Jesse's Girl

Chapter 30

     “You were right.”

     The books I had taken the time to neatly arrange toppled over inside my locker, creating a very, very loud sound throughout the hallway. Hastily, gathering everything I needed, I shut the door before anything fell out. Some notion actually made me believe I would see Jesse then.

     When I turned and recognized a pair of green eyes instead, my pulse began to race.

     Several responses clicked on in my head, but I figured the clueless one portrayed my confusion. “About what?”

     “Everything,” Kale said, almost in a trance. “Jesse, I mean. The revenge crap and…her.”

     My nails scratched along the bindings of my books, only because I still sensed a bit of fury wrapped around Jesse’s name when he said it. I didn’t question it though, because really, I had no reason to. “Hmm.”

     “I even think it’s behind me.” The skeptical look I gave him seemed to make him reconsider his words. “Or at least, I hope it is.”

     Staring at him then, I noticed that the black button up shirt he wore fit him nicely. Were it not for the fact that the sleeves were pulled up to his elbows, I would have said he was dressed up, but it was a casual look that made me feel unsettled all the same.

     “That’s why I want to apologize to him.”

     Whoa. My earlier skepticism vanished, replaced by pure doubt.“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

     While clearly thinking it through, he shook his head slightly, crossed his arms, and leaned back against the lockers. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

     “I don’t know…I mean, think about it. It sounds absolutely insane.

     He chuckled darkly. “Insane is carrying around a grudge for four years, not thinking about how it affects me, but how I’m going to get even.”

     We met each other’s gazes. I gaped at him, but it had been just a reaction to his words, stricken and awed at how he could say it as if greeting a relative. His gaze on the other hand seemed to be timid, almost as if he just said the wrong thing.

     Which was why he switched up his expression, putting on a smile I couldn’t tell was real or fake – it even bothered me that it was a smile I had to question. “At least, that’s what I used to think…”

     “Hmm,” I let out again. Suspicion started to rise, but it immediately died down. If Kale wanted to make peace, then I was in no position to object. It had been what I wanted, after all. “Then, um, tell me how it goes.”

     “I don’t think I’ll need to,” he said, a little too casually.

     I frowned. “Why not?”

     “Because I want you to go with me.”

     “Now that is insane.”

     “How so? You seem to know more about him than any other person here. It’ll be perfect if you were there.”

     Well. I knew one thing for sure. Even after attempting to avoid Jesse the whole day so Kale wouldn’t think I was close to him anymore, was not fooling him – or anyone for that matter.

     My face fell, failure emanating around me.

     “I…I don’t even know where he is…” I’d reduced myself to making excuses. Thankfully, I was pretty good at pulling it off. “The last time I saw him was around…two days ago, he hasn’t talked to me since then. I probably haven’t even crossed his mind at all, to be honest.”