pretty badly, so I took a hesitant step toward him.

“Jordan, let me clean you up,” I suggested softly, not sure what he would do. I could see the fine tremors going through his body.

He wouldn’t look at me. “I can do it,” he said shortly and turned toward the bathroom without another word.

Once we heard the click of the bathroom door closing, I whipped around to look at Riley. “What is he doing here?” I hissed. Riley winced.

“I’m so sorry, I should have called. But he was at Barton’s. And he had been drinking since early afternoon. He was a freaking mess. I just thought if I could get you guys to talk, then you could figure your shit out.” Riley looked over her shoulder, to make sure the bathroom door was still closed.

Then she looked back at me. “I had no idea Eli would be here,” she said in accusation.

I glared at her. “Eli was up here bumming a smoke. Then we got to talking. NOTHING happened,” I said through gritted teeth. Riley sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples.

“That was crazy, Mays. Remind me in the future that drunk Jordan isn’t a happy Jordan.”

I groaned. “Great, now I have to go deal with angry, drunk Jordan. Thanks. Next time, call, before you stick your nose into my business,” I said angrily. I knew Riley was just trying to help, but dear god, what a mess.

“I should go talk to him.” I sighed. Riley nodded.

“I’ll try and get the blood out of the carpet,” she offered dryly. I left Riley to clean up the living room and I knocked softly on the bathroom door.

“Jordan, can I come in?” I said through the wood. I didn’t get a response. So I just went on in. Jordan was standing at the sink, wiping his lip and jaw with a wet washcloth. He didn’t look my way when I came in. In fact he didn’t acknowledge me at all.

Not saying a word, I went to his side and gently took the cloth from his hand. I put my fingers on his face and carefully pulled him around to face me. Jordan’s eyes went over my head, still not looking at me. I slowly put the cloth up to his lip and dabbed.

We were completely silent. My heart was beating so fast I thought it would break out of my chest. My hand shook as I rinsed the dried blood from Jordan’s skin. His upper lip was starting to puff out and his cheek was red and swollen. I put the washcloth back under the tap and wet it with the cold water. Then I folded it into a small square and held it to Jordan’s cheek.

We stood there for a while. Me holding the cloth to his face and Jordan refusing to look at me. “Jordan,” I said quietly. He closed his eyes and then slowly reached up and pulled my hand away from his skin.

“Why, Maysie? Why the hell are you f**king with my head like this?” he asked in an agonized whisper. I opened my mouth to defend myself but he kept going, his eyes still closed, a frown marring his brow.

“I’ve been miserable. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. I’ve wanted to pound down your door a million times. But I kept telling myself you just needed your space. That you’d sort your shit out. So I give you space. Then Riley tells me you’re as miserable as I am. So I agree to come here. I had it all worked out in my head, Mays. I was going to come in here and beg you to take me back. Hell, I was going to get on my knees if I had to. Because all I know is that I can’t be without you.” I think I had stopped breathing.

Jordan finally opened his eyes and he leaned in close to me. His eyes were glassy and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. We were so close, our lips almost touching. I ached for him to put his mouth to mine. I’ve longed to be this close to him for a week now. But Jordan was angry. And it was clear, kissing was the last thing on his mind.

“And what do I find when I get here? My girl, with her f**king ex. And here I thought what we had was something special. When the first thing you do after kicking me to the curb is crawl back in bed with that douche bag.” He snarled and I backed away.

“I AM NOT sleeping with Eli. He came up here to bum a cigarette. We started talking. He told me to stop being a stubborn ass and to win you back,” I yelled, my voice ringing in the tiny room. Jordan flinched but I wasn’t through. “I know I f**ked up. I pushed you away because I’m a coward. I know that. But you know what you did tonight?” I asked him. Jordan looked confused.