Kimberly Derting

“Curiosity is an addictive drug.”

“I pledge to keep you safe.”

“Jay sat down across from Chelsea and took both of her hands in his. The oversized lunchroom was buzzing with activity, and he practically had to yell to be heard."Chelsea, for the love of everything good and holy, please ... please stop ruining my friend."Violet bit her lip to stop from laughing at the two of them. She knew what he was talking about before he even explained. It was the new facial hair.Chelsea jerked her hands out of his. "Oh, relax, drama queen. He's not broken. Besides, I'm gonna fix him this weekend."Jay seemed relieved.”

“Cushions had been sliced apart and were bleeding stuffing onto the floor.”

“I saw the folded note peeking up from behind the cover of the book in which I'd hidden it.I brushed my fingertips across the lineny surface, my skin sparking with electricity, my fingers itching to pull it free.I shoudn't, I told myself, even as I held my breath and watched myself withdrawing it from the book. I tried to tamp down the feeling of anticipation coursing through me at the same time I argued that it was a mistake to look at it again.It didn't deserve anymore of my time. He didn't deserve the space he already occupied in my mind.I glanced around to see if anyone had noticed me there, tucked beneath my desk, reading a note that I'd already memorized.No one paid me any attention.I held the letter, vividly picturing the six words written inside the folds. Six words that I already knew by heart. Six words that meant more to me than they should.I unfolded the top third of the paper, then the bottom, purposely keeping my eyes unfocused for just a moment.My heart stopped.And then my eyesight cleared.I pledge to keep you safe.”

“Words held meaning, but voices held emotion.”

“Nothing's going to happen to you," Max interrupted, gripping my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. "Because you're not going to do it. You're going to tell her to go to hell!”

“What are you so afraid of?”

“But he was bigger and stronger and his hands reached up behind her to the back of her head, ignoring her denials and pinning her in place. When his mouth finally landed on hers, the combination of his alcohol soaked breath and his brutish unrestrained actions made her quiver sickly beneath him …… she felt like she was going to puke.”

“Jules stood up and stretched gracelessly. “Let’s hurry up and pay before she”-she indicated Claire with a flick of her thumb-“sees something shiny and we lose her again.”

“Hey, A-D-D,” she called out to Claire, “come over and try these on.”

“If you ever…ever… touch her again, I swear to God, Grady, I‟ll fucking kill you. Do you hear me?”

“She once again thought about how badly she wanted to crawl back beneath the mound of already cooling blankets that covered her bed like an inviting nest.”

“She felt Jay squeezing her hand with his. It was warm.It made her feel safe and attached to the world.”

“They lay there like that, in a different kind of silence now, watching the lake and the stars, listening to the night, each basking in the warmth of the other.”

“1) I’m, a, comma, whore. Apparently, I throw them around like confetti. Or glitter. The title of my next book: WHY COMMAS RULE THE WORLD, AND STUFF.”

“What are you doing here?" she asked as she slowed from a jog to a walk and placed her hands on her hips. It would take her a few minutes to get her breathing back to normal. Longer if he kept smiling at her like that. He shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. What about you?" She opted for the obvious and filled her voice with as much sarcasm as she could. "I live here, actually”

“Multihued light radiated up from beneath the water, centered among the reeds, and then diffusing outward as it reached the surface. Violet had never seen anything like it, and she knew that the spectrum of light was defying its very nature by behaving in that way.It could only be one thing.There was something dead down there.”

“I was just waiting for you to want me as much as I wanted you.” His words were quiet but carried one hell of an impact. “I knew we were going to be together; it was just a matter of time. I kept hoping that you would figure it out. But for a smart girl, you’re a little dense, Vi. I kept bringing up Lissie Adams, and showing you the notes she was leaving me, hoping that you’d get pissed enough to finally admit how you felt about me.”

“He nudged her with his shoulder but didn’t say anything. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the silence of being alone and enjoying each other’s presence. It was easy... and comfortable.”

“She needed Jay to go with her. Because despite her bold words about doing it by herself, it was all just a bluff. She really wasn’t sure if she could do it on her own. “All right,” he finally agreed, flashing her the same stupid grin that always made her heart stutter, even though he still seemed uncertain. “How about we start by going to the movies tonight? We can make sure the theater is safe.”

“Chelsea, for the love of everything good and holy, please...please stop ruining my friend." ~Jay”

“You're such a girl," she chided, but somehow the words came out too soft...too tender, and ended up sounding like a compliment.Jay just laughed. "So what does that make you, the guy?" He squeezed her hand even tighter, keeping it buried in his."Or some sort of lesbian," she teased, raising one eyebrow. "Maybe we should try out a little girl-on-girl action.""Nice, Violet. Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?" His eyes glinted as he watched her.She leaned closer to him in the darkness of the car's interior. "No, but I'll kiss you with it.”

“I was wrong. I should have never doubted you. I do trust you. I love you, and I can't do this anymore. I don't want to be..." He struggled to find the right words. "...without you." And then, finally, his arms slackened, releasing her, giving her the choice again. She felt his shoulders slump, and his heart shudder. "Please...”

“She fell asleep like that, wrapped in warmth.Wrapped in Jay.”

“He was the last person in the world she wanted to get away from.”

“Is that how it is now, we're back to just friends?" Violet asked, rasing her eyebrows at him challengingly. "I'll remember to keep that in mind next time we're 'doing homework'.”

“I've been so worried about strange men following you around that I forgot how dangerous Homecoming Queens can be.”

“No, I tried to use Lissie. But apparently you're more pigheaded than I gave you credit for. I thought for sure that would do it. Instead, it backfired on me, and you agreed to go to the dance with... someone else.”

“Instead, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "If it's all right right you, I think i'll keep ahold of you anyway. I don't want to be responsible for letting you fall again.”

“I swear that boy can't function without you, not even at lunch.”

“What was that all about?" Jay asked in loud whisper.She still felt like her head was reeling. She had no idea what she was going to tell to Grady when school was out. "I think Grady just asked me to Homecoming," she announced to Jay.He looked at her suspiciously. "The game?"Violet cocked her head to the side and gave him a look that told him to be serious."No, I'm pretty sure he meant the dance," Violet clarified, exasperated by the obtuse question.”

“Ewww!" Clair shrieked, shoving Chelsea away. "Get away from me!""Leave her Alone Chels" Jules interupted, "or you're going to make her start on her "It's Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve" Speech”

“He loved her.Jay Heaton, her best friend since childhood was in love with her. He didn't say it but she knew that it was true.And the part that really freaked her out, the part that caught her completely off guard, is that he wasn't alone. Because even though she'd been denying it for a long, long time, it had always been there... waiting beneath the surface of their friendship. And now that it was out there was no going back. And it was so weird to even be thinking it but...... she was in love with him too.”

“He reached out, capturing her hand in his. He laced his fingers casually through hers.Violet leaned against him and the calm finally came, settling over her peacefully.And then he kissed her. Gently. Softly. Not on the lips, as she'd imagined so many times before, but on her forehead.The gesture was sweet and a little possessive.Violet hoped, maybe, it was a start.”