“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?”
“Um, yeah. Sit down.” It didn’t sound good, but I moved over on my bed to make room for him.
Nodding his head, he shuffled across the room toward my bed. As he sat down, the squeal of the springs made the tense silence in the room more apparent.
“So,” I started to say when Alex said nothing. “About last night—”
“Jackie, I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t mean for you to hear that, but—wait, what?”
“I’ve been so unfair to you,” he said. I didn’t understand what he was trying to say, so I waited for him to continue. “After the whole thing with Mary and Cole, I was so hurt. I think I knew deep down that Cole didn’t know Mary dumped me, but it just felt so good having a reason to be mad at him.”
“Why would you want to be mad at your brother?”
“I was jealous. People always compare us, but he’s so much better at everything than me.”
“That’s not true, Alex. You’re good at video games and baseball, not to mention that you’re a much better friend then he is.”
“That didn’t matter back then.”
“Back when?”
“When you got here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Jackie,” Alex said as if I was being stupid. “You’re beautiful. How could any guy not notice you? With Cole around, I knew I didn’t stand a chance.” He looked up at me. “But then you were in my anatomy class, so we had something in common, stuff we could talk about. I had an excuse to hang out with you, and it made me feel like I had a chance after all. What surprised me even more was that you blew him off like he was nothing. That helped me feel better and forget.”
“Forget?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what he was talking about.
“About Mary,” he said. Alex paused for a moment and shut his eyes. He was clearly in pain and was having a hard time getting his words out. “It was the weekend that my family went on the camping trip,” he said, continuing his story. “The time you, me, and Cole slept on the living-room floor during the storm? That was when I realized that I was going to have to fight him for you. I wanted to beat Cole, to feel like I accomplished something that he hadn’t. And I wanted to prove to Mary that I was done with her.”
Neither of us said anything as Alex’s words drifted through the silent air. I didn’t know how to react to his confession, but then I realized what he said should have hurt me. But it didn’t. All I felt was…relief. Alex had made living with the Walters so much easier for me—my anchor as I adjusted to the storm. He was my comfort, my first real kiss, but most importantly, he was my friend.
It took me a moment to collect my thoughts, and in that time Alex panicked. “Well, what do you feel? Massive amounts of hatred?”
“Alex, I could never hate you.”
“Then what is it?”