Chapter 6: The Witch is Back

**Jax**

I sat on the bed, back against the headboard, ankles crossed, and waited for Abby to get out of the bathroom. She hadn't said more than a handful of words the entire way back from Sophie's, and I didn't pressure her to talk. Though I was dying to know what Isach had said to convince her to leave without him.

The entire purpose of this trip was to get Isach back and bring him home, and now she was just walking away. Why? Granted, Isach's return meant a war with Ivy, but so what? We'd faced Rector and the entire Zoya Coven. Surely, we could face Ivy and win, too. Either way, that witch was dying when I got home. No way would I allow her to keep amassing power and destroying lives.

Abby walked out of the bathroom, climbed onto the bed, and sat beside me.

I handed her a strawberry flavored wine cooler. "Start slow. Food will be here soon." I twisted the top off my own drink and held it up. "To broken hearts, unkept promises, and the inability to move on."

"That has to be the worst toast I've ever heard." She shot me a dirty look.

"Don't think of it as a toast but more like a list of grievances spoken aloud so we can get them off our chests."

She rolled her eyes and took a long drink. Lowering the bottle, she ran her finger around the opening. "I had to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry."

Lame answer, but what else was I supposed to say? Barraging her with questions would only cause her to stop talking, and I had a feeling she needed to get some things off her chest. So, I'd be the friend she needed and listen.

Abby nodded. "At least I got to do it in person this time." She shrugged. "You know we can't tell anyone that he's alive, right? Not even Chloe or Trent."

"Yeah, I figured as much." I took a drink. "We'll tell them we tried everything to resurrect him but just couldn't make it happen."

Not that I was happy about having to lie to Chloe and Trent, but telling them the truth would only hurt them more. And now I wanted to strangle Isach for so many more reasons.

"Okay." Abby took another drink, then another and another until the bottle was empty. She leaned over the side of the bed and set it on the floor.

She was sucking those down fast. Not that I was judging. I held out another bottle for her. On the way back to the hotel, she'd said she wanted to get drunk, so that's exactly what we were going to do, and I would ensure nothing happened to her. She'd be perfectly safe. Too bad I couldn't do anything to mend her broken heart. There was only one person who could do anything about that, and he was choosing to hide. What a coward. My hand tightened around my beer bottle.

"Considering everything, you're handling this remarkably well," I said.

"Don't really have a choice, do I? Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm in shock. Like, the reality of all this hasn't fully hit me yet." She went to take another drink but realized the bottle was empty. She set that one on the floor next to the first, and when she straightened, I had another drink waiting for her.

She took the bottle, and her fingers brushed across mine. She hesitated for a moment, her gaze locking with mine. What was going on in that head of hers? I fully expected a lot more crying, maybe some yelling, definitely some destruction. But she was calm. Too calm.

"So, about that thing that happened between us. . ." she said.

I was wondering when she'd bring that up again. "You mean when you kissed me." I gently nudged her shoulder with mine and winked.

She rolled her eyes. "No, I mean when you kissed me back."

I laughed. "What about it? Is this your way of asking for a repeat performance?"

I probably shouldn't have kissed her back, but I knew utter desperation when I saw it, and she'd been hovering near rock bottom. Pushing her away would have been cruel. And if I were being honest, I'd been curious what kissing her would be like.

"What?" Her eyes widened. "No." She shook her head. "I mean, don't get me wrong. It was good, and I can totally see why Gina and Chloe never shut up about kissing you but - "

I laughed even harder. That's right - I'd kissed the h*ll out of her friend Gina on a dare, and to make Chloe jealous, which had worked better than I could've imagined. Gina hadn't been a very good kisser, probably because she was in shock. Not many humans knew how to handle kissing a vampire.

Chloe, however. . . I nearly groaned at the memory of her kisses. No wonder Trent was always slobbering all over her. Abby was a good kisser in her own right, too. I'd bet anything Piper could give me a run for my money in the kissing department. Ugh. Why was I thinking about kissing her? She was a witch. And an annoying one at that.

"Relax, Abby. I know that kiss didn't mean anything. We can forget all about it if you want."

"Thank you."

"Well, I mean, you might not be able to forget about it but. . ."

She yanked the pillow out from behind her and smacked me with it. "You're a real jerk, you know that?" She laughed. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" I grinned as I brought the bottle to my lips. Her aura was starting to brighten a bit. Finally.

"Make me laugh. In case you haven't noticed, I've hit rock bottom. I'm below rock bottom, actually. I lost my job, dropped out of school, I'm living with my cousin and her husband. After this trip, I'll be broke, and I just had to say goodbye to my fiancé for literally the rest of my life. And yet, you make me forget for a little while."

"It's a gift," I said with a shrug.

"Well, whatever happens, don't ever lose this part of yourself." She momentarily rested her head on my shoulder. "You're a good friend, Jax."

I leaned my head against hers and sighed. All I wanted to do was comfort her, make her see that this wasn't the end of the world. She was strong. She'd get through this. I knew she would.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted, but I'm glad we had a chance to get to know each other better," I said.

"Me too." She straightened. "I have to pee." She stumbled off the bed and into the bathroom.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I didn't bother checking it, knowing either Chloe or Trent was texting me. Again. Or possibly Colt. He'd been out drinking with Wyatt last night, and the two of them had sent me a dozen messages, harassing me about babysitting Abby. They were both going to get an ass-kicking when I got home.

Abby returned to the bedroom. "We should probably call Chloe. She's been blowing up my phone, and I've been avoiding her." She climbed onto the bed and resumed her position next to me.

"Yeah, her and Trent have been blowing up my phone, too." I set my drink on the nightstand. "Let's call them right now." I reached for my phone, but before I could get it out of my pocket, a knock sounded on the door. "Must be our food."

I got out of bed and strode across the room. I yanked open the door and immediately stepped aside so the room service cart could be wheeled in, but then I froze.