Project Apollo: Book Two ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Three

Apollo Diaz

"Only three days until Christmas." Emery didn't sound excited about that little fact as he hung off the back of the couch. "I miss Jason. Where is Jason?!"

Jason moved out almost five days ago, and while I'd heard from him through text messages–none of us had seen him. Every single day, he'd send me a long text at exactly nine at night with paragraphs about how things went with his parents. It was essential to his healing that he gather his family around him, too. Jason even told me he'd been attempting affirmations on his own, and he'd been able to get through quite a few of them and only believed a very specific group of them.

The house was definitely feeling Jason's absence, too. Mama was upset about her favorite boy not being around. I tried not being offended by that little fact–then I realized I wasn't offended in the least. I loved how much my parents loved Jason. I still had ear damage from the shriek of happiness she belted out when I told her Jason was my boyfriend. Honestly, I think everyone in the house had ear damage. Then I was sure Jason's leave from the house made her more upset when she found out.

She wanted to fuss over him, and she couldn't if he wasn't here.

Was it selfish to still...miss him this much? I wanted him with me. All the time. Instead, I was hanging off every single text message he sent. Sometimes there were a few hours between them. I'd never acted this way about a boy, but I really liked this particular boy, and I fucking missed him, too.

Alaric grabbed Emery's arm and pulled him back up on the couch. "All of your blood is escaping to your head, Little Phantom."

Emery crossed his arms and pouted. "I want Jason back!"

Axton walked into the room with his evening coffee–dropping himself between Emery and me. "Yes, yes. We've heard as much for the last five days. I do wonder if you ever shut the fuck up. If so, where is your off button? I'd be happy to power you down."

"I don't think I'm going to give you your Christmas present now."

Axton shrugged. "I have no need for trivial things."

"Oh, okay."

"Wait, why did you make that face? What did you get me?!"

Emery smugly smirked. "That's what I fucking thought."

Rolling my eyes, I went back to my phone. I hoped I didn't look as pathetic as I felt. I opened my texts with Jason, staring at the damn delivered receipt. Even though it was growing close to nine in the evening, I wondered if the updates would somehow stop all of a sudden.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, Marcus still gave me scars, and I didn't have to love him to wear them. I still had insecurities like every single person in the goddamn world. Maybe I feared I wasn't enough sometimes. Maybe I feared he was going to completely ghost me. But I knew, at the very least, Jason wouldn't ghost me. He'd tell me when he figured out how to say what he needed to.

Rolling my shoulders, I stood from the couch before escaping to my room. I needed to get out of my head, but I also couldn't be around people right now. My social battery was wearing thin, and I was tired. If I didn't get a handle on my emotions, I was going to spiral. I refused to spiral. Not this soon after my last depression episode.

Though, I had to remember there was a difference between feeling sad and getting depressed. They were vastly different, even if they almost felt the same when they were all nuzzled in your fucking head.