"Are you sure you can walk?" I asked Jordan as we left the hospital.
"I can walk just fine," Jordan snapped as she continued to walk like she just learned how. I had an urge to just pick her up and carry her to the car, but I didn't. "I'm not a baby, you know."
"You sure walk like it."
Jordan lifted her bag and smacked me with it. She gave me a flat look, causing me to grin widely as I helped her get into the passenger seat of my car.
"I can't wait to be back," Jordan sighed, tilting her head back. "The hospital was so boring. It felt like I'd never be able to leave."
I started my car, pulling out of the lot as we began talking. "I thought your brother was going to bite my head off when he came to visit," I said, keeping my attention on the road. I was hoping that we could just forget about what happened with Hunter, but I don't think that it would be possible. I could never forget the feeling in my stomach when I saw her and Hunter together. It's inexplicable, but it was awful.
"He was grilling you with questions like there was no tomorrow," Jordan let out a sigh, smiling a little. "It was kind of funny."
"Not when he asked me what my intentions with you were," I asked, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. Again, there was no way he could've known how much I really felt about Jordan. I've been her enemy for four years, and now we were dating. "It was like he expected me to just tell him that I'm with you just to screw you or something. I'm pretty sure that's what he thought."
"Austin's like that sometimes," Jordan shrugged, cupping her elbow with her hand. "He's not super overprotective or anything. He wouldn't have been asking you questions like that if you hadn't acted like such a jerk when we were younger."
"What was I supposed to do? We didn't exactly meet in the best way. What was I supposed to say? I was nervous so all I could do was laugh and tease you," I defended, remembering the day so clearly that it was unhealthy. There were actually several reasons why I acted the way I did when I was younger, and now it was time for the consequences to commence. "I'm not exactly the smoothest guy in front of you."
"What were you thinking?" Jordan crossed her arms. "You could have said what you were thinking. If you had apologized or something, I wouldn't have been angry and I probably wouldn't have hated you for three and a half years."
"I couldn't say what I was thinking," I mumbled, keeping my gaze off of Jordan. I never told her about how I fell in love with her the second I saw her. I've always kept my thoughts about her to myself, but whenever someone asked, I proudly stated that I was in love with a girl named Jordan Emery.
"What were you thinking?" Jordan repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me, I want to know. It should be okay now, since we're together and everything.
"I was thinking that even though I hadn't even known you for a few seconds, I already thought you were the most amazing and beautiful girl that I had ever seen in my entire life," I answered shyly, surprised that I actually admitted it to someone. She was the only girl who made me talk like this, and I wasn't a fan of talking about it.
"Aw," Jordan smiled, causing me to blush even harder than I was before. "That's so cute. I didn't know you were so sweet, Jesse."
"Okay, no mushy crap please," Alex said from the back seat, causing Jordan to jump. I almost forgot that he was in the car with us. "You two just got out of the biggest fight you've ever had, and now you're back to being all gross."
"You're just jealous," Jordan teased, looking over her shoulder to the blonde in the back. She stuck out her tongue, not affecting Alex in anyway. "You and Lexi don't have the same kind of relationship as Jesse and I do."
Alex gave her a flat look. "That's a good thing. If we had the same relationship, not only would that be creepy, but it would also mean that she'd know about the gang."
Jordan shut her mouth turning forward once again. I stiffened, not wanting to think about Hunter right now. But, of course, Alex continued to talk about him.
"How did you guys even make up, anyway?" He asked, and I clenched the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I didn't want to be reminded of what happened. If I could just forget about it, I'd be able to breathe easier. "I mean, Jesse looked like he was going to kill Hunter right there in the hospital."
And I would've, if Alex didn't hold me back.
"Hunter did what he does best," Jordan sighed, turning her head to the right so she'd be staring out the window. My grip grew tighter on the steering wheel.
"Kill?" Alex guessed, and Jordan made a face.
"He's good at that, but I was talking about threatening," she informed him, not taking her gaze away from the window. "He threatened my brother's life and tricked me into kissing him. Now that you know, just shut up about it and never talk about it again. It was a mistake."
Alex whistled. "Someone's pissed."
"Yeah, I am," Jordan crossed her arms over her chest.
"I wasn't talking about you."
