Young Writers Society

Jami

I had a plan and I was going to do it. I cleared it up with Noah's mom and I was ready for my plan to be put in action. I saw Noah's jeep pull up so I ran quietly over to his house. I opened the door to his house and laughed. I told Parker that I needed him to blindfold Noah when he got home, so he did. How, I don't know. I think I would rather not.

Before he could take it off, I crash my lips against his, letting him know he is safe. "Don't take it off." I whisper, in between kissing.

"Why not?" He asks, but does not object.

"I have a surprise for you." I giggle and he kisses me again.

"You know I do not like surprises." He says.

I put a finger over his lip. "Just trust me." I whisper. "Give me your car keys."

"Why?" He asks.

I laugh and sigh. "You ask too many questions." I say, him still not budging. "If you must know, I don't have any gas."

He takes them out and puts them in my hand. "Why can't I drive?"

I grunt. "You have a blind fold on." I say. "Just hold on to my waist and try not to fall."

I guide his hands and he smirk. "How reassuring." He laughs.

I slowly walk him to his jeep and he gets in. I get in the drivers seat and begin the drive. He looked a little uncomfortable, so I sighed. Once we get half way there, I smile. "Okay, you can take it off." I say.

"Why did you have me put it on if I could see where we were going?" He asks.

"You looked uncomfortable with it on, so I let you take it off." I say. "Pull I have not driven the jeep in forever!"

He laughs and sighs. "Where are we going, it is really far away." He says.

"You will see." I say. I find a parking space in the city and we get out. We walk over to the horse and carriage on the side of the rode. " Okay, the reason I wanted to come here was so we could get away. I wanted to come some where, where I could openly show my feelings for you, without being afraid."

He smiles and leans into kiss me. I wrap my arms around him and smile. "I love this idea." He says.

"I thought you would." I say. "Plus we have not been into the city in a while."

We get into the carriage and he smiles. "You have always wanted to do this." He says.

"Yep, but only with you." I say. I put my legs over his and curl up to him. I did not think that it was possible for me to love again, but I did not know I could love someone this much. Noah was the most amazing guy in the world. As scared as I was to tell him, I knew I needed to. "Noah." I whisper.

He looks to me and places his forehead against mine. "Yes?" He whispers.

"Um- I, I need to tell you something." I say.

"Anything." He says, kissing my forehead.

I bite my lip. Just say it! "I love you." I tell him. Right when I said it, there was a weight lifted off. Then, it was replaced with another. What if he does not say it back?

Noah

As soon as she said it she blushed and looked down. Her words echoed through my head. She loves me? I desperately wanted to say it back but those three small words were trapped in my throat. I never knew you could be terrified and immensely happy at the same time, but here I am. She said she loves me and just the thought alone is enough to make me the happiest man on earth. How come I'm completely petrified? I know how I feel and I know I love her too just something isn't letting me tell her. If I love her she gets hurt, if I leave her she gets hurt, if I tell her I love her it'll just hurt her more in the long run. I do love you, Jami. I've loved you since eighth grade. I straightened up and cleared my throat. The look on her face killed me.

"What's wrong?" She asked worried. "Is it what I said? I'm sorry I-"

"No-I-I just think we should go home." I mumbled. I avoided looking in her eyes, but it was hard not to look anywhere else. Tears filled them but she blinked them away and took a deep breath. I told the driver to take us back and I drove us home in my jeep. She was silent and so was I but inside I was dying. In my mind Jake's words and Jami's words clashed together and I don't know which ones scared me most. I can't hurt her, I can't. Will she hurt if we just stop now or will she hurt more if we continue this? I pulled into her driveway and she turned to look at me before she got out.

"Noah, be honest please." She whispered and the tears returned. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking you should get inside before anyone sees." I said quietly.

"I-I don't understand." She stuttered. "I arranged that surprise just for you I had it all planned out how it would go in my head. I don't understand. Do you not want to do whatever this is anymore?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. Why is it so hard to talk? "No, I do! I-just-I don't think it's safe for either of us, Jay. We're both trying to put off being hurt and hurting each other but the longer we stay together the more pain we'll both be in. I-I'm so confused I don't know what to do and I-I-ugh!"

