Page 90 of Hold the Line

Jesse leaned forward. “What’d you eat in prison?”

Caleb made a gurgling sound. “Kid, come on.”

I waved him off. “No, it’s all right. Believe it or not, that was one of Phoebe’s early questions.”

She pressed a hand to her cheek. “Oh god. It was, wasn’t it? I’m as bad as an eleven-year-old.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t mind then, and I don’t mind now.” I gave Jesse the sanitized story I’d given Phoebe, leaving out the time I’d nearly died. I figured this kid had enough to worry about without adding my trauma to it.

Jesse was on the edge of his seat, his elbow on his knees, chin resting on his fists. “So what was prison really like? I’ve seen documentaries—”

“What documentaries?” Caleb barked.

Jesse grinned at him. “Educational, age-appropriate documentaries. Ms. Clark, at the library, helped me find them.”

Caleb rumbled. “Maybe I need to have a talk with this librarian about the type of material she’s showing you.”

He threw his hands up. “It’s age appropriate, promise.”

Hailey approached, stealing Jesse’s attention. His cheeks turned bright red when she waved at us and introduced herself. Caleb greeted her, but Jesse clammed up. I got the sense his going quiet wasn’t a common occurrence.

Beside me, Phoebe giggled. I looked at her, and she mouthed, “Jesse has a crush.”

Oh shit. That was what this was, wasn’t it?

I wasn’t ready for this either. Even if hewasonly eleven.

Hailey perched on the arm of the sectional. “So, what are you guys talking about?”

“Prison,” Jesse yelped.

“Oh.” Her shoulders fell. “Maybe I should’ve waited a few minutes for you to finish that conversation.”

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” Caleb said. “We’re all done with that topic. I was about to ask your brother what projects he’s working on.”

From there, things went up. Jesse might not have found woodworking as scintillating, but he got the hint from his dad to cut it out, and he did. I didn’t blame him for being curious, nor was I angry, but I was relieved to move on.

Later, after we said good night to everyone and dropped Hailey off at her house, Phoebe and I headed to her apartment. As soon as we were inside, she put her bags down and pressed herself against me, her arms curving around my waist. Mine circled hers without hesitation, holding her tight.

We stayed like that for a long time, holding on to one another in the middle of her living room. Nothing really needed to be said. We’d had a great night after a not-so-good few days. But the not-so-good part was over. My head was out of my ass, and my eyes were wide open.

“You’re my girl,” I murmured into her hair. “My angel girl.”

“You’re mine,” she said against my shoulder.

“I’m yours,” I agreed. “I’m sorry I had a hard time showing it these last few days.”

“Thank you for saying that.” She pulled her head away to meet my gaze. “When you’re having a hard time, you can talk to me about it. I’d rather hear it than be left in the dark.”

I nodded. “Richie called me the day Hannah was at Sugar Rush. Hearing from him always puts me in a dark place that’s hard to shake off.”

“I wish you would have told me that,” she whispered.

“I should’ve. I was dealing with it, but not well. Got in my head and convinced myself if I showed up at Hannah and Remi’s party, your family would see me for what I am and want you away from me.”

“What you are?”

“Yeah. Unclean. A felon. Not good enough.”

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