Page 62 of This Thing Between Us

“I didn’t sleep with Katie Kooney that night.” He moved his head back and forth as if he couldn’t even believe what I was accusing him of.

“What are you talking about? I saw you go into that room, with her arms wrapped around you. You had been gone forever, only for me to find you with her.”

Jack shot up from the table, dragging a hand through his hair. “That’s what you thought? You thought I went to go sleep with Katie.That’swhy you left?”

I know what I saw. I could replay that scene in my head as if I were watching a movie. It was that ingrained. “I know what I saw, Jack Montgomery.”

He cocked his head at me. “No, Whitney. Youthinkyou know what you saw, but you don’t actually know what I did once I got her into that room.”

A small noise sounded from the back of my throat. “I think I can guess what happened.”

He placed his hands on his hips. “Actually, you can’t guess. Because what happened was someone slipped a roofie in Katie’s drink. Gretchen Mills was worried about Katie and didn’t think she could take her home, so she asked me to bring Katie upstairs so that she could watch over her while the drugs got out of her system.” Jack let his statement sink in.

In a small voice I had to ask. “Are you sure?”

Jack tugged on his hair in frustration.

Then he resumed his pacing.

I patted the seat next to me. “Why don’t you sit back down?” I was trying to reconcile what he was saying with my version of the night. Sure, I saw Jack and Katie walking into the room together. But was I just assuming they slept together because I knew that would be my worst nightmare?

“I think I’ll stand,” he said, pacing more, stopping only for a second to throw back the rest of the wine in his glass as if it were a shot of whiskey. He dragged his hands through his hair a few more times. It looked like it had gone through the tornado that had threatened to take root outside.

I slumped in my seat.

“Do you know how worried I was when I couldn’t find you at the party? After what happened to Katie, I panicked thinking something similar might have happened to you and I wasn’t there to protect you. I searched the woods around Ian’s house for hours. I called you over and over again and only got your voicemail. I didn’t want to worry Savannah, so I started calling everyone else who was at that party to see if they knew anything. Finally, someone admitted to seeing you walk home alone.”

I’d never once given any thought to how Jack reacted after I left that night. How could I when I had been too overwhelmed by the thought of him with Katie? I was drowning in pain. It was a final “fuck you” to him by leaving without saying anything.

His massive chest heaved as he ran through the events of that night from his perspective. No doubt reliving them like I had. Finally, Jack stopped his pacing only to plant his two hands on the table. He leaned over, invading my space. The smell of wine and mint flooded my senses.

Needing to touch him, needing to soothe him, I reached out, my hands rubbing his jaw, trying to get it to unclench.

Jack’s eyes closed, and he sighed softly.

My body pulsed. I wanted to be closer to him. To curl up in his arms. To push away all the pain from the past for a just a minute of peace.

Then his eyes snapped open again.

He wasn’t done yet.

“That can’t be the whole reason why you left,” he said in a low, sorrowful voice. “It doesn’t explain why you left. Me ditching you would be a dick move, sure, but not one worth you leaving for college early and blocking me from all forms of communication.” Jack placed his hands wide on the table as he waited for me to answer him. “Why did you do it, Whitney? What else aren’t you telling me? What’s the rest of the puzzle?”

I pursed my lips and took one final steadying sip of wine.

All the cards on the table.

I’d have no peace until all my cards were laid out. We had nothing left to lose at this point.

I loosed a shaky breath, wringing my hands under the table. “I planned to tell you how I felt about you after grad night. I wanted to go down to the creek together and tell you that I had feelings for you, that I loved you as more than a friend.” I paused. Gave him a small smile. “I loved you and I thought you betrayed me. Robbed me of my opportunity to tell you I loved you because you wanted to go sleep with someone else.”

My head dipped. I regarded him from underneath my eyelashes. His face was unreadable, but his body radiated tension as he just stared at me, tracing the lines of my face with his eyes until I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Please tell me what you are thinking. It’s killing me not to know.”

Jack circled the table. Crossing one foot over the other and one hand over the other as he made his way around. He found the spot right next to me with ease.

“You.Loved. Me?”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I nodded, my eyes never leaving his.

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