"Talk to me, Noah." She begged.

"Don't you see I'm trying?" I cried. "I just can't stand the thought of hurting you and if we get caught Jake will hurt us and if I leave you, I'll hurt us. Either way we both get screwed and I'm just trying to minimize the pain."

This time, she couldn't hold them back. The tears fell down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. "You're the one who said we should do this." She murmured. "You were the one who said everything will be okay."

"I know and I was so fucking wrong! I can't do this, Jay. I can't see you like this it's killing me. Every part of me wants to hold you and tell you it'll be okay, every part of me wants to believe that everything will be okay but you and I both know it won't be! Jake knows, Jami. He knows what we're doing and it's not just us who will get hurt this time. You can't believe how much I hate myself for doing this to you, Jay." Tears began to form in my eyes too. "I just don't want you to get hurt. I love you so fucking much, Jay but I can't risk getting caught. I'm not going to risk your health, my family's health, and your family's health because of my selfish mistake."

"But we were safe in the city, Noah!" She cried. "You're just making things worse! You say you don't want to hurt me but that's exactly what you're doing."

"We weren't safe in the city." I said. "We aren't safe anywhere. Not unless we leave the state or something. Please, just go to bed." She got out of the jeep and I drove across the street to my house. It was late so Parker and Mom were already in bed. I threw myself onto my pillows and let the angry tears come out. She was right, I'm hurting her right now. I should've just told her I loved her in the city. I can't. I won't risk everyone's safety, but I will give myself one last pleasure before cutting it off for good. I sneaked out of the house and ran to Jami's. I climbed the tree and peered in through her window. She was curled up in bed, her back facing the window. Thankfully, it was unlocked. I slid it open and Jami turned. Her face was red and swollen but mine probably was too. She turned her back to me again and I lied next to her in the bed. "I do love you, Jay." I whispered. "So goddamned much, you gotta believe me."

"I do." She whispered back. "You just don't know what you're doing." I rolled over and put my arm around her waist, pulling her into me. "Aren't you scared about getting caught? About minimizing casualties?"

"I just want to enjoy this right now because I know I fucked up the other one." I said.

"You know how you said we would only be safe if we left the state?" She mumbled.

"Yeah."

"We should do it." She whispered.

I sat up. "Seriously, Jay? Is that really what you want, to start over somewhere?"

Jami

I sit up with him and lean against him. "Noah, I don't like having to be afraid all the time. I don't want either of us to be away from each other any more. I want to feel loved all the time. I want to feel like me again." I lay my head on his shoulders and hold his hand.

He kisses the top of my head. "What about our families, our memories?" He asks.

"I think we all need to get away. To leave the horrible memories behind and take our old ones with us." I say. He pulls me onto his lap and I wrap my arms around him. "All of my best memories are with you. I don't want to have to be apart from you."

He puts his forehead against mine and looks into my eyes. "I don't want to be apart from you either." He says. He pulls me close to him and holds me. "Now, I can tell you that it is going to be okay, because I really believe that it will be okay. " He whispers.

I smile and feel safe in his arms. I believed that it was going to be okay too. Things were starting to look up and I needed things to look up.

"Tomorrow we will tell our parents and get everything sorted out." He says.

I nod and look up at him. "Thank you." I smile at him.

"What are you thanking me for?" He asks, kissing my nose. I smile and take his hand.

"Thank you for loving me." I tell him. "I have not felt loved in a long time."

He did not say anything, but he leaned down and kissed me. He kissed me with so much passion and love. Butterflies swelled in my stomach. "I do love you." He says.

"I love you too." I tell him and I did. He laid me down in the bed and covered me up.

"Goodnight." He whispers and gives me one last kiss. "We will take care of everything tomorrow morning. I will bring my family over here."

I nod. "See you tomorrow. Goodnight." I tell him. He gets out the window and closes it. I lay down on my pillow and curl up. For the first time in a while, I fell asleep peacefully, feeling safe.

Noah

The next morning I was a little nervous to talk to Mom and Parker at breakfast, but it had to be done. We sat at the kitchen table and I cleared my throat.

