Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“Hey, Jesse,” I said, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. The minute our fingers entwined, I felt reborn, like my body had been restarted by an electric jolt.
“Your hair,” Jesse said, exhaling deeply. “It’s so beautiful.” I knew he meant it—Jesse always meant everything he said to me. “You are so beautiful.” He reached out with his free hand and ran the back of his finger down my cheek. “I’ve missed you so much, Junebug.” His voice shook at that confession.
I leaned into his touch. “I missed you too.”
Jesse smiled. My heart soared. “I’m glad you came tonight.” He appeared nervous. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I wanted to,” I answered quickly, and tried to tell him with my eyes how much I missed him but how good it was that I’d found myself again and grown stronger. I stepped closer still, and just an inch from his chest. “I really wanted to see you again.”
“Yeah?” he said, swallowing deeply.
“Always,” I said, and his smile grew bigger.
“Um, guys?” Chris said. “Just gonna say it—this is kinda awkward for me and Ems.” It was so like something Chris would have said at the ranch that it made me burst out laughing.
Jesse laughed too. Chris and Emma were giving us amused expressions.
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s go inside.”
Chris and Emma led the way.
I moved to follow and realized that Jesse still hadn’t released my hand.
“Is this okay?” he said.
“More than,” I said in return.
CHAPTER 23
June
Jesse and June’s Happily Ever After
“Holy shit!” Chris said as the team was called and they ran out into the stadium. It was something to see, one hundred thousand people screaming and dressed in orange.
“I get it now,” Emma said, and looked at me. “Why it was overwhelming.” When we had gotten back to my dorm last night, I had told her everything. It took all I had to not allow her to go and find the girls who said things about me and give them a beat down. But like the best friend she was, she understood why I needed a break from it all.
It was a lot.
“There’s my boy!” Chris shouted as Jesse stepped onto the field.
By the time the second half started, Chris was hoarse from screaming, and my cheeks ached from smiling. Jesse was on fire once more. It was like he couldn’t put a pass wrong; every move he made was perfection.
As a whistle blew, Emma took hold of my arm. “June,” she said, like she’d forgotten to tell me something. “Your story,” she said, and I saw tears quickly fill her eyes. “It’s so beautiful. Brutal,” she said with a watery laugh, “but beautiful.”
“Oh, thank you,” I said, embarrassed.
“You know you’re going viral, don’t you?”
I did. But I never really talked about it with anyone. Outside of my family, Jesse, Chris, and Emma, no one knew it was me who was writing the story that had become one of the most read publications on the platform.
My face blazed at Emma’s mention of it. It was what I adored about writing. This thing I did, the worlds I created, the characters I gave life to felt so big and consuming, yet behind the scenes, I could live a normal little life—one of privacy and beauty and peace.
“Kind of,” I eventually answered.
Emma playfully rolled her eyes at me. “Kind of? June, this could be huge for you. Like, life-changing big.” That’s something else that had happened within the past month—the story of me and Jesse at the ranch, about our treatments not working, had exploded. To be honest, I was trying not to think about it too much. It all felt a bit overwhelming when I did. And I didn’t want it to take away my joy of writing. I wrote because I wanted to. I didn’t think I could cope with the pressure of having to.
A roar from the crowd pulled our attention, and I watched a throw by Jesse sail into the air. He had thrown it so far, my mouth dropped open at the skill…then it landed right in the end zone, in Sheridan’s hands.
The crowd around us lost their minds, and we jumped to our feet. Jesse’s face flashed up on the Jumbotron. My hands were over my mouth, but then my eyes narrowed. Jesse’s team was all jumping around him in celebration, but I was fixated on Jesse.
Every part of me froze. Something was wrong. My heart plummeted when, through the gaps in his helmet, I saw his eyes losing focus. I knew Emma and Chris had seen something too because Chris stopped jumping and Emma gripped my arm.
“Jesse,” I whispered to myself, just as his eyes rolled back and he collapsed onto the field. A scream ripped from my throat, and I looked to Emma and Chris.
What was wrong? What was happening?