Page 55 of Four Simple Rules
“Jesse, we can’t be here,” I hiss, following behind him along the side of the brick building.
My gaze darts around the large campus with my heart in my throat. Every sound gains my attention, snapping my head in its direction. I stop suddenly, eyeing the dark parking lot with only a few lamp posts, lighting spots like a spotlight.
“Relax, Tulip. This will be fun,” he says, grinning as he pulls out a key from his pocket.
“Relax?” I hiss, slapping his shoulder. “We’re about to commit a felony!”
It’s the last thing I want on my permanent record. Blake Reynolds, breaking and entering into her old high school—for whatever reason. Jesse wouldn’t elaborate on why we were here when we had a perfectly good bed or two at my house. Yet, he insisted. So, here we are, walking outside the old high school we attended like deviants.
“Meh,” Jesse says, dangling the key in front of my frantic face. “Not a felony if you don’t get caught. So be a good little Tulip and shhh while we break into the school.”
I frown. “Is it even breaking in if you have the key?” I cross my arms over my chest. “Where’d you get it, anyway?”
“I have connections, just like you.” That easy-going smile he loves to parade around flashes across his lips, doing little to comfort me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I grumble, folding my arms over my chest.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he chuckles, fiddling with the key when we finally reach the school’s front doors.
How does he know an alarm isn’t about to go off when we walk through these doors? Then the cops would happily haul us away. My only saving grace is my father’s legacy at the police station. They’d take one look at me and send us on our way with a warning about the felony we committed.
“Yeah, actually. I’d really like to know,” I snark, holding my breath when he pushes the door open.
Luckily for us, silence sounds through the halls—no alarm system in sight or security guards patrolling the area.
“You trust me, Tulip?” No. Not right now—is what I want to say. But I nod anyway without hesitation. Stupid? Probably. “Good girl. Then take my hand, baby.” He holds his hand out, wiggling his fingers in my direction until I clasp it.
“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever let you talk me into,” I pout as we walk through the unlocked front door directly into our old high school.
The main office sits to our right, and the counselor’s office is next, sitting right beside it. Visions of myself storming through that very door and demanding I graduate early hang in my mind like a bad smell. I can’t shake the feeling swarming in my chest as it presses down.
“I walked in there that day, you know?” I say, pointing to the door, forcing Jesse to stop. “I knew months before I could have walked away from this school. I had enough credits to graduate early.”
“And you did,” Jesse hums, coming to my side.
“I did.”
“But why not sooner?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I stayed because…” Of him. But how pathetic does that sound? I wanted his attention so badly—his friendship. I stayed in this miserable soup of crap for his slices of attention when he crawled through my window. Yeah, fricking pathetic. “Olivia needed me here. Well, until...” I trail off, shaking my head.
“Until me and Rhett, like the jackasses we were, set her up. Yeah. God, what a shit show. I was such a prick. I hate thinking about it, Tulip. I hate looking back and seeing the boy I was. It’s embarrassing how I acted.” Jesse sucks in a breath, leaning his forehead on my shoulder. “I was such a dick,” he groans with shame.
“We were all stupid in high school,” I mutter. “I stayed for you, too. You know?” There. I finally admitted the truth of it all. Olivia needed me. But Jesse truly needed me more. “I felt like you needed me to be there and help you through my window. Like you…”
“Thank you for sacrificing your happiness. Thank you for being there for me, Tulip. I didn’t realize how good I had it until you left. Your room was empty and lifeless, even with your plants staring back at me. It was you all along, Tulip. You were my sanctuary. Not that room. It was always you,” he breathes through bubbling emotions, still resting his forehead on my shoulder.
I swallow hard, turning around. My hands cup his cheeks as I stare into the deep abyss of his hazel eyes, getting lost in their depths. Emotions ring through, sparking his sadness for all to see.
“I had…”
“I know you had to leave. I don’t blame you one bit. It took me until then to realize what you meant to me. I took advantage of you, Blake. Your kindness. Your grief. I’m infinitely sorry for the toll I put on you. You deserved so much better than me.”
My thumbs caress his cheeks, catching the small tears wetting my flesh. “New beginnings, right?” I murmur, sucking in a breath. Everything he’s said pierces right through my heart, sewing it back together like it should have been. I thought I had healed since our reunion, but this solidifies it completely.
Jesse is sorry—really sorry. And I’m ready to fall into his web, hoping he’ll catch me and keep me safe this time.
“So, why are we here?” I whisper against his lips, softly moaning when his tongue invades my mouth, twisting with mine.
