FADING (A novel)(52)

I jump off the bed when I hear Jase walk through the door. I practically knock him over when I run into his arms. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until now.

“I am so glad you’re back.”

“Everything okay?”

Letting go of him, I smile and say, “Yeah, I just missed you.” I take his arm and pull him toward the couch as I say, “I am dying to know everything about your trip. Where’s Mark by the way?”

“He just dropped me off. He has an early morning tomorrow, so he needed to go home, unpack, and get laundry done,” he says while we sit on the couch.

“Sooo . . .?” I say and Jase just smiles at me. Nudging him in the arm, I demand, “Come on! Tell me. How was it?”

“Great, actually. His family is nothing like our families.”

“Thank God for that,” I tease.

“We had a great time. His parents were so accepting of me, which made me comfortable from the moment I arrived. His sisters are a little crazy. We went out with the two of them one night, and they got totally shit-faced, so Mark and I had to sneak their loud asses into the house so they wouldn’t wake up his parents. It felt like high school.” Jase laughs, and he seems genuinely happy.

“They sound great. I am so happy for you, even though I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“So, it seems you and Mark are pretty serious now.”

“I really love him. I was a dick before and thought I had screwed everything up, but I’m glad he gave me another chance. He’s pretty perfect for me.”

I can’t help but smile when I hear Jase talk like this. He has been through a lot to get to this level of happiness.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I really love Mark too. He’s been a good friend to me, and he has never questioned our friendship, which means a lot to me. He totally gets us,” I say.

“I know. He really does, and that makes me love him even more.”

I lean in and give him another tight hug and then he asks, “So tell me about your break? How did Thanksgiving go?”

Leaning back, I sigh. “It didn’t. I left before the food came to the table.”

“What happened?”

“Honestly, it was pretty bad,” I say, and I continue to tell him all about the fight and what was said. He shakes his head, but I know he isn’t shocked. He has gotten to know a lot about my relationship with my parents over the past three years.

“So has your dad called you?”

“No, which worries me. He always calls to try and brush everything under the rug.”

“So, you’ve just been laying low then?” he asks.

I fidget when he asks, and he picks up on it immediately when he questions curiously, “What’s going on? Why are you nervous?”

“Not nervous . . . confused really.”

“Tell me.”

“I actually spent the past couple of days with Ryan.”

“Alone?”

I nod my head, and he looks a bit stunned when he asks, “How did that happen?”

“I guess he got my cell number from Mark, and he texted me. We wound up spending all of Friday together and then some of yesterday as well.”

“What’d you guys do?”

“We grabbed breakfast, then we went to the aquarium, but I kinda freaked when I left to go home.”

“What happened?”

“We were alone in his car, and I was telling him about the fight with my parents, and when he reached over to hold my hand, I panicked.”

Jase turns his body to face me when I continue. “He had held my hand earlier, but it was different. We were at the aquarium, and he was trying to get me to touch the sea creatures at the touch pool, but the way he held my hand in the car was just . . . I don’t know. Anyway, I acted like a maniac. I couldn’t get out his car fast enough. I just left without really saying anything.”

“What did he do?”

“Nothing. He didn’t say anything. But I was really shaken and cried the whole drive home.”

“Because he touched you?” he questions.

“I mean . . . I felt panicky when it happened, but I think I was more upset because I felt that way. Am I making any sense?”

“Yeah. I just don’t like that you beat yourself up for having feelings,” he says, and he takes my hand in the both of his.

“I hate that there are these random moments that come out of the blue, and I can’t hold myself together. But that isn’t the worst of it.”

“What?”

“He surprised me at my house last night after I had taken my sleeping pill. We ate dinner and were watching a movie, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up with my head in his lap. I totally freaked, Jase.”

“What did Ryan do?”

“He just apologized, then I apologized, and then we had this weird moment when he was leaving. I just don’t know what to think.”

Shaking his head in confusion, Jase asks, “Let me get this straight, so he comes over and you let him stay with you . . . alone?”

“I know, but he actually made it comfortable for me. I mean, we had a fun night, but before he left, he brushed some hair out of my face. I know this may sound stupid, but it felt extremely tender, and now I’m confused because he’s my friend.”