Slowly, Jordan turned her head to face me, as I tried to look like I normally would. I think my grip on the steering wheel and the look on my face gave it away, though. Jordan reached over, placing her hand over mine. My grip loosened as our hands dropped to my lap.
"Hey, hey, hey," Alex called from the back again. "You may not care about our safety, but I do. I don't want to die. Both hands on the wheel, mister."
Both Jordan and I rolled our eyes, and I unhappily took my hand away from hers and placed it back on the steering wheel. Jordan kept her hand on my lap, and I could tell she was waiting for me to give her some sort of reaction. When I ignored it, she didn't take it away.
"Don't you go putting your hand down his pants, either," I could just tell Alex was smirking when he said that.
Nonetheless, Jordan didn't remove her hand and soon enough, we were back at the camp. No one made a move. We all just sat in silence, waiting for something to happen.
"Alex," Jordan began, trying to think of a way to finish her sentence. "Could you go in first and tell the girls not to really touch me or anything? I mean, I'm still really sore and everything and I know they want to hug me. And I need to talk to Jesse, so..."
My ears perked up as she said my name. I didn't think there was anything we really needed to discuss, so I couldn't help but think about what she wanted to talk about.
"Say no more," Alex sighed, sliding out of the car and shutting the door behind him. I still sat in the front seat, confused.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked, trying to ignore the pain I felt in my fingers from clutching on to the steering wheel so tightly. "Is there something wrong?"
"I just want to know..." She started off, thinking of a way to finish what she began saying, just like she did with Alex. "Are you still angry about that thing with Hunter? When Alex brought it up, you still seemed really angry. I mean, that's understandable and everything, but... You shouldn't be angry about something like this?"
"I shouldn't be angry?" I repeated her, furrowing my eyebrows. I think I had every right to be angry about this. "You don't think I should be angry with the fact that my enemy just made out with my girlfriend who he had just seriously wounded and put in the hospital?"
"I understand that part," she tried assuring me, holding her hands up. "I just don't want you to be angry, because it didn't mean anything to me. It was just Hunter being an asshole and-"
"Taking advantage of you," I cut her off, finishing her sentence for her. My hands clenched into fists, as I tried containing my anger. "That's the part that pisses me off the most. He tricked you into kissing him while you were in the hospital. I hate how that bastard thinks he controls you or something."
"He doesn't control me," Jordan stated, but I could see that she was doubting herself.
"When I saw him kissing you, I almost flipped out," I let out a breath, gripping the steering again. Oh, I did flip out. I didn't want to admit it, but seeing her and Hunter made me go insane. "It was the same way I almost flipped out when I saw you all beaten and bruised with your clothes torn to shreds. It was the same way I freaked out when my dad died-"
"Your dad died?"
I felt myself frown even more as I nodded and turned away from Jordan. I shouldn't have mentioned it, but I did anyway. "Yeah. He died when I was eight."
"I'm so sorry," she apologized, even though she didn't have anything to apologize for. I didn't like it when people took pity on me, but I decided not to mention it to Jordan. She'd probably just apologize again. "If you don't mind me asking... How did he die?"
"Car accident," I breathed out, answering with a nod. I looked outside the window before facing Jordan once again. "I was only eight, but I flipped out when I learned he died. My dad was the person I was closest to back then. He was like my best friend."
"I'm sorry," she apologized again.
"I've never been close to another person like I was with him," I began, focusing my attention on anything else.
Jordan looked away for a quick moment. "Oh, well that's goo-"
"Until I met you," I finished.
She looked shocked for a moment, like she didn't expect me to say that. I didn't expect myself to admit it out loud, either.
"Don't you have a best friend?" Jordan laughed nervously, looking down to the floor of the car. "I mean, you can't be a total loser."
"I kind of consider you my best friend," I admitted, talking so quietly that I could barely hear myself. I never really thought about it that much. Jordan's eyes only widened further. "But if I had to pick a guy or something, I guess I'd pick Alex."
"What about those idiots you'd prank my friends and me with?" She asked and I rolled my eyes at the thought of them. I never really considered them as best friends, we barely hung out unless it involved pranking the girls. "I thought they were your best friends."
I shrugged, not caring much about them. "I told you before, didn't I? I stopped hanging out with them after we came here. I realized they were way too immature."
"You're not exactly the most mature person on the planet, you know."
"But I'm definitely more mature than those idiots."
