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"You would have done that?" I ask, surprised

"Of course You’re htly "Now you’re just trying to h while pushing away froo check out my hometown"

"New York?" I ask, surprised

"Yeah I haven’t seen my ain, but we can go look"

"This coerly and then quickly add, "We can afford a break fro on this?" He seems unsure about my motives

"I just want to plan a real future"

"Oooh-kay I’ll book it Even though I think you need to give Jace sooing to get over what others think I did And I don’t want to talk about hi up as et into our plastic containers "I’ht run into hiet the asshole, I’ll give you that, but guys have no idea how to handle emotions Don’t you think that even if he can’t adet ready, I’ll see you later tonight," I s

~~~~~~~~~~

I arrive at the hospital and decide to wait outside in the fresh air Hospital air is stagnant and stuffy I would kill to be in there holding Jace’s hand, but since I can’t do that, I’d rather not go in at all My hands bounce the plastic containers around as I wait for Em to come down

"Audrey?" I hear my name called from close by

I turn toward the sound ofaround the outside corner of the hospital She tosses down a cigarette and twists her foot on it slowly to extinguish the embers

"Please, don’t tell anyone about that I only do it when I’estures toward the white stick that’s now crushed into the concrete

"Secret’s safe withI can catch sight of Em Julie Riley is the last person I wanted to see today She walks closer toward in to bounce impatiently on my toes I haven’t seen her since the day Jaxon and I told her we had run off to get ht I would see her get so angry I ran home that day It was the only time I ever ran to h the doors and smiles cheerfully at me I don’t understand this weird cal in a coma and she acts like there is finally world peace

"Thank you so much for these," she calls out I hand over the containers when she reachesover my shifts at work too"

"Please, don’t even worry about it You shouldn’t have to think about work right now Although I a out of town next week, so Ed will probably have a coronary"

She laughs a bit too lightly, almost as if it’s forced In thatto protect herself fro Jaxon My heart breaks for her Here I’ve been feeling sorry for enuine pain

"Hey, Erab her arm so I can pull her in close I hope to speak to only her "I leftmy voice to a whisper, I say, "In his rooet that?"

She smiles and replies, "Quinn’s hoive you the key Don’t worry about running intoanyone" She quickly glances over toward Julie "They’re all here" I sigh with relief and thank her

"They’re about to start some physical therapy on him, so I don’t want to miss that He likes it when I talk to him" She smiles and walks back inside without any further conversation

"He likes it when she talks to him?" I ask out loud, to no one in particular I think Eht be doing to her hts "She sain, neither does Jace And she just lies there all day with hi to protect herself" I attempt to think of a way I can end this uncoht now, especially not with Mrs Riley

"I know about you and Jace," she says before I can escape I immediately turn and face her, surprised Shit What does she think and how does she know? Before I can ask, she answers for ive her a skeptical look, not believing that she has sohs, "Okay, fine His friend, Max, ratted hi silent If Max knehat Jace said to me, then he probably didn’t take too kindly to that I’m surprised I haven’t heard from him already

"I trust Jace’s decisions"

"Would you say that even if I told you he pursued ht was a lie?" I ask She falters a beat and nods her head I consider leaving right this very second I don’t need to explain myself to one more person, especially this person Jace and I are done She won’t be in ain? Because…whether I want to ads to have my name cleared

Julie sits down on the curb and pats the spot next to her Sitting right here on the concrete in front of the busy hospital, I pour my heart out to her I don’t cry this time This story can flow out of my mouth now as if it knows it by heart, without any help froht after Jaxon and I broke up

"How did I not know that you and Jace asps "I’ht he had a crush on youbut thisthis makes so much more sense"

Her words startle me and I ask, "Why would you say he had a crush on ht he ht hi you Not Jax, just you You know those black-and-white photographs he has in his roo of them lined up above his bed "You’re in one of them"

My mouth drops open and I try to remember what they look like I remember one of them is a picture of his dock back home that extends out over their favorite pond Jaxon and I spentinto that cold water There are people in the distance in some of them, mostly silhouettes

I think about theon the dock with their feet hanging over the edge, dipping them into the water The picture was taken so far off in the distance I wouldn’t have been able to tell it was me It’s only the silhouette of a person I sat on that dock numerous times so it could have been any number of days

I recall one ti the truck through thethe truck off, so I decided to splash uess he stuck around to snap so on the wall are from around the property as well My favorite is one of hissheets out to dry