Page 105 of Choosing You

“I’ll be fine. Now that I know it’s you who’s been calling, maybe I don’t need to worry. Maybe it was nothing.”

“It’snotnothing. I told you before. People who have secrets that can’t get out will do anything to hide those secrets.”

“Okay, you’re freaking me out again. Don’t talk about it. I’d like to at least get a few hours sleep tonight. I haven’t slept all week.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have been calling so late. And now I feel even worse knowing you’ve been thinking it’s some guy calling to threaten you again.”

“It’s okay. I should’ve just answered the phone.” I pause, not wanting to say goodbye. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later.”

“I’m not ready to hang up. I miss you, Jade.”

I smile. “Yeah. I miss you, too. But you can’t sit in the lobby all night.”

“Why not? It’s a nice lobby.”

“Oh, yeah? Tell me about it.”

“Well, it’s got this huge chandelier in the center . . .”

We continue to talk. I don’t even care what he says. I just want to hear his voice. It’s the first time in days I’ve been able to relax. When we hang up, I’m finally able to fall asleep.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

Friday morning,I wake up excited that Garret is coming back. Then I remember all the other times he’s told me he’d tell his dad to back off and my excitement fades. He keeps saying he won’t listen to his dad and then he does. It’s frustrating. I don’t understand his situation so it’s hard for me to know if he’s really trying that hard. If I didn’t like him so much I would’ve told him to get lost months ago.

I go to morning classes then meet up with Harper for lunch. She’s in a much better mood now. She’s already over Cole and ready to meet someone new.

“You should come out with us tonight,” she says as she peels her orange. She’s such a healthy eater. Every day for lunch she has a huge salad and a couple pieces of fruit. Must be a California thing.

“I’ve told you a thousand times I don’t like parties.” I look down at my lunch, which consists of a plate of French fries and a brownie. I really need to eat better.

“I know, but you need to get out. It’s Friday night. I promise I won’t leave your side. We can just go to the party and talk. Maybe you can help me find a hot guy.”

“Your other friends can help you with that. I’m not good at picking out guys.”

“You picked Garret.” She drops her orange and reaches over the table, putting her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up his name like that. I wasn’t even thinking.”

She’s been avoiding any mention of Garret since our talk on Sunday. She’s all worried it will upset me.

“It’s okay. You can say his name. I was just going to tell you that he called last night.”

She looks annoyed. “Finally. Afterhowmany days? So what did he say?”

“He’s been in Houston at some meeting for his dad’s company. They left on Sunday.”

“And he couldn’t call and tell you that?”

“He said his dad was with him the whole time and he couldn’t get away. But he’s been calling every night. I just haven’t answered the phone.”

“Why wouldn’t you answer the phone?” She’s peeling her orange again and the strong citrus smell is interfering with the taste of my fries. I take a bite of my brownie, then push my tray away.

“It was late at night. I thought it was a wrong number.”

“Wrong number?” She says it like I’m crazy for even thinking that. I guess it would be odd for someone to keep calling the same wrong number every night. I need to get better at lying about this stuff. “So you finally answered and what did he say?”

“Not much. He just told me about his trip. He’s coming back today. I’ll see him later.”

“If you’re seeing him later then he must’ve worked this thing out with his dad. That’s good. You two can finally date.”

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