Free Love and Relativity by Rachael Wade

space between his breaths as he spoke. “So, he started stealing.”
    Too stunned by the way his face fell and the crack in his voice, I forgot how to use my big-girl words. When he looked down to crumple up his food wrapper, I found them again. “He stole...what did he steal?”
    He ran his thumb over his bottom lip. “All sorts of stuff. One thing led to another...and eventually he was knee-deep selling drugs and shit.”
    “And your mom? You said she was sick?”
    “Yeah, past tense. Cancer. Died young, my freshman year of high school. I still visit her grave every week. Lilies and irises, they were her favorite.”
    A lump formed in my throat at his admission, and again, all I could think to myself was, how did I not know about this ? I’d spent the past few years seeing him every Friday night. Talking, fighting, laughing, playing comfortable, friendly enemies. Our conversations had been all over the map, and yet the most basic, significant details of his life were completely foreign to me.
    I guess that went both ways.
    “Jack—”
    “Don’t, okay?”
    “Don’t what?”
    “Pity me. If there’s one thing in this entire universe you and I actually have in common, it’s an aversion to pity.”
    “Well, that and we both like Sublime.” I gave him a small smile.
    “Huh.” He caught his lip between his teeth and narrowed his eyes, as if to consider that thought. “I guess you’re right. Damn, we’re on a roll. Two whole things in common. We need to find three and we’ll be on a lucky streak.”
    “I don’t believe in luck. I believe in fate.”
    “Come on, Em. We’re looking for commonalities here. Work with me, will ya?” Soft laughter shook his body.
    I tilted my head back against the windshield and let his laughter seep into me. It was hearty and deep, coming straight from his core. A great sound. He pushed aside his food tray and joined me, lying back to let his head touch the glass. My hands clasped together over my belly and his rested casually at his sides, I let one drop to the hood and reached for his fingers to give them a good squeeze. He’d picked me up when I was in a heap on the side of the road and wrapped me in a blanket when I needed comfort.
    It was the least I could do.
    “I don’t pity you. I care about you and I’m sorry to hear you went through all of that...maybe more sorry I didn’t know you went through it all until now. I don’t see you as this weak little person, Jackson. You’re strong and bold. You live life fully. Anyone can see that.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah.” I dragged my gaze from the sea of stars above us to search his face. “Can I ask you something, though?”
    “Shoot.”
    “Is it true? That you didn’t want to go to college? Or was it because...you couldn’t...because of money and stuff.”
    “Both. I was never crazy about the idea of going to school. High school was enough for me. It’s not that I don’t want to learn or anything, it’s just I had different plans.”
    “Oh?” Last I had heard, he was still working down at the marina, doing boat maintenance for the locals, and odd jobs here and there during tourist season for some extra cash. If Jackson had any plans, they were lost in the shuffle, buried beneath his fun-loving, fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants attitude and his weekly escapades at Pete’s.
    “Yeah, well. They’re more like dreams now than plans. I still have my dad’s old sailboat. We were fixing it up together, giving it a face lift before my mom died. After he got locked up, it was left to me and I let it sit for a few years. I’d kept it up and all, but never took it out or anything. I had no idea how long he’d have to serve time. His sentence kept changing, and eventually, I realized he wouldn’t be out in time for my high school graduation, which is when he’d promised we’d take it out again. I had this crazy idea that when I graduated, even though he was still doing time, I could pick up where we left off and