Free Damage by Anya Parrish Page B

disappears in the direction of her and Dad’s bedroom. “Get your stuff together, Dani. Food and shots. We don’t know how long we’ll be waiting. I’ll try to call your dad on my cell. You two can call Jesse’s parents from the landline and have them meet us at the Baptist emergency room. We’ll need his insurance information and I’m sure his parents are worried sick if they’ve heard about the accident. Has it been on the news?”
    “Um … I don’t know.” I have to shout to be heard.
    I usually hate it when Penny starts a conversation and then leaves the room in the middle, expecting me to either follow her or yell loud enough to keep up my end from three rooms away. But I’m not angry now. I’m grateful that someone capable is taking charge. I make a silent promise not to give Penny attitude for trying to run my life ever again.
    “I’m not calling anyone,” Jesse whispers, setting his empty glass in the sink, making me realize how thirsty I am. I head for the fridge and grab a bottle of water and a juice for the road. “My foster parents don’t even know I was on the field trip. Even if the wreck’s been on the news, they won’t be worried.”
    I knew Jesse was a foster kid, but hearing him say it makes the fact seem even sadder. Something in his tone makes it clear there’s no Penny at his house worrying about how he’s growing up.
    “And there’s no way I’m going to Baptist. Not after everything that’s happened.”
    “I could ask Penny to take us to my normal pediatrician,” I say. “If we can convince her we’re not really hurt that badly, then—”
    “You told her we were in a bus that flipped off a bridge and exploded. There’s no way she’s going to be convinced it isn’t serious enough for the emergency room.”
    I sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have explained things better.”
    “No, I wasn’t … I didn’t mean to … ” He jabs a finger at the fruit bowl next to the sink. “Can I?”
    “Of course. Please. Yeah.” He grabs a banana and peels it from the wrong end, the part without the stalk attached.
    It’s a little thing, but I store it away in my Jesse file, excited that I’ve learned something new about him. The banana disappears in a few large bites and he reaches for an apple, shifting closer to where I stand as he washes it in the sink. Penny always washes the fruit before she puts it in the bowl, but I don’t tell him. It’s nice to watch him do something so … normal. It makes it easier to imagine a time when he and I might just be friends hanging out after school.
    Or maybe more than friends …
    “I just … ” He turns off the water, but keeps staring into the sink. “I think I should leave.”
    “Why?” So much for friends. Or anything else.
    “You’ll be better off away from me.” He dries his apple on his torn sweater as he backs away.
    “How can you say that? I’d be dead without you. That tree limb was meant for me. It was Rachel who made it fall.”
    He shakes his head, still refusing to meet my eyes. “You don’t understand.”
    “I understand better than anyone ever has, or ever will. We have to find out what happened to us. If we don’t … ” I let the words hang in the air. He knows what will happen if we don’t. We’ll die. “I don’t want you to go. I’m … I’ve spent my whole life thinking I was the only one.”
    Jesse’s blue eyes finally meet mine. “Me too.”
    I draw a slow breath, shocked that a simple look can make me feel so grounded and off balance at the same time. “Now it’s different,” I say. “Maybe together we can find out what happened, and how to make it stop.”
    “Dani! Did you call Jesse’s parents?” Penny calls from the other room.
    “Not yet,” I yell back, holding Jesse’s eyes, willing him to believe with me.
    “Do you want me to call them, then? What’s his last name?”
    Jesse shakes his head again, faster this time. “I can’t, Dani. I’m sorry. Not right