All Chapters of The Things We Don't Say: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

"And she's so cool," I was saying to Martha, leaning over the kitchen Island. "You needed to have seen how close she is to Marcus. They have a good relationship going on, and I am just so… happy for him."I couldn’t help the light dissipating from my eyes, or the gloom the minute I dropped into the stool. Martha caught it too, raising her brow without looking up at me. She was kneading flour in a bowl, trying to make Jane’s cake recipe. It was the third bowl."You want that," she murmured, flipping it over onto the flour-covered island. "And that's fine, Jordan. It's fine to want something as natural as a mother's love. But you have to believe, Jordan, that Grace loves you. She just has a … very weird way of showing it."“I was reading something the other day…on Instagram,” I murmured. “It was about love and how it is shown. You can’t hide it. It’s there, on the surface, whether you want it to be or not. Mom … I am past believing she loves me, Martha. And that’s fine, because love isn

“He isn’t picking up,” I sighed for the umpteenth time, pacing my bedroom. “This is silly. I shouldn’t have called. I mean, what am I expecting him to do? Go into Phoenix and find out what happened and why my parents screamed then rushed out of the house the way they did?”“He has connections, Marcus,” Anna reminded me from where she sat by the window. “He could do something.”"But that would be putting too much on him. We are not … at that level yet, and I don't want him to think I am taking advantage of the opening he has given me in his life to make all sorts of demands."Anna released a breath and turned to face me. “We are talking about your parents here, Marcus. Nothing is too much to put on the line for them. Absolutely nothing. And I am sure that Jordan has a reason he isn’t picking up. Maybe his scary father has done something to him…or maybe he is on a date. With Heather. Or Harper. Whichever of the sisters he has decided to sleep with for the day.”“Anna.”“Sorry,” she whis

I thought my day couldn’t get any worse. First was the whole thing happening with my parents, and then Jordan not picking my calls. And now, I couldn’t get into my own home because my brother’s stupid friends couldn’t recognize me.“Hey,” the first man’s friend laughed, angling his head at me. “You got the outfit right, you know? Teacher’s pants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. I need to get a better look.”"Please," I whispered, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "I have had a long day, and I really need to go lay down. This is my home, okay? I am Marcus, Gary's younger brother."A small frown appeared on his face. "Marcus is in some boogie-ass private school in LA. Come up with another lie, dude. Or did his holier-than-thou gay ass brother ask you to do this? Tell on our homie?”The door opened behind them and Gary’s best friend, the one I met at JAR the other day, stepped out. He didn’t notice me at first, circling around me to some girl who looked like she didn

One of my father's men was waiting out front when I strolled out of the building, and I barely even got the time to breathe before I was being taken to a fashion house to change into something more formal and then to a charity gala happening in New Mexico.I knew what my father was trying to do – get my mind off my sister and JAR enough to pour myself into his business. He knew how tied Jane and JAR were. It was her sanctuary, so it was like killing two birds with one stone. I didn't know how his mind worked, and honestly, I wasn't interested in finding that out. But for tonight, I was going to bite. A friend of mine told me that it was okay to hurt. I was willing to bet that it was okay to do a 360 and not hurt."That's my son," my father beamed as I sauntered into the hall, my hands in my pockets. "Jordan, I want you to meet my really good friends who have dominated the hospitality space. Mr. Mica, Mr. Vaughn, and Hathaway."Hospitality. It was about the hotel. I wondered how they

I'd always known Joshua had a huge build. Of course, he wasn't as huge as Jordan, but with those arms and well-defined shoulders blocking the lights in front of me, I knew nothing was going to be peaceful about tonight.And I wasn’t sure whether it made me excited or nervous.But the one thing that played on in my head was the fact that Jordan actually sent Joshua over to get me. I couldn’t fathom it. I didn’t know how he heard I was stranded. But I was grateful. So grateful.And giddy.Joshua placed a hand casually around my shoulders, and leaned against the wall near the door. “I heard there was a party in here. I want to get in.”"Nice," one of the boys at the door grinned. "But I'm afraid, bro, you can't come in with him. Orders from above."Jordan sighed softly. “Like from God? Don’t tell me his a part of this party too.”“No,” he laughed. “This dude is funny. No. Not God. The one throwing the party. He doesn’t want this place to be filled with the stench of gay dudes. You unders