I hurry down the stairs, eager for it to be just the two of us. Though only taking one step at a time, Jackson clearly feels the same way.
There’s a whole bar built down here, and a pool table, which would be fun to play, but I’m sure Jackson would prefer the couch, so I take a seat there as he lowers himself beside me with a sigh.
“They don’t want me relying on the cane. They seem to think my body won’t work to get better if I use it,” he says, rolling his eyes.
“Is it because you’re still dizzy?” I ask him. “Like at the hotel?”
“Not likethat, exactly, anymore.” He rests the cane along the side of the couch and leans back into the cushions, taking off the hat.
“You went to a doctor?”
“Yeah. It’s gotten better, fortunately,” he says, speaking plainly, but it doesn’t escape my notice that his eyes start to well up. “Though mylegs and arm are still kind of lingering with weirdness. Yet my vision is clearer.”
“Do you want to talk about all of that?” It does sound likea lot. I glance down at his knees—bare beneath his athletic shorts despite the cold weather—and notice several small purple marks.
“Yes.” He pauses, wringing his fingers together. “But not yet. It’s been consuming my life, honestly.” He mumbles a bit about “the hospital” before saying, “I’d love to talk about something else first.”
“I get it.” I bite my lip. “I guessanythingprobably wouldn’t really include the last time we saw each other, either.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” To my relief, he smiles. “When you drove me home, though, I was trying to tell you that I was starting driving lessons.”
“Whoa, really?” I scooch closer on the couch so that our legs are pressed together.
“Yep, but that’s on hold, maybe forever.” He frowns and looks off to the side, then turns back to me a moment later. “Anyway, what’s new with you?”
“I moved out.”
I lay it out there casually, knowing the reaction it’ll get. If we’d been able to chat about this during lunch, would he have been encouraging? Or tried to talk some sense into me?
“Whoa.” His jaw drops.
“Big things happening over here, too,” I joke.
“You did what?”
“You know my friend Shay, the teacher from the ASL club?” I wait until he nods. “Well, she and a couple friends from ACC were renting a house and asked if I wanted to join.”
“When did you move?”
“Yesterday after work, technically.”
“Damn, I miss a few lunches and you move houses.”
“More than a few,” I say quietly.
“You didn’t want to stay at home anymore?” He asks something else ending with “okay with that?”
“My parents?” I ask for clarification. “There was too much butting heads. And, in any case, I’m used to being on my own.”
“I understand.” While my mom and dad have been distant, his seemtoopresent.
I give a reassuring smile. “There’s a lot to catch up on. It’s been ages since you’ve been at school.”
“I didn’t expect to be gone so long. The semester is more than halfway over.” He looks down at the ground. “It all feels like a lifetime ago. So much has changed.”
“But I…” A lot is different, but how do I make it clear to him that my feelings haven’t changed at all? If anything, seeing him again is creating a whole tidal wave of emotions. I reach for his hand. “I really hope noteverythinghas changed, because when we—”
Jackson turns toward the stairwell like he’s heard something.