"So, uh, Jami's leaving." I said.

"What?!" Parker cried. "No! She can't, we were just starting to fall in love!"

"That's too bad." Mom murmured. "Where is she moving to?"

"We haven't decided yet. Somewhere far, out of the state." I said.

"We?" Mom asked. "What do you mean we?"

"I'm going with her." I winced and just as I thought Mom didn't like the idea.

"You can't leave with her, Noah!" She cried. "Your life is here! You can't ditch school to run off with some girl."

"She's not some girl, Mom." My voice was strong and assertive. "I love her and it's already decided. We're moving somewhere safe."

"Here is safe."

"No, it's not." I said. "Jami and I are under constant scrutiny by her ex and there's nothing stopping him from hurting us or you. The only way we can be safe is if we leave."

"This is ridiculous." Mom sighed. "I'm going over to the Edward's right now to straighten this out." She got up from the table and put her coat on before leaving.

"You're really going to leave?" Parker asked. Maybe it was just really good acting, but I thought he sounded a little upset. I nodded. "Who am I going to torment now?"

"Come on, let's go with Mom before she burns down a house." I said. We marched over to Jami's house and Mom was standing in the living room with Jami's mom.

"So, she didn't take it well?" Jami whispered and I shook my head. "My mom is on the fence, but I think she'll let me go."

"Sharon, be reasonable!" Mom cried. "They're just kids! They can't move out already! They have to finish highschool and get jobs."

"Emily, I will do whatever it takes to ensure my daughter's safety. You've seen what Jake has already done to her." Mrs. Edwards said. "If moving away is her best shot of safety then I'll allow it."

"I respect your decisions, she's your daughter, but Noah is my son and he is staying here with his family." Mom said.

"Please, Ms. Harding!" Jami pleaded and clutched to my arm. "Don't take him from me. I love your son and I can't imagine not being with him."

Mom sighed and sat down on the couch with her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do, Sharon."

Jami

"I am not going to let my daughter just ditch school, Emily. She will get into another school where ever we decide to go." My mother explains to Noah Emily.

"We, you are all going?" She asks, looking a little surprised.

My mother sits on the couch next to Emily and rubs her back. "I want to have my daughter in my life and I want her to be safe. I want her to be happy and if that means packing up and moving, then that is what I am going to do." She says.

No matter how much my mom bothers me some times, she will always have my back. She is an amazing mother who will always look out for me. "You said he was after you too, Noah?" Emily asks.

"He is, he threatened me while I was at Parker's soccer game." Noah told her. "Mom, there is nothing holding us here but memory's. We can get a new jobs, new houses. It will all work out." He told her.

Parker jumps into the conversation. "I have got to keep my lady safe. I guess Noah should be safe too, but more importantly Jami."

I try not to laugh, so I grip Noah's hand. "Ms. Emily, I can't live like this anymore, but I can't live without Noah. Please." I beg.

"You know Ethan can find us a house, that's his job. We will be able to take care of everything." My mother says. Ethan, my dad, was amazing at his job. He can sell a house in a week.

"But what about work?" Emily asks, about to give in.

"Emily your portfolio is amazing. There is no way someone can turn you down." My mom says. "Christmas break is coming up. We can move then and be settled in by Christmas. Everything will work out."

There was a long moment of silence and Noah wrapped his arms around me. I was so nervous, I felt like I was going to be sick. Everyone stared at Emily and I bit my lip. "If it will ensure both our children's safety, then...." She begins. "I am on board." Noah's mom says.

The next thing I knew, Noah's lips were crashed against mine. I smile and kiss him back. "We did it." I whisper. "We are going to be safe. Thank you so much, Noah."

Noah

"Well, I guess we better get going." Mom sighed. "We've got lots to pack." I squeezed Jami's hand and winked before grabbing Parker by the collar and dragging him out the door. We walked across the street to our house and Mom handed us some cardboard boxes from the garage. "Here. Start packing your stuff tonight." We nodded and when I got upstairs I started taking the soccer trophies off their shelves and into the box. Even though I knew moving was for the better, I still couldn't stop myself from feeling sad and nostalgic. I filled up the boxes with my stuff and went downstairs to help Mom. Winter break came fast and Jami and I had managed to avoid Jake for the most part. Our houses were both empty and our cars were both filled with boxes. "Noah, you and Jami are taking Parker with you." Mom said, closing the trunk to her car.

