Only after Emma had left the kitchen could the two boys talk comfortably to each other.

“Dude, what the hell?” Colton started, staring at Jaxon in disbelief.

“I know, I know,” Jaxon said.

“Her? Of all the people in this world, it had to be her?”

Jaxon sighed.

He had intended to travel the world, as he told Emma when they first met at the hospital. But he did not mention that he had planned to do so with his friend, Colton. His father, on the other hand, had thrown a wrench in his plans by effectively pushing Emma into his path.

When Jaxon received his father's phone call to go somewhere the chauffeur knew, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. When he discovered it was the hospital and Emma was there, he lied to Colton, telling him it was a family friend he had been told to visit.

He had not mentioned Emma's name or the fact that he had been told to go the hospital. He had not been prepared to talk about Emma, the girl who had rejected Colton in their second year of high school; Emma, the girl who had broken his friend's heart.

Emma, the girl who humiliated Colton and then had Maddox and his goons beat him up.

But everything that happened to Colton had been indirectly the result of Emma’s rejection. Jaxon sided with his friend, but he was not sure of what to do, now that Emma had amnesia and didn’t remember what happened in high school. Even if she remembered, he could not fully blame her for what had happened to his friend.

Because he knew enough about Maddox Grayson and his weird claim over Emma.

But later, Jaxon decided to come clean to his friend after he and Emma arrived at his home. Colton was furious, so he decided to pay him a visit to see for himself. 

He was not pleased, but he appeared to be taking the new developments in stride.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to remember–”

“Jax, just shut it. I’m still mad, but I know you didn’t have anything to do with this.”

Jaxon didn’t add anything after his friend interrupted his attempt at an apology. He did, however, notice a slight trembling in his friend's form.

“Why is she here?” Colton asked instead.

Jaxon hesitated before telling his friend what had brought Emma to the hospital. 

“What? Her dad hit her?” Colton looked momentarily shocked. 

“When she told me about it, I had a feeling it wasn’t the first time,” Jaxon added. Colton winced. 

“Damn,” he said. “And on top of everything she goes through at school…But why is she here? Does she know your dad or something? Doesn’t she have any other place to stay?”

Jaxon looked at Colton and shrugged, indicating that he had no idea.

“Do you think she’ll stay here for long?”

“I don’t know about that, either.”

Colton let out a hesitant chuckle.

“Fuck, dude. What about school? What if Maddox and those assholes find out and do God-knows-what to you?”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, bro.”

Colton scoffed.

“Don’t be a dumbass,” he told Jaxon. “I was the one who just asked the girl out and shit happened to me. I didn’t even do much, and Maddox moved with his guys to kick my ass. What do you think is going to happen when he finds out Emma’s living here with you?”

He didn’t want to think about it, but that was another thing that worried Jaxon. 

He started to speak, but then he heard footsteps.

Emma seemingly materialized out of thin air, moving for the fridge.

The two tensed in silence, not-so-subtly eyeing her as she took out a pitcher of juice and poured some into a glass. She left the kitchen a few seconds later, presumably on her way back to her room.

“You don’t think she heard us, right?” Colton asked.

Jaxon shook his head, disagreeing.

“But dude, you need to come up with something. Maybe not now, since it’s still summer, but before school starts. It will be good if Maddox and his guys don’t know about Emma being here.”

“I don’t think she’ll stay here for long,” Jaxon said, but as soon as he said it, he knew he was wrong.

‘What the hell am I going to do?’

Jaxon agreed with his friend. He did not want any trouble with the troublesome boys who ran the school. He would have to come up with something to divert their attention.

But that could wait for later.

The two then delved into lighter topics.

Outside the kitchen, away from view, hid Emma behind a wall. She had a serious expression on her face as she pondered what she had just heard. 

‘So the male lead does show obsessive tendencies towards the female lead,’ she noted.

It explained Colton's anger when he first met her.

‘... Fuck.’

She let out a sigh, unsure what to make of what she had just heard. One thing she felt certain of was that Maddox would be difficult to handle.

But she was also curious about how Jaxon perceived her. The conversation she overheard revealed little, which frustrated her. It would have been preferable if the guy had shown his true colors, because she had the impression Jaxon did not like her very much. 

When she noticed the boys had begun to discuss other topics, she turned to head back to her room.