"I like the idea of being your best friend," Jordan smiled, reaching over and grabbing my hand, making me smile as well. "It'd be sweet to be a couple and best friends."
"But you have Lexi, Chelsea, and AJ. Heck, even Alex acts like he's your best friend all the time," I said, feeling a little jealous.
"I can have five best friends," she assured me, stroking the back of my hand, like I did to hers so often while she was in the hospital. "But you'll be my favourite, in a way. I can't kiss any of my other best friends."
"You could kiss Alex."
"Gross," Jordan said, making a face.
"I really wish my dad was alive right now," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I know that he would have loved you. You'd be like a daughter to him right away. You'd probably remind him of my mom."
"Do I remind you of your mom?" She asked, her eyes widening just a little bit in fear.
I let out a laugh. "No way. Sure, you're both stubborn and you both make sarcastic remarks, but there really isn't anything else that's similar about you. Believe me, Jordan, I wouldn't be dating a girl that reminded me of my mother. That'd just be creepy."
She smiled and reached over, placing a hand on my cheek before she started to stroke it. Jordan reached over her seat, unbuckling herself from her seat belt and leaning forward to kiss me. She crawled from her seat and onto my lap, making me smile into the kiss. Her arms wrapped around my neck as mine snaked over her waist, pulling each other as close as we could possibly get.
"Someone seems to be recovering," I smirked, causing Jordan to roll her eyes and bring her lips back down on mine again.
"You betcha."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Everyone from Cabin B and Cabin C were in a group, walking toward the bowling alley which was pretty close to the camp. Jordan looked uncomfortable while we walked, and I could tell she was still sore. I kind of wanted to drive to the alley, just so I could be in a car with Jordan again.
I was never the best at bowling, but it didn't stop me from trying to show off like I usually would. Jordan didn't even seem to notice. She looked like she was thinking about something else, and I had to restrain myself from saying anything.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Jordan informed everyone as she stood up. No one said anything, but I gave her a look as she turned around and walked toward the bathrooms.
After bowling for another ten minutes, I had to lean over and ask Alex if he thought something might've been wrong, but he just told me to ignore it. I tried ignoring it by just continuing to bowl, but it was difficult to focus on two things at once.
"Just go buy us snacks or something," Alex said, after I finished throwing the ball down a lane a few more times. "It'll take your mind off of it for awhile."
I rolled my eyes. "You just want me to go get you something to eat."
"It was worth a shot," he shrugged. "But can you really go get some snacks?"
"No."
There wasn't even a point in saying no, because I knew Alex wouldn't let it go that easily. He began begging and whining, and I was practically forced to get up and go buy something. I didn't get very far when I heard Jordan's voice in the distance. Forgetting about Alex's snacks, I turned around to go see her.
"I just have to get out of here and then- oof!" Jordan was saying to Lexi as she ran into my chest. I quickly reached out and grabbed her arms, steadying her. "I'm so sorr-"
She looked up and saw that it was me. I smirked, how I usually would've if we had run into each other. I was expecting her to smile or back away and insult me, just to keep up the enemy act. Instead, she just stared at me with wide eyes and an open mouth.
"Whoa, Emery," I said, releasing my grip on her forearms. "Going somewhere important?"
Jordan avoided my gaze, stepping around me and trying to get to the door. Confused, I turned around and grabbed her arm, not letting her leave without an explanation of why she was acting like this. "Jordan?"
"Let go of me," Jordan whispered, looking toward the ground just so she wouldn't have to see me. She tried pulling her arm away, but I held on tightly. "Let go of me now."
I blinked as my eyes went wide. "Jordan? What's wrong?"
"You're a liar," Jordan snapped, and I still stood there feeling bewildered. I could hear the tone in her voice, the one she'd usually use right before she started crying. I wanted to pull her into a hug, but we were still in the bowling alley. "You're no better than him."
"No better than who?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. What was she talking about?
She pulled her arm away from my grasp, looking me dead in the eye with a harsh glare. "Hunter," she snapped once more before turning around and rushing out of the door.
I stood at the exit, watching as the door shut before me. She said I was no better than Hunter. Did Jordan actually think that I wasn't any better than that psychopathic bastard? Without another thought, I walked straight out the door and headed back toward the cabins. She was going to tell me what was wrong whether she liked it or not.
