Filed to story: Breathe Story (Sadie White & Jax Stone)
Ms Mary chuckled and shook her head. “I guess you won’t be wanting babies anytime soon after witnessing that.”
I laughed. “You’re right, I won’t.”
Marcus came up beside me. “Why don’t you let me take you to get something to eat while you’re waiting. You have to be hungry.”
I was getting ready to turn him down when Ms. Mary nodded.
“Let the boys take you for a bite. It will be an hour before they let you back into your mom’s room. Besides, when you leave tonight, it is going to be too dark to stop somewhere on your own.”
“Sure.”
I knew I wouldn’t have to deal with any deep conversations with both Preston and Marcus there. I was hungry and getting out of the hospital would be a good change of scenery.
Luckily, we didn’t have to squeeze into Marcus’s truck because Preston had driven his Jeep. Marcus, however, was stuck in the back, and Preston seemed extremely pleased. We all agreed on going to grab a burger at the Pickle Shack. I hadn’t had any free time since I started my new job, and my visits from Marcus were always short. I was glad we were going to get to sit and talk without my having to hurry off to work.
We slipped into a booth, and Preston shot Marcus a deadly glare when he slid in beside me. I was beginning to think that Marcus wasn’t overreacting, and maybe Preston did like me. Not that it mattered. My heart didn’t race at the sight of him, and the tingles didn’t come. My knees didn’t go weak when he smiled. He was just another guy. I knew that it would always be this way. I was getting better with dealing with the memories and the pain. Once I had accepted that I would never love someone the way I love Jax, it was a little easier to breath. He would always be in my heart, whether he wanted to be there or not. I just didn’t have enough room for anyone else. He was my air, my soul, and the keeper of my heart.
“So, you ready for your senior year?” Preston leaned on the table and grinned.
He had a good grin–even a sexy grin–but it did nothing for me. I sighed and shrugged, because the truth was I didn’t care anymore about school. I didn’t think about my future like I had before the summer began.
“I guess I am as ready as I’ll ever be,” I mumbled.
He frowned, “Your senior year is supposed to be the best year of your life. You have to be excited about it!”
I wasn’t and I knew they wouldn’t understand, so I didn’t try to explain that my reason for breathing was gone. I nodded as if to agree with him and just kept my mouth shut.
“I leave in a week to go back to Tuscaloosa. I have to get me an apartment and get moved down before the semester begins.”
Marcus’s words surprised me. I didn’t realize he was leaving so soon.
“Really?” I asked, hearing the sadness in my voice.
He nodded and looked away from me.
“Well, make sure to come tell me ‘bye,'” I reminded him, thinking that at least this goodbye wasn’t going to zap me of life.
He gazed at me with a strange expression on his face as if he wanted to say something but was fighting himself about it. “Yeah. I will,” he finally said half-heartedly.
“Well, the good news is I will not be going anywhere, and you can call me anytime and I will be more than willing to, uh, I don’t know, take you to dinner, a movie, or a–
ouch!”
I jumped, and Preston shot daggers at Marcus.
“What did you do that for?” he challenged.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “I stopped you before you made an even bigger idiot of yourself.”
Preston snorted. “Is he always this moody around you?”