Page 15 of Right in Front of You

“You did?”

“Yeah. They’re meant to be.”

When I looked to the side, Molly was biting her lip. I would have paid all the pennies I had collected, hiding in the jar on a shelf above my bed, to know what she was thinking. Her cheeks were flushed red and a mysterious grin spread over her face.

“What are you thinking?” I finally asked.

“I… Well, we know that Jo and Nick are soul mates, but do you think everyone has one? What if you don’t? What happens then?”

“Hmm, I’m not the right person to ask about soul mates. I don’t think I have one either, but I do believe that they can come later in life. That’s how my parents met in college. They said they knew they were meant to be from the first moment they saw each other.”

“You’re lucky to have parents who love each other so much.”

“I guess yours don’t, do they?”

The first thought that came to my mind was of Molly when I’d found her on the pub porch with scraped knees over a year ago. She’d said she fell, but I’d always had a feeling something else had happened that night that she didn’t tell me, and that it had to do with her drunken father. I’d often wondered whether he hit her or pushed her that evening. The image of her tear-filled eyes still haunted me at night sometimes.

“They have a weird relationship. Father’s not living with us anymore.”

“Why?”

Molly lowered her head.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Him being gone is a good thing. Actually, it’s probably one of the best things that has happened at that house in a long time.”

“Where is he staying? I’ve seen him around town.”

“Mostly near his work, where they log. When he comes to town, I really don’t know; but the further away, the better.”

“Molly, has he hurt you?”

She didn’t have to answer me because her expression gave it away. I put my arm around her and brought her closer to me. My parents always told me that hugs could heal almost anything, and if mine gave her a little comfort, I’d done my job.

“The past is the past.” She sighed, remaining close to my side. “It’s what you do with the future that’s important.”

“Is that why you cut yourself?” I pointed to her wrists, which she tried to cover with a sweatshirt. It was hot outside, but ever since I found Molly on the pub porch a month ago, when she tried to take her life, she’d opted for long sleeves. I promised to keep her secret; or another one of her secrets, I guess. Still, someone would eventually find out. She couldn’t hide the inevitable scars forever.

“It was a moment of weakness. Nothing more. Please, Carter, I don’t want to talk about it.”

I sighed. She never wanted to talk about her pain and only cared about the hurt others felt. Molly turned toward me and looked into my eyes. What I saw there almost made me lose my balance. I skipped over the pain, because I knew that Molly had been hurt in the past, but the determination there knocked the wind out of me. There was so much of it. So much resilience and fight left in her that I wondered where she got it from.

“You’re not like other girls, Molly.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good. You’re unique, smart, driven… and way too mature for your age.”

“What?”

“I’m going to make it my mission on this camping trip to see that you have fun.” I looked at her hand, where a streak of her wound appeared from underneath her blazer. She pulled it down to cover the line.

“Well, we’re camping, so that’s fun.” She brought my attention back to her beautiful brown eyes.

“Not that kind of fun. The kind of fun I’m talking about is doing things you normally wouldn’t do.”

“Are you going to kiss me like you kissed Jo? Because I’ll slap you the way she did.”

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