Promise to Marry by Jessica Wood

Author:Jessica Wood [Wood, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940285139
Publisher: ERH Press
Published: 2015-01-10T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Spring 1998

Thirteen Years Old

It was the call no one is ever prepared for. It was the call no one ever wants to receive. It was the call no one ever wishes upon even their worst enemies.

But it was the call I was about to receive that day.

It was an idle Wednesday afternoon, much like any other during a school week. I was at home doing my homework and waiting for Jackson to come over after he was done with his track practice.

I was working on my pre-algebra problem, sitting at the coffee table in the living room while MTV’s Total Request Live was playing in the background. Carson Daly was talking to a few people from the live studio audience at the moment but I knew he was about to reveal the sixth most requested music video of the day. I had my fingers crossed that it would be Savage Garden’s “Truly Madly Deeply,” my favorite song. I’d been calling and voting every day for several months now to make sure it was getting enough votes. I’d even had Jackson call and vote from the phone in his house every day—okay, so most days I’d had to call for him, but to me, that was merely a technicality, and at the end of the day, “Truly Madly Deeply” was getting at least two votes every day. It was number six yesterday and being the loyal fan that I was, I didn’t want it to fall to seventh place. So I was anxiously waiting for Carson to announce the video that was in sixth place.

Just then, the telephone started to ring. I walked over to the kitchen counter to grab the phone, my eyes never leaving the TV screen.

“…and number six on TRL today is…” Carson started to say. I held my breath as I picked up the phone to answer it.

“Hello,” I said absentmindedly into the receiver, my focus still on Carson.

“… “Truly Madly Deeply” by Savage Garden!”

“Woo!” I cheered out loud as the music video started on the screen.

“Chloe?” I heard Aunt Betty’s voice calling out to me.

“Hey, Aunt Betty. Sorry about that. My favorite song just came on.” My body started swaying with the beat of the song.

“That’s nice, honey,” she said in an eerily soft voice. “Um, so I wanted to let you know that I’m on my way home right now.” There was a rawness in her voice that gave me pause and I immediately felt my entire body tense up.

“What is it? Is something wrong, Aunt Betty?”

“I’ll be home soon.” I noticed she didn’t answer my question.

I felt a wave of panic prickle down my body. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Is Uncle Tom okay?” I asked her in quick bursts of alarm.

“Y—yes, we’re both fine. We’re not hurt.” Her words stumbled out and I could tell she was flustered and anxious about something.

“What’s wrong?” I looked at the clock and realized Jackson hadn’t shown up yet. “Is it Jackson? Please don’t tell me it’s Jackson, Aunt Betty.

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