Page 41 of Furious
“Good, good.” He reached out, and they warmly shook hands. “We’ll talk more about it as we get closer.” With a nod, he headed to the back of the kitchen, and Jax looked at Tristan with wide, shocked eyes.
Tristan reached for Jax’s hands, and Jax latched onto them.
“That’s incredible, Jax! I’m so thrilled for you,” he said in hushed excitement. “And if you need a top-notch maître d’ to help, I’m at your service.”
“I’m going to take you up on that,” Jax said with a grin, because he could use all the help that he could get.
A few minutes later, Tristan returned to the main room, and Jax started prepping for the day when he froze, shock flying through his system, knocking aside the excitement and replacing it with rage.
One of his knives was missing.
“So, you’re gonna be the head chef of a wedding hall?” His mother’s voicewrapped around him like a familiar blanket, instantly soothing him. It had been almost a week, and he was still a mess of excitement and nerves, so he’d called her in an attempt to calm down before his date.
“Just for three days.” But he’d hold that title for the first time in his life. So, he couldn’t fuck it up.
“Doesn’t matter. The big guy himself picked my son!” she raved, her support bolstering him in a different way than Tristan’s did, but it worked all the same.
“Thanks, Ma.”
“You sound different.” She went quiet for a few heartbeats. “You got someone you wanna tell me about?”
“Me?” Jax deflected. “What about the deli guy giving you the salami?”
“Jaxon Gianni Fiorelli!” Her voice was all threat. “Don’t think I won’t drive the hour to hit you with my slipper.”
“I know you will,” Jax laughed, staying on the phone with her until he had to start packing ingredients to bring to Tristan’s. Heading to the kitchen, he found Ollie sitting at the table in full glam, blinking away tears.
“What’s the matter?” Putting his cooler on the floor, Jax went over to him, grabbing a tissue on the way so Ollie could blot his eyes.
“I-It’s stupid.” Dabbing at his makeup, he looked at Jax with a sharp yet watery gaze. “Don’t tell Finn I was crying? Please?”
“I see nothing,” Jax assured him. “But my ears work, and I bet it’snotstupid.”
Ollie let out a long sigh.
“I’ve gained a lot of weight and don’t get me wrong, I’m happy about it.” He sniffled. “But sometimes…I don’t like my reflection. See, it’s stupid. I shouldn’t care at all-”
“No, I get it,” Jax interrupted. “It’s valid. You had an image of yourself, and even though you can’t attain it anymore, because that’s harmful, you can’t let it go.”
Those pale-blue eyes widened. “Wow, that’s scarily accurate.”
“And you’re not alone. I can’t let go of things either.” Jax wished he could sit beside Ollie instead of standing to his right, grasping the top of the chair next to him. “I used to go to festivals and dance for three days, and I miss it a lot. I know our situations are different, but it comes down to thefact that we can’t be those people anymore, because we’ll end up hurting ourselves. And missing that is natural, but it shouldn’t get in the way of your healing.”
Of course, Jax rarely listened to himself. It was easier to solve other people’s problems than his own.
“Jaxaphone, I had no idea you were so wise. You and Liam are helping me out so much. Thank you.” Ollie’s tears had dried, and the tissue sat crumpled in his hand, his attention on Jax. “I didn’t know you were a raver party animal.”
“Yeah, I’ve been in a lot of DJ booths,” Playing with one of his helix piercings, he grinned. “My friend Mae has never met a stranger. The first night my favorite DJ was in town, we went to her set, and twelve hours later, Mae sent me a picture of them hanging out together.”
“What? Oh my god, I bet she hasaura. I’d love to meet her!” Ollie declared.
“She actually wants to meet you too.” Jax tried not to smile at Ollie’s shocked expression. “She’s the follower who went into treatment because of you.” This is where Jax wondered if he was crossing a line, but Ollie had handed him the chance to ask. “She got a little better, but she’s backsliding because she doesn’t take recovery as seriously as you do, and I was hoping you could talk some sense into her. We don’t do feelings, so it’s not like I can talk to her about it. But I think she’ll listen to you.”
Ollie’s eyebrows almost touched his hairline. “Jax…”
“But I don’t want to trigger you or put any pressure on your recovery.” Jax held up his hands, but Ollie just gave him a lopsided grin.
“That’s very sweet of you to be concerned about me, but I’m strong enough to handle helping someone who doesn’t want to help themself.” He put a hand over Jax’s, where it rested on the back of the chair. “I’ll give it my best shot.”
