Unbreakable Love (17 page)

“It’ll be breathtaking,” he said.

“Nate,” Jennie said, surprising him. Just hearing Jennie say his name sent a jolt to his vulnerable heart.

“Yes?” he responded, looking at her cautiously.

“Thanks for sticking up for my ideas.”

Nate wanted to look away, but she was now openly grinning, making it impossible for him to look at anything else. For Nate, seeing her eyes lit up and a smile on her face was like watching the sun come up over the horizon and illuminating the previously darkened world. Suddenly, everything became so clear and manageable. Even though Nate was soaring inside, he worked hard to act nonchalant, still trying to tread lightly on those eggshells.

“No problem,” he said keeping his voice perfectly level. A brief silence followed where neither Jennie nor Nate knew what to do next. This time, Jennie took the lead.

“Why don’t we talk about how we are going to get additional funding?” Jennie suggested.

For the next few minutes, they outlined the businesses they would approach and who would be responsible for what. As the hour was wrapping up Nate began to feel panicked again. What if she decided working with him was a bad idea? What if she went back to not speaking to him? Just their superficial interaction reminded him of how much he needed her in his life. He didn’t want to lose her again. He couldn’t. She was like the air he needed to breathe.

Jennie began to gather up her notebook and pencils. All the while Nate’s mind screamed at him,
find a way to fix this
. Not surprisingly, Jennie sensed his innate struggle and cut him off before he said anything that would damage their fragile relationship. Forgetting the consequences of touching him, Jennie reached out and touched the top of his hand with her fingertips. The sensation followed, although more lightly than before. That indescribable tingling served as a reminder to Jennie that she must not make her heart vulnerable again. As soon as she had his full attention, she pulled back to the safety of some distance between them.

“Look, Nate,” she began, and Nate knew right away by the tone of her voice, he wasn’t going to like what she said.

“I’m still reeling from our conversation at Blake’s house and I’m with Jace so that changes things, but I can work with you if you promise me to only talk about prom stuff. Nothing personal, no matter what.”

Jennie’s words came down on him, heavy like dark clouds, but at the same time, his vision was clear enough to recognize that at least they were talking. At least they wouldn’t have that pervasive wall of anger and hurt between them every day. Now there was a chance that he might see her smile at him and that was more than he had yesterday.

“I understand,” he said simply and then was wise enough to leave it at that.

“So we’ll canvass businesses on Saturday at one o’clock like we planned,” Jennie confirmed.

“I’ll see you Saturday.” Nate finished the conversation, thinking about how odd it felt to be virtual strangers again. In some ways, it felt like they were back to where they started in late August when he first arrived.

With a final tentative smile, Jennie pushed back her chair and turned to leave. She walked steadily to the door without looking back, but Nate knew she was thinking about him. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text thanking Marissa, taking great care not to say anything that could unravel his and Jennie’s mending relationship. When he was done, he tucked his phone back in the pocket of his plaid shorts and threw his backpack over his shoulder. As he walked out of room 110, he felt as if an overwhelming burden had been lifted. The daunting task of rebuilding his friendship with Jennie still loomed over him, but now there was a spark of hope, tiny but burning brightly enough to re-ignite the raging fire that had once been.

* * *

As promised, Jennie and Nate worked together tirelessly to gather the money and supplies to make prom into what Jennie imagined. Sometimes they would spend hours together, but Jennie was true to her word and never allowed them to talk about anything personal. Once, while they sat across from each other at a table having ice cream Jennie’s bare leg accidentally brushed against Nate’s. The sensation, that tingly sense of contentment that always came, followed. Jennie’s eyes grew wide in surprise even though she should’ve expected it. Nate never asked why; instead, he bit his tongue so hard he could feel blood in his mouth. Being kept at arm’s reach was excruciating for Nate, almost as painful as the realization that he would be leaving Jennie’s life in a few weeks. To help him keep his resolve, Nate focused on the reason he came in the first place. He asked Marissa to plan a trip for the two of them over spring break. He even offered to pay for their expenses. Marissa looked at him strangely, but that was nothing new. It didn’t matter though; Jennie was unwilling to change her plans, no matter what Marissa offered.

