Second Kiss (12 page)

Jess crawled in between my dresses until he was stooped right next to me peering at the writing. “It’s so tiny!”

“I know. You wanted to make sure no one would ever see it. I think you did a pretty good job.”

Jess rubbed his fingers across the tiny letters. After a moment he sighed and swung around until he was sitting right next to me against the wall. He leaned into me as he asked, “When did life get so complicated?” I could feel his body move as he took in another deep breath and then let it out again. The warmth of his shoulder penetrated mine, and I found myself instinctively cozying up to his heat. I thought about the complications of my life. There weren’t many. Sure, I didn’t have a lot of friends. But I had one best friend that I was truly grateful for. I had a great family. A nice home. All the food I wanted to eat. What more could a girl need? I knew Jess was looking at life from a completely different perspective. I didn’t understand it entirely, but I knew his world was a different color than mine.

I didn’t respond to Jess’s rhetorical question, and neither did he. We sat in silence for a while, until my bedroom door opened and Dad’s voice broke the silence.

“Gemma? Jess?”

Startled, I sat straight up and yelled back to him from the closet, “We’re in here!” My voice sounded so loud against the four tiny walls.

Dad was in the closet in the next moment as Jess and I scurried from our spot between the dresses.

“What are you two doing,” he paused and looked around him as if trying to figure out where he was, “in your closet?” The last part of the question came out with more force and a hint of anger.

Jess and I stumbled to our feet. The closet wasn’t big enough for the three of us to be standing without breathing into each other’s faces. Dad backed out slowly and stood outside the door with his arms folded, waiting for an answer to his question. I could only imagine what Dad was thinking; Jess and me in the closet, alone. I rolled my eyes at his apparent accusation as I stepped toward him and out of the closet. “Dad,” I said as I tamed my frizzy hair, “we were only looking at something that we drew on the wall a long time ago.”

Dad looked relieved until his face changed to a different shade of red. “You drew on your wall?”

Oops. Jess fidgeted next to me. Dad was usually calm and extremely patient, but when he got mad, you knew you were in trouble.

“Dad,” I said with a nervous laugh, “it’s so small you can barely see it.” I searched for the right words to talk us out of this predicament. “Besides, it’s a lot better than what you originally thought we were doing, right?”

Dad huffed and grumbled something under his breath. He turned to look at the pile of clothes on my bed, and then he bent down and grabbed them all in one swoop. “Come with me, Gemma,” he said through gritted teeth as he walked out the door and into the hall. Then came the punishment. “You’re not to step a foot in that room while Jess is staying in this house.”

Jess ended up staying at our house for the rest of the holiday break. Mom or dad would drive him to the hospital every day around noon, and that’s where he would stay until they picked him up in time for dinner that night. We found out from the police that Jess’s dad was arrested Christmas day. He was released a few days later but was being held under strict supervision until his court date, which would be sometime in January.

The night before school started again, Caris was released from the hospital. She still looked haggard when my parents, Jess, and I picked her up. She walked with a limp, and one of her eyes was still swollen shut. When she wanted to turn her head, she had to turn her whole upper body because her neck was so sore. But amazingly enough, she looked happy. Jess looked happy to have her home too, and I was happy that Jess wouldn’t have to go to the hospital every day; though a strange pang of sadness crept into my stomach as I watched Jess lead his mom out of our car and up the porch steps to their house. I had gotten so used to having him in the bedroom next door that clear across the street seemed like miles away.

That night as I was in my room cutting out magazine pictures for a school project I had due the next week, I heard an old familiar tapping at my window. I flipped my light on and off as always and ran down the stairs-my heart pounding wildly with every step. I was nearly panting by the time I got out my back door.

“Hey, stranger,” I said as I sat next to Jess on the steps.

He looked relieved to see me. “I know. It seems like it’s been forever since I saw you last.” He rubbed his hands together. “I got used to being around you all the time.”

“How’s your mom?” I said while hugging my ribs to stay warm. It was an especially cold night, and our breath swarmed around our heads as we spoke.

