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...
The sheer idea of talking makes me nauseous. I can't tell him anything, but he already knows bits and pieces because I can't keep my mouth shut.
I take a deep breath. Every single part of me is screaming to tell the truth. I want to tell the truth, I really, really do. But I'm so used to lying, it just happens.
It took me a while to master the art of lying. It's easy once you get used to it. You learn to look someone in the eye, not change the pitch of your voice, and not fidget an unusual amount. These are top signs of a liar.
Maybe one of these days, I'll be able to tell him the truth, but for now, I lie. Again.
"I suffer from night terrors..." I say. God, Parker, I hate lying to you. I really do.
He raises his eyebrow. "Bullshit."
I roll my eyes and start deciding what I'm wearing to school. My back is to him, and as I run through my shirts in my closet, my eyes go wide. The shirt I'm wearing doesn't cover a lot, just my chest. He can see a lot of me, and he can also see my scars, almost every single one down my back.
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I feel his eyes drilling holes in the back of my head. I can't turn around. Not yet.
I hear him sigh. "Liz used to date this guy..." he starts.
I raise my eyebrows, even though he can't see them. What is he about to tell me about his sister?
He breathes heavily like it's a strain to talk about it. "This guy was amazing, at least to my parents and I. He was wonderful during dinners and he took an interest in space when I talked about it to him. She seemed happy too, with him. One day, something had changed. I began to notice small things. She ate less, and the circles under her eyes were dark."
I turn around to face him now. He thinks someone is abusing me. I mean, he's not wrong, but he could never guess who the people are who do it to me.
"Parker," I stop him before he makes me sadder than I already am. "No one hurts me."
"Dammit, Jackie," he grumbles. "I'm not blind! I can see what's happening to you. You can't let it keep happening. God, report him. Please." His eyes hit the ground and I know there's something else there.
I hold my breath and slide my robe on. It'll help him if he doesn't look. I hope.
He shaking his head and staring at the ground. "She was severely depressed after she finally tore herself away from him. She wasn't herself. She would just stare at nothing. All the time. She wouldn't smile or laugh at anything. She was a ghost of someone I used to know."
"Parker, I-" I stop myself. I don't know what to say. What do you say?
That's one thing I've learned losing someone so close to me. There's nothing you can say. Apologizing for the loss may be the worst thing because we know you're sorry, we all are. Nothing you say can bring them back. Sometimes, just being there is better than filling that silence with words.
