This excerpt from “The Keys to Jericho” is during an argument Jared has with Kat. He’s a hothead for sure. ;) “Get back in the goddamned car, Katriona!” Kat breaks into a faster run, shocking me for a second, before I expeditiously take off after her. Dash may be the runner, but I’m not too shabby. Cutting her off, she makes an effort to dodge me when I reach for her. As she again tries to get past me, I successfully block her and she swiftly spins around, darting back to the car. Sprinting after her, I finally grab her arm and attempt to yank her to me, but she twists away. Giving up on running from me, she paces into a small circle. Exasperated, I shout, “Why are you giving up?” With her hands on the sides of her head, she aimlessly shrieks, “You were yelling at me! You are now! I know you think I really can’t do this!” “No! The only one who keeps saying you can’t do this is you!” She waves me off before returning her hand to her shaking head. “Just leave me alone! I’m used to walking! I don’t need to drive!” “Yes, you do! You just have to stop being afraid!” Kat stops pacing to glare at me, her beautiful brown eyes sodden with tears. “Don’t you think I have good reason to be? I killed my grandmother!” I angrily point at her. “An accident killed your grandmother! Not you! She wouldn’t want you to give up and live like this!” “I don’t deserve to experience anything when I took her life!” “You didn’t! Stop f*cking saying that sh*t! She’d want you to live your life!” With tears rolling down her cheeks, she shrugs and throws her hands out to her sides. “I can’t do anything right with my life, so what’s the point?” Kat catches her breath before letting loose with her cries. As a wave of cars buzz past us and the hazard lights on the car rhythmically blink, I’m at a loss. I have no f*cking idea how to handle this situation. None. Kat buries her face in her hands, bowing her head as she sobs. I’ve only been around Hadley when she cried. I didn’t know how to handle that, either. Sighing and doing the only thing I can think of, I walk over to Kat and gently grab her arm. “Kit Kat, come here.” I pull her to me, putting my arms around her as she shakes into my chest. “It’s okay. Shh.” With her this close to me, the potent scent of her hair is jarring, but I eagerly inhale it. She garbles against my chest, “I’m sorry, Jared. I’m a failure.” “No, you’re not,” I say over her hair as I impulsively move my hand up and down her back, but once I realize what I’m doing, I still don’t stop. My fingers graze her bra strap through her gray shirt, causing me to think about unhooking it. Wrong time for that thought. F*cking hell. Since meeting her in school, my main thought has been about my need to see Kat naked. That’s an enormous amount of wayward thoughts coming from my corrupt imagination. Reluctantly moving my hand to her ponytail, which is certainly a better idea to stay focused on the problem at hand, I insist, “You had a hiccup tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll get back on the road and try again.” “No!” she yells into my shirt, vibrating my chest. “Yes, Kat. Giving up is not an option.” She utters a muffled, “Trying shouldn’t have been a damn option.” F*ck, no. Pushing her away from me, but gripping onto her shoulders, I look at her face. “Stop it! Right now. If I didn’t think you could do it, do you think I’d waste my time with you?” She looks to the road, not at me. “You must think I’m—” I lightly shake her and when she looks at me, the red hazard lights reflect off her tearful eyes. “You have no idea what the f*ck goes through my mind, but I can guarantee it’s nothing you would ever believe.”
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 03:17:54 +0000
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