"What?!" I whined. "Mom, no, please! Can't he ride with you?"

"There's no room, Noah." She said and hopped into her car. "Guess I'll meet you there. Drive safe, I love you two."

"Love you too, Mom!" Parker cried and when she pulled out of the driveway his smug little expression came back. "Looks like I'm riding with you and Jami. Ten hours of third wheeling, that's going to be exhausting for you, Noah. Good thing you're driving."

"Yeah right." I scoffed and Jami skipped across the road to meet us. I kissed her cheek and she looked at Parker. "He's riding with us." I whispered. "Just ignore him, maybe he'll just shut up."

"Alright," She sighed and got into the passenger seat. "Who's ready for a road trip?"

"I am!" Parker yelled and hopped into the back seat. I rolled my eyes and started the car. It took Parker exactly .003 seconds to start pissing me off. "So, Jami, love dove, wanna climb back here with me?"

"Uh, no thanks, Parker." She laughed and I reached over the center console to hold her hand.

"This is really boring." He huffed. "How long is the drive?"

"Ten hours." I said.

"WHAT." He cried. "You're kidding."

"I wish."

"I can't sit here and do nothing for ten hours." He said. "Let's do something."

"We could play the alphabet game." Jami suggested.

"Nah," Parker said. "I've got a better idea. Let's play spin the bottle. Just me and you, sweet cheeks."

"You can't play spin the bottle in the car, dipshit." I shot back.

"How about truth or dare?" He asked.

"You can't play that either. It'll just turn into twenty questions because you can't dare anyone to do anything exciting while we're in the car." I said through gritted teeth. Jami rubbed my arm and I took a deep breath. "Why don't you take a nap?"

"I'm not three years old, Noah." Parker spat.

"Just in case." Jami whispered and held up something underneath the dash so Parker couldn't see it. It was a bottle of Nyquil.

"Force it down his throat if you have to." I growled.

"Hopefully, we won't need to use it." She said. "But if he gets too rowdy it's our back up plan."

Jami

I was a little disappointed. Nobody seemed happy about the move except Parker. I was not thrilled about it either. I knew it was safer, but still. It was bitter sweet, I guess. I was starting to feel like a burden to everyone. I did not like the feeling at all. I talked to my mother about it last night and she insisted that this was the right thing too. I knew it was, but I did not want other people to suffer just for me.


Noah squeezed my hand and snapped me out of whatever trance I was in. "Are you alright." He whispers. Parker, who we mad pass out with Nyquil, was snoring hard in the back.

I nod and rest my head on his free arm. "Just thinking." I tell him.

"I don't like the thoughts swirling around in your head." He tells me. "You should stop thinking them."

I sit up and look at him. "How do you know you don't like my thoughts?" I ask, smiling.

"Because, I can tell when you are upset." He says. "You are driving yourself mad, so stop." He kisses my hand and I lay back on his arm.

The big truck that is moving our things drives by us. Our family's decided to share a truck, but not everything could fit. Emily and my mom packed the rest in our car. My father left early to get Noah, Parker and I enlisted in school and things of that nature. Some how my dad got us really nice houses right next to each other.

--

The drive took forever, but we finally arrived. We parked the car and ran into the houses. Noah parked the car and he ran into his house and I ran into mine. I walked through and the house was really nice. This got me very excited.

I walk into the room meant for me and I smile. It had a nice bathroom and I walk in closet. There was another door and I walked out onto a little balcony. I saw Noah across about five feet away from me on a balcony identical to this one. "Yep, this is my room." He smiles.

I laugh and nod. "I wonder how you can sneak over to my house now?" I ask sarcastically. This was great.

Noah

We spent the rest of the weekend unpacking and getting used to North Carolina. No matter how I tried to convince myself I wasn't missing anything, I still felt like I was leaving something behind. Jami and I were lying on my old bed in my new room while everyone else was out running errands.

"Do you like North Carolina?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She sighed blissfully. "Yeah, I really do."

