JAX POV
The third apartment is a box.
A box in a neighborhood where the windows have bars and the buzzer doesn't work. I stand in the middle of the empty living room, my shoulders brushing both walls, and try to keep my face neutral.
"It's cozy," Jess says.
"Jess."
"It's affordable."
"It's a closet."
"It's not a closet. Closets don't have windows."
I turn to look at my sister. She's wearing ripped jeans and a faded hoodie, her dark hair chopped in that messy bob she's had since high school. She looks like she hasn't slept in days.
She also looks happy.
That's what scares me.
"Jess." I keep my voice low. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to prove anything."
"I'm not trying to prove anything. I'm trying to find an apartment."
"You can stay with me."
"We've been over t
