Page 18 of We Thought We Knew It All
He scooped them up and was out the door a moment later.
I knew there was plenty in the house to get done, but there was somewhere I had to go. It was my last chance and I suddenly couldn’t stand the thought of doing it alone. We’d gone through it together and when it should have torn us apart, it only made us stronger.
I grabbed my keys and was parked in front of Jamie’s hotel ten minutes later. He walked out the front door with a duffle slung over his shoulder. He threw it into the back of an old ford truck and then opened the driver’s side door.
He’s leaving.
I was out of my car in a flash, marching his way.
“Jamie Daniels,” I barked. “Don’t you dare get in that car.”
He froze, hand on the door-frame and turned his heated eyes on me. Something sparked in them and I was paralyzed.
His chin lifted stubbornly as he waited for me to speak.
“Please,” I managed to choke out.
He breathed slowly for a long moment before slamming the door and stalking toward me. His big, heavy steps sounded off the concrete, echoing my frantic heart. When he reached me, he didn’t wait. I was pulled into his arms with such force it would’ve knocked me over without his steady arms holding me up.
He didn’t kiss me and I was glad for that. I wouldn’t have been able to take it. It was all I could do to not fall to pieces the moment he touched me.
Ten years.
Ten years of wanting, of not knowing, of worrying, all wrapped up in that moment. All wrapped up in three words.
“I missed you.” His shirt muffled my words.
He inhaled. “You smell hot.”
I laughed, pinching him in the side. “Leave it to you to ruin a moment.”
“Wouldn’t want to disappoint.”
“You have never once disappointed me.”
“That’s a nice thing to say.”
I knew that tone. He didn’t believe me.
I pulled back, feeling the bulk of his muscles beneath my hands. “Are you leaving?”
He shrugged. “There’s no reason for me to stay.” Those words cut deep, but they weren’t without merit. Just last night I’d told him I couldn’t see him. Maybe it hurt because when he’d left before, there had been a reason for him to stay. No, nothing lasted at eighteen. For ten years, I’d been telling myself it was good he left. I wasn’t going to change that now.
Stepping back from him, I looked up into his saddened face. “Will you go somewhere with me before you leave?”
He ran a hand through his hair, glancing toward his truck, then back at me. “Okay.”
We climbed into my car and he didn’t even ask where we were going so I started talking. “They’re tearing the old gym down.” I glanced sideways at him but his expression hadn’t changed. “I couldn’t go alone.”
A single nod was all I got until we pulled into the parking lot of our past, stopping right outside the doors that would take us into the gym.
Jamie didn’t wait. He got out, and I followed. A chill ran down my spine as we pulled the doors open. School was in session, but they were no longer using this gym. It sat abandoned and haunted. The electricity no longer worked, but large windows let in the morning sun, casting shadows across the large space.
The basketball hoops were gone, but other than that it looked the same. I looked to the right where the stage had stood during the dance. The bodies had been covered and left directly in front of it as they led us out.
Tears came, hot and unwelcome. I felt a pressure on my hand and looked down to see Jamie intertwine his fingers with mine. “I don’t want to be here,” he whispered.
It felt like a place one would whisper in reverence. I refused.
