Indigo
I CAN’T TELL WHETHER I’M in or out of my element. There aren’t any flowers, or even a single blade of grass in a twenty-mile radius, and the air is so dry I can feel it in my lungs. But as the crowd thickens, and the early night is lit up by light poles marking what must be the racetrack, an unfamiliar buzz cracks in my veins.
Since there was literally nowhere else to change, and it was freezing, I had to change in the car. To top it all off, I’m pretty sure I flashed Jem a little. I turn to face him as people fill the stands in the near distance. His gaze drops to me, but is stolen away just as a blurred figure comes barrelling our way.
“J! DUDE, IS IT REALLY YOU?”
The man is unnaturally tall with sandy brown hair. He engulfs Jem in a hug that would knock the breath out of an average sized man, but Jem just looks a mixture of amused and mildly annoyed. “Cooper,” he says, “Hey, man.”
“I can’t believe you’re actually here.” The man — Cooper — who’s more boyish than intimidating separates himself from Jem as his eyes light up. “It’s been, what? Six months? Seven?”
Jem sighs. “I told you I was coming, Coop.”
“Yeah, but maybe you were just joking.” Cooper’s gaze settles on me and it turns questioning. “Is this the girl you wanted me to—”
“Indie,” Jem interrupts loudly, “this is Cooper. My friend from high school.”
“Best friend,” Cooper adds, “before he moved off to New York and forgot about me.”
Jem just shakes his head. “Okay, Cooper from high school, this is Indigo. My . . .” He chews the inside of his cheek for a second. “Friend.”
“Your friend?” Cooper raises a brow. An awfully wide grin takes over his face. “She’s not your friend, man. I’m your friend. She’s—”
“Coop,” Jem murmurs, cutting his friend off. “I gotta go pull in the car, will you take Indie to the stands and watch over her for me?”
“Yeah, sure.” Cooper nods at me with a friendly smile. Then, his phone rings, and he walks off a little to answer it.
I’m about to protest and say something along the lines of I’m not a child but to be perfectly honest, some of the people in the crowd look like they could send me to the ER without even touching me. Even though Cooper seems kind, he could also probably take a grown man out in under a minute. And if Jem trusts him, I guess I do, too. A sinking feeling fills my chest as I watch Jem turn to leave.
“Wait,” I find myself saying. “You’re just . . . leaving?”
He pauses, and a small smile finds his lips. I want to kick myself. “Yes, Indie. Would you like to take my place?”
I fidget with the sleeves of my sweater. “No? Um, no. Just . . . good luck.”
There’s a soft pause, with Jem just staring at me. Finally, he says, “I’ll be back, you know.”
I lift a brow. “And you won’t get hurt?”
He nods. “And I won’t get hurt.”
“How can you be so sure?”
There’s a shorter pause this time as he mulls over the possibility. Then, he lifts his inked hand to the other, removing a single ring from his index finger. Then, he gestures for my hand. Tentatively, I lift it out, and he slips the silver ring onto my index finger. My skin cools as it adjusts to the feeling of the ring.
YOU ARE READING
Fragile Little Things ✓
RomanceIndigo Gallagher was born with osteochondroma, a condition that leaves her physically fragile. Between shifts at her granʼs flower shop and her tumultuous relationship, all she wants is to get through her second year of pre-med unscathed. Although...