"I don't know, Jay." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I just can't shake this feeling like we forgot something. I feel like-I-I-" All of a sudden, I remembered what we left behind and no matter how many deep breaths I took, I couldn't get enough air into my lungs.

"Noah?" Jami sat up, concerned. "Noah, what's wrong?"

"My dad." I choked out. "He's still there. Back home. We left him." Water blurred my vision as I angrily stood up and banged my fist against the wall. "I promised myself I'd visit him more, that I wouldn't push the memories of him away. I feel like he's dying all over again, Jami. I'm leaving him again and I can't do that." Jami walked over next to me and held my face in her hands.

"Noah, listen to me, okay?" She said. "Yes, we did leave his ashes back home but that doesn't mean we left his memories behind too. You're not abandoning him." She wiped a tear away with her thumb. "Everything is going to be okay. We can still visit him once in a while."

I said nothing and Jami pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my hands around her waist and held her tight against me. I didn't let go until my eyes had dried and I began to breathe again. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "I-"

"You don't need to apologize." Jami smiled and kissed me. "We're all set up for school tomorrow. We now attend Fayetteville High, home of the Black Hawks."

"You ready to start over tomorrow?" I asked.

"Hell yeah." She grinned then kissed me again.

Jami

I kissed him gently and he laid me back down on the bed. I giggle and he smiled into the kiss. He deepened the kiss and I wrapped my arms tightly around him. After a while, we pulled away to catch our breath. "We can do that now and not be worried." I say. He pulls me close to him and nods.

"It is pretty great." He say, kissing my forehead.

"Things are going to be different but it will be for the better." I tell him.

"I know, we are going to be happy here, Jay. I will be able to keep you safe, to keep my family safe. I can make you feel loved again." He says, I smile and hug him.

"My broken pieces can be put together again." I say.

"It is getting late, and we have school tomorrow." He says, kissing my nose. I laugh and nod.

"Goodnight." I say to him as I get up to leave.

"Goodnight, just yell if you need anything." He winks. "I am close enough to hear."

I laugh and walk the short distance back to my house. I change into my pajamas and lay down and sleep.

--

I hit my alarm when it rings, already awake. Last night was so horrible. Jake still haunted me in my dreams. I am just glad I could control my screams before Noah heard. I was not going to tell him that I was having nightmares about Jake. I already troubled him enough with moving. I will not tell him about the nightmares.

I walk into my bathroom and put a little make-up on, trying to hide my tired eyes. I tied my hair up and smiled when I looked someone decent. I never really thought of myself as a pretty person. "This is as good as it is going to get." I say to my reflection.

I put leggings on and an oversized sweater, grabbed my soccer bag and went down stairs. The principal told Noah and I that we could try out for the soccer team. If we made it, we could play for the new semester.

I was really worried. All the soccer I have been doing is in my back yard. I have not played for a team in forever. Noah and I were really good, but he has been playing with a team. Not me, though.

I walked over to Noah's house and he was waiting at the car. I ran over and jumped in his arms. He laughed and spun me around. "Are you okay?" He asks. "You look exhausted."
Damn it. I nod and smile. "Yep, I just could not sleep last night." I say, which was not a total lie. It was just not the whole truth.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road." He smile and we hop in the car.

Noah

We grasped hands tightly as we walked into Fayetteville High's main office. A middle aged lady with her graying brown hair pulled back into a slick ponytail greeted us.

"Hi, um, we're new here." I said. "We need to pick up our schedules."

"Of course." She bent behind the desk and popped back up a few seconds later. "Your names, dear?"

"Jami Edwards and Noah Harding." Jami squeezed my hand and the lady handed us our schedule.

"Hold on a moment and I'll have the student body president show you to your classes." The lady pushed a button on a microphone and spoke into it. "Ian Laehe report to the main office. Ian Laehe."

Jami and I used the few moments of silence to compare schedules. We had the same lunch, Gym class, and biology together. Soon, a guy walked in through the doors. His cashmere sweater and tie combo screamed overachiever.

"Uh, someone called me down here?" He tapped his fingers on the desk and the lady that handed us our schedules smiled at him.

