Chapter Twenty-Four
<Please vote and read the author’s note.
“So what’s been on your mind?” Brent asked suddenly, breaking me from my thoughts.
“I don’t know…” I replied, looking out through the window.
“Of course you know, they’re your thoughts aren’t they?” he asked in a teasing tone, nudging me.
I glanced at him. “Keep your eyes on the road.”
“Ok. But Hailee, please? Why don’t you want to tell me what you’ve been thinking about?”
“Because I honestly don’t know!” I exclaimed, slapping my hands down on my thighs.
“Whatever you say, Hailee…” Brent said with a hurt expression, as if I had just denied him happiness.
“Well, if you really want to know,” I began, “what I do remember is that I think about you.” Then I looked down at my thumbs. “A lot.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brent grinning at me, and I turned to him, smiling back. “See, that’s what I wanted to know.”
I looked at the road. “Well, you got it.”
“But there is something else, isn’t there?”
I bit my lip. “Yeah?”
“What is it? Hailee, if you know that there is something else, why don’t you tell me?”
“Because I don’t really think it matters!”
“Everything matters to me. Especially when it has to do with you,” Brent said. We were at a stoplight, and his eyes were smoldering into the side of my face.
A blush blossomed on my cheeks, and I kept looking straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze. “Well, if you really want to know, my parents. And what we left when we, you know, came here.”
There was silence in the car as he mulled this over. Through his reflection in the window I saw that he was rolling his tongue around in his mouth, a sign that he was frustrated. So many years of knowing Brent, I picked up on habits like that. “Why did you not want to tell me that?” he asked, and I heard an edge in his voice.
“Because I didn’t want to worry you. I mean, there is already enough pressure on both of us to get out of here. Especially now, since Meg…” I stopped, tears welling up in my eyes. I felt that empty feeling in my stomach, and I was beginning to choke on my tears.
“Hailee…” Brent said softly. We arrived at his house and he pulled over into the driveway. He unbuckled his belt and leaned over, hugging me strongly. “I know you didn’t want to worry me. But I want to know about these things, ok? Never hold back.” He breathed into my hair, and I felt his breath tickle my scalp.
“I know, I know. It’s just…”
“What?”
“I feel like it’s my fault we’re in here,” I said quietly, burrowing my head deeper into Brent’s chest.
I heard him inhale sharply, and then his hand was on my back, rubbing in soothing motions across the top of it. “It’s not.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked.
“Because,” Brent started, then he pulled me away to look at me straight in the eyes. I shrunk under his gaze, and déjà vu of the days when I thought I was alone in this world came to me. “Because, oddly enough, I asked for the same thing too.”
I exhaled deeply and looked away from his stare. “That’s… crazy.”
“I know,” Brent said. “I guess we were meant to be together in the first place. We’re like two sides of the same coin. Two peas in a pod. Peanut Butter and Jelly. Tortilla chips and sal-“
“No, that’s not crazy,” I interjected. “It’s the fact that they were granted in the first place. Albeit we both asked for it.”
“Oh,” Brent said. “Well maybe fate likes to play a little joke on humans sometimes.” He sat back at his seat, running a hand through his hair. “We should have listened when they said ‘be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.’”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered dryly.
“But this is where we are. So let’s make the best of it.” He grabbed my hand.
I looked down at them, and I smiled briefly. I was so small… “I agree,” I said brightly, looking back up at him.
He leaned down and kissed me quickly, and I pouted when he pulled away. “What?” he said mischievously, “can’t get enough of me?”
I put all of my weight on my elbow, pushing myself up so our lips can meet again. “Nope.”
He chuckled and ruffled my hair, then put a hand to his chin. “Hailee, I think this whole bed-head look could work for you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Quit talking about ‘looks’ and ‘styles’, or you might have me start thinking that you’re gay.”
Brent raised his eyebrows. “I never told you?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Oh ha-ha-ha. Sure. You’re gay. I guess that means we can’t be together,” I said mockingly, opening my door, stepping out, and then closing it.
I started walking to his house, and I heard a hasty car door slam behind me. “Hailee, wait! I was kidding!”
Turning around, I put a smile on my face and kept walking, but backwards. “I know. I was too.” I stopped in my tracks. “Am I really that serious to where people think that whatever I do is not a joke, even if it is?”
Brent grimaced and looked around. He suddenly looked at his keys, and then the door, which he began to walk towards with urgency. “Let’s go inside and see what we can find!”
Grabbing his arm, I stopped Brent right where he was. “No. Answer my question.”
He looked at me tentatively and then sighed. “No, I mean, you have a sense of humor – you’re just really bitter.” He said the last words in a rush, and yanked his arm away from me.
“Am not!” I yelled, then Brent started running. “Hey! Get back here!” Despite my efforts to remain serious, I began giggling at the way Brent runs.
“I knew that would get you to laugh!” Brent said, looking back.
I tightened my lips into a straight line, still running. “Who said I’m laughing?”
Brent and I were both at his door now, and he looked through his keys, finally finding the correct one and opening the door. “I said so.” He stopped at his door and looked at me solemnly. “Race you to my room? Like old times?”
Giggling, I put my hand over my mouth. When I could finally control myself, I nodded.
“I’m going to beat you, like always,” Brent said tauntingly.
“You’re on.”
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Ok guys so this is just a quick update, sorry about the length.
I’ve been uploading a lot, since I’ve been writing a lot, since of what has happened recently.
For those of you who still don’t know, four of my close friends got into a car accident last weekend and two of them have died. If you want to know more details looks at the author’s note from the chapter before this one.
But I’m doing ok :)
All right, so yeah. I really hope you guys liked this one.
Please vote! It makes me feel so much better to see how good this book is doing. I’m an emotional wreck though, so I think everything can make me feel better :P
Thank you so much for those of you who have supported me through all this. It means so much that I have loyal fans. I love you guys so much.
Hug everyone you see today and realize the value of life. Never take anyone for granted.
I started this book with the fear of death. Now, I know it’s just a natural part of life.
The end of the race; the finish line.
It’s not something to cry or be sad about. Because you know there is a party at the end. It just comes sooner to some of us.
Wow. That was good. I think I’ll actually use that in one of my books now :P
All right, thank you so much guys :)
Daniela <3