Page 11 of To Love Jason Thorn

I glanced at Olive and despite mysituation, my lips tipped up.

“Cat got your tongue, too, huh?” She juststared at me with those sad, sad eyes. Olive Taylor always had something to say—always.“You’ve got nothing to say, little one?” I asked, chuckling, the soundcompletely wrong and rough.

“I’m really sorry about your mom, but Ihope you’ll be happy in LA.”

The cold tone and what I was seeing in hereyes didn’t match, but before I could say anything, Dylan got up from the stepshe was sitting on and Olive hugged her dad’s waist, shutting me out.

Even so, I reached out and gently touchedher soft hair, tugging it gently before letting it go for the last time.

“I hope so too. And thank you, little one,I will never forget you.”

A tear slid down from her eye, and before Iknew what I was doing, I reached out to capture it with my fingertip.

She closed her eyes and hugged her dadtighter when I touched her, but didn’t say anything.

I looked at the teardrop that rested on myfingertip for a long time and felt a tug on my heartstrings.

“Man,” Dylan said, saving me from myconfusing thoughts.

I released a big breath and dropped myfinger.

“This sucks,” he said.

I chuckled. “You’re tellin me.”

“I want you to come back the first chanceyou get, and you are keeping in touch.”

I snapped a sharp salute, causing his mouthto twitch.

Hitting my chin with his knuckles, hegroaned. “Oh, man. I can’t believe I’m gonna miss seeing your shitty face everyday.”

“Dylan!” Emily admonished.

“Sorry, Mom.” Rubbing the back of his neck,Dylan looked at me sheepishly. “We’ll talk?”

“We’ll talk,” I promised.

“Jason,” my father called out from the carwaiting across the street.

“I better go,” I said, taking a few stepsback.

Giving Dylan a quick hug and a slap on hisback, I said, “Take care of your family, man.”

“You make sure you take care of yourself,too.”

My chest heavy, I looked at all of them onelast time and walked away. I wasn’t strong enough to stride away from themwithout turning back. In the time it took me to cross the street, I looked backthree times.

Did it make me a bad person to be happy tosee them sad? Happy because I felt loved? Loved and welcome as I’d never beenbefore?

How they stood together as a family was burnedinto my mind as a happy memory, and then I got into the car and disappearedfrom their life.

Chapter Four

Olive

My emotions waging a war inside me, I clungto my dad and watched Jason get into the black Mercedes. The image of himturning to look at us with a dimpled smile before he got into the car would beburned into my mind as a sad memory for years to come.

Then like every other fleeting moment inlife, my first love slowly faded into time.

---