The door to Cabin C was unlocked when I walked in, but it didn't surprise me much. I didn't think she ever locked the door. It's not like it would be a problem if she did lock the door. I could pick it easily.
When I stepped in, I saw Jordan lying on her bed. Her face was against the pillow and she was taking deep breaths, as if she was trying to calm herself. I cocked my head to the side playfully before saying, "You didn't really think you'd be able to hide from me, did you?"
Jordan jumped, making her almost fall right off the bed. Once she saw that it was me, she started to glare. "Get out."
"Not going to happen."
"Get out right now or I'll scream."
I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore what she said, as I walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed. Jordan looked away, pulling her legs up to her chest and hiding her face in them. She was showing off a perfect view of her underwear, and I wasn't sure if she was teasing, or she was just oblivious to the fact that she was wearing a skirt.
"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong and why you left the bowling alley like it was on fire, or are you just going to let me stare at your underwear that I can see from under your skirt?" I smirked, even though she couldn't see it.
She quickly moved her legs, and started glaring at me once again. "You're a liar and a pervert," she snapped, inching away.
"Now what's this about me being a liar?" I asked, moving closer. Jordan was still glaring at me as I placed a hand on her knee, but she didn't push it away. "You can't expect me to know what you're talking about when I haven't lied to you before. You can't just call me a liar and just run away."
"Yes I can."
"Jordan."
"I know you lied about killing people before," Jordan spat, narrowing her eyes and hitting my hand away from her. It didn't hurt, but I got the message that she didn't want to be touched. "I know that you had to kill someone for some stupid gang initiation, and you've probably lied about me stopping you from killing a bunch of other people as well."
I breathed in sharply, not believing what she just told me. There was no way she could know about the initiation. "How do you know about the gang initiation?"
"Hunter was at the bowling alley," Jordan informed me while furrowing her eyebrows.
Hunter was there and she just decided to leave that part out? Whatever he said was probably all lies, and she believed him?
"What did he say?" I asked, trying not to flip out over the fact that Hunter stalked us to the bowling alley. "Because it's probably all just lies."
"That's what I thought," Jordan snapped, gripping the sheets on her bed. "I thought that he was lying because he was Hunter. But then he said something that sure made a lot of sense. He doesn't care about hurting my feelings, so why would he lie to me? You just want to protect me, don't you? You lied to me about the gang and Hunter, so who knows what else you've been lying about?"
"Listen to me," I said softly, taking a breath. I moved forward and cupped her face in my hands. "Listen to me, Jordan, and really listen to me."
Jordan simply nodded. "Fine."
"I've never killed anyone before," I told her truthfully, taking a hand off her face and running it through my hair. "Believe me. Please."
"How am I supposed to believe you when the only way you could have gotten into the gang was if you killed someone?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing.
Taking away my other hand, I ran them both through my hair a few times. "I faked it," I admitted, my gaze dropping to the bed sheets. "I faked the entire thing. Some other guy killed this girl, and I was there to witness it. I paid him to tell Hunter that I killed her, because I couldn't do it myself. This was all in the summer before freshman year, Jordan. I was young and stupid and trying to find something to take up time. This was before I even met you."
"What about Alex?" Jordan asked worriedly, and I thought about it. "He had to kill someone, right?"
I shrugged. "I honestly have no clue about Alex. If killing someone was the only way to get into the gang, I guess that that was what he did."
"Wrong," someone said from behind, causing both Jordan and I to flip around and see the blonde leaning against the door frame with a grin on his face. "I never killed anyone. I faked it, just like Jesse did. I guess we're both cowards."
"And you just tricked Hunter?" Jordan blinked, not believing what she was hearing. "You both just got away with it?"
"Well, he wasn't there," Alex shrugged, making his way over to us. "It wasn't very hard to trick him when someone else that was there said that you did it."
"Did a lot of people trick him like that?"
"No clue, honestly."
"Well, I'm glad that you've never killed anyone before," Jordan mumbled, leaning over and placing her head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry I got so mad at you without hearing you out. I just got scared that you were lying to me about other serious things like this."
My arms wrapped around her, and I held her tighter than I have in awhile. I hoped that she didn't think anything was up, because I wasn't sure how to explain it. Not yet. I couldn't help but think about how I almost lost her, and right before I was planning to go as well.