“I don’t know why you don’t want her to go on this trip to Santa Barbara,” Marissa said to him while they ate lunch in the courtyard, “but if it’s that big a deal to you, then stop her yourself. She’ll listen to you, you know.”

Nate glanced from Marissa to Braiden. Braiden tisked as if he was disgusted by Nate’s stupidity. “Don’t look at me, dude,” he said, “Marissa is always right when it comes to Jennie. I’d listen to her.”

Nate smiled weakly, knowing that the responsibility still fell squarely on him and, at the same time, wondering how he could possibly succeed.

Jennie’s mom gathered up the papers from her lawyer’s office and slid them into the hard-sided envelope before tucking the envelope into a drawer in the kitchen. Looking over them for mistakes had taken the better part of her afternoon, but in the end she was happy with their updated will. Completing it had silenced her anxiety about getting their affairs in order. After the Sunday Nate spent with them, she had struggled with a sense of foreboding from time to time, but lately it seemed to have passed.

Now all she had to do was show the will to Jennie and explain the changes they’d made. Their lawyer was a family friend and Jennie’s mom felt confident that he would take care of everything else if anything ever did happen to both her and her husband. Jennie was reluctant to even address her parents’ will but her mom reassured her that updating the will was nothing more than just being prepared.

Cathy opened the drawer one last time and looked at the nondescript envelope sitting on top of their scissors and notepads, Scotch tape and coupons. It looked out of place in their junk drawer and she would be glad to put it in their small wall safe later that night.

At 5:36 Cathy heard one car and then another immediately after pull into the driveway. She peeked out the window just in time to see Jennie’s dad park his car next to Jennie’s. Her family was home, and everything felt right in the world again. Just before the door opened, she slid the drawer closed and put the documents temporarily out of her mind. Just in case could wait—at least until after dinner.

Short of outright telling Brittney’s boyfriend that the girl he loved was a cheat and a liar, Marissa had tried everything to expose Brittney.

Kevin and Brittney were the longest running couple at Palm Springs High. According to the stories, Kevin had asked her to dance at the eighth grade graduation dance. She blushed beneath her budding acne and said “yes” and they had been going strong ever since. In fact, most girls in school drooled over Kevin’s devotion toward Brittney, and most guys saw her as a beautiful accessory that Kevin hung on his arm to make him even better looking and more popular. Clearly, their relationship was the envy of the school.

Marissa had even gone to the trouble of videotaping Jace and Brittney blatantly making out in the car, and leaving a disk labeled “watch me” in Kevin’s locker. She didn’t want to publicly humiliate them, she just wanted to pass on the information and let the chips fall where they may. While Marissa watched from around the corner, Kevin looked suspiciously at the disk, dismissed it and placed it in the large brown garbage can on the way to his next class.

Finally, after weeks of failed attempts, Marissa was out of ideas. She was beginning to wonder if she should just give up. That’s when pure luck stepped in and did the job for her.

For Jennie, March 6 was a day etched in her memory as a day of misery. As Nate promised Marissa all those weeks ago, the basketball team remained undefeated, landing them in a strong position to win the championship game. That game was to be played on March 6, the Thursday before Jennie planned on leaving with her parents for Santa Barbara.

The week before the game, the school buzzed with pre-game excitement. School colors could be seen everywhere. Posters were hand-drawn and pinned on the walls between classrooms. School spirit T-shirts were sold in the courtyard before and after school. Among the students, the boys sported Indian ball caps and the girls flaunted red and black ribbons in their hair.

On Thursday, the day of the big game, classes were canceled after lunch so that the entire school could attend a pep rally. Nate’s extraordinary talents had created quite a stir, and now Palm Springs High was completely united in one common goal—to win the championship trophy.

Jace had stopped attending games and finally asked Jennie not to go, either. His ugly jealousy was subtle at first, but as he sat next to Jennie and watched her starry-eyed expression while she watched Nate, it was more than his over-inflated ego could take. Suddenly, every argument they had seemed to be about Nate, even though Jennie assured Jace that there was nothing going on between the two of them. She didn’t lie; there was very little interaction between them. When they spoke or spent time together, it was usually to work on prom decorations, and Jennie was careful not to let her feelings for Nate show. Still, every once in awhile, she would catch herself staring at Nate longingly, and sometimes Jace would see it. In the end, probably out of guilt, Jennie caved and said she wouldn’t go to the games, and she didn’t until the championship game.