"Ian, would you mind showing our two new students around the campus, please?" She asked.

"Of course, Mrs. Olmsted." He grinned. "I'd love to." I glanced at Jami and rolled my eyes. She suppressed a giggle and lightly shoved me. "Hello, I'm Ian Laehe, student body president here at Fayetteville High." He opened the door and we followed him out to the hallway. "Are you new to the district?"

"Yeah," I said. "Moved here from Ohio just a couple of days ago."

"Fantastic. I'm sure you're going to love our curriculum and all the electives our school has to offer." He pointed to a menacing black bird painted onto the wall. "Plus, the varsity black hawks are superb this season."

"What about soccer?" I asked. "When does the season start?"

"Tryouts are in two days." He said.

"What about girls?" Jami winked at me. "Do they have a girls team here too?"

"Well, in the past we've had separate teams, but this year, thanks to a petition signed by over two thirds of the females in the school, the boys and girls will play together." Ian explained. He stopped at a classroom and we peered through the small window. "This is your Biology class, taught by Mr. Lemaster." We nodded and kept walking. "The lunch room is downstairs to your left and Miss. Edwards, your AP classes are in the next hallway." A loud bell rang overhead and Ian smiled. "Well, first hour is officially in session so I would advise that you both scurry to your classes." We turned to leave but Ian said one last thing. "Oh, and about sports, the school has a strict rule about athletes. They must have at least a three point grade average throughout the whole season to stay on the team. Have a good first day!"

When he walked away I looked frantically at Jami. "Three point?! I am struggling to keep my 2.5!"

She ran her hands down my back and we walked to first hour Gym class. "It'll be fine. I'll help you study and you help me get back into soccer, deal?"

"Deal."

Jami

The school made us buy gym uniforms. That was the most stupid thing in the world to me. We prepaid, so they were here. The coach handed us our uniforms and pointed us to the locker rooms. I took mine out of the package and frowns. "I will not wear this." I say.

I hold up the short shorts and frown, but Noah just laughs. "Awe, I think you will look cute." He grins.

I gently push him and sigh. "Oh, hush. You have regular basketball shorts." I say.

"It will be fine." He laughs.

I roll my eyes and smile. "I know. See you in a minute." I say. I head into the locker room and the female coach gave me a locker. A lot of the girls were staring at me and whispering. I did not expect anything less. I mean it was a girls locker room. Girls were mean and judgmental, so I was not expecting them to be welcoming me with opening arms. I changed into my tiny uniform as quickly as I possibly could and then sat down on one of the benches. While I was lasing up my tennis shoes, a girl came and sat next to me.

"Hi, are you new here?" She asked.

I nod and smile. "Yes I am. My family and my boyfriend's family moved here from Ohio a few days ago."

She smile and flipped her hair. "Well isn't that wonderful, now we don't have to have to talk. We might even be friends."

"What talk?" I ask, a little confused.

"Ian, the student body president, is my boyfriend and I don't want any new girls trying to steal him." She says. "But you, you have a boyfriend. There is nothing to worry about."

I nod and suppress a laugh. "Okay, then."

"Well, we are running the mile today. Pretty crappy day to come." She says. "I'm heather by the way." She smirks.

"Jami." I tell her.

"Well, I can tell we are going to be good friends." She says.

When she leaves I laugh to myself. I was not good at making friends, but something tells me she is not the girl I want to be friends with. I am not going to judge right now though, I need to start coming out of my shell more. Noah would have to help me with that. I was not very good at opening up to people, Noah was the only person that could get it out of me.

I tie my hair up into a ponytail and head out in my black uniform. We meet on the track and I see Noah stretching. I walk over to him and he kisses me on the forehead. "Even though I have seen you every single day for the last week, I feel like we have not spent a lot of time together, alone." I say.

He takes my hands and pulls me closer. "I know, that will change once we get settled in. I miss our time together." He says.

"Me too." I smile. Our moment was interrupted by the coaches yelling.

"OKAY, LISTEN UP!" He yells. "WE ARE RUNNING THE MILE TODAY! RUN AT YOUR OWN PACE. GET READY."

