Two Yards from Heartbreak

Chapter ten

I barely slept that night.

Every time I closed my eyes I saw Noah’s face when he told me what Jace had said. And right after that, Jace’s messages kept popping up in my head.

Doesn’t mean I was lying when I said I noticed you.

The next morning Noah picked me up as usual. He smiled when I got in the truck, but it didn’t fully reach his eyes.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I lied. “Just tired.”

He nodded and pulled out of my street. For a while neither of us spoke. The radio filled the silence.

At a red light he glanced over. “Did he text you again?”

My stomach tightened. “No.”

The lie came out easier than it should have.

Noah looked at me for a second longer, then turned back to the road. “Okay.”

I hated how relieved I felt that he believed me.

At school Jace acted like nothing had happened. He joked with Noah in the hallway, talked about practice, even threw an arm around his shoulders at one point. Best friends again. At least on the surface.

But when Noah wasn’t looking, Jace’s eyes found mine.

Just for a second.

Long enough.

During lunch he sat with us like always. Brooke was hanging on him again. He laughed at something Noah said, then casually looked across the table at me.

“You’re quiet today, Carter,” he said. “Something wrong?”

Noah answered before I could. “She’s just tired.”

Jace hummed like he didn’t quite believe it. “If you say so.”

I kept my eyes on my tray and said nothing.

After school Noah had extra film session with my dad, so I walked home alone. I was almost at my street when a car slowed down next to me.

Jace.

He rolled down the window. “Get in. I’ll drive you the rest of the way.”

I should have said no.

I should have kept walking.

Instead I stopped.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I want to talk. And because you keep answering my texts even when you pretend you don’t want to.”

I hated that he was right.

After a few seconds I opened the passenger door and got in. The second the door closed, the air felt heavier.

Jace didn’t drive right away. He just looked at me.

“You’re mad about what I said to Noah,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“You made me sound like a joke.”

“I know.” He leaned back in his seat. “It was the easiest way to shut him up.”

“That’s messed up.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t even try to deny it. “But if I told him the truth, everything would blow up. And I’m not ready for that.”

I turned to him. “What truth?”

Jace was quiet for a moment. Then he said, voice lower,

“That I can’t stop thinking about you. Even though I keep telling myself I shouldn’t.”

The words hit me harder than I wanted them to.

I looked away, out the window. “You can’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m with Noah. And he’s your best friend.”

Jace gave a short, humorless laugh. “You think I don’t know that?”

He finally put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. We didn’t speak for the rest of the short ride. When he stopped in front of my house, I reached for the door handle.

His voice stopped me.

“Ellie.”

I looked back.

“I’m not gonna stop,” he said quietly. “I already tried. It didn’t work.”

I got out without answering and walked inside on shaky legs.

Only when I closed the front door behind me did I realize I hadn’t told Noah about the ride.

Another secret.

And they were starting to pile up.