Ivy glanced down at her plain cargo pants and simple black shirt. “I’m not in the mood to dress up.”
“I can see that,” Felicity said. “Do you want to tell me what happened to inspire this mood?”
“Jack broke up with me.”
Felicity wasn’t sure if she heard her niece correctly. “I’m sorry … what?”
“Jack dumped me,” Ivy said matter-of-factly. “Actually, I’m not sure we actually got to that part. He waited with me in the hospital until Max showed up and then he just … took off.”
“I don’t understand,” Felicity said, confused. “Jack adores you. You two fight like you’re going to rip each other’s clothes off any second. Why would he do that?”
“He’s done with me.”
Felicity rolled her eyes. She could tell Ivy was feeling sorry for herself. The things she was saying about Jack made absolutely no sense, though. She’d seen the duo together. The atmosphere around them positively crackled when they were in the same room. “What did he say?”
“What does that matter?”
Felicity narrowed her eyes. She was in no mood for games. “Is Jack struggling because of what happened to him?” Despite her best intentions, Felicity accidentally got a gander at Jack’s wretched past when she inadvertently read his aura weeks before. She promised to keep it to herself, but since Ivy already knew about the shooting she wasn’t breaking any oaths. “You know it’s probably hard for him to deal with a shooting when it happens to someone he cares about. You should have a little patience.”
“Yes, this all my fault,” Ivy deadpanned. “I did not come here to listen to you take up for poor Jack and his moody bag of tricks.”
Felicity chuckled. She couldn’t help herself. “Let me see if I understand what’s going on,” she suggested. “You got shot and Jack freaked out. Instead of doting on you like you thought he should, he disappeared to freak out on his own.
“You overreacted and cut him out of your life and now you’re feeling sorry for yourself,” she continued. “Does that about sum it up?”
“No.”
“Then why don’t you tell me how it happened while I pour you a soothing cup of tea,” Felicity prodded. “I might slip a mood elevator in there, but that can only help right now.”
Ivy rolled her eyes but launched into her story anyway. She didn’t come to her aunt because she wanted the woman to take Jack’s side. She came to her aunt because she needed a sounding board that wasn’t Max, Michael, or Luna. When she was done, Felicity was more sympathetic.
“Well, I’m not going to pretend that Jack did the right thing,” she said. “If you ask him how he feels about all of this, he’s probably going to say he did everything wrong. Still … .”
“I knew you were going to take his side,” Ivy hissed.
Felicity ignored her niece’s outburst. “Still, Jack went through a horror that you cannot possibly relate to.”
Ivy wordlessly gestured to her shoulder.
“Yes, a flesh wound that took seven stitches to close up is the same thing as several gunshot wounds to the chest, isn’t it?”
Ivy made a face. “I’m not saying it’s the same thing.”
“What are you saying?”
Ivy was frustrated. “He promised he wasn’t going to break my heart.” The tears she’d managed to avoid all day threatened to return. “He promised not to purposely hurt me.”
“Do you honestly think that’s what he’s doing?” Felicity asked, squeezing Ivy’s hand to offer her reassurance. “Do you think Jack feels so little for you that he just tossed you away without a second thought?”
“That’s exactly what I think.”
“Then you’re an idiot,” Felicity said, refusing to mince words. “Jack is so enamored with you he can’t see straight. He has been since you two sparred at your very first meeting. He fought his attraction to you as long as he could – failed miserably during the process – and then gave in because he was tortured without you.
“On your very first official date a cop was shot and Jack watched him die on the pavement,” she continued. “He was already shaken up before you were injured. How do you think he felt watching you hit the ground right next to him?”
“Probably better than I felt.”
“You’re being a complete and total pain,” Felicity grumbled. “Jack panicked. He didn’t know what to do, so he panicked. It happens sometimes. I know you’ve put Jack up on some kind of a pedestal, but he’s entitled to make a few mistakes. You’re not exactly perfect yourself, my dear.”
“I wouldn’t have left him if he was shot.”
“You’re not haunted by the same memories Jack is,” Felicity reminded her. “You saw his dreams. You saw what he survived – and how he tortured himself with the memories. Don’t you think he’s doing the same thing now?”
Ivy worried her bottom lip with her teeth, conflicted. She’d been pushing those very thoughts out of her mind because it was easier to hate Jack than have empathy for him. If she understood his plight, if she gave in to the sympathy, then she would be right back where she started. “It hurts to think about him.”
“I’m sure it hurts him to think about you, too,” Felicity said. “He has guilt about your shooting plaguing him. He blames himself because whoever did this is going after you to punish him. He’s dealing with a lot more than you are right now.”
“He still broke my heart.”
“Or perhaps he merely delayed your happy ending,” Felicity suggested. “You two are not going to be able to stay away from each other no matter what. Jack may think he’s protecting you, but he’ll be back because you’re the only thing keeping him sane.”
“Well, that’s a sad commentary on his mental fortitude.”
“You make me laugh, girl,” Felicity said, snickering. “We both know that you’re going to forgive Jack once he gets his head out of his rear end. Instead of working against him, why don’t you try helping him so you can
