Page 70 of The Wallflower

Once I pack my bag, intending to get some study time in, I stop in the kitchen to grab something to eat. As I pour a bowl of cereal, Jackie comes out, smiling. "I saw you leaving the carnival the other night. What happened? You ran out of there like someone was chasing you."

Shit. I forgot I'd seen her there. "No, I was just cold and tired. I shouldn't have gone in the first place. I was just trying to get back here as fast as possible.”

It sounds like a stupid excuse, even to me. Her eyebrow twitches up as her lips turn down. "You left your car there, though, didn't you?"

I turn my back to pour some milk and to get my face under control. "Yeah, I had a beer or two, so I decided to walk back. Better to be safe than sorry."

It's not like she'll care what's happening with Drew and me, so why am I keeping things to myself? I don't know… Somethinghappens when I'm with him, some part of me feels set free, and I'm not quite ready to talk about that yet. Confiding in her would make all of this that much more real, and I don’t know if I’m ready.

I hear her shift and glance back to find her leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed, staring at me. "What?"

She huffs. "Whatever, it's your business."

I turn to face her, bowl in hand. "No, what is it?"

"I saw Drew, that football player, chasing you. Why were you running?”

I shovel food into my mouth and mumble around the Cocoa Puffs. "I wasn't running from anything.” It’s a blatant lie, one that she must see through since she makes a sure sort of noise, and my annoyance catches up with me. "What do you want me to say, Jackie? I'm an adult. I don't have to justify my whereabouts with you or why I was doing something."

She holds her hands up in surrender, but her eyes flash with anger. "I'm not interrogating you. I just want to make sure you're okay. Drew is...fun...but he's a one-and-done kind of guy who throws girls away after he's had his fill. And you definitely aren’t a one-and-done kind of girl. I don’t want to see you get hurt by him. That’s all."

She's offering me a lifeline, a chance to talk to her, yet I can't make myself do it. There's no way in hell I'm going to explain what happened the other night, not when I'm not even entirely sure myself.

I slump into the chair at the table, and my mind immediately flashes to him holding me down there, a rush of heat zinging straight to my core at the simple memory. "It's nothing. I'm nothing to him. He only wants me because I said no."

She shifts against the table, making it creak in protest. "Just be careful. Guys like Drew don’t know where the line is, and the game he’s playing this time isn’t one he’s ever played. No onehas seen him with the same girl more than once. I just… If you ever want to talk about it, need advice, or even need help hiding a body, I’m here.”

I smile. It's a jagged dim thing, but she smiles back. Maybe telling her would make me feel better? Help me understand my own feelings better. I'm about to open my mouth, and spill my guts to her, when my phone vibrates on the table, scaring the shit out of us both. We share a chuckle, and I look down. It's a number I don't recognize, but in my mom's area code. I hit the green answer button and press it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Maybel Jacobs?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Angela Black, calling from Saint Michael's Hospital. We have your mother here..."

Static immediately fills my head, and I jerk to standing, jostling the bowl and spilling milk across the table. "What? Is she okay?"

"Don't be alarmed, but we got a call to pick her up earlier this morning from a neighbor. They found her passed out in her home."

Oh my god. Why didn’t she call me? I knew I should’ve stayed at her house last night. Tears track down my cheeks, hot and heavy as I rush into my room, holding my phone between my face and my shoulder while I tug on a pair of boots. "I'm coming. I'll be right there."

"Very good, Ms. Jacobs. We'll see you soon."

Jackie hands me my bag that I'd left on the floor and my car keys, and I rush out of my room heading for the door. "Call me if you need anything."

I nod, and pull the door open, escaping into the hall. My feet pound against the floor as I race down the hall and outside to my car.Dammit.Drew pops into my head. I won't be able to meetwith him this morning like I promised. Surely, he’ll understand. I send him a quick text, only a few words, and race out of the dorm parking toward the hospital.

It feels like it takes me hours to drive there after hitting every light and getting behind every single slow driver in the city. I beep my horn impatiently and do my best to keep my emotions in check. When I arrive at the hospital, I slam the car into a parking spot and put it in park. Grabbing my phone from the cupholder, I notice Drew’s name on the screen and a text alert. I’m too frazzled about what’s going on with my mother. I don’t have time for this right now. I shove my phone into my bag as I run into the hospital. My mother is the only family I have left. I can't lose her.

I can’t.

It seems to take an eternity before I can get to her, but soon enough, one of the nurses comes to get me and directs me to a small room down a corridor. My mom looks up wearily from the bed. "Hey, Little One, you're here."

I smile. "You must be on some good drugs. You haven't called me that since I was a kid."

She laughs, and then it turns into a cough as I sit beside the bed. "Mom...what happened?"

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