Page 105 of The Second Kiss
“But that other girl wasn’t. Lexie wasn’t.”
“From what I heard, Lexie was in cahoots with Brad. That she gave him the stuff he put in your drink.”
“She didn’t deserve what he did to her,” I scream back at him.
He tightens his grip around my shoulder. “No, she didn’t.”
“And it was my fault,” I say. “I didn’t tell anyone. I was too scared, too weak.”
“It wasn’t your fault. And you aren’t weak. "You’re—” he stops like he’s searching for the words.
“I know. I’m a tough kid,” I finish for him. I stand up and step away from him.
After a minute he stands too. “I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say that you’re probably the strongest person I know.”
“I’m not.” I shake my head.
He gives me my space. The only sounds are my breathing and a bird twittering in the tree. The sunlight filters through the treesonto my face. Finally, he speaks again. “Your mom said you’re leaving.”
I nod. I wonder when and how long Jacob and my mom talked and what she said about me. “Since I’m not going to jail, I’m heading to school early. I need to get a job and find a car. It’s a five-hour drive, and I need something more reliable. I’m not sure I can stand to stay here, anyway.”
He nods. “I guess I can understand that. I’m leaving too,” he adds so quietly I almost don’t hear him.
I turn around and face him. “What?”
He swallows. “I said, I’m leaving too.”
“Are you being transferred?”
“Kind of.” He grins his half-grin, but there's no humor behind it. “They moved up our deployment date.”
I cover my mouth with my hand. “To Iraq?”
He nods. “I was going to tell you before. There wasn’t a good time to do it.”
“Jacob.”
I cross the distance between us, wrap my arms around his neck, and let him pull me to his chest.
He holds me tight. My insides are all churned up. Everything is crazy. The world is spinning around me, and there’s only one center. There's only one thing left to cling to, and he’s leaving.
His cell phone rings. He lets go of me and fumbles with the phone to get it out of his pocket. He drops it. The phone clatters to the ground and answers.
“Jacob? Sweetheart? Are you there?”
Laini.
He leans over and scoops the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”
“Hey babe!” Her voice is loud, almost like she knows that I’m with him and she wants me to hear her. “Dad said to be at the house by five.”
I look at his face, thunderstruck. My center shattered.
“Just a second,” he says to Laini. He mutes the phone. “Jess—"
“Forget it Jacob. I, I need to go.” I turn around and run. Hard. Back to my car. Before he can say anything.
fifty-four
