Page 73 of Don't Let Me Go
“Oh. Um. Thanks,” I answer. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Of course I should have. You can’t celebrate the big one-eight all by yourself.”
The door of my Jeep slams behind me, and Micaela and I turn to see Riley lingering at the end of the driveway. He stares awkwardly at his shoes, too nervous to approach or interrupt.
“Who’s that?” Micaela asks.
That might be the most loaded question I’ve ever been asked. “That’s Riley.”
“Hi, Riley!” Micaela waves, and Riley slowly trudges up the driveway.
“Hi.”
“I’m Micaela.”
“Nice to meet you,” he mumbles.
I try to catch Riley’s eye to let him know that I’m as surprised as him, but he won’t meet my gaze.
“So Jackson finally made a friend, huh?” Micaela teases. “I was getting worried. He made it seem like he was all alone down here.”
Riley’s face falls. I can tell he’s hurt, and I don’t blame him. He probably thinks I was deliberately keeping our friendship a secret. Which, in all honestly, yeah, I suppose I was. I did crop him out of that photo I sent Micaela. And in the few times that she and I have texted since then, I haven’t bothered to correct her assumption about my lack of friends.
I thought I was doing it to spare her feelings. But looking back, I think I knew from the very beginning that there was something between Riley and me. Something I wasn’t ready to admit to anyone. Not to Micaela. And definitely not to myself.
“Riley and I were just making plans to go to a concert this afternoon,” I announce, putting my arm around his shoulder. He flinches at my touch, but that makes me more determined to show him that I’m not embarrassed by our friendship. Even if I still don’t understand the exact nature of it.
“Oh. Fun!” Micaela exclaims. “What concert?”
“Um...”
“The Glorious Peccadilloes,” Riley answers, pulling away from me. “But I can just go with my friends. You and Jackson should spend the day together.”
I feel my heart stop. I don’t want to spend the day with Micaela. I know that’s fucking selfish, considering she drove all this way to make sure I wouldn’t spend my birthday alone. But I’m not alone. I haveRiley. And we’ve only just started talking again. I don’t want to lose any more time with him. Not when I’m finally starting to figure out my feelings for him.
“Oh my gosh, for real? Ilovethe Glorious Peccadilloes!” Micaela gushes. “Are there still tickets available?”
“It’s a free outdoor concert,” Riley answers.
“Perfect! We can all go together! I’ll drive.”
I’m not sure what to say. I can’t tell Micaela not to come, not without sounding like the world’s biggest jerk. But inviting her along feels like a huge slap in the face to Riley. I turn to him to see what he thinks of Micaela’s plan, but he refuses to look at anything other than the ground.
In a last-ditch effort, I look over at Aunt Rachel for help. She’s been silently watching this entire exchange from the shade of the garage, but all she can do is shake her head and shrug helplessly.
“Great,” I tell Micaela, the word catching in my throat like barbed wire. “That’ll be fun.”
Chapter 30
Riley
The sudden appearance of Jackson’s ex-girlfriend was admittedly a surprise. What isn’t surprising is the speed with which Duy has become obsessed with her.
In the hour since the two of them met, Duy hasn’t stop bombarding her with compliments on everything from her hair (“fabulous”) to her skin (“radiant”) to her nails (“fierce”). Micaela, in return, has declared Duy her new favorite person. Normally I’d find such a mutual lovefest nauseating, but at least it’s helping to distract them from the fact that Jackson and I have barely said two words since leaving his aunt’s house.
“So, Micaela, how long are you in Orlando?” Duy asks as the four of us stroll the path around Lake Eola that leads to the amphitheater. “And if you say anything less than a week, I will literally die.”
“Alas, I’m only in town for the day,” Micaela says with a sigh as she loops her arm through Jackson’s and smiles. “I have to head back to Tally tonight.”
