Book 1 of the On the Run Trilogy!
Being a teenage girl is hard enough, but it's harder for Jackie since she's on the run from the US government.
Jackie Robinson's just trying to keep herself (and her two older brothers and dad) alive. She's trying t...
I can't let her see me. Not like this. I dive down and duck behind our minivan. How did she find us? What is she doing here? How is Noah going to react? If she can find us, anyone can. We're going to have to move... Again.
I take a deep breath and I feel a buzz in my robe pocket. It's Parker asking me if I'm okay. He must have noticed. And now I have to explain this to him. I can't catch a break.
I poke my head up so I'm looking at her through the back window of the van. She stills looks exactly the same as when I last saw her.
They were in Noah's room. I had walked by the room and I stopped when I heard him telling her how sweet she is. They were only together a month, but for some reason, they both fell really fast for the other. I don't really know many details about their love story, but I could see how happy they were when she came over.
Part of me wonders if she'll recognize us. In New York this last time around, we had black hair, and the boys had grey contacts. My hair was cut to my shoulders then.
It has been less than a month since I left that life, but it feels like another century ago.
I run my hand through my bangs and sigh. I have to go talk to her because I need to know what she's doing here. Maybe I can ask her how she found us or better yet, get her to leave. Noah would never forgive me if he ever found out. He knew that he had to leave her when we were caught. It almost killed him. I know that's why he's been so on edge, and why he's snapped at me about dating or hanging around the guys here.
I won't let her compromise my life here. I've met someone of my own kind. I'm making friends here. And I haven't actually thought this yet, but I don't want to leave. For the first time since Mom died, I feel like I'm home.
I take about five seconds to collect my thoughts and I uncrouch. I walk around the van and to the sidewalk. I bite my lip nervously. I'm five feet from her. She's staring at the building, completely frozen like she's in shock.
"Marissa..." I say, barely above a whisper. Speaking her name makes me feel a bit uneasy.
She looks over at me and then turns to face me. She gets into a defensive position, putting her arm over her abdomen as if I'm going to attack her vital organs. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
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She doesn't recognize me. I rack my brain, thinking of something I could say to get her to remember me. It hits me. "Marsi."
Her look softens ever so slightly. "No one calls me that except for-"
I cut her off. "Noah."
She comes closer to me. Her guard is down. "Jackelyn?"
She's the only person in the world who calls me by my full name. When I tried to get her to just call me Jackie, she insisted Jackelyn was more feminine and I needed to embrace my femininity more. I laughed in her face, but here we are, and she stills calls me that.
