Speak of the devil.
***
Ethan’s eyes lockedwith Jess’s as soon as he walked into the shop, and like it did every time he stared into the endless depths of blue pools, his mind went blank. The world around him ceased to exist, and his heart slammed into his chest.
His reaction when he and Jess made eye contact still surprised him after all these years. It never waned. It never lost any of its punch. If anything, it grew more potent. More powerful. More possessing.
When he was younger, he’d thought that the feelings he’d had for Jess would eventually go away. Instead, his crush that started the first day of his senior year (and her freshman year) grew even stronger as the years went on.
He’d known who Jess was, after all, it was a small town. He knew that she was sick, but he’d never really seen her sick. Well, until that day he was headed to the bathroom and found her lying in the hallway in front of a row of lockers.
He had rushed to her side and called her name. Ethan could still remember the panic that gripped him when she didn’t respond. Since he’d spent his summers as a lifeguard at the lake, he was certified in CPR. The relief he felt when he’d felt her pulse was indescribable.
He called out for help and began giving her mouth to mouth. After the second breath that he administered, her eyes fluttered open and for a split second they stared into his. He’d never forget that moment. When she saw him her crystal blue eyes softened and she whispered his name. “Ethan.”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Then it was as if cold water had been dumped on her. She blinked and looked around in confusion before scrambling to sit up. He’d tried to keep her sitting down, but she was having none of it.
“Wait. Just stay there. You shouldn’t move.”
“I’m fine. I just got a little dizzy.”
When he saw that she was hell-bent on standing up, he helped her. Then he started to guide her to the offices.
“My class is this way,”she tugged away from him.
“You need to go see the nurse.”
“No! I don’t.”
“You were just passed out on the floor.”
“I know, but I’m fine now. See?”She waved her hand up and down her body as if to demonstrate that she was okay.
“You need to get checked out.”
“No.”She shook her head and started unlocking her locker as she explained, “I just need my oxygen. I thought I’d be okay without it, but…”
The door opened, and he watched as she tugged a steel tank on wheels out. She tucked the tubing behind her ears and positioned it under her nose before turning the knob.
“I still think we need to tell someone-”
“No. Please,”she begged. “If my dad finds out, he’ll make me be homeschooled. It wouldn’t have happened if I’d had my oxygen. I was just trying to be…”
“Normal,”he finished for her.
Her chin dipped in a harsh nod, and he saw tears beginning to form in her lower lids. “Yeah.”
His chest ached at the depth of emotion that he’d seen in her eyes. He saw a determination and desperation that he’d never felt or seen before.
He agreed to stay silent. It was the first time in his life that he’d ignored his gut instinct. His brain had been screaming for him to go and tell the nurse or a teacher that she’d passed out, but he couldn’t. The look in her eyes flipped the override switch in his brain.
And now, just like in that hallway, her expressive aqua stare told him more than her pretty mouth ever would about how she felt about him. They widened slightly in shock to see him, then softened for a split second before hardening. It was that flash of softness that he lived for. That tiny glimpse into her soul that gave him hope.
Then he saw who was seated in Jess’s chair and he knew that this was another setup. When Mrs. Chen had waved him down and asked for assistance, he’d thought it was odd that she’d “forgotten” her cane. But, now he knew she hadn’t.
“Hey, Mrs. Chen!” Jess greeted the woman hanging on his arm as she ignored him completely. “I think your appointment isn’t until tomorrow.”