“Thank you, Aubrey,” I whispered in a heartfelt tone.

“Dude, save the gratitude. You know you’re going to repay the favor someday,” she teased, lightening the mood. “Hell, the way I go through guys, I’m due for someone to stomp on my heart soon as payback. Karma’s a bitch.”

I chuckled as I looked at the clock before locking my eyes onto hers. “It’s time,” I said, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. I held out my hand, knowing she’d understand what I meant.

She shook her head at me as she got out of bed and went to grab the phones. “Nope, let me check mine first. I want to make sure that there isn’t some horrible news waiting for you before I hand your phone over to you. Go hop in the shower and get dressed. If we’re going to leave our little hideaway, you might as well get ready first.”

“I don’t know if I can wait,” I protested.

“Well, that’s just too damn bad. You need to be ready for anything, and the only way that’s going to happen is if you’re showered and dressed before you check all the messages I am sure are waiting for you on this,” she said, waving my phone at me. “Now run along and make yourself presentable or I’m not giving it back.”

“Argh! Fine,” I grumbled as I stomped into the bathroom. It pained me to admit that she did have a point. If there was bad news, then I would be more prepared to face it after I’d gotten ready for the day. The last thing I wanted to do was confront Drake looking like crap. If things were going to end between us, I wanted to at least look good enough that he’d regret losing me for being such an ass.

I took the quickest shower in history, ready to just get this over with. I could hear Aubrey’s voice through the bathroom door and threw on a robe so I could find out who she was talking to. I found her sitting on the bed, phone pressed to her ear with her hand over her mouth, looking stunned.

“Jackson, she just finished her shower. Can I call you back?” she asked. After listening to him for a couple minutes, she replied by saying, “Yeah, I hear what you’re saying, and I’ll let her know.”

“What?” I asked as she ended the call.

“Sit down,” she instructed. She must have seen the fear in my eyes because she moved quickly to reassure me. “No, it’s not bad. I’m pretty sure you’re going to be relieved to hear what Jackson had to tell me.”

I flopped down onto the bed and waited for her to continue.

“First with the not-so-great news. Jackson and Drake were in a fight. Neither of them is really hurt, but things got physical between them after you left on Friday. Drake tried to get past Jackson to get to you, and Jackson stopped him long enough for you to get away.”

“And they’re both okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, just some cuts and bruises. Jackson said Drake wasn’t really fighting back. He just kept trying to get to the door. My brother was really pissed, so Drake got most of the damage.”

“What else did Jackson have to say?”

“Well, that’s where the good news comes in. You know that my brother would do just about anything to protect you from being hurt, right?” she asked.

“Yes, he proved that after everything happened with Brad.”

“Exactly. He wouldn’t let Brad anywhere close to you after that douche fucked things up. But he told me that he thinks you need to hear Drake out.”

“What?” I exclaimed. “How did they go from fighting to Jackson being on Drake’s side?”

“You know he’s on your side, just like I am. He didn’t give me a whole lot of details because he said it would be best if you talked to Drake to hear it from him instead of one of us. But the fact that he thinks you should see Drake at all says a lot to me.”

“And where is Drake now?” I asked.

“Jackson said he’s still waiting at the dorm for you to come back. He hasn’t left since he got there, only about half an hour after I left to meet you.”

“But that was two whole days ago!”

“I know. Jackson tried talking him into going back to the frat house, but Drake told him he wasn’t leaving unless it was because he knew where you were so he could go get you. Jackson has been bringing him food, and Faith took pity on him and let him use our bathroom. She told Jackson that he’d stopped to check our room each time he came inside and just stared at your bed with a sad look on his face.”

“And Jackson wouldn’t even give you a hint at why he thinks I should talk to Drake?” I asked, unsure what to think of this turn of events.