Two Birds, One Stone

8. Danger Dive

I wasn't sure I wanted to think about that, so I blinked hard to clear my thoughts and leaned my head back, opening my mouth to allow the falling snowflakes to settle on my tongue.

     Jamie felt my movement and turned around to look at me, laughing behind closed lips when he saw what I was doing. "Are you eating the snow?" he asked disbelievingly.

     "Don't act like you've never done it," I grinned, turning my gaze down to him expectantly. "Come on, you know you want to. Open up."

     "Haven't I heard that before," he muttered, and I let out a hearty laugh.

     "I'm sure you have, you little slut," I teased. Jamie snorted, turning to face the yard and leaning his head back onto my shoulder. He raised his chin and stuck out his tongue; almost immediately, a white flake fell onto its tip.

     "Who would have thought," Jamie said sarcastically. "Tastes like water."

     If the joking and the laughter were speaking honestly, they told me that Jamie was in an okay-enough mood. And if that was the case, it meant I had some chance of sharing the proposal I'd been harboring for the past week without getting too harsh of a response. Might as well just go for it.

     I cleared my throat. "So, I'm gonna be over at my sister's apartment for a week. To celebrate the New Year and all," I began slowly. Jamie nodded to show that he was listening. "And I thought, well . . . you shouldn't have to spend your entire break in a household that treats you so badly."

     For the second time that night, Jamie tensed up in my arms, but this time, he didn't relax after a few moments. "What?" he said in a tight voice.

    I swallowed nervously. Seconds passed in silence as I tried to figure out some way to approach this; I knew that elaborating could flip Jamie's mood as easily as flicking a light switch.

     I felt I should continue, though. Release everything I'd been piecing together since my one-time visit inside his house.

     "Your parents -- they're really awful to you, right?" I asked, not expecting nor receiving an answer, but feeling Jamie stiffen ever more. "They pushed you into the basement, and they treat you like shit, and they . . . they try to keep you away from Penelope."

    Jamie didn't confirm anything, but he didn't deny, either. He didn't stir at all.

"Is it — is it because you're gay?"

He didn't respond, but I saw the answer clearly enough.

     Somehow, his silence made me more anxious than if he'd just snapped.

    "Being home in an environment like that all break . . ." I trailed, "no one should have to go thought that. Well, no one should have to go through it at all, but . . . the offer stands for you to come with me. Escape to the city for a while. I've talked to Stevie, she's totally okay with it. If you don't want to, that's cool, too, but I thought I'd give you the option."

     Jamie was silent for so long, I wondered if he was just letting his anger build so that the coming explosion would be as violent as possible. Needless to say, I was shocked when I felt him easing into me again, not quite calm, but not on the verge of lashing out, either.

     "I can't leave Penelope," he said finally.

      I pursed my lips. "But Penelope isn't the one who gets mistreated," I pointed out, careful to keep my tone light. "She can live without you for a week. Listen, I'm not leaving until Sunday, so you don't have to worry about it right now. Just keep it in the back of your mind."