"Why didn't you tell me?" Jace pouts.
"Tell you what?" I mutter back into the phone while trying to pout a bowl of cereal.
"About your birthday, when is it?" He asks. "Next Friday, the beginning of Thanksgiving break?"
"I didn't not tell; I guess I just forgot," I've been dealing with some other things.
"Damnit, Wynnie, how am I supposed to plan everything out?"
"Jace Bryer?" I feign disbelief. "Is actually planning something?"
"I'd do anything for you, Wynter."
I stop eating my cereal. Guilt rains in my stomach. I think about the night he asked me to leave.
"I should have said yes-"
"What?" Jace asks, oblivious to what's eating me up inside.
"Nothing, what are you planning, Jace?" I quickly change the topic.
He's hesitant at first but the dives into his explanation: spending the weekend in Chicago, with a few of his friends.
"When are we going to drive up there?" I ask excitedly.
"The Saturday after you birthday."
◆ ◇ ◆
"Mom, for my birthday-" I'm about to ask her how she liked the idea of me spending the weekend in Chicago.
"Oh I made reservations at this new bistro- it's a bit of a drive but I heard it's amazing." She says excitedly.
"Well on Saturday, Jace and I were thinking about spending a few days in the city- with some of his friends."
My mom's eyebrows pull inward. "Chicago?" She confirms. I nod.
"Sweetheart, if you want to go downtown, just ask. But going with Jace and his friends is certainty not an option."
It's a well expected kick to the stomach, but I continue to beg.
"Mom." I cry. "It's only two days, and three hour away. I'll call you ever day and-"
"We're going to dinner next Friday to celebrate yours and Keegan's birthday, and I don't want to hear about Chicago anymore-" Her firm voice sets the law and it crushes me.
"But-" I start weakly.
"Don't even entertain the thought. You have too much to worry about- some boy isn't one of them."
I close my eyes.
"I mean look at you, Wynter." She continues needlessly. "You're coming home late all the time, and when you don't it's because you're spending the night somewhere. Are you even doing your homework? How are you going to get into college with falling grades?"
"Maybe I don't want to go to college!" I blurt. I don't mean it- I've been trained both by home and school to know that I need college to persist in life. I just say it to spite her.
"Wynter Rose, you will stop seeing that boy immediately if this is what he's doing to you! I saw the paint on your jacket, and I know what happened to Hudson's car."
"You wouldn't turn me in." I say confident that her pride will prove me right.
"But I can turn him in." She seethes.
I shoot up from my seat and storm upstairs. I throw myself to the bed, tears burn my eyes.
I roll onto my back. I shouldn't be crying- Jace wouldn't- I should be figuring out my escape plan.
I grab my jacket and make my way for the door.
"Where are you going?" My mother asks, as if nothing just unraveled between us.
"Out." I yell over my shoulder. I have to walk since Keegan's taken the car.
The walk isn't long, it reminds me of the first time I ran into Jace- the conversation we had. I hadn't known how caged up I was i- I definitely didn't know life could be any better.
It's because of Jace that everything is brighter.
I knock on the door and a few seconds later it swings open. Angela smiles warmly.
"Come in sweetie." She drags me inside. "Jace is upstairs."
"Thanks." I give her a quick hug then trot upstairs.
He's watching TV when I walk in. He sits up and smiles at me.
"Hey, Wynnie."
"We have to figure out how were gonna get out of here, Jace." I toss my jacket down onto his bed, and prop my hands on my hips.
"For your birthday?" He asks. "Did you ask your mom, Wynter?" He frowns.
"Well, yeah-"
"You can't do that, of course she's going to say no, she hates me-"
"She doesn't hate you." I cut him off, not entirely believing myself.
"You don't have to cover for her, she's made it clear. That's besides the point though. We're still going to leave Saturday-"
"But my mom said-"
"Wynter." Jace stands up. "I know what your mom said, but that doesn't mean you necessarily have to listen."
"That's bad, Jace." Nerves push me into biting my lip.
"And that doesn't excite you?" He smirks, slipping his hand to the small of my back, pulling me into him.
"The idea, yeah." I try to reason with him, I don't want a repeat of that night. "But I've never just disappeared
for the weekend, that's wild, Jace."
"There's a first time for everything. I want to see you experience new things, Wynter. You need too." He mutters. "God know this shit town is only going to kill you."
I smile- weakly. "I'll see what I can do." I kiss his lips. He holds me tighter.
YOU ARE READING
The World Beyond Us
Novela Juvenil"If you and I could get into that car and drive away and never look back, would you?" When Wynter unexpectedly finds herself in a thrilling relationship with Jace, it's begins to become increasingly hard for her to decipher between good and bad, rig...