The championship game was different. It wasn’t just about Nate, it was about school pride and supporting her team. At least that’s what she told herself when she lied to Jace and told him she had to work the night of the big game. Besides, she was getting tired of his petty jealousy and especially tired of pandering to his every whim. Jennie was slowly starting to acknowledge that it was so much more work this time around with Jace, but for whatever reason, she stayed, hoping they could get back to what they had once been.

At 12:45, the bell rang and the entire student body poured into the gym like ants returning to their anthill at the end of the day. Jace couldn’t keep her from attending the pep rally, so instead he made sure that he was sitting protectively near her, holding her hand as if that might somehow get rid of his insecurities. Down on the court below, the basketball team sat in metal folding chairs near a makeshift podium. All the players were decked out in full game gear and not far from them, wearing an Indian ball cap and school colors, sat the principal, sporting a proud smile.

At exactly one o’clock the student body president, Reina, stood up to start the rally.

Her short blond hair bounced as she bounded to the microphone with the enthusiasm of a cheerleader. In one smooth movement, she took the microphone off its cradle and let out a traditional Indian war cry, filling the already charged air with a surge of frenzied energy. The student body went crazy, some cheering and others returning her cry, their voices rising up in a high-pitched chorus.

Beaming from ear to ear, Reina knew she had them.

“Go, Indians,” she yelled out, and then, on cue, the cheerleaders burst through the double doors, running and cartwheeling across the floor to the pounding beat of a familiar song. Everyone was out of their seats now, clapping their hands and swaying to the music as the cheerleaders fell into position and began to perform a routine they’d perfected for the occasion. When the cheer squad was done, they quickly took a seat on the floor directly in front of the basketball team, and Reina took command of the microphone again.

“Let’s give a round of applause to our cheerleaders,” she shouted over the noise. The gymnasium rocked as hands struck one another and feet stomped the wooden bleachers below their feet. Jennie pounded right along with them, feeling more alive than she had in a long time. Nate watched her from the corner of his eye, wishing more than anything that he was sitting there next to her, sharing the experience with her.

When the applause died down, Reina signaled to someone who sat on the top row of the bleachers with a computer. Slowly a broad screen began to descend from somewhere in the ceiling. Little by little, the students began to quiet down and redirect their attention. Once the screen was lowered, Reina put the microphone back in its place and spoke into it, a little more quietly this time, “Our yearbook staff has been hard at work recording basketball history. Do you want to see their work?”

The attentive crowd briefly broke out in cheering again but soon settled down as the first flickers of light touched the screen. From a seemingly invisible source, larger-than-life images of the basketball team appeared before them while corresponding music poured through the gym’s speakers.

At first, the pictures were mostly of the team taking winning shots during games. Following team shots, the images began to change as players were caught on camera and highlighted individually. When the shot of Braiden eating pizza in the courtyard came up, Jennie and Marissa screamed wildly in response. This picture was followed by Spencer riding his motorcycle to school. Nate was caught carrying prom decorations to a committee meeting and Connor was discovered absorbed in a book beneath a tree. As each player was shown, the crowd continued to clap in support. Finally, after all but one player had been highlighted, one last picture appeared on the screen of Kyler getting into his car in the school parking lot after a practice.

At first, the students cheered just as they had for every other player, but then as the image stood frozen on the screen for all to see, people began to look past Kyler and notice what was inadvertently caught on film in the background. Just off to the right and several rows behind Kyler, Jace and Brittney leaned against his car in an incriminating lip lock. Brittney’s face was obscured by the angle of the shot but Jace’s face was shown with flawless accuracy and the bright afternoon sun left no doubt as to their guilt. The longer the picture remained on the screen, the more people noticed Jace’s indiscretion. An uncomfortable silence began to roll over the room as the cheering gave way to accusations and whispers spread by texting and word of mouth.