Page 63 of We Thought We Were Invincible
“Uh, hi.” Colby gave them a look that made me giggle.
Seth Franklin walked in behind us, lumbering toward his usual seat.
“Callie,” he boomed. “Colby. Don't you two have a dance to go to tonight? What are you doing here?”
I shrugged and Colby answered for the both of us. “Gotta have a date.”
“That's bologna. I keep trying to convince Matthew to go and he says the same thing. In my day, you went with your friends.”
“Gotta have friends,” I mumbled with a short laugh.
“Now you really sound like my grandson.”
I went to fill up a coffee pitcher and Colby followed me. “Jamie is going.”
“What?” Acting like I didn't care was hard, so I kept my back to him. “With whom?”
“No one.” He said that as if it should mean something. “He's just meeting up with some of the guys from the soccer team.”
Mr.Chase saved me from my brother's prying eye by waving me over. He smiled at me as I refilled his coffee. “Callie, what I'm about to do is probably unethical, but you would've read it in class if we'd had time today. Plus, I know something is going on with you and I love your aunt and care about you.”
“I hope that isn't the first time you've said you love her.” I laughed at his rambling. “Because saying it to me first is soooo not cool.”
“That's not the point.”
“Then what is, because you kinda aren't making sense.”
He chuckled, reaching into his briefcase. “The rest of the story.”
I leaned in, whispering, “I know how it ends, I was there.”
His smile widened. “Not yours. Jamie's.”
“Oh.” I gripped the counter.
“Yes. Oh.” He slid the papers across to me. I couldn't tell you why a bout of nerves struck me as I picked them up. Mr.Chase nodded toward the back room and I took the hint, disappearing from curious eyes.
The beginning of the story was an accurate account of our arrival and training. He'd named me Lia.
“Get it on,” someone said over the loudspeaker, telling us to head to the loading zone. Jim followed Lia outside, almost running into her when she halted, her shoulders shaking. Without overthinking it, he slid his hand into hers. “You can do this,” he whispered, feeling her closeness.
“I'll do it Jim,” she said. “But I need you there with me. One-hundred percent. When we step into that plane, all of our issues stay here.” She paused. “You leave your shit here and so will I. We do this together. We forget.”
He dropped her hand as her eyes pierced into his very soul. She knew every part of him, of that he was suddenly sure. The girl who was off-limits. The one who was so different from him, but the same. Emotions he'd thought long buried rose up.
Brushing a strand of hair out of her face, he suddenly realized he'd do anything she asked.
The rest of the story was a chronological account, almost as if he'd accidentally let this emotional sliver in, not knowing it'd be read by anyone.
I put a hand on the wall to steady myself. What did he mean by buried emotions? What did he mean by any of it? I needed to know. I had to go to that dance.
Pushing through the swinging door, I almost ran right into Colby, but I didn't stop. “You're coming with me.”
“Huh?” he asked.
I ignored him. “Aunt Kat?”
She popped out from the kitchen. “Yeah?”
