Chapter 234 Chapter Two Hundred And Thirty Four

Chapter 234 Chapter Two Hundred And Thirty Four
JACE'S POV

"Thanks for helping me out with that back there," Jace said quietly, glancing over at Martin's sleeping form. "I really didn't know what to tell him."

I sighed, settling back against the door beside him. "Of course. I get it. I mean, anyone would be confused in his position."

We were both sitting with our backs against the door now, passing a juice box back and forth between us, sharing the same straw. It was such a simple, normal thing—the kind of thing regular teenagers did without thinking twice about it.

For once, there was no drama. No life-or-death decisions. No one trying to ship Jace off to some reform facility or threatening my mom's job. Just a few blessed hours of absolutely zero conflict to resolve. Now that the immediate risk of Jace being sent away was gone, I could finally take a breather and have a normal conversation, like a normal person.

But even as I let myself relax into the moment, a nagging voice in the back of my mind whispered: How long until the next thing happens? I couldn't shake the feeling that Jace and I had gotten off way too easy on this one. Like the universe was just waiting to drop the other shoe.

"Why did you really come here?" Jace asked, interrupting my spiraling thoughts.

"What do you mean? I came to see how you were doing."

His grin was slow and knowing. "Really? It had nothing to do with you accepting my invitation to bed then?"

Heat rushed to my face. "Nope. Absolutely not." Liar, I thought immediately. I needed to change the subject before he saw right through me. "You know you missed Mr. Reeves' calculus test today, right? And coupled with all the other stuff you need to catch up on before finals start in what, two weeks? Plus you still have SAT prep, and—"

Jace groaned, letting his head fall back against the door with a soft thunk. "Jesus, princess. You're killing me here. Can't we have one night where you don't remind me what a academic disaster I am?"

"I know, I know." I took the juice box from him and sipped. "But you wanted to stay, remember? And that means you're not flunking out of school. Not on my watch."

"We're going to wake him," I whispered, glancing nervously at Martin.

"He can sleep through anything, don't worry." Jace's voice was low and warm. "One time there was construction going on next door—jackhammers at seven in the morning—and he didn't even stir."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." I smiled, remembering how Martin had once napped through an entire thunderstorm.

"Anything else happen at school while I was out?" Jace asked, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"Not much." I picked at a loose thread on my pajama pants. "Mr. Reeves and Coach Ellis both asked to see me next week concerning my grades and college planning. I think they want to give me advice on applications, help me prepare for the final SAT in December. I already have my application essays drafted, and I've picked out a few good Ivies with solid scholarship programs—Yale, Princeton, Columbia. Hopefully Mr. Reeves can help me work out all the financial aid stuff."

Jace turned to stare at me. "When the hell did you find the time to do all that?"

I laughed softly. "I don't know. I'm a high achiever and I love academic validation? It's like my drug of choice."

"Wow. Damn, Einstein." He shook his head, something like admiration in his eyes. "Sounds like you've got it all figured out. I'm happy for you."

"Please." I pulled my knees up to my chest. "My chances aren't even close to guaranteed. Those applications are really cutthroat, and all I have are my grades and a handful of extracurriculars. No legacy connections, no massive donations from wealthy parents. I don't feel the most confident about it." I bit my lip. "Sometimes when I can get away from the craziness of my present life long enough to actually think about my future, I get really scared."

Jace reached for my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand, his lips lingering there for a moment. "You don't have to be scared. Just let me know what I can do to help and I'll do it. Need me to write a recommendation letter? I'll tell them you're a goddamn genius who saved my ass more times than I can count."

I flushed, my heart doing that stupid fluttery thing it always did when he was being sweet. "I also tried to get the rest of the cheer team to learn a routine that was just a tiny bit more complicated than usual—you know, something that might actually impress the judges at regionals. They did not like that. At all."

Jace's expression immediately went stern, protective. "Are they giving you trouble? I'm sure something can be arranged to straighten them out. Especially Allison." His jaw tightened. "That girl's had it coming for a while now."

"No, Jace." I squeezed his hand. "I can't give up on them. I won't. It's part of being captain—I just need to find a way to get through to them. They're still loyal to Allison, still see me as some try-hard who doesn't deserve the position. But I know that once I find a way to earn their respect, we're going to be the best cheer team in the state. If it's the last thing I accomplish in the short time I have left at Westbrook, I'll be happy."

Jace laughed, but it wasn't mean. "Really? With those girls? Half of them can barely do a proper cartwheel."

"Hey."

"My bad, my bad." He held up his free hand in surrender. "I'm sure if anyone can manage it, it's going to be you. You're annoyingly good at impossible things."

"Thank you." I smiled. "Speaking of teams, how's football going?"

Jace shrugged, his expression becoming more guarded. "You know how it is. Coach is prioritizing the juniors and sophomores now since we seniors are going to be gone soon. Except for the few guys thinking of getting scouted and going pro—like Marcus and Devon—the rest of us are just wrapping things up this season, focused on graduation and college applications."

I shifted so I could see his face better. "Which one are you?"

"What?"

"You know, neither of us really have time to avoid these decisions anymore." My voice came out softer than I intended. "High school is going to be over soon. We're all going to go to different places. Most of us will probably leave Westbrook, do different things with the rest of our lives. Build new futures."

Jace sighed heavily. "I know."

"That's what I'm saying. So which group are you in? Are you thinking about going pro? Or are you going to focus on graduating and applying to colleges like the rest of us?"

Jace said nothing. He just stared off into the distance at Martin's sleeping form, his expression unreadable. But I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw clenched slightly.

I rested my head on his shoulder, sensing he was troubled by the question. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you or put pressure on you. Don't worry, we're going to be okay. You'll figure it out. We both will."

Jace didn't say anything. Instead, he just pulled me closer with his arm, wrapping me up against his side. It was so warm and comfortable, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear, that despite my best intentions to stay awake and keep him company, I felt my eyelids growing heavy.

"Stay," he murmured against my hair.

"I shouldn't," I whispered back, even as I burrowed deeper into his warmth. "Your parents..."

"Don't care. My mom basically gave us her blessing at dinner, and the old man's too busy groveling to notice what I'm doing." His arm tightened around me. "Besides, Martin's here. Perfect chaperone."

I wanted to protest, to be responsible, to think about all the ways this could complicate things. But I was so tired, and he was so warm, and for once everything felt safe and right.

"Just for a little while," I mumbled, already drifting off.

The last thing I felt before sleep claimed me was Jace pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head.

"Whatever you say, princess."