Page 47 of Behind the Bars

“Will you tell your sister I saidbye?”

“Ofcourse.”

“Thank you.” For a few minutes, we sat on that dumpster, pretending our lives weren’t about to change forever. We sat and listened to the music blaring in The Jazz Lounge. We listened to the rhythm and blues over at Jo’s Catz. We smiled at the sound of the bluegrass at Mikey’s Tavern. For a few minutes, we lived in themoment.

“You’re my favorite person, Jazz,” Elliott told me in such a low voice, I wondered if I’d heard him right. I loved that he called me Jazz, because it was his favorite kind of music to play. Yes, Ray was a great musician, but no one could play a saxophone like Elliottcould.

“You’re my favorite person, too. I’m going to miss yourmusic.”

“I’m going to miss yourvoice.”

My lips parted to speak, but no words came. What else could Isay?

It was crazy how much my heart hurt that night. I hadn’t known Elliott for long at all, only a few months that felt like forever. We were complete opposites in so many ways. I was the popular new girl, and he, the bullied shy boy. Where I was outgoing, he was tame. Where I was lost, he was the roadmaphome.

And now, we had to saygoodbye.

“Jazz?”

“Yes?”

“Make me apromise?”

“Okay.”

Elliott scooted closer and moved his hands to my cheeks, making me turn to face him. “If she ever makes you feel like you’re not yourself…” I closed my eyes at those words, and tears started to fall down my cheeks. Elliott’s thumbs wiped them away each time they fell as he kept talking. “If she ever hurts you and you need to run, run back here. Run back to me and I’ll take care of you forever. I’ll always take care of you,okay?”

“Okay, Ipromise.”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He took one off his keychain and handed it to me. “This is a spare key to my family’s house. You should keepit.”

“Why?”

“In my family, whenever we go through good times or bad, we give each other a key. It stands for a reminder that you always have a place called home, no matter what. Plus, whenever you’re having a bad day, you can hold the key and remember that you aren’t alone, not really. It’s your st-strength on the hard days. It’s a reminder so you know you always have a home to come backto.”

I held the key tight in my fist. “Thank you,Eli.”

“Always,Jazz.”

We sat behind the bars that night until the music faded away. After the sounds were gone, we sat a bit longer, wanting to stay in the same place until the music grew loud the nextday.

Then, when we ran out of time, we both stoodup.

Elliott wrapped his arms around me, and I pressed myself againsthim.

He pulled away slightly and combed my hair behind my ears. Our eyes locked—his zoomed in on my brown eyes, and I studied his hazel stare. I loved his face. I loved every part of him, really, but my gosh did I love hisface.

We didn’t say it, but we felt it thatnight.

Love.

He was so skinny and fragile, and I swore I weighed three times as much as him, but he loved me just as much as I loved him. He was all bones, and I was all meat. His skin was painted caramel, and mine was white as cream. We were polar opposites. We weren’t meant to fall for one another, but when we blended together, we were some kind ofbeautiful.

If it weren’t for Elliott, I would’ve always thought love was supposed to be jaded. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have ever learned what it meant to be young and free. All my life, I’d been caged, and Elliott opened my door and allowed me tofly.

“We’ll email each other,” he swore. “All the time, we’ll email eachother.”

“Okay.”

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