Page 123 of The Way the Heart Breaks: Jade’s Story

Because I’m too happy for her. Too happy for me. Two besties, and two real first kisses on a day that should have felt far more painful. Too wrapped up in the idea that somehow, after everything, we’re finally getting the year we are supposed to have. Tessa and Lucas. Me and Tommy. Senior year. Falling in love. Together.

As she parks, I ask, “Did Lucas tell you that Alex invited him and Tommy to the camp with him tonight?”

“What?” She shakes her head no.

“Oh, right. Probably hard to get a word in with his tongue down your throat.”

“Jade, seriously, why? Did he say why?”

“Nope. All I know is that they had agreed to go to church in the morning with us.”

She gasps. “They did what?”

“Yeah, Tommy had to call his parents. I think that’s why it took him so long in the shower. Locker room shower, whatever.” I shake my head, trying to erase the thoughts from my mind.

She slides out of the truck. Obviously, her head is no longer swimming in first kiss bliss. It’s now flailing in the water.

As we walk into the house, she looks around.

“So much to do.”

“No, we’re all set,” I call as I follow her up the stairs to her room, where she reaches under her bed and grabs her duffel.

“I need to pack.”

“I swear to you that Alex and I have it covered.” Which we do. We had a conversation the morning about what we needed.

We grab blankets, flashlights, and snacks.

When she stops in front of a cabinet that I know isn’t just an ordinary cabinet, I freeze. It’s where they keep the liquor.

She pulls out a bottle of peach schnapps.

Shocked, I ask, “What are you doing, Tessa?”

She lifts her shoulder. “It’s my birthday, and I may want a drink. I may want my best friend to have a drink with me.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I tell her.

“It may not be, Jade, but it’s my eighteenth birthday, and apparently I’m breaking all the rules today.”

26

CAMP

Tommy

Looking around a place I have grown to love, I say, “This place is gorgeous.”

Alex just shakes his head and chuckles as he lifts the other end of the picnic table. “You’ve mentioned that a time or twenty.”

“I just can’t get over it. Can’t even see a house from down here. It’s perfect,” I say as I set the table down so that we can push it against the other.

Lucas walks up with yet another armload of wood, as if the amount we’ve already hauled up to the spot where the bonfire will go isn’t enough.

“Just gotta grab the pots from the truck,” Alex says with a slight smile.

I rub my stomach. “Steak and crab legs. Who would have thought?”