Free The Light in the Wound by Christine Brae

our prescriptions, thought it his responsibility as a doctor to keep us safe rather than sorry.
    “Don’t worry about it, Jesse. If you want, we can even abstain for all I care.”
    I was hurt and insulted. We actually did abstain for a few weeks. Jesse found many inventive and creative ways to make sure that we were both fulfilled without actually having sexual intercourse. It took a brilliantly orchestrated plan on my part to get him to lose himself one night and for us to get back to normal. By this time, I knew how Jesse’s mind and heart worked and the stars magically aligned for me one night at a party we attended. It involved being relentlessly pursued by a boy from another school who wouldn’t leave my side. All I had to do was ignore Jesse’s fuming looks as the night wore on. As soon as Jesse saw what was happening, he quickly took me home, re-staked his claim and made me promise that I was his, and only his, forever.
    When I think back to the past, I don’t have an answer as to why I felt so brazen about our physical relationship.
     

     
    The next few days and months flew by in a blur. College acceptance letters started coming in the mail, and Alicia and Jesse both got accepted to the schools of their choice. I, on the other hand, had applied to four schools and was accepted to all of them except the one that Jesse was going to be attending. I was devastated and worried about what that would do to our relationship. I guess it was mainly because by this time, I didn’t really have much of an existence outside of him. I called my mother from school the day we received the results.
    “Mom! I didn’t get in!” I cried to her on the phone. She knew what I was referring to because I had told her all about my four choices of schools.
    “Isabel, calm down. It’s okay. I’m surprised about that, but let me make a few phone calls and I’ll take care of it,” she assured me.
    “No, Mom, there’s no point. I guess I’ll just attend my second choice. I’m just calling because I needed someone to talk to.”
    Thirty minutes later, my mother met me at the door as soon as I walked into the house.
    “Isabel, it’s been arranged. You need to see Dean Reyes tomorrow at the College of Economics. You’re in,” she said arrogantly.
    “Huh? What, Mom? How did that happen?” I asked, still not understanding what she had done to pull this off.
    “Isa, you forget. Your grandfather is a big contributor to that school. He holds the Economics chair in that department. There was a misunderstanding. You should have gotten accepted.”
    Points for Claudia Holtzer, the best mother in the world. I couldn’t wait to tell Jesse that we would be going to the same school. Together.
     

     
    High school graduation came and went. I didn’t really participate in my school’s festivities since I hardly had any friends there. Instead, I attended Betty and Jesse’s events with their respective family members. I was so happy to be a part of their celebrations that I didn’t really miss not attending mine. Jesse kept my graduation picture in his wallet and gushed about how beautiful I looked every time he had a chance. Our summer was filled with trips to the beach on hot sunny days, nights out with his friends and preparations for Alicia’s baby. Betty and I spoke every day on the phone and saw each other at least once every weekend. She was getting very serious with Leigh, and Alex was still a comfortable friend running around in the same social circles. My mother’s focus was now on both Gracie and the baby and her relationship troubles seemed to take a backseat, at least for a few months.
     

     
    First day of school. Wow, the university was huge. Bernard, our chauffeur dropped me off at the front entrance. I missed Alicia so much. We were supposed to experience this together. I told Jesse I would meet him later in the evening, after we attended our classes. At that time, it was just my books and me. And my new outfit. As