Free The Fragile Fall by Kristy Love Page A

an excuse to spend time with Will without Jax jumping down my throat. I was still reeling from the fact that he had asked me to the dance. When he asked me, I texted Jax to make sure he was okay with us going together. He told me he was fine with it. I was still waiting for him to change his mind.
    “You guys ready for homecoming tomorrow?” Jax asked. We were sitting in the kitchen, eating pizza.
    “Yep,” I said and Will nodded. “Do you want me to pick you up or do you want to pick me up?”
    “I can pick you up. I’ll have to see if Aunt Liv will let me borrow the car, but I’m not supposed to drive without someone over twenty-one in the car with me.”
    “Live a little, man,” Jax said, elbowing Will in his side. “You’ll be fine. Just say she’s your sister.” I raised an eyebrow and Will looked disgusted.
    “She’s not my sister.”
    “Get over it. Do you want your aunt to be your driver or do you want to live a little? You’ve clocked several hours behind the wheel already, you’ll be fine. Just be careful.”
    Will looked at me, clearly unsure.
    “You can use my car. We’ll just pretend it’s your car and you’re picking me up.”
    Will nodded.
    “Perfect, it’s all settled then,” I said.
    After we had eaten, Jax left to go to Lindsey’s place. I was in the kitchen making popcorn and getting drinks together and Will was sitting on a stool.
    “How come you never do any of the normal college stuff?” he asked.
    “It’s not really my scene. I don’t like getting stupid drunk and sleeping around. Plus, I have to be here for Jax if he needs me. With our dad gone so much, someone needs to be here for him.”
    “Will your dad be home anytime soon?”
    I shrugged. “I have no idea. He just kind of comes and goes when he wants.”
    “He should be here with you guys. Family is too important to blow off. I’d give anything to have my parents back. Though, I’m loving going to high school and hanging out with you and Jax. They never would have let me do that. I like being able to feel at least somewhat normal.”
    “I bet.” I poured the popcorn into a bowl.
    “They were killed in a drunk driving accident.” He was staring at the counter and pushing a pencil back and forth. “The one night I disobeyed them, they ended up dying. It sucks. I hate that my family is gone.”
    I stood there, staring at him, unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry, Will.”
    “It’s not your fault.” He sat up and hopped off the stool. “It’s my fault. And it’s a reality I have to face, unfortunately.” He left the room, leaving me speechless. I stood there unsure of what the hell to do. He was usually very closed off about everything and I had only learned about his past from Liv. After a few minutes, I grabbed the popcorn and followed after him.
    When I got in the room, he was looking through our DVDs. “What do you want to watch?” Will asked, looking up at me.
    “I’m not sure…” We normally let Jax pick the movie, so it was odd not having him here, dictating which movie we would watch.
    “You pick and we’ll see if I agree.” He stood and went to sit on the couch while I looked through the DVDs.
    “How do you feel about scary movies?”
    “That sounds good. I’ve never seen a scary movie before.” He had the most adorable grin. It was lopsided and it reminded me of how much of a boy he really was, though there was something undeniably sexy about it.
    I picked Paranormal Activity and put it in, then turned off the lights and sat on the couch with the popcorn between us. “It’s an unspoken rule that you have to watch scary movies in the dark. It heightens the suspense. ”
    “Works for me.”
    Picking a scary movie wasn’t a good idea. I was a complete chicken shit and I was freaking out. He was munching on the popcorn, seemingly unaffected. When I jumped and screamed, he moved the popcorn and patted the seat next to him. “Come sit next to me.” I scooted to his side, not