Page 68 of Keep Me Safe

His jaw clenches as he looks down at me. I’m standing my ground on this one. I already feel terrible enough about lying to Jared. I don’t want him to feel like I don’t want to be around him.

“I’ll be fine, and I promise I’ll call you if I need anything, okay?” I say, my fingers grazing his bare stomach. I would much rather spend the day alone with him, but I miss Jared.

His eyelids flutter closed, and he lets out a breath.

“Fine. But text me when you get there,” he says, leaning down to kiss my forehead. Warmth fills my chest at the gesture. I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to this.

Jared and I spend most of the day together, stopping at a little restaurant on the bay for lunch, where he gets a burger and I order pasta. The conversation is easy like it always is with him, but I can’t shake the feeling of guilt that simmers low in my gut.

“What have you been up to? I feel like I haven’t really gotten to see much of you lately,” Jared asks with a smile, but his eyes betray him. He’s hurt.

“I’ve just been busy with work and the pottery studio.”

And your dad.

“Well, I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” I tell him, honestly.

Neither of us speaks for a moment, the restaurant’s ambiance filling my ears.

“Kira, I have something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

Jared’s eyes are still fixed on me as he seems to work through whatever he wants to say in his head. My stomach drops, and my palms start to sweat. There’s no way he can know about Noah and me, right?

“Kira, I—”

“Kira!” I hear a voice shout from across the room.

Turning toward the source, I see Maddie walking toward us, with Lucy following behind.

“You didn’t tell me you’d be in town today!” she exclaims as she hugs me.

“It was last minute,” I say with a chuckle.

I love her enthusiasm, but right now, I can only think about what Jared was about to say.

Maddie and Lucy sit with us for the rest of the meal. We chat, and if I’m being honest, I’m glad she showed up. I don’t know if I was emotionally ready for whatever Jared wanted to talk about.

The rest of the day passes without much excitement. Jared doesn’t mention what he was going to say earlier, and I can’t tellif I’m relieved or worried. I’m not looking forward to this party tonight, and having something off between us is not helping my anxiety.

I’m sitting in the kitchen, book in hand, when Noah walks up behind me.

“You sure you want to go?” he asks, his hand grazing the sliver of bare skin below my shirt. I shiver, leaning into him ever so slightly.

“No, but that doesn’t matter. I’m going.”

“You ready?” Jared calls from the hallway.

Noah’s hand drops from my waist as he turns toward the fridge. My body tenses at the loss of contact, and I answer.

“Yup.”

The drive isn’t far, but as Jared turns off the road onto a long driveway, I realize I haven’t ever been here before. We pass the main house on the property and keep going down the drive to an old red barn, where most of the people are congregating around a fire.

I pull out my phone and text Noah to let him know we arrived. After a moment, I send him our location too. I’m not fully comfortable here, and it makes me feel safer that he knows where we’re at.

“Whose house is this?” I ask, genuinely curious.

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