“She’s tired.” Jess’s eyes seemed distant, and I could tell he hadn’t come over to talk about his mom. Jess shifted as he reached into his pocket. “I have something for you.”

I leaned forward to see what he was pulling out of his pocket. “What is it?” I asked, trying to decipher the object that was hidden in the bag in his hand.

He handed me the bag. “Merry Christmas.”

I held it in my hand and turned it around so I could see it at every angle.

“It’s been in my room all this time,“Jess explained, “but I couldn’t get in my house so … ,” his words trailed off as I put the bag up to my ear and shook it in order to have a better idea of what it was. Whatever it was made a small rattling sound when I shook it.

“Jess, you shouldn’t have,” I said in an exaggerated and obviously joking tone. “I’ve always wanted a container of Tic Tacs for Christmas!”

Jess watched me intently as I played my little game. I loved the fact that I had a secret present in my hand from Jess, and I didn’t want that feeling to go away.

“Next year I’m just going to get you a brown paper bag,” he said after I made a few more fake guesses. “You’re having more fun with it than you will with the actual present.”

When I couldn’t come up with any more guesses, I reached inside the bag and pulled out a small white container that was just bigger than a matchbox. I lifted the lid to find a shiny silver bracelet with a single red gemstone hanging from the end. I care fully lifted it out of the box and let it dangle delicately from my fingers as I examined every inch of it.

“It’s a ruby,” he said softly. “The guy at the store said it’s the most powerful gem in the world.” He was quiet for a moment before adding, “Like you.”

I carefully rotated the flawlessly cut round ruby between my thumb and my index finger. “It’s perfect,” I whispered, and then I looked at him for the first time since opening the gift. “Thank you.”

Jess’s expression was serious. “You’re welcome.”

I breathed in the freezing cold air and leaned forward to let my head rest in the palms of my hands. “I don’t want to go back to school tomorrow.” I gazed out at the newly fallen snow that covered my backyard. “I don’t want to go back to being alone all day.”

Jess rubbed his hand gently over my head. “I have a good feeling about this semester,” he said with a low voice. “Things are going to start changing, for the better.” He blew into his free hand. “It’s about time for a change, I think.”

I sat up straight and looked at Jess with a concerned expression. “I don’t want things to change between us.”

He looked at me and gently took the bracelet out of my hands. He unclipped the end and quietly wrapped it around my wrist. “I didn’t get you the most powerful gem in the world just because I think you’re powerful,” he said with a teasing smile.

I watched him closely, waiting for him to finish.

“I got you the most powerful gem in the world because of us.” He took my hand in his and twisted the small ruby between his fingers. “Nothing can come between us. No matter what.” Then as if it was more of a supplication than a statement, he looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Okay?”

I had never seen Jess like this before. So open. So honest. I felt a little stronger at that moment knowing that he needed me in his life as much as I needed him in mine. And for the first time I felt a glimmer of hope that maybe we actually would be there for each other, always, and no matter what. Jess’s fierce eyes softened as I nodded my head, and he handed me back my wrist. “It’s late,” he said with a sigh. “I should go.” He boosted himself up off the step and helped me to my feet. My legs felt frozen, and it was hard to straighten them again. “Have fun tomorrow.” He paused and almost without thinking I stepped into him, my head reuniting with his chest once again. He wrapped his arms firmly around me and pressed his cheek against the top of my head.

We held each other for a few minutes more, knowing that as soon as we let go we’d have to part our separate ways. That he’d have to go back to high school and I’d go back to stupid ninth grade. When we finally let go, Jess slid his hand down my hair as it fell over my shoulder. Then he looked behind me at my house. “I knew that once I went in, I wasn’t going to want to leave.” He let his hand drop to his side.

I cocked my head to one side. “I don’t know, after a week and a half of sharing my bathroom and getting killed at monopolyI’m sure you must be a little sick of me.”

