Run Away with Me by Mila Gray

Author:Mila Gray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Emerson

There’s a soft knock on my bedroom door. Before I can yell at whomever it is to wait, the door opens and Jake appears.

His eyes widen when he sees me standing in just a towel, my hair dripping from the shower. “Oh, sorry,” he says. He closes his eyes and moves to shut the door again. “Your mom said to come on up.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him. “You can come in.”

Jake opens his eyes, frowning. “You sure?”

He turns around, giving me privacy, and I quickly pull on some clothes, catching him surreptitiously sneaking a glance in my direction. He looks away fast, embarrassed. As I dry my hair, I watch him taking in my desk and the shelf of books and journals above it.

I should have hidden them. Jake hasn’t been in my room since we were thirteen. It feels weird, him being here now.

“I’ve been calling and calling,” Jake says.

“I know,” I say. “I’m sorry. Yesterday . . . I needed to get my head together.”

After I went around to Rob’s, I came home meaning to talk to Jake and hear him out like Shay had encouraged, but I found my mom struggling to wrestle my dad back into his wheelchair after a fall. We spent the day at the ER with him getting X-rays. I didn’t have the energy to call Jake after that. I couldn’t face the conversation. Not on top of dealing with my mom’s worry about medical bills and my dad’s depression as the doctor told him his symptoms were accelerating.

“Did you get my messages?”

“Yeah.”

He turns around then. I’m standing there in just my jeans and a bra and I see his gaze dip to my chest before he looks up, flushing, apologetic. I almost smile as he turns his back again.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Em.”

I take a deep breath. I want to believe him. I really do.

“We broke up before I came back here.”

I pull on a T-shirt. “You can turn around.”

He does. We stare at each other awkwardly. I don’t know what to do with my hands. Why, when he looks at me, does it feel like a drum circle is taking place inside my chest? It makes it hard to focus or think straight. But I remember what Shay said. I need the truth. “How long were you dating for?”

“Eight months.”

Eight months. I swallow, my brain immediately assailed by images of Jake and her in bed together. Is that how he’s such a good lover?

“Why is she here?”

Jake sinks down onto the bed, exhaling loudly. “She’s not here any longer. She’s gone.”

My body sags with relief. “Why was she here, then?”

Jake looks at me sheepishly. “She wants to get back together with me.”

“Oh.” A lump rises up, blocking my throat. “Okay.” Does he want to get back with her? Is that why he’s here? To tell me that he’s made a mistake with me? Why would he choose me, after all, over her? She’s beautiful.

I walk toward the window so he can’t

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.