Page 47 of Love Medley (Med Wreck Romance #1)

Chapter thirty-six

Jake

A s I leave Lucy’s apartment, for likely the last time, I can’t breathe—my chest is caving in. What the fuck just happened? How did our happy bubble devolve into this mess? In the span of a few days, I went from feeling like I was on the top of the world only to plummet to the depths of despair.

Did we just break up? Did we end before we had even begun?

Lucy just crystallized all of my fears. She realized that she didn’t want this—didn’t want me.

I didn’t measure up. Again.

Maybe she believed we fit before—and that I was enough for her—but she's changed her mind. She’s said as much.

And her mom is embarrassed she’s dating me too.

I knew the entire time…that I was in a dream on the verge of waking.

And now all I want is to fall asleep again.

I only have myself to blame for this mess.

Why would a gorgeous woman like Lucy, who could have her pick of any man in the world, choose me?

I've never measured up in my father's eyes—why did I believe for even a moment that I would measure up in hers? The reason we’ve been together so far is because we’ve been in our own private world.

The sole occasion in which I’ve met her friends was during our fake date, so it doesn’t even count.

I’m positive that once it was time for Lucy to truly go public with me in an authentic way, the sheen of our romance would wear off.

The only reason that the fake dates were fine in the public eye were because the stakes were so low. Real feelings were never part of the plan.

But once they were? I wasn’t enough.

I would be absolutely devastated if I were the reason that she couldn’t achieve everything she wanted in life.

Lucy is entitled to everything the world can offer, and I’d just hold her back.

It’s better that she’s come to this conclusion sooner rather than later, before I inadvertently clipped her wings.

Lucy deserves to fly.

Returning to my apartment, I sit heavily on my couch, rubbing my chest, my heart already torn to shreds. I’m a zombie going through the motions, and I just want to rush back to Lucy’s apartment and beg for her to take me back.

But she won’t. She can’t.

She shouldn’t.

The seconds, minutes, and hours of the day creep by.

Unsurprisingly, I find myself drawn to my keyboard.

The first song that flows from my fingers is “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera, an anthem of empowerment.

I played it a lot when I was struggling with the decision to drop out of medical school.

I never believed the lyrics, but the idea that I was worthy despite what my father said was comforting nonetheless.

Maybe by playing the song enough, I’ll be able to believe a beautiful lie.

Then my phone emits a ringtone, signifying a call not a text. I glance at it, hoping that it’s Lucy, but instead, it’s Wyatt.

“Hello?” My voice is croaky, and I work to clear my throat.

“Hey, Jake. Sorry it’s so early. But I was hoping you could help me with something.”

“Of course. What is it?”

“I need to… tell our parents.”

I don’t need to ask him what he needs to tell them.

“And I could use a wingman. I know you have your own issues with them and that I’m asking a lot of you. But I could use your support.”

Wyatt’s right. I don’t particularly want to see my parents right now, but I also know there is no way in hell I’m gonna let Wyatt walk into that wolf’s den by himself. “Of course. When? ”

“Tonight. I would have given you more advance notice, but figured I’d just chicken out if you weren’t available.”

I marvel at how quickly I’ve forgotten that family dinner is always on the last Thursday of the month.

“Well, I am, so buckle up. Ten minutes before, so we can walk in together?”

“That works. Thanks, Jake. This means the world to me.”

“You forget I know our parents. So yeah, you owe me for life.” We share a chuckle, although I can tell both of us are dreading tonight.

As I hang up, I collapse on my couch. I may as well help someone else, since I certainly can’t help myself.

After spending the rest of the day moping about Lucy, it’s time for family dinner. While I’m relieved to get out of my head and focus on someone else for a change, I’m in for a different sort of torture.

I arrive on time, because this is about Wyatt, not me.

“Hey, man,” Wyatt says, greeting me in the driveway. “You look like shit.”

“Wow, you’re welcome,” I say sardonically.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?”

And I realize I do want to tell him.

Because we don’t have a lot of time, I give him only the highlights of the past few days. But I tell him enough so that he gets the drift .

Wyatt whistles when I’m done. “So let me get this straight,” he says. “You think you don’t deserve Lucy because you’re a nurse? Because our father drilled into you that you aren’t good enough, because you aren’t some asshole surgeon like Sterling or an overworked and depressed lawyer like me?”

