Page 109 of My Life with the Walter Boys
“Danny, why are you even telling me this?” It had nothing to do with the struggle going on in my head.
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to explain him,” he said. “Sure Cole’s a player, but he’s never been a mean person. Then you came along, and the rift between him and Alex turned into a gaping hole and Cole got all aggressive.” When Danny saw the pained look on my face, he quickly added, “There was nothing you could have done, Jackie. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Is this supposed to be some kind of pep talk? It’s not working.”
“All I’m trying to say is that I know Cole hurt you, but I don’t think it was intentional.”
“You honestly believe that? What about the night we went TPing or the time he dragged me to Mary’s party?”
“His anger was always directed at Alex, not you.”
“It didn’t seem that way.”
“Look, Jackie, he has a bad way of showing it, but he cares about you. I’ve never seen Cole fight so hard for something in his life. Not even for his football scholarship.”
For a long time, I didn’t say anything. “You know, you’re making things a lot more difficult,” I told him.
“You just need to talk to him.”
“I doesn’t matter that I like him. I’m still pissed, and I don’t think I can handle seeing him right now.”
“Not Cole, Alex.”
“Yeah, right. He’s not going to talk to me.”
“Hewas the one looking for you,” Danny said. “Not Cole.”
“Why would Alex want to talk to me?”
“He isn’t as clueless as he seems.”
I was quiet for a full minute as his words sunk in. Did he mean Alex had known all along that I had feelings for Cole? Had I even known? “Hey, Danny?” I finally said.
“What?”
“I’m going to make sure you make it to your training camp in New York, whether you want my help or not.”
“About that,” Danny said, scratching the back of his head. “I know now isn’t the greatest time, but I had a conversation with my mom tonight. This wasn’t exactly how I was planning on telling you, but she said you could come with if you wanted.”
“What?” I asked, taken aback. “Katherine said I could go back and live in New York?”
“Yeah, well, I’m eighteen now, and she knows how much you really want to be at home. It would only be for the rest of summer since you’d have to come back here for school, but your uncle Richard agreed that we could live in your apartment together. Of course, if that’s okay with you.”
For a moment I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I was going to get to go home and, on top of that, live with one of the best friends that I had made in Colorado. But then, I thought about all the other amazing friends I met here. What would it be like without daily runs with Nathan, or Riley and Heather’s bubbly personalities? How would I feel without Alex and Cole?
“Danny, I would love to go to New York and live with you. You know that’s where I want to be. I guess I just have to decide if that’s the best thing for me right now.”
“I completely understand, Jackie. Take your time deciding. I don’t want you to feel like you made the wrong choice.”
Chapter 18
The next morning, the house was quiet since everyone was recovering from last night’s festivities. I stayed cooped up in my room, trying to figure out what to do. I was conflicted about Danny’s proposal. More than anything I wanted to go home, but what about the people I’d come to love here in Colorado?
A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called. Alex opened the door, and I could tell from the way he squinted at the bright light of my room that he was still hungover.
“Hey,” he said, his voice strained. “Can we talk?”
