Page 73 of Dead Girls Don’t Forget

“They didn’t pick up.” Her voice cracked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.”

Jackson’s jaw flexed. “I’ll drop Harper off and then come. Stay where people can see you.”

There was a short pause. “Thank you,” she said, quieter. “Hurry.”

He hung up.

The car filled with heavy silence. Jackson’s frustration showed in the set of his shoulders, the way his thumb tapped the wheel.

He tried to pick the conversation back up. “Harper—”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. Go.”

He pulled up outside my house and killed the engine. Before I could open the door, his phone rang again. Lia. He glanced at it once, then ignored the call.

I started to open the door, then turned back to him. "Jackson."

"Yeah?"

“There’s something between us.”

He exhaled slowly, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. “Okay.” A small smile tugged at his mouth. “Good.”

I climbed out.

"Harper."

I stopped.

"Don't pull back tomorrow."

Chapter 25: Are We Clear

The next morning my hair was still damp from track when I cut across campus toward Environmental Science. Low clouds hung over the campus and the path was already busy with students rushing between buildings.

I came around the bend by the library and saw them immediately.

Jackson was leaning against the low brick wall under the big maple tree, listening as Rick talked with big, animated gestures. Jason stood on his other side. Lia was close to Jackson, books clutched to her chest, smiling at whatever Rick was saying.

My cat perked up the second I registered him.

Jackson’s head turned. Even as Rick kept talking, his attention shifted the moment he saw me.

For half a second I hesitated. Part of me wanted to keep walking, to stay in control, to not make this public. But another part, the part that had been restless since last night, won.

I walked straight up to him, slid my arms around his waist, and tipped my face up.

“Morning.”

He froze for half a second, surprise flashing across his face before his hands settled at my waist. His expression softened, warm and open in a way that hit me somewhere deep in the chest.

“Morning, baby.”

I rose onto my toes and brushed a light kiss across his mouth. He smiled against my lips. When I pulled back, there was something deeper in his eyes, something he made no effort to hide.

Rick snorted. Jason elbowed him in the ribs, hard enough to make him grunt.

“I’ll meet you in class,” Lia said to the others. “I want to grab a coffee.” She adjusted the books in her arms and walked off toward the science building without waiting for a reply.