Page 126 of Balancing Act

Jamie wasn’t crying so much as she wasbreaking.

Tears slipped down her face silently, like she hadn’t even noticed them, like she was barely holding herself together at the seams. Her breath was shaky, her shoulders tense, her eyes wild with raw and unfiltered emotions.

Beth’s anger faltered.Oh.

She took a step closer, her voice softer now, careful. “Jamie?”

Jamie inhaled sharply, like she was trying to pull herself together, but her hands were trembling, her whole body locked up tight.

Beth swallowed.Shit.

Jamie was hurting.

And as much as Beth wanted answers, as much as she wanted to yell and demand an explanation, Jamie hurting came first.

So instead of pressing, instead of biting out another accusation, Beth let out a slow breath, then reached for her.

“Hey,” Beth murmured, taking Jamie’s hands, prying them from where they were curled into fists at her sides. They were ice cold. “Talk to me.”

Jamie shook her head quickly, a jerky movement. She was still staring at the floor, her throat working like she was fighting something back. “I?—”

“Jamie.” Beth squeezed her hands, grounding her. “Look at me.”

Jamie squeezed her eyes shut, before finally lifting her gaze. Her bottom lip trembling.

That was all it took before Jamie made a small, broken noise.

She instinctively pulled her in as Jamie collapsed against her like she had been waiting for permission to break. She was shaking, her breaths coming fast and uneven as Beth wrapped her arms around her.

She pressed a hand to the back of Jamie’s head, keeping her close. “Okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Jamie’s fingers curled into the fabric of Beth’s sweater like she needed something to hold on to, something to anchor her.

And then, through the tears, she finally said it.

“I got a call from my doctor.”

Beth froze.

Jamie let out a choked, shuddering breath, her voice cracking as she forced the words out. “There were abnormalities in my scans. They want me to come in for more tests.”

Beth felt her stomach drop.

Her grip on Jamie tightened instinctively. “Jamie?—”

“I ran,” Jamie admitted, shaking her head against Beth’s shoulder. “I got in the car and left. I didn’t know where to go, I just—I couldn’t face it, Beth.”

Beth closed her eyes, inhaling sharply as she pressed a kiss to Jamie’s temple. “Oh, Jamie.”

Jamie’s whole body was trembling now, shaking in her arms as Beth held her—held her through the rising panic, through the fear clawing at her edges, through the heavy truth Jamie had kept to herself.

And Beth—Bethhatedthat Jamie had been carrying this alone.

“I should’ve called you,” Jamie rasped, after a long silence, her voice barely there. “I should’ve called. I—I know I let you down, I just—I was—I’m so scared, Beth.”

Beth shook her head, rubbing slow, soothing circles against Jamie’s back. “I know. I know, baby.”

She was still mad.