SKIPPING TIME

Chapter 27

Ray's shoulders slumped further as he looked at Cacee and said, "This is my fault. I've kept the damn JETT for sixteen years and I've never been careless with it. I was terrified I'd get you killed. I couldn't concentrate. The last guy I fought--I must've dropped it and I guess he took it. He skipped too fast for me stop him, but I didn't realize had my JETT. I assumed it was because he knew he couldn't beat me."

Jess scoffed. "Yeah, cause you're such a badass."

Ray and Cacee both said, "Knock it off, Jess!"

He shot them both an eat shit look and, with heroic effort, tamped his temper down.

Ray ran his hand over his eyes before saying, "I'll go get the JETT. You two stay here."

His heart leaped. His first thought was that with Ray gone, he might be able to win Cacee back. His second thought was that she wouldn't trust anything he said long enough to believe he even wanted her back.

Cacee argued, "You can't go. If you get killed, what're we supposed to do? We're dead then anyway. We need to stay together."

Ray shook his head. "I'm not getting killed. I'll be fine. I've eluded them for years, remember?"

She still argued. "It'll be safer to stay together."

Ray said, "No, hon. It wouldn't. If I hadn't been so distracted by the chance of you getting hurt, we wouldn't be in this mess. This is my screw-up. I won't risk you to fix it."

Cacee bit her lip. "Does this have something to do with why you spent all that time in the back room?"

Ray nodded. "I hoped Pete might have stored some parts back there and, if he did, we'd be able to figure out how to build another JETT."

Cacee's face lit. "Are you sure he didn't? You checked everywhere?"

Ray said, "All but a couple boxes, and they're marked, 'Winter Clothes' and 'Board Games."

Cacee said, "You should check anyway. What if he did that in case anyone ever found this place? You shouldn't go until you're positive it's necessary."

Ray sounded cautiously optimistic as he said, "That's not a bad point. I'm gonna go look right now."

She asked, "Need my help?"

Ray shook his head. "No. You wouldn't know what you're looking for, plus it's too hot and dusty back there. Relax. I'll be back soon."

Cacee nodded, but Jess caught the guilt that crossed her face as her eyes flickered to him. He meandered back to the coffee table and flopped down again, this time closer to where she sat.

As Ray disappeared through the bathroom door, Jess spoke before he lost his guts. "Cace. We need to talk."

Cacee's eyes narrowed. "Okay, Jess. How about to start with, you stop making all this even harder on my father? He was fighting for his life when he lost his JETT! It could've happened to anyone!"

He'd been pissed at the situation, but he'd only gotten annoyed with her once, for that minute when she told him to not sit beside her. But her choosing to bring up Ray before anything else was like a knife in his back.

Jess slammed his hand on the coffee table and said, "Yeah! I remember the damn fight, Cace! If you recall I fought too! And I was already hurt—but I tried to protect you. I guess I'm being crazy, but it seems to me like if I hadn't stopped that guy, you might be dead right now."

Much later, Jess would look back and remember the obvious remorse on Cacee's face at this statement. He'd remember and realize that, if he'd shut his mouth after pointing out the whole "saving her life" bit, everything that followed may have turned out differently. But that was later and, for now, there was no stopping the flood of words that spewed from his mouth. He continued, "But it's okay for you to treat me like shit just because I wounded your ego?"