Page 99 of How We Loved

He laughs again. “Yep. Of course, I didn’t want her to.” He glances my way. “You know how dangerous that is.”

I nod and lift my eyebrows, encouraging him to go on.

“We got in this huge fight over it. She said I was trying to control her and not let her live her life the way she wanted.”

“Did she do it?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. I won that fight.”

“How?”

“We were standing outside of her house, yelling at each other.” He pauses and sighs. “I was so mad at her that she would take that kind of risk with her life.”

“Then, how did you get her to not jump?”

The grin that covers his face makes me smile. “I told her I loved her.”

“Really? And that stopped her?”

He nods slowly, his grin now a full-on cheesy smile. “It did. That was the first time I said it.”

“What did she do?”

“She kissed me.”

Now, it’s my turn to laugh. Maybe I’m more like my mom than I think.

“So, that was enough to stop her from jumping?”

“Sure was. I told her I loved her and that the thought of losing her was too much for me to handle.” He looks at me. “I asked her to marry me a month later.”

I drop my head back with a sigh. My parents were so in love. That’s all I’ve ever wanted—to have a relationship like theirs.

We pull into our garage, and he places his hand on my knee. “You guys will figure this out. Whatever you two are meant to be—friends or more—it will all work out exactly as it should. You just have to give it time.”

“Thanks, Daddy.”

He squeezes my knee in acknowledgment. “Anytime, baby girl.”

The next day, I wake up for school and just don’t want to go. I can’t handle seeing Ben and not knowing what the hell that was last night. So, I stay in bed instead, glad that my dad had an early meeting so I don’t have to explain why I’m not going.

When the time comes around that I should be leaving, I stare out my window, praying Ben comes by to pick me up, but no such luck.

I’m lying on my couch, watching a movie when I get a text message from Ben.

Why aren’t you at school?

No hi or how are you. Just a blunt question. After our kiss, this is the first thing he says to me. I think about what my mom would say and channel her energy when I respond with:

You didn’t come to pick me up.

So, I’m just supposed to go back to our old lives like the last month never happened?

I close my eyes, tears pricking them, and I try to breathe them away.

I fucked up. Is that what you want to hear?

I watch as the bubbles appear and disappear five times. I glance at the clock and see third period just started, so obviously, he’s not paying attention in class.

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