window when he drops his hands in his lap and sees me.
“Call me later?” I ask.
He nods and turns the key in the ignition. I step back and watch him drive away as tears well in my own eyes. I want to chase after him, get in the car, and tell him to take me with him. But my feet are rooted in the driveway.
I’m left with my demons and my tears.
The bubbly Skype ring sounds on my laptop. I drop my book and click the answer button. Jason’s face fills the screen and a smile spreads across my face.
“Hey.” He grins.
“Hey. Did you get everything unpacked okay?”
“Yeah. Piece of cake.”
“Can I see?”
“Sure.” He moves to the side of his laptop, then shifts it around in a slow semi-circle.
Two beds, two desks, two armoires, and two dressers line the walls so that one of each is on opposite sides of the room.
“Small,” I state.
“Yeah.” He returns to his chair and folds his arms in front of his laptop. “We have another bedroom that looks the same, plus a living room. Kind of like our own apartment, but no kitchen.”
“That blows.”
“Small price to pay.” He shrugs. “The guys are taking me to my first party tonight.”
“You party animal,” I joke.
“J! We’re leaving for dinner! You coming?” someone calls from off-camera.
He looks to the side and answers, “Give me a sec!” He turns back to the camera. “I’ve gotta go. I love you, Parker.”
“I love you too.”
Hunter calls after dinner, asking if I want to go to Biggie’s, a game place with an arcade, go karts, laser tag, bumper boats and cars, and kids rides.
“Are you sure this is a good idea,” Arissa asks while I wait for Hunter to pick me up.
“What do you mean?” I curl my legs up next to me on the sofa.
“I mean you and Hunter going out alone.”
I groan. I can’t believe she’s starting this again. “Who do you think went out with us when I was in Foster Hell? No one.”
“But you haven’t gone out alone with him since you came back, and Jason just left for college today.”
The doorbell rings and I scramble off the sofa. “Jason trusts us. I wish you would too.” I yank the door open and rush out without another word.
“Whoa. What did I walk into?” Hunter asks, walking me to his car.
“My sister doesn’t like the idea of me going out with you while Jason’s not here.”
We settle into his car. “I thought she was okay with us being friends,” he says.
“Apparently only if Jason is in the same city.”
“How is he?”
“Okay since he got up there. We were both a wreck when he drove off this morning.”
“That’s why I wanted to take you out tonight. I knew you’d need to get your mind off of it for a while.”
“Should I have gone with him?”
“If you wanted to.”
I flick the hat off his head. “That’s a cop-out answer, Hunter.”
“Okay. If I were in Jason’s shoes, I’d be devastated that you didn’t come with me. Better?”
My heart falls into the pit of my stomach. “No. Now I feel like shit.”
“It’s the truth. If I loved a girl half as much as he loves you, I’d want her with me.”
For the first time, my plan to focus on myself and live one day at a time feels selfish; like I’ve had enough of making sacrifices. I have, but where does one end and the other begin?
He clasps my hand and squeezes for a second. “Hey. No beating yourself up tonight. I’m taking you out to have fun, and dammit, you’re going to have fun.” His goofy insistence makes me snicker and he chuckles with me.
We spend the next two hours spinning in tea cups, racing go karts, crashing bumper cars into others, and soaking each other in bumper boats. For two hours, I laugh instead of cry.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
“How was work today?” Jason asks, peering at me through the laptop screen.
“I don’t think I’ll ever understand the need for so much paperwork. I’m either typing it up, sending it somewhere, or filing it.” I cradle my jaw in my hand. “How are classes?”
“Intense. I need to concentrate more when I study. I might start going to the library for some quiet.”
“Four grown men and their freedom from parental oppression. It must be rough being an adult away at school,” I quip.
“Remember the parties my teammates would throw?” he whispers.
“Yeah.”
“It’s like that a lot.”
I laugh.
“Seriously, Parker. We keep the front door open a