I stretch for a few minutes and then I am ready to go. "ON YOUR MARK," The female coach says, "GET SET, GO!"

Everyone takes off running. There was no use trying to run with Noah. He was too fast. He was an amazing runner. I was not out of shape, but no one was as fast as him. I ran at my own pace and just wanted to get out of this uniform.

Noah

The school day went by pretty fast and honestly, it wasn't too bad. The guys seemed as normal as guys can be. I caught up with Jami after the final bell and we drove home telling each other about our days.

"So, you're gonna help me with soccer today?" Jami asked with a smile as we pulled up her driveway.

"Can't think of anything else, I'd rather do." I winked and leaned over to kiss her before she got out. "My backyard in ten?"

She nodded and kissed me back. "I'll see you in ten." Jami waved and ran into her house. I parked in my driveway and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. Mom was at her new job so I snuck a cookie from last night up to my room. I devoured the cookie and filled up a water bottle. Jami met me in the backyard and I set up cones I got from the garage.


"Ready for Noah bootcamp?" I grinned.

She raised her eyebrows. "Noah bootcamp?"

"Yep. We'll start with dribbling." I dropped the soccer ball at my feet and quickly weaved through the cones. "Just like that." I passed the ball to Jami and she weaved through the course at a slightly slower pace. "Make sure you keep the ball closer to your feet."

"Okay, Coach." She giggled and ran through the course again. Once she finished the exercise, I set up two cones on either side of me.

"This one's simple. I'm going to challenge you and you dribble past me and shoot." I ordered. She nodded and I took three steps closer to her. She grinned then spun around me and fired the ball between the two cones that resembled something slightly less of a net. "Nice." I applauded her. "Again." I put Jami through multiple drills and exercises until we were both tired and beat. Parker came out when he came home. We ended up playing 2 V 1. Jami and Parker against me in the backyard. The smack talk was intense but in the end, Parker and Jami won. I called it off when they scored their fifth goal and Parker attempted to put his nasty prepubescent lips on my girlfriend. We retreated inside and relaxed on the couch.

Jami

"That was fun." I say. Parker sat next to me and tried to cuddle up to me, but Noah tells him to go away. I laugh and lay my head on Noah's shoulder. "Thanks. Now, I have to hold up to my end of the bargain." I try to get up to go get my books, but he pulls me down.

"Not just yet." He whispers, wrapping his arms around me. "Just enjoy this moment we have together, alone."

I sink in to me and wrap my arms around him. He pulls me onto his lap and kisses me. I giggle and let him. He pushes his hair out of my eyes and presses me closer to him. I kiss him back and smile into the kiss. After a while, I force myself to pull away.

"No." He whines. I laugh and roll my eyes.

"Trust me, there is more where that came from. If we don't stop now and study, I am not going to want to." I tell him, pecking his lips lightly one last time before getting off of his lap and heading to the kitchen talk. I lay out books, notes and anything else that I need.

"I hate math." He says.

"Even thought it is completely useless to my life, we sadly still have to learn it." I sigh. "I will do anything I can to get your grade up though."

"Says the girl with a 4.0 GPA." He says.

"Hey, don't be like that." I say, taking he hand. "You can do it."

For the next two hours I explain Trig in a way he could understand. No one knew Noah like I did, so it was easy. I knew how to help it make it easy for him. Plus, my reward were pretty good.

After that I started to get tired. A hard core soccer game and a lot of math could wear you out. Noah and I were back on the couch with my head in his lap. My eyes were closed and he was fiddling with my hair.

"You can fall asleep." He told me. "I will wake you when dinner comes."

I shake my head, being stubborn. "I am not even tired." I yawned.

"Jay, go to sleep." He says.

I did as he told me and I feel asleep.

--

In my dream I was rushing into my room and I tried to close the door, but the force coming from the opposite end was too strong. I was flung onto the ground and I stumbled to get up, only to be knocked down again.

It was Jake, he was coming after me. I tried to get up but he kicked me into the wall. Grabbing me up by my hair, he punched me hard in the face and I screamed. "Stop, please!"

---

"Jay, it is okay, wake up." Noah says.

