Page 96 of The Second Kiss
Gage and Jasmine both walk me to the door when I get home. “Don’t do anything stupid,” I remind them.
“Us?” Gage looks at me, his face a picture of innocence.
I roll my eyes and give them both a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I love you two. Thanks for tonight. It was unforgettable.”
“Just like I promised,” Gage says. He pauses. “Jess, I think you and Jacob need to–”
I shake my head, stopping him from whatever he was about to say. I can’t go back there. Somehow, I’ll make Jacob into another brother. I’ll keep loving him, just not in the way I thought I wanted to.
After they drive away, I stand in front of the mirror in the hallway. I’m reluctant to take off my dress. Tonight was memorable, maybe not the prom I’d hoped for, but I felt beautiful and wanted and loved–more than I have for a long time. I have good friends. I’m glad Gage came. I wonder if that was Jacob’s idea too.
I undo the chain and slip the locket out from under my dress. I rub it between my fingers. If I’m going to the police with what Brad did, I’m going to need all the courage I can get, but it needs to be my courage, not borrowed courage from a fantasy that’s never going to come true.
Moonlight bathes the path between the house and barn. I don’t need my phone for light. I leave my high-heeled shoes by the door and step lightly along the path, my dress brushing the ground. The night air makes me shiver. There’s something romantic about stepping out into the moonlight, barefoot in a satin gown, to leave behind a token from a lost love, or a love that never was.
Climbing into the loft with a full skirt is less romantic, but I get to the place where Jacob kissed me. I run the locket across my lips, allowing myself to remember one more time. Then I tuck it up in the corner between the beams where Jacob had hidden it before he gave it to me. It feels fitting to leave it there.
The walk back to the house is chillier and less dramatic. I feel the ache of loss, but behind it is a building of strength that I know is all mine. I can do this. All on my own.
Without Jacob.
“Did you save a dance for me?”
I turn to face the figure stepping out of the dark.
forty-eight
Courage
My heart drops as Brad moves into the light.
“Sorry, I didn’t get the chance to take you to prom tonight. Maybe you’ve heard. Someone’s been spreading lies about me.”
I step back. He’s standing between me and the house, between me and a door that locks, my phone, and safety.
“I was hoping we’d at least get one last dance.” This close, I recognize the slur in his voice, the haze in his eyes.
I keep backing away. Trying to keep my breathing even, my voice steady. “No. You need to go.”
“Not this time, Babe.” He grabs my arm. I wrench it away and run. If he’s sober, there’s no way I can outrun Brad. Drunk, I might have a chance. I run toward the side of the house. The door into the garage is never locked.
I’ve almost made it when he lunges, grabs me around the waist and tackles me to the ground. My chin strikes the edge of the steps. I see stars. My vision clouds. I’m fighting to stay conscious.
His body is crushing me. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. He pins my arms to my sides. A warm trickle of blood slides down my neck from the cut on my jaw. I scream.
He claps his hand over my mouth. Then he laughs. “Scream all you want. No one can hear you this far out off the road.”
He grabs my wrists together and jerks me to my feet. I struggle against him, but his grip is like a vise. He leans his mouth against my ear. His breath is hot and smells like beer. “I heard you’ve been talking about me. That you’re willing to do whatever it takes to bring me down.”
I lean back and kick hard, but I miss my target and end up kicking his thigh. He pitches forward but steadies himself, then tightens his grip on my wrists until I think he’s going to crush them. He drags me toward his truck, parked behind the shed where I couldn’t see it. I’m struggling and kicking, but he's too strong for me. He wraps his arms around my chest and picks me up. I lean over and sink my teeth into his arm, hard, until I taste blood, until he howls like a wounded animal and releases me.
I fall from his grip and hit the ground at a run. When I glance back, he’s holding his arm. “I’m going to kill you!”
Too far to the house, I run for the barn, slam the door behind me, and fasten the latch. I reach the stairs to the loft as he pounds on the door. The wood creaks and splits with every thud. The latch won’t hold for very long. I fumble in the dark until I find the opening to the grain bin. I duck down inside and pull awooden crate in front of the opening. The room is dark. I try to quiet my breathing. My heart is pounding in my ears.
Silence.
I close my eyes and pray that he gave up.
