Angelic (Book 2)

Twelve

Jessica’s eyes didn’t waver from my face. Her blues weren’t as deep as August’s. They were lighter, profoundly analytical, and altogether uncomfortable.

            “You really think so, huh?” she said, holding her hand before her as she inspected her nails. “Dying?”

            I nodded, because I couldn’t think of any other explanation. Throwing up blood, having these minor heart attacks . . . my body even felt as if it were deteriorating. As if every day it functioned less and less, gradually dispelling a duty it could no longer accomplish. “Pretty sure.”

            “Hm.” Her hand lowered, analytical blue eyes pinning on my face again. “I should be happy right now.”

            My mouth flopped open as I stared at her, taken aback. “W-what?”

            A bitter smile tugged her lips upward and she leaned back, propping her feet on the edge of my bed. “The cold-hearted bitch inside of me wants to be happy that you’re sick. Happy that you’re out of the picture and I can have August all to myself.”

            She still wasn’t making much sense. “Jessica . . . what are you talking about?”

            “You see!” she cried, throwing her hands up. “This is what I mean! You’re so . . . so freaking innocent and naïve and good. You don’t even know what’s going on right now!”

            I clutched the blankets in tight fingers, biting my lip. “Jessica, whatever I did, I . . . I’m sorry.”

            The chair rocked as she jumped up and began to pace around the room. I watched her, confused and a little terrified, just wondering what went so horribly wrong. “I’ve had a crush on August Masterson since he was ten and I was eleven,” she started, scratching furiously at her head. “I mean, for God sake, I thought we would end up getting married. But then he left for stupid Yale, and everything changed.”

            This conversation, I could tell, would go nowhere good for me. She seemed rather irritated, and maybe just as confused.

            “He’s back, and we get together, and it’s like nothing has ever changed. But it has, Ellie. All because of you. And I can’t even be mad at you, because you don’t even know it.”

            “What?”

            “Exactly my point!” she slapped a hand to her forehead, sighing dramatically. The dim light of the room caught the golden strands in her hair, and the creases marring her usually flawless face. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about this over the past couple days.”

            When you’ve been avoiding me. “Think about what?”

            “Keeping my distance from August.”

            I blinked, uncomprehending. “Pardon?”

            Jessica returned to the chair, folding her hands in her lap. “I’m. Breaking. Up. With August. I guess. I mean, we were never really officially together . . .”

            “But you said you wanted to get married.”

            She actually laughed, which didn’t seem to fit the situation, and had me furrowing my eyebrows in even deeper bemusement. “God, Ellie,” she murmured, shaking her head. The blues of her eyes twinkled. “I know you can be pretty oblivious sometimes, but surely you’ve seen the signs?”