I gasp and sit up, finding myself safe. I sigh and bury my face in my hands. He pulls me on to him and he holds me tight. "It is okay, babe." He says in a soothing voice. "You are safe."

I nod and lay my head on his chest. "I am so sorry." I tell him. "I made you guys get up and move to another state. I am really sorry I am acting like this."

"Jay, stop." He says.

"I am not trying to be a burden, I am really not." Before I knew it, it was all coming out. All about feeling bad that they had to move for me and how I felt like I was just troubling him and a bunch of stuff about me being a bad girlfriend.

"Jay, stop it." He say, wiping the tears from my eyes.

Noah

"I just-I feel like I'm constantly pulling people down." She sobbed. "And I'm so sorry." I held her face in my hands and rubbed her cheek with my thumb.

"Jami, listen to me." I said softly. "You're not a burden, okay? If we didn't want to move, we wouldn't have done it. Just calm down, alright?" She nodded limply and nestled her head back on my chest.

***

Not long after, Mom came to take Parker to soccer tryouts and Jami and I stayed home. We rummaged through the cabinets and the pantry for something to eat for dinner but nothing looked appealing.

"Grilled cheese?" She suggested, holding up bread.

"Nah," I shook my head. "There's gotta be something better."

"I'm not seeing much, Noah." She sighed and placed a pan on the stove. "Grilled cheese or nothing, I'm afraid."

"Guess that works for me." I sat down at the table and watched as Jami fluttered around the kitchen, making our dinner. "Do you have those nightmares often?"

She froze, her back towards me, the only sound was the sizzling of the butter in the pan. "Occasionally."

"Even since we've moved?"

"Yes." She said quietly. "Even though we left, he still finds a way to terrorize me."

I stood up and put my face in the crook of her neck. She smelled like lilacs and soap. "Don't talk like that." I murmured, my fingers dancing up and down her arm. "We're safe now, okay. Hopefully your unconscious will realize that and your dreams will stop." She turned around to kiss me but Mom exploded through the door, her eyes boiling over with tears and her hair was windblown out of place. "Mom?"

"It's Parker." She cried, her voice was so raw and emotional I had a hard time understanding her. "I-he-I-"

"Hey, slow down." I said and rushed over to her. "What happened? Where is he?"

"I dropped him off at tryouts and went to go get a coffee and when I came back to pick him up he was gone." She sobbed hysterically. The word gone rang through my head and ice shot through my veins.

"Gone?" Jami asked, concerned.

"The-the- administration said he was already picked up by a man named Joel Schmitt." She held on tight to me like I was the only thing she had left, and she might be right. "I called the police and they said we can't report him missing until twenty-four hours later. They ran the name through the system and there's no Joel Schmitt anywhere in this damn county."

I looked over at Jami, terrified beyond belief. Parker was stolen. Was Jami right, could he still find ways to terrorize us from ten hours away?

Jami

No, no this cannot be happening. I hate, I hate him. Why did he have to do this to Parker, to Noah, to his mom, to me! I fought the urge to cry. I could not do that to Noah, not now.

I grab hold of the car keys in my pocket and begin to walk out of the door. "I am leaving." I say.

"Jami, no." He says.

"I am going to get Parker back from that bastard. I am not going to wait 24 fucking hours. I know you don't either so come on." I say.

We get in the car, his mother screaming at us and I speed away.

--

I speed to where we go to his house in 8 hours. I was not going to have it. I don't care if I am terrified. He is at home with his parents and he cannot hurt me infront of them. I tried to convince myself that I was not afraid. I was honestly too mad to think about it.

I storm out of the car and begin to punch on his door. He answers, his mother in view. "Look what this cat dragged in." He spits.

I ignore him and push past him. "Where is he Jake, what the hell did you do to him?" I demand.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He says with that horrible grin on his face.

I don't even hold back, I begin to lunge at him, but Noah hands wrap around my waist. "What did you do with Parker? Why did you take him?" I scream.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Who is Parker?" He asks, for the first time, he looks like he is telling the truth.

"My brother." Noah says.

"Why would I have him?" He asks, trying to hold back. He was aware his mom was there.

I was at a lost for words. This could not be happening. We were so sure that Jake took him. Who could have done this?