Poison & Wine - Melissa Toppen Page 0,31

fight back the tears that threaten to well behind my eyes.

I’m not an overly emotional person and I’m certainly not much of a crier, but with Jace? He can make me cry at the drop of a hat. Sometimes out of happiness. Other times out of frustration. And more often times than not, when he hurts my feelings.

“It’s just… Fuck, Oak. Maybe I don’t need you policing me all the time.”

“Policing you? Is that what you think I’m doing?”

“It sure as hell feels like it sometimes. I don’t need this. I don’t need you judging me.”

“I’m not judging you.”

“You have no idea what I’m going through right now.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t. Because you won’t talk to me.” My voice breaks.

“You just… You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me. Talk to me.” I reach out and grab his forearm. “Tell me what’s going on. Is it your dad? Did something else happen?”

“It’s always my dad. It’s school. It’s my absentee brother. It’s my fucking life.”

“Hey.” I scoot in closer. “I know things are bad right now. They’ve been bad for years. But we’ve gotten through them… Together. And we will continue to get through them together. We’re in our last year of school. Our last year, Jace. This is it. We get through this and we’re home free. We can leave this place and never look back. But I need to know that’s what you still want.”

“Of course it’s what I want. Fuck, that’s all I want. To disappear with you. To leave all this fucking shit behind.”

“Then focus on that. If you’re struggling in school, I’ll help you. Bring your work here with you after school every day and we will do it together. If you don’t want to go home, then don’t. Come here. If it’s too cold, I’ll sneak you into my room. We will get through this, Jace. You and me. The way it’s always been. But you can’t shut me out. You have to know by now that I’m never going to give up on you.”

“I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve you, Oakley.” A hint of a smile tugs at his lips.

“I’ll always fight for you. Because I love you. You hear me?” I grip his chin between my thumb and index finger. “I love you, Jace Elliot Matthews. And there isn’t a thing you could do to make me feel differently.”

“I love you too.” He pulls me into his lap, his arms going around my middle as my legs settle on either side of his. “And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for snipping at you. I’m sorry for being distant.”

“You’ve got a lot going on.” I wrap my hands around the back of his neck. “And I get that things are hard. I do. But…”

“I gotta cool it with the drinking. I know.” He blows out a breath.

“I’m not trying to parent you. I just worry about you.”

“I know. And I know I don’t always show it, but you being here for me, it means more than I could ever say. You are the only thing that keeps me going, Oakley. The only thing.”

“Well lucky for you, I’m not going anywhere.” I lean forward pressing my lips to his.

I’m not sure what time it is. I feel like I’ve been laying here in Jace’s arms for only a few minutes, but given that the sun has gone down and the cool bite of the night air has settled around us, I’m gonna say it’s been a lot longer than that.

I gently roll out of his embrace and fumble through the dark, looking for my clothes. Using the flashlight on my cell phone, I manage to get dressed without falling out of the treehouse and breaking my neck.

Jace is fast asleep, his slow steady breathing filling the space around me.

I rub my hands up and down my arms when a chill runs through me. It’s colder tonight than usual.

Heading to the plastic tub in the corner, I peel it open and pull out a second sleeping bag, draping it over Jace.

I hate that he sleeps out here. And even though he knows he can sleep in my room, I think he’s afraid my mom will find out and ground me for life. So, unless there’s really bad weather coming, nine times out of ten, this is where he ends up sleeping. We did finally get smart enough to rig up a tarp, giving us a makeshift roof. It isn’t much but it keeps the treehouse relatively