“See you around, Libby Bell,” Owen says as he turns away.
Jasper jerks against me, but I keep a tight hold on the arms he has around me as I watch Owen pick up his hat off the ground. He heads out the barn door without looking back, and a shiver of dread runs down my spine.
I don’t know how long we stand there, frozen in place, Jasper with one arm around me, and me holding him in a death grip, thinking he might go after Owen. But eventually we snap out of it. I release my hold on him, but Jasper doesn’t do the same. I have to jerk myself to get free of his hold, and I look up at him to see he’s still pissed.
“I can’t believe you did that.” I shake my head, a lump forming in my throat.
“It was bound to come out,” he grits, but his face softens when he sees the tears I’m trying to hold back.
“It’s going to rip us apart!” I cry out.
I thought for a moment he was right. That maybe we could have all our special moments together in secret and it would be enough. Or at least soak up as many as we could before it all came out. But now we can’t even have that small bit of happiness. It’s been taken from us, and I’m crushed. The word will spread like wildfire in a little town like ours. Everyone is going to know, including our parents. I have no idea what to say to them to explain what happened.
“Baby girl, I told you I’d take care of everything.” He reaches out, touching my cheek, and the softness and sweetness of it makes me only want to cry harder. I’m close to losing it, losing everything I’ve ever wanted. I turn and break his hold, running back towards the house as fast as I can. When I hit the door, I go straight up the stairs and into my bedroom. I slam the door closed, locking it behind me.
It’s not even a few seconds later when I hear Jasper’s footsteps coming up the stairs.
“I’m tired of you running in the wrong direction from me, Libby. You run and I’m going to chase from now on, I promise you that. I can’t let this go, and I refuse to let you go. Not when I know you want this, too.” He says all of this from the other side of the door, not making a move to break it down.
God, I do want it. I want him so much it hurts. I love him and my family so much, and I feel like it’s starting to rip me in half.
I stay leaning up against the door, not sure what to say. All of this is happening so fast. I went from thinking he didn’t even know I existed to him staking a claim to me. My mind can’t seem to catch up.
I see my phone light up, and I push away from the door, wondering if the gossip is already spreading. But I’m surprised when I see it’s a text from Owen.
Owen: Meet me at the lake.
Me: Why?
I feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest.
Owen: Maybe I’ll keep your little secret.
A sliver of hope runs through me. I know Jasper and I can never be together, but maybe if we aren’t found out, I can live off our secret times together, if only for a short time. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Right? The old saying plays over in my head.
Me: Okay.
I grab the keys to my VW and open my bedroom window.
“Libby, open the door or I’m coming in. Don’t think this will stop me from getting to you. Nothing will.” I can hear the promise in his voice, but I know he’d never let me go talk to Owen on my own. Maybe I can get him to keep his mouth shut and our secret will be safe.
“I’m going to fix this,” I tell Jasper, slipping my phone into my pocket.
“No, I’m going to fix it, baby girl. I promise you. I will make everything right for you. For us.”
My heart flutters at his words, and I know he will. But Jasper has a rougher approach to things than I do. He likes to barge in, and this needs to be handled with more care. Climbing out the window, I hear Jasper banging on the door. I slide down the window awning, landing on my feet, and take off towards my car. I’m sprinting when I hear Jasper yell my name, and my heart threatens to beat out of my chest.
I hear him yell my name again, but this time it’s much louder. When I get in the car, I look up to my window and see him leaning out of it, watching me. I put the car in drive and pull out of my driveway, trying to get out of there as fast as possible. When I look up to my rear-view mirror, I see Jasper come flying out the front door.