I bark out a surprised laugh at his reworking of my sob story. “Sure, something like that.”

“Well, that’s bullshit.”

“Wow, don’t sugarcoat it.”

“Look,” Wyatt says, rubbing his forehead.

“I know I told you I wasn’t sure about Lucy and suggested you might be moving too fast. And I don’t pretend to know exactly what’s going on between you two.

But the one thing I am one-hundred percent positive about is you .

You’re one of the best people I know. Honestly, the fact that you came out of this family and still give a damn about other people? That’s incredible.”

I gape at him as he pokes me in the chest.

“You’re imposing a very antiquated view of male and female roles onto your relationship, and I know our father has a lot to do with that. But I bet if you heard your story from someone else’s lips? You’d be telling them the same thing. Get. Your. Head. Out. Of. Your. Ass.”

My eyes widen. Wyatt, my mild-mannered brother, being this emphatic about anything is out of character.

“Don’t let our father ruin yet another thing for you. Don’t sabotage your relationship with Lucy because of him. Or because of what Lucy’s mother thinks. Or hell, because of what I think, for that matter. We aren’t you and Lucy. Only you two get to decide what happens in your relationship.”

“I even grabbed my car keys a few times to head to her place today,” I say slowly, “but I don’t want to invade her space or be where I’m not wanted.”

Wyatt rolls his eyes. “You’ll obviously give her the option to not open the door—but I’d be shocked if she didn’t let you in.

She’s not an idiot, is she? Plus, you’ve never let anything or anyone stop you from going after what you wanted, so why would you now?

From what you’ve told me, Lucy is worth fighting for.

You’ll regret not trying to win her back. ”

“Wow. How did you get so wise?”

“I think you’re rubbing off on me. Promise me you’ll talk to Lucy after this awful dinner I’m forcing you to go to, or else I’m not letting you come inside.”

I bark out a surprised laugh. “Wait. You’re threatening me with the idea that I can just turn around and go home without having to sit through yet another horrific dinner?”

“Remember, I know you. I’m pretty damned sure that because I asked you for help, you physically cannot allow me to endure the firing squad alone.”

And by God, he’s right. “Fuck you. Let’s get this over with.”

Wyatt smirks at me as I press the doorbell.

The dinner goes about as well as one might expect.

There is a lot of yelling from my dad and crying from my mom, and Sterling is unperturbed.

He just sits there eating, like he might as well get a nice steak dinner out of it.

I half expected Sam to be there, but Sterling rarely brings his significant others to family dinners. I’m sure Sam didn’t react well to that.

But when my father turns his rage towards me and starts blaming me for all of Wyatt’s sudden terrible life decisions, Wyatt steps in.

“Dad, you can yell at me, but this has nothing to do with Jake. He’s only here because I asked him to. It’s sad that I need support to attend a goddamned family dinner. Let’s go, Jake.”

My father booms out one more threat. “If you two leave out that door, don’t come back. You are both dead to me.”

There is a suffocating silence in which even Sterling stops eating, his fork halfway to his open mouth. My mom has a stricken look on her face. I’m sure she’s remembering a similar scene with her own parents. How ironic is it that my father is just repeating his past?

If I’m really that similar to him, I refuse to take the path he did. I’m going to take the one that my heart knows is the right one.

And that’s towards home.

Towards places I belong like TNT and Bill’s. Towards my friends Luke, Trix, and Ian. Towards my brother Wyatt.

And Lucy.

Wyatt and I glance at each other, and as if we are communicating by telepathy, we leave together.

As we loiter in the driveway next to my trusty Camry, Wyatt and I stand in silence for a moment, contemplating the decimation of our family .

“I knew it would be bad, but not this bad. I didn’t realize we’d both be disowned. You don’t deserve that.”

“I was basically disowned already,” I say with a shrug. “I didn’t really need the formal words.”

“Still.”

“It’s not like we don’t have family. We’re hanging out again, and that means more to me than these fucked-up family dinners.”

“That’s true. Thanks, Jake. Seriously. For everything.”

We give each other an awkward bro hug. It’s a start.

I clear my throat. “I’m going to go talk to Lucy.”

Wyatt puts his hands on my shoulders. “Go get your girl.”