Page 23 of Ruled Out

His head darts to me, panic across his face. “Why are you asking about my parents?” he rushes out, pulling at the collar of his dress shirt.

“I just remember something my dad said that day when he caught us. Something about you being like your father.”

He runs a stressed hand through his hair as his jaw tics. “I’m nothing like that piece of shit.”

My stomach clenches at his honesty, but my heart breaks at the realization that my gut was right. His troubled past has everything to do with his dad. His troubled past is still hurting him today.

“Jessie”—I twist my hands together in my lap—“were you, um … were you abused when you were younger?”

Whenever he went home to visit his family, he’d come back in a different state of mind—a bad one—and a couple of times, I noticed bruising on his cheek, but chalked it up to a hit on the ice. Or at least tried to convince myself that was the reason.

“I told you back then that my childhood was nothing like yours, Mia,” he finally answers. “Nothing like a lot of people’s.”

The door to our dorm opens and then closes with a bang.

“Mia?” Tara shouts.

Jessie’s eyes bug out as he looks around the room in panic.

“It’s okay. She won’t come in without knocking first,” I whisper.

“Mia? Are you in?” she repeats.

“Yeah,” I shout back.

She knocks on the door.

“Don’t come in!” I hurry out.

“Why not?” Her voice turns cheeky. “Got some company in there?”

I roll my eyes at Jessie when he smirks, but really, I’m more frustrated at her timing. I know we’ve lost our opportunity to talk.

“Yeah,” I finally answer.

“Ooh, not such a good girl after all. Have fun!”

A few seconds later, the TV in the living room switches on, and I look across at Jessie. “Best make yourself comfortable for the night.”

He looks at the single bed he’s sitting on. “Do you have some spare blankets? I can take the floor.”

“Only out there.” I point to my door. “And if I head out in search of spare bedding, she’s going to be hungry for answers.”

He nods. “I can sleep without bedding; it’s fine.”

I cock my head to the side. “Are you for real? This dorm was freezing last semester—never mind January—and that floor looks about as comfortable as my seven-inch heels on a hot day.”

He shrugs and stands from the bed, pulling back the covers for me. “Just get in, Mia.”

CHAPTER TEN

JESSIE

Iknew from the moment I saw the time that I was screwed. It was past nine at night, and my curfew was over three hours ago.

It wasn’t like it mattered though. It wasn’t like I was coming home for any reason, like for food or a hot shower before school the next day.

There was never any food.

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