Page 113 of Withered

“You look great in my shirt,” Jake says, his eyes moving from my face and then down.

Shirt? What shirt?It dawns on me that I’m still wearing his shirt, and my shorts are so short that they are hidden by the length of the shirt. My legs are completely exposed, and I arrived barefoot.

“Why are you here?” My voice is firm, but my insides are churning.

Jake sighs. “I am sorry about what happened earlier today. I really am.”

I turn around and begin to leave. I’ve heard sorry a lot lately.

“Where are you going?” Jake says, stopping me in my spot.

I spin around. “You said you were sorry. I heard it. So, I’m leaving.”

“I am not done yet,” Jake says, taking a step forward again, clearly annoyed.

“Oh, you still have something to say?” I say, taking a step back. “Fine. Go on. I’m listening.”

I cross my hands and wait for him to speak. Whatever it is, it is now or never. I can’t keep up with him if he doesn’t put in the same effort.

“After what happened to Jen, you know, I did not make friends,” he says it, and my heart starts beating loudly at his confession.

He’s opening up again. I relax and listen to his words carefully. He continues, “For me, making friends only meant losing them. Ironic, isn’t it? I said we were friends, and then you were gone too.”

I want to tell him that I am still here. I want to scream it, but I remain quiet.

He takes another step forward, and this time I don’t move. He puts a hand on my cheek, and the sparks return. Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way. It’s only one way.

“You’re special, Rose. I feel it. I know it,” he whispers, his eyes fixed on my lips.

My breathing become ragged, and I’m sure I lost my senses. All I want now are those lips on mine.

So, it takes a lot of my willpower to do what I do next. I take a step back, and Jake’s hand falls.

“You want me to believe that?” I snicker.

“It’s true,” Jake says, his green eyes shining with pure, raw emotion.

“You said there’snothingbetween us. Why are you telling me all that now?” I might sound mean, but I want straight answers, not something confusing.

“Why are you giving me that attitude?” Jake has an edge to his voice.

“My attitude? Really? You are the one confusing me here.” My voice rise with every word.

My head hurts, so I massage my temples to ease the pain. “Jake. Go home and clear your thoughts. Stop confusing me, then we’ll talk.”

I leave without waiting for his answer.Nothing.The only word that defines us is nothing.

Kristy bombards me with her questions, and all I can say is that nothing happened. I went down to talk, maybe to make things right, but as usual, things never go the way we want them to. We fought yet again.

I lie down and cover my face with the comforter. Jake’s voice echoes in my ears:“You’re special, Rose.”

He just confuses me a lot more.

Kristy wakes me up the next morning, which is a rare scenario. Kristina Jones never gets up early unless it is for something important. In this case, I’m guessing that’s me.

“You will wear this.” Kristy gestures to the clothes she took out, which are a crop top and a skirt.

“Crop top, okay. Why skirt?” I groan.

---