Aftermath(35)

“No one broke —”

“You were spooked. Spooked enough to leave. I know you’ve been having bigger problems than kids being jerks. The fire…” He rubs his mouth. “I was there, waiting to talk to you. When I heard the alarm, I took off, but I had no idea it was an actual fire or I would have made sure you were okay.”

“That was the second time.”

“Second time…?”

“The second time something happened to me after school, and I saw you there. Remember?”

“Wednesday, when I bumped into you. Did something happen then, too?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just pointing out that I saw you there.”

“Then someone broke into the apartment, and you saw me again. Which looks really —” He stops. “You thought I set the fire?” A vehement shake of his head. “No. I didn’t break in here, either. I was with my dad all afternoon, and we got back after you left.”

“Okay.”

“I didn’t break in or set that fire, Skye. But someone did, and you need to talk to your aunt. Figure out what’s going on. Don’t bother with Vaughn. He thinks —”

“Skye?” The front door closes. “You didn’t answer my text. Ready to go?”

“Just a sec,” I say, rising.

I head to the hall, and Mae starts toward me and then stops short, her gaze fixed over my shoulder.

“Jesse?”

He nods. “Hello, Ms. Benassi.”

She looks from me to Jesse. “May I speak to you, please, Skye?”

“I was just leaving,” Jesse says. “I came to talk to Skye and got in a bit of a…” He makes a face and points at his cheek. “She fixed me up.”

“That’s very thoughtful of her, under the circumstances.” Mae’s voice is ice. “But I’m going to ask my niece not to entertain visitors while I’m out.”

“I wasn’t entertaining,” I say. “There was blood.”

“I apologize,” Jesse says. “I should have made sure it was okay for me to be here unchaperoned.”

“While you were bleeding?” I say, but he shuts me up with a look and says, “I’ll see you at school.”

“Have you apologized, Jesse?” Mae says.

I flinch. “Mae, just —”

“No, really.” She walks to Jesse and looks up at him. “I heard about your behavior on Skye’s first day back. You upset her. Enough that she told me about it, which, if you remember anything about my niece, means she was very upset. Do you think she needed that? From you, of all people?”

I try to intercede, but Jesse shakes his head, gaze dropping as he says, “No, she didn’t. I was a jerk.”

“Then clearly, if she is bringing you into her home and helping you, you have apologized, and you have not done or said anything to upset her since that first time. Seeing her at school caught you off guard, and since that moment, you have been nothing but kind to her. Correct?”

“Mae, please,” I say.

“I just want an answer from him, Skye. I know it’s yes. To all of the above. Or he wouldn’t have the gall to be here.”

Jesse is breathing hard enough for me to hear it. His mouth opens. Nothing comes out.

“He’s apologized,” I lie. “That’s why he came here. To say he’s sorry. He has. Now he’s leaving.”

Mae snorts and walks into the living room.

Jesse says, “I —”

“Yes, I know,” I whisper. “I didn’t hallucinate hearing those words from your lips. I’m still waiting for them.”

He nods. “I’m really —”

“I don’t want them now.”

He looks ashamed of himself, the same look I got shortly after we became friends, when some guys razzed him, and he acted like we weren’t friends, and I called him on it.

You’re right, Skye. I’m sorry. Really, really sorry.

In that look, I see the Jesse I remember, and I don’t want to. I’ve given him ample opportunity to say this, and now I’m in trouble because I helped him – before he even bothered to mumble sorry. Now he apologizes, and like the last time, it’s only because he’s been called on it.

“No, strike that,” I say. “I don’t want an apology ever. Chance missed.”

His cheeks darken. “Okay, but please, just let me —”

“Skye? What’s this on my sofa?” Mae calls.

Before I can reply, Jesse passes me, striding into the room. “That was me, Ms. Benassi. I bled on your sofa. I apologize. I’ll get it cleaned…” He trails off. “I mean, no, that’s not it. Someone broke —”

I grab his arm and call, “Jesse’s leaving. Now.”

I haul him to the door as he whispers, “I wasn’t thinking. I wanted to help, and that was the wrong way to do it. You need to tell her the truth.”

I open the door. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“And you’ll tell Mae, right? She has to know what’s happening.”

I push him out the door. When I head back into the living room, Mae’s examining the spot. “This doesn’t look like blood.”