I waited for him to twist his face and return my teasing remark. But his eyes remained serious, and his fingers lingered on the tips of my hair as he whispered, “I could never get sick of you, Gemma. It’s not possible.”

The first day back at school was as monotonous as the rest. I actually remembered my schedule for the new semesterprobably because only two classes actually changed-which only made my day that much more boring. I yearned for a friend that I could walk to class with and hang out with after school. I wanted to go to my locker and find a note from her that had been written in pink pen while she was bored in biology class.

The repetitive days passed quickly, and before I knew it we were two months into the semester. Second period this semester was still German. The late bell had already rung, and I was half walking, half running down the hall toward my class. I was alone in the halls except for one other girl in front of me who was also walking toward my second period classroom-though she appeared to be in no hurry at all. She was noticeably shorter than me, with jet black hair that was slicked back into a ponytail. I recognized her from the back of her head as Drew Markoviak. Drew was that girl in school that started all the latest styles. If Drew wore a speckled brown long sweater jacket to school, pretty soon the halls were lined with girls wearing some imitation form of a long brown sweater jacket. She was the girl that belonged on the front cover of every teen magazine. She was that sort of tomboyish girl with the perfect body, smothered in mud from the ongoing co-ed rugby game, and surrounded by deliciously handsome boys who looked like they could eat her up for dessert.

Needless to say, Drew was popular. But not the bouncy blond hair, cheerleading kind of popular. Drew was just flawlessly cool without an enemy in the world. She approached the door just before I got there. I slowed down as I neared her, and I tried to conceal my heavy breathing. I was slightly embarrassed that I was trying to hurry to class when she seemed so casual about being late. She opened the door and glanced at me as I approached.

“Hey, Gemma.”

She knew my name? I was so shocked that I almost forgot to say anything back. “Um, hey, Drew.”

She nodded her head at me then slipped smoothly into the classroom. The teacher, Frau Hart, didn’t even turn when she walked across the room and sat at her desk. She probably didn’t hear her, as Drew was so quiet and graceful when she slid effortlessly into her seat. The exact opposite happened when I entered. The door slammed shut behind me, and Frau Hart as well as the entire class turned and stared right at me. One person who was watching me particularly closely was Trace Weston. He was holding his pencil to his lips and smiling at me as I loudly and awkwardly walked down the second aisle to my desk, sat down, and pulled out my books. I only kept eye contact with him for a nanosecond, but I could feel him watching me as I settled into my chair.

Frau Hart stopped writing on the chalkboard long enough to frown at me and say, “Tardiness is not tolerated in my class.” I wanted to believe that she was talking to both Drew and me, but somehow I knew that wasn’t the case. Frau Hart gave us twenty minutes at the end of class to work on our homework. I was closing my eyes, trying to memorize a German poem when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Drew sitting in the vacant seat next to me. I hadn’t even heard her sit down.

“Don’t worry about Frau Fart,” she whispered with a crinkled nose.

I looked over my shoulder at Frau Hart, who was busy grading papers at her desk. I had heard some of the kids calling her Frau Fart when she was out of earshot, but I didn’t know where it had started-until now.

“What are you talking about?” I said nervously as I straightened the papers on my desk.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“What?”

“I thought you were going to burst a blood vessel when she nagged you about being late.”

I was slightly perturbed that she thought Frau Hart was talking to me alone. Then I thought about my nearly bursting blood vessel and wondered if Trace had seen it too. I shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“Seriously, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Uh.” I raised my eyebrows. “She can give me a bad grade. She can keep me after for detention. She can call my mom. The lady pretty much owns my life.”

“So she drops your grade. Then what?”

The answer seemed obvious. “I get a bad grade.”

“Uh huh. And then what?”

I didn’t understand the game of questions. Where was she going with this? “And then that bad grade stays on my report card forever.”

“Forever?”

“For the next three years until I want to get into college somewhere.”

“And you think a half grade drop in your ninth-grade German class is going to stop you from getting into the college you want to get into?”

“I don’t know, maybe.”

“Let me tell you the correct answer. No. So chill out.”