Page 51 of I Would Stay Forever
His mouth pulled up in a grin. “Well, that’s pretty convenient because I kinda like you as you are too.”
I was pretty sure my face flushed, but I tried to ignore it. We’d both come to a stop in our walking, just around the corner from my house. I wondered if he realized we’d stopped just far enough away that Sebastian wouldn’t be able to see us from the house. Was it intentional on his part or just a coincidence? I wondered if I asked now if he would stick to his story of not telling Sebastian we were spending any time together because of how Sebastian got when I hung out with his friends, or if it wasbecoming something deeper. It was starting to feel like more to me—but was it to him too?
“Promise me something,” Dean said softly, looking straight into my eyes. I blinked a couple times, a little nervous about the command but nodded slightly anyway. “Don’t leave before it’s time.”
I frowned, both surprised by the words and not totally understanding what he meant. I guess because my thoughts had been spinning around Sebastian and how Dean and I weren’t supposed to be friends that I thought the promise would be about that. Not… whatever this was.
“And how will I know when it’s time?” I asked.
He stepped forward, coming fully into my space, much like he had at the party last week. I’d been replaying that moment in my head over and over as I tried to fall asleep the past few nights, letting it play out as it would have if Zoey hadn’t showed up—Dean closing the gap between us and kissing me. I wasn’t sure how soft his lips would be or what they would taste like, so I’d imagined it differently each time. All I knew was that I wished I could have found out that night.
His hand brushed mine. At first, I thought it was an accident, but then he threaded his fingers between mine and gave my hand a light squeeze. My eyes dropped to it, needing to see it in order to believe that it was actually happening. Dean Graham was holding my hand. My heart squeezed with the same feeling I got whenever I saw a cute dog or we won an impossible volleyball game—filled with such overwhelming happiness that it was actually painful.
“You’ll know it’s time,” he said softly, “when you have something you’re running to.”
He loosened his grip on my hand, and even though I knew we couldn’t stay like that forever, a small wave of disappointmentwashed over me. That was, until he intertwined just his pinky with mine and held them up between us.
“Promise?” he asked.
I gulped then stared at him. I was scared of reading too much into this, of thinking he might care about me more than he really did, but something about this promise almost felt like a love confession. Something deep inside me was hoping, praying, that he wasn’t just asking this of me because he thought it would be for the best, but rather because it was for him. That he needed me here, in North Glen.
It wasn’t like he was holding me back from it entirely or asking me to settle and deal with the pain—but just to wait. I’d spent the last month and a half running away. Maybe a change of perspective was what I needed. Something to run toward.
“Promise,” I said. Then I pulled our hands close and kissed them softly to seal the deal.
twenty-five
With how long ittook us to get back, I was sure all my siblings would be gone, so I was surprised to find Ainsley and Imogen sitting on the porch step when I walked up. They both jumped to their feet.
“Took you long enough,” Imogen sighed. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked down the steps. I took a moment to look her over, noting that she’d skillfully covered up all the bruises on her face with makeup and the jacket she was wearing almost completely covered her cast. If I hadn’t known the accident happened last night, I never would have guessed.
Momentarily, I wished there was some magic form of makeup that could cover up the emotional wounds that had come from the visit to Urgent Care, but then I reminded myself that I was trying not to think about Dad or anything related to him today.
“Were you guys waiting for me?” I asked. I tried to subtly look over and see if Dean was close enough behind me for them to realize we were walking down the street together, but he’d hung back for a full minute before walking up just in case. Neither of my sisters seemed worried about it anyway asthey walked toward my car. “I thought you’d catch a ride with Sebastian.”
Ainsley scoffed. “And ride with the she-devil? No, thank you.”
“She-devil?” I muttered under my breath as I circled around the driver’s seat. I guess they had figured out I couldn’t have gone to school for my supposed group project meeting because my car was still here. But still, there was no reason for them to feel that strongly about not riding with Sebastian, unless…
No.
No way.
“He got back with Tiffany?” I exclaimed, whirling around to look at Ainsley in the backseat. When she nodded her head grimly in response, I spun back around to face forward, staring blankly at my steering wheel. It had only been a week and a half since he promised me he wouldn’t get back together with her. Since he said that he understood why I didn’t want to see him getting hurt again and again. Why would he do that?
“I know this is horrifying and all,” Imogen said, “but we are very late for school, so…”
She gestured at my keys. Somehow, even in my dazed state, I managed to turn the car on and drive us to school without incident. Ainsley and Imogen spent the whole ride loudly complaining about Tiffany and listing off everything they hated about her. Any other time, I would have happily joined in and laughed along with the limerick that Ainsley tried to make up, but as it was, I was too shocked—and disappointed—to be much help of anything at all.
When I pulled into the parking lot, Ainsley and Imogen both happily jumped out of the car, still chattering away. Neither of them seemed to notice that I hadn’t moved, which was just as well because it meant I didn’t have to come up with an excuse for why I was going to stay in the car. I sat there for a few minutes,trying to practice my deep breathing and lowering my stress, before ultimately deciding it wasn’t going to happen. I ripped my phone out of my bag and opened my messages with my brother.
Lavender
You and Tiffany are back together?
His reply was almost instantaneous.
Sebastian
