Page 28 of The Lies We Tell Ourselves

“Just don’t hurt him.” My gaze drilled into Cory. I knew he had more to say. “He seemed like such a sweet guy.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Like he wouldn’t hurt a fly. So be nice.”

“Fuck off,” I growled and left him standing there, trepidation coming off him in waves. There was only one place I needed to be, and it wasn’t here, with Cory.

My little crow didn’t know it yet, but I was coming for him.

CHAPTER

TWELVE

JAMIE

“There she is,” I cooed as Jessie’s face appeared on my phone. “How are you, my little sunbeam?” Her luscious brown curls danced across the screen as her image flipped, and it felt like the world was spinning.

“Oops. Sorry, JJ.” She giggled. God, I’d missed that beaming smile of hers. It had been far too long since I’d seen her face. I spoke to her briefly on Monday when I’d gotten back to my dorm, and Aunt Clara sent me a couple of photos of her and Zack, but that had been it as far as communication from my family went. It was like I’d been forgotten. The old saying, “out of sight, out of mind” felt like it applied to me.

“What are you doing, you little cray cray? Hope you’re not being a superhero without me?”

Her laughter filled the air around me, making me feel like I was home. “I thought it would be fun to talk to you upside down.”

“Huh, that’s different,” I remarked. “So, what’s new with you?”

“Nothin’.”

The edge to her voice made me think otherwise. Jessie was always full of life, going at a million miles an hour, but she didn’t talk about things that upset her. “You sure, sunbeam? Your smile must be hidden behind a cloud.”

She huffed a breath and the cutest little pout appeared on her face. “Mama packed up my room again and said we’re goin’ on a road trip somewhere new…”

“And?”

“I don’t wanna, JJ. l like it here. I’ve gots friends. Suzie-Mae, Joelle, and Patty. We played in the pool yesterday at Patty’s and had cake ‘cause it was her birthday and… and then all my toys were gone when I got home.”

Guilt ate away at me, even though I wasn’t there anymore. I knew I was the reason for the move; Aunt Clara confirmed that was the plan once I was settled at Briar U. Hopefully, this constant moving wouldn’t last much longer. It wasn’t fair how much my life affected theirs. They deserved a home, not a stop gap. They needed the chance to set down roots, the chance to grow, be kids, and make friends.

“Well, I think it’s exciting. I’ve moved to a new place for college, and you’re moving to a new place too.” I smiled at her as the world flipped again, and she sat upright on the couch. “You can tell me all about your amazin’ new home, and I can tell you about all the cool stuff here? Deal?”

“I’m not so sure.”

“I think it’d be really cool, Jessie.”

Sounding more like an adult than the child she was, she responded, “I’ll think about it, but the same goes for you.”

“Of course, sunbeam.” I smiled at her, and my heart clenched with how much I missed her.

Her face grew larger on the screen until all I could see was her eyeball. A chuckle escaped me at the sight. “Where are you?” she asked curiously.

“Can’t you tell? Your head is almost popping out of my phone.” Her laughter was brighter than the sun.

“No, silly.” Jessie stuck her tongue out at me, and I did the same right back, making her giggle-snort.

“I’m sitting under a tree, waiting for my friends Mal and Ava to get out of their classes, so we can go grab dinner. Then I’m off to the library to research a paper I’ve got for History of Architecture.”

A yawn split her face so wide I could see her tonsils. “Food sounds good.” As if on cue, her stomach rumbled like thunder. “But books and stuff sounds boring.”

“Ha! Yeah, it can be, but I’ll tell you a secret,” I whispered conspiratorially to her.

“What?” she mimicked.

“I kinda like it.” Her amber eyes popped wide open as she stared at me. “I like books and libraries.”

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