The Fragile Fall (23 page)

“See you at lunch,” Jax said. I nodded and we parted ways.

I walked to first period where I was met with my first obstacle.

Lindsey.

When I saw her, I realized she hadn’t met us in the parking lot and Jax hadn’t walked her to her first class. I made a mental note to ask Jax about it at lunch.

“Hey, Will. Long time, no see,” Lindsey said. She looked annoyed, like I was causing her some kind of distress.

I didn’t understand so I smiled politely as I sat at my desk. “Yeah, good to see you.” I grabbed a pen and notebook out of my bag and doodled in the margins of the paper to help deal with the nervousness.

Before I knew it, class was over. In the hall, Lindsey caught up with me again. “Has Jax said anything about me?”

I raised an eyebrow. “No. Should he?”

Her whole body sagged. “It’s no big deal. I’ll talk to you later.” She turned on her heel and left.

At lunch, I grabbed food and sat at the table with Jax, noticing that Lindsey and her friends weren’t at the table. “I noticed you didn’t walk Lindsey to and from all her classes today,” I asked Jax.

“Yeah, we broke up while you were in the hospital.” He ripped a piece of bread off and popped it into his mouth.

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

He looked around the table, making sure no one was paying attention. “I figured you had enough to focus on without worrying about my problems, so I didn’t tell you. I got sick of her bullshit. She kept cheating on me and I was done, so I told her it was over.”

“It’s good you ended it then.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way. It’s good to be a free man.” Jax grinned.

When school was over, Jax and I headed to his truck. “How was your first day back?” he asked.

“Good, but incredibly strange.”

He laughed. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Everyone’s life has moved on while I was in the hospital and I feel so out of the loop.”

“Trust me, nothing huge has happened.”

“You and Lindsey broke up.”

“That isn’t huge. That was inevitable.”

I nodded. We walked in silence to his truck and climbed in.

Jax sat back against his seat and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “So I want to talk to you about something…”

I shifted in my seat nervously.

“I know I gave you and Ryanne a hard time about whatever feelings you both may have for each other, but I wanted to let you know that I was sorry and I was an asshole and I’m officially backing off.”

My heart stumbled.
Where had this come from?
“Okay,” I said, my voice trailing off.

“I know you both have feelings for each other, so if you want to try being with her, I’m not going to get in the way.”

“Do you really think you’d be okay with it?”

“Yeah, man, I’m fine with it. I had a month to get used to the idea. I saw the way she reacted when we found you on the floor,” he said, his voice breaking. “It was hard, man. It was hard seeing you that way and I listened to her fall apart after. She was devastated, Will. I don’t even want to think of what would have happened if you … if you hadn’t made it.” The words came out like they were painful to say, but I needed to hear them. It meant a lot that they cared that much about me and I hated to think of everything I had put them through.

“I’m sorry, Jax. I’m sorry for putting you through that.”

Jax turned away from me and I saw him wipe at his cheeks quickly before turning back to me, a shaky smile on his face. “It’s okay, man. Just don’t let it happen again.”

“I promise.” If there ever was a reason not to cut again, this was it. I was facing the pain I had caused others head on and it sucked. It made me feel awful, but I kept it from causing me to spiral. “I appreciate what you guys did.”

“You would do the same for either of us, Will. You are kind of like family, which will be really weird when you guys start dating.”

I chuckled nervously. “It’s tough getting a read on her. Sometimes I feel like she had feelings for me and sometimes I don’t think she does.”

“Trust me, she feels the same way. Are you going to ask her out?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“Well, will you think about it at least? I don’t really want to discuss my sister’s feelings with you, but I know you both have your heads up your asses. She was upset when you stopped talking to her after homecoming and she was devastated when we found you on the bathroom floor. She’s been going out of her mind trying to deal with everything and I know she’d jump at the chance to be with you.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“She loves you,” Jax said quietly. “But I don’t think she knows it yet. I think she’s in denial, or maybe she’s too scared to admit it because of all the shit that has happened.” He was silent for a moment. “You make her happy, Will. Give her a chance.”

I felt like a freight train had hit me. My mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“Listen, I’m only saying talk to her.”

“Okay.” I felt like I had won a small battle by getting that one word out.

Ryanne loves me.

I didn’t even know how to process that. I needed to text her the minute I got home.

Ryanne

W
ORK
HAD
BEEN
CRAZY
busy tonight with no time for a break. Everything was ready for closing. The other server and I were sitting in a booth adding up tips with another server so we could clock out when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Will: Did I upset you? I didn’t mean to. Sorry.

My brows furrowed as I read his message.
Why would he have upset me?
Going back, I checked to see if he texted me earlier.

Will: Hey. I wondered if you wanted to hang out later this week. Maybe we could go to the movies or something?

My stomach fluttered.
Was this his way of asking me out on a date?
I texted him back, not wanting him to think I was mad at him.

Ryanne: Totally not mad. Busy night at work and I didn’t get your text until now. I would totally love to hang out with you! When would you like to?

Will: Glad you aren’t upset with me. I was thinking Friday? Is that good for you?

Ryanne: It’s perfect!

I was excited. I would take whatever he was ready for, even if it were building a closer friendship between the two of us.

Will: I can drive on Friday. Aunt Liv is taking me to get my driver’s license as soon as school is done.

Ryanne: That’s awesome! Are you excited?

Will: Excited. Terrified. Nervous. Hoping I’m ready to pass it, especially after being in the hospital.

Ryanne: You were a good driver before, I’m sure you’re still a good driver.

Will: I hope so. Aunt Liv just came in and yelled at me for texting this late on a school night. I’ll talk to you later about Friday. Think about what movie you’d like to see.

Ryanne: I will! Good night :)

Will: Night :)

I was ready and waiting for Will to show up. I didn’t want to seem over eager, so I was up in my room. Jax was going to answer the door and let him in. I felt like I was back in high school, waiting for my crush to pick me up, except I had no idea if this was just Will and I hanging out or if this was something
more
.

The doorbell rang and I crept to the top of the stairs. Jax greeted Will and invited him in.

“Ry, get your ass down here and stop being coy!” Jax yelled. “Our boy has some news to share!”

I walked down the stairs, debating whether to play it off like I wasn’t waiting upstairs or if I should make a joke about it. Will made the decision for me. He was standing there with a gigantic smile on his face, holding up his driver’s license. I ran down the remaining steps and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Oh, Will! Congratulations!”

He chuckled. “Thanks, Ry.”

I backed up and held his shoulders. “I told you that you would be fine.”

He ran a hand through his hair, seemingly uncomfortable. “You were right.”

“I’m proud of you,” I whispered. It felt like such an intimate moment. Too intimate since Jax was standing right there.

“Thank you,” he said, looking into my eyes. A charge passed between us and tension filled the air.

“You two crazy kids have to get moving or you’ll miss the movie,” Jax said, thoroughly destroying the tension and whatever had just passed between Will and me.

“Yeah, we’ll see you later,” Will agreed.

“Be careful, okay?” Jax said, looking at Will. His eyes seemed to say something more to Will. Will nodded and held the door open for me. He seemed to be reserved after whatever had passed between him and Jax.

I hoped it didn’t ruin the rest of the night.

Will and I had just arrived at the movie theater. We were seeing a new scary movie and I was nervous. I had seen the first one and had trouble sleeping for a week, but I wanted an excuse to be close to Will. I felt safe in his arms and I would use any opportunity I could find to be in them.

When he ordered us a large tub of popcorn, two drinks, and two boxes of candy. I laughed.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing. That’s just a lot of food.”