He sighed. “What is it this time?”
“Nothing crazy.”
“I’ll bet. Spill it.”
Suddenly, I wished I was doing something even riskier just to send him over the edge. “Skydiving.” The admission felt lame.
He nodded. “Okay, I was bracing myself for something worse. That sounds fun, actually.” Something boiled inside of me. I wanted him to fear for my life. I wanted to fear for my own life. Was skydiving too tame? “Do you have any other high-flying plans for your mandatory vacation?”
“I’ve water skied and done some indoor rock climbing. Have spent a lot of time at the shooting range. Me and Gina will probably try to do a couple other things, too.”
He scrubbed his chin with the back of his knuckles. “Okay, just don’t be crazy, Jules.”
“You’re not my dad, Jack! I already have one of those, and he’s plenty annoying.”
“Geez, what’s your problem this morning?”
“You’re my problem!” His stupid Memory was my problem. “Go drive around or whatever it is you do.”
He huffed in disbelief. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s got you in a tizzy.”
I didn’t want to tell him, but my anger was at its boiling point and it all bubbled out. “Your stupid Memories on Facebook, Jack! I was sitting here, minding my own business for the day and I got a notification on Facebook and it was one ofyourpictures of us and Cameron.” I took a deep breath. “Can you please un-tag me in all that crap? I don’t want to see it.”
He toed the loose bits of gravel on the shoulder and crossed his arms. “So, let me get this straight.” He paused, and I almost cut him off. “You’re mad at me, because I don’t pretend like Cameron never existed? Is that right?”
I flung my backpack to the side and flew off the bench. The anger coursing through my veins pumped pure adrenaline into my blood. The adrenaline felt good; the anger did not. My chest tightened, and a fist of emotions lodged into my throat. My voice quaked. “I never said to act like he didn’t exist!”
“But that’s what you want though. You want me to never talk about him, hide my pictures, never ask about how you are doing, pretend like he wasn’t my best friend, and act like you’re okay when you’re clearly not!”
“Enough!” My voice pierced the quiet of the morning. “Shut up!” My voice wobbled, revealing my weakness. “I just want you to be sensitive, that’s all.”
He shook his head. “It's beenthreeyears. I have been sensitive—I’ve done everything you’ve asked and more. This is why your boss said you need help, Jules.” He stepped closer and rested his hand on my shoulder, gently squeezing. He lowered his voice. “If he knew how you’re torturing yourself—”
Headlights pulled into the street, and I recognized Blake’s Jeep. I jerked my shoulder back. “Leave me alone, Jack, please.”
Without my permission, he dropped a kiss to my forehead. “Be safe out there today.”
Blake popped his head out of the car and waved to Jack. “My man! How you been?”
I slung my backpack over my shoulder and jumped into their rear door before he even came to a full stop. Blake and Jack made small talk a few minutes, shook hands, and Jack’s parting words were, “Keep my baby sister safe out there today.”
I rolled my eyes so hard it gave me a headache.
Baby sister? Hardly.
I couldn’t wait to be in the air, thinking about nothing but the jump.
THIRTEEN
Patrick
Glenda droned on. I fought to stay engaged mentally. I fished my phone out of my side pocket and lit the screen. It was a few minutes past our release time.
Come on, sweetheart. Wrap ‘er up.
It’s not that I didn’t like AA. I just couldn’t relate. My issues with alcohol were very brief. Granted, the consequences were lasting, but I could never admit to being an alcoholic. I was here proactively. Checking the boxes post-release. And good thing, too. Had I not met Jules, I may have picked up the habit Saturday night.
Jules sat next to me this week. She wore the same yellow flip flops and almost sent me over the edge tapping them around. Her toes were painted brown which I found odd. I wondered if she had another pair of shoes. She wore the flip-flops even when they didn’t match her outfit.
