Branded by Keary Taylor Read Free Book Online

even chosen my favorite pink sweater to wear.
    I shook my head at myself as I walked out the door. I was pathetic.
    Part of my everyday routine was to check on Sal. She was reading one of the books I had bought her and she seemed to be near the end of it. She wouldn’t say much, just a few mumbles and nods when I asked her questions. She was rather unsociable the last few days. But that was normal for Sal. She seemed to have cycles of either being a nonstop chatter box or almost completely mute. I wasn’t going to pressure her. She’d already been through enough in her life; I wasn’t going to add any stress.
    I returned to my apartment and sat back at the table.
    Knowing I was only trying to pass the time until dinner, I pulled my laptop out and pulled my email up. There wasn’t much in there as I didn’t keep in touch with the very few friends I had in high school. I didn’t belong to any social networking sites, for the same reason. Most of the messages in my inbox were junk but one caught my attention. The monthly newsletter from Stanford that I still continued to get, despite the fact that I had never actually made it to the university.
    Having nothing else to do, I clicked on the message. I skimmed it quickly, my eyes freezing on a short announcement half way through it. The notice that one Jason Walker would begin teaching psychology in the summer. I knew that name all too well.

    I had run away from home when I was sixteen and found myself in central California. I lied about my age to get an apartment, found a job, and learned to grow up very fast. Somehow I managed to stay in school too. Soon after I turned eighteen, my senior year of high school, I met Jason.
    He was handsome and charming. He was older than I was, 24 and already almost finished with his masters. But neither of us seemed to care about the age difference. He looked younger than he really was; I looked slightly older so people never really asked questions.
    Jason was attentive and did not seem to mind my strange idioms. He was a great listener and I told him everything about myself. He told me he loved me often and I did the same. I had even allowed myself to think of the possibility we might end up being married at the end of the year.
    After six months of the happiest days of my life the world exploded.
    “Hey,” I said with a smile as I placed a quick kiss on Jason’s cheek. He only gave me a stiff smile and set his backpack on the grass. I tried not to worry about the crease in his forehead that only made an appearance when he was worked up or the way he kept his distance from me.
    The California air was warm, perfect for this time of year. I had survived graduation three weeks earlier. I was proud of myself for making it through all four years.
    Working a full time job to support myself wasn’t easy, add to that the pressure of finals and keeping up a perfect 4.0, it had been hard. But I had done it. Jason had been in the stands cheering me on as I received my diploma.

    “Do you want to go to the club tonight?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood that was already darkening, despite the fact that he hadn’t said anything yet.
    Jason looked at the ground, his lips pursed together in a tight line. His jaw was set hard as he seemed to be considering his words.
    “I can’t do this anymore Jessica,” he finally said. He couldn’t even meet my eyes. “I can’t handle it anymore. It’s just not normal. They aren’t real.”
    “Jason,” I whispered, my brow furrowing with the hurt that was only going to get ten times worse over the next few minutes.
    “This is what I’m going to be doing, Jess,” he said as he finally turned hard eyes on me. “I’m a psychology major for crying out loud, I should be able to spot when someone can’t handle reality when I see it. I can’t do this anymore.
    Good-bye, Jessica.”
    And with that he picked up his backpack and walked out of my life forever.
    It was as harsh and dry as that.
    I