Page 39 of Never You

“You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?” I glare, my fear suddenly completely gone.

“No, no,” he says, chuckling, “don’t turn this around. I’ve been waiting to go to the Marriott down the street, but you basically told me to suck it up.I did.”

“You’ve not once mentioned the Marriott down the street! There is a Marriott down the street?”

“Only because you were all like‘you’re not afraid of ghosts now, are you Jensen?’” He puts on a whining voice.

“Argh!”

“What’s wrong, Rae?”

“I hate you.”

“You can hate me while I protect you from the old lady haunting you with her rocking chair. Come on, get in. We need to get up early.”

He gets in the bed, holding the sheets up as he waits for me. I stand statue-still, conflicted about what to do. My ego doesn’t want to give in, refusing to admit he played me, but I also really,reallydon’t want to go back to my room. Just thinking about it makes me shiver, while getting in bed with him makes me shiver for a whole different reason.

I narrow my eyes at his smug grin, my arms crossed in front of my body like a mad toddler. “Don’t you dare pull anything, Jensen.”

“I’m gonna sleep on my side, with my back to you. I swear I’ll behave. Scout’s honor.” He puts three fingers in the air.

“You were a boy scout?” I cock an eyebrow, callingbullshit.

“Until they kicked me out, yeah.”

I chuckle, moving my feet to the edge of the bed before I slowly get in. The warmth of his body comforts me in a soothing way, and I instantly relax.

“Why did they kick you out?”

“Because I kept harassing Mrs. Robins to make sure I got kicked out.”

“Really?”

He turns his head to face me, a relaxed, lopsided grin on his face. “I didn’t want to be a boy scout. My dad forced my brother and me. I wanted to play hockey. I had to be creative. He didn’t talk to me for a month after they kicked me out.”

“A month?” I hiss, incredulous.

Seems a little harsh for not wanting to play in the woods.

“Hmm,” he muses.

“Then what?”

“He realized I wasn’t going to be the perfect boy they wanted me to be if he wouldn’t give me something he could hold against me. I’ve been playing hockey ever since. You know the rest.”

We stay quiet, looking around the room before he kills the bedside light, letting out a deep sigh. The same sadness I saw earlier tonight creeps over his body, radiating against me.

“Why did your dad force you to be a boy scout?” I whisper after a while.

He stays silent, as if he’s thinking carefully about his next words, while I turn on my side to look at him. I can make out his silhouette in the dark, while his blue eyes shine bright as they reflect the moonlight coming through the window.

“There are a lot of things my brother and I have to do.” The tone of his voice is flat, clearly etched with something that lays heavy on his heart.

“Oh.”

His body rapidly turns on his side, our faces now only a few inches apart.

“I’m sorry,” I offer, not knowing what it is I am sorry about, but realizing his life might be more gloomy than he shows to the world.

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