sure he would answer. He didn’t actually but kept staring straight ahead as he drove me home. “Oh my god. It’s any disease, isn’t it? Any form of illness?”
“You’ve had a very long night,” Jack said quietly. “Maybe we should drop it for tonight.”
“But—” I started to protest but I couldn’t think of a single argument for it. All of this was getting really maddening, but for whatever reason, he couldn’t tell me what was going on. So all I could do was get more and more frustrated and perplexed. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like… you got injured tonight for me, and I just want to know that you’re okay.” That might be the only information I’d get, and it had to be enough for me to settle with that.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jack smiled at me. We had stopped in front of my building, but I was reluctant to get out.
“Ugh, this is so unfair,” I groaned, opening the car door to get out. “You know what you’re problem might be?” Jack asked, giving me an odd look. “You worry too much.”
“Yeah. That’s my problem,” I grumbled getting out of the car.
Jack was still laughing when he pulled away, and I stood on the curb for a minute, trying to put everything into perspective. Sure, he had killed a rabid dog and then magically healed from the attack, but at least he saved my life. Again.
Chapter 5
There isn’t a single sound in the world that’s worse than an alarm going off. After Jack had dropped me off last night, it had been all but impossible to fall asleep. There was still the lingering adrenaline from the near-death experience, and there were Jack’s increasingly cryptic responses and bizarre behavior. Once the warm water of the morning shower splashed my face, it all seemed even more ridiculous. I lived in Minneapolis, not Gotham City, or whatever other bogus city where there were supernatural forces at work. Here, in the real world, there were no super powers or werewolves or unicorns. Everything in life had an explanation, and Jack’s probably had more to do with cocaine or mescaline than it did with anything else. People addicted to speed were known to exhibit superhuman strength, and combine that with some kind of chemical imbalance that made him smell irresistible to women, and there it was. Problem solved. And he was just kind of a jackass and didn’t want to let on that he had a drug problem.
Naturally, I spent too much time in the shower, and I almost missed the bus to school. Milo sat next to me, but he didn’t seem to be in a talking mood, so I put in my ear buds and decided to pass the time listening to Ryan Adams on my iPod. Resting my forehead against the glass of the window, I watched my breath frost it up. Milo kept giving me the cold shoulder even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, and this guy that I barely knew but really liked had fought off a rabid dog last night. What exactly had happened to my life over Spring Break?
School passed more slowly than it ever had before. Everything was excruciating because I felt so unprepared for it all. I slept all through my second hour, but I managed to sneak my iPod into my third hour, so I kept awake for that. I just stared out the window, at the chilly rain falling down, and tried not to think about Jack. By the end of fifth hour, I had completely exhausted myself not thinking about him.
When I stopped at my locker between classes, I somehow managed to drop my History book on the ground. I bent down to pick it up, and when I stood back up, Milo was standing right next to me, scaring the crap out of me. He admired the clutter that occupied my locker, including the obligatory collage mess of magazine cut outs lining the inside of the door.
“God, you scared me,” I grumbled, shoving my History book into my book bag.
“So are you gonna be at home tonight or not?” He had one of his hands on my locker door, and he started moving it back and forth, just enough to
“You’ve had a very long night,” Jack said quietly. “Maybe we should drop it for tonight.”
“But—” I started to protest but I couldn’t think of a single argument for it. All of this was getting really maddening, but for whatever reason, he couldn’t tell me what was going on. So all I could do was get more and more frustrated and perplexed. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like… you got injured tonight for me, and I just want to know that you’re okay.” That might be the only information I’d get, and it had to be enough for me to settle with that.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jack smiled at me. We had stopped in front of my building, but I was reluctant to get out.
“Ugh, this is so unfair,” I groaned, opening the car door to get out. “You know what you’re problem might be?” Jack asked, giving me an odd look. “You worry too much.”
“Yeah. That’s my problem,” I grumbled getting out of the car.
Jack was still laughing when he pulled away, and I stood on the curb for a minute, trying to put everything into perspective. Sure, he had killed a rabid dog and then magically healed from the attack, but at least he saved my life. Again.
Chapter 5
There isn’t a single sound in the world that’s worse than an alarm going off. After Jack had dropped me off last night, it had been all but impossible to fall asleep. There was still the lingering adrenaline from the near-death experience, and there were Jack’s increasingly cryptic responses and bizarre behavior. Once the warm water of the morning shower splashed my face, it all seemed even more ridiculous. I lived in Minneapolis, not Gotham City, or whatever other bogus city where there were supernatural forces at work. Here, in the real world, there were no super powers or werewolves or unicorns. Everything in life had an explanation, and Jack’s probably had more to do with cocaine or mescaline than it did with anything else. People addicted to speed were known to exhibit superhuman strength, and combine that with some kind of chemical imbalance that made him smell irresistible to women, and there it was. Problem solved. And he was just kind of a jackass and didn’t want to let on that he had a drug problem.
Naturally, I spent too much time in the shower, and I almost missed the bus to school. Milo sat next to me, but he didn’t seem to be in a talking mood, so I put in my ear buds and decided to pass the time listening to Ryan Adams on my iPod. Resting my forehead against the glass of the window, I watched my breath frost it up. Milo kept giving me the cold shoulder even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, and this guy that I barely knew but really liked had fought off a rabid dog last night. What exactly had happened to my life over Spring Break?
School passed more slowly than it ever had before. Everything was excruciating because I felt so unprepared for it all. I slept all through my second hour, but I managed to sneak my iPod into my third hour, so I kept awake for that. I just stared out the window, at the chilly rain falling down, and tried not to think about Jack. By the end of fifth hour, I had completely exhausted myself not thinking about him.
When I stopped at my locker between classes, I somehow managed to drop my History book on the ground. I bent down to pick it up, and when I stood back up, Milo was standing right next to me, scaring the crap out of me. He admired the clutter that occupied my locker, including the obligatory collage mess of magazine cut outs lining the inside of the door.
“God, you scared me,” I grumbled, shoving my History book into my book bag.
“So are you gonna be at home tonight or not?” He had one of his hands on my locker door, and he started moving it back and forth, just enough to
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