Steady

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

I jerk my head back in surprise, caught off guard by the venom lacing Jay's voice.

"What board? What the hell was he talking about? And why are you not freaking out? Has this—have you seen him before?"

I shift on the couch and reach for his hand.

"I've seen him before." Jay starts to push off the couch, but I grab his arms. "But that was before! I didn't even know who he was until that day at the lake. I swear to God."

Jay jerks his chin, refusing to look me in the eyes. "What board? What's he talking about?"

"It's...a Ouija board."

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" He explodes off the couch and this time I can't stop him.

"It was a birthday present from Nora and we messed around with it one night and nothing happened," I rush to explain. "But then something did happen and I tried it again and someone answered. And...and it was Jake."

"And you didn't think of mentioning this to me before now?"

"And say what?" I let out a humorless laugh. "That I summoned your dead brother with a Ouija board? You would have had me committed!"

Jay scrubs his hands over his face. "I don't even know what to do with this. I just—I can't."

Before I can stop him, he stomping his way to the door, pausing only long enough to shove his feet into his shoes.

"Where are you going?"

He doesn't answer. He just wrenches the door open and disappears.

Well...shit.

Seconds later, pounding on the stairs catches my attention and I look up to find Sydney, wide-eyed and alarmed. "Was that Jay? Hasn't anyone taught that boy how to close a door?"

"Sorry. He was—he was in a hurry."

"Hurry or not, some people are trying to sleep around here, unsuccessfully I might add."

"Sorry." I wave as she stomps back up the stairs.

As soon as I hear her bedroom door shut, I slump back on the couch in tears. How the hell did I manage to screw something up so badly before ever even having the chance to explore it?

I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I want to run after him, but what would I say? I want to apologize, but what would that accomplish? I want... Hell.

I want Jay.

Jay. The guy who makes me smile even when I don't want to. The guy who makes me want more for my life. The guy whose truck keys are sitting on my coffee table.

"Oh, thank you," I whisper to no one.

Grabbing them up, I jog to the door, ready to run after him if he's doing something crazy like walking home in the dark. But as soon as I step outside, I find him. He made it as far as the stoop before collapsing into an angry mass of man tears.

Girl tears I can handle. Man tears, however? No. Totally out of my area of expertise. I approach him carefully, slowly sinking down onto the concrete slab next to him, scared he's about to push me away.

"Are you okay?"

What a stupid freaking question, Bree...

"No," he spits out. "I am most definitely not okay."

I want to say something to ease his pain, but there's nothing I can say to make things better so I settle on laying a hand on his thigh. When he doesn't cringe away from my touch, I pull his head to my shoulder and let him lean on me as he cries.