Deviant by Jaimie Roberts Read Free Book Online Page B

couldn’t understand how anyone would not want to befriend him.
    Jeremy shrugged and briefly looked up at me. “There’s no point in me making friends. There’s really no point in you being here, either.”
    Rearing back, I gazed upon Jeremy in shock. “But why? I don’t understand.”
    He looked at me with a pained expression. “You’re not going to write anything down, are you?”
    “Of course not. I made a promise and I will keep it. Whatever you say to me will never leave this room, unless you want it to. I came here today because I wanted to meet you.”
    “And kiss me?” he asked with a cheeky grin.
    I gave him my best unamused look. “Don’t push it, kiddo.”
    Jeremy waved his hand in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll behave. I just don’t want to let anyone close to me. I’ve always been on my own and it suits me. Then no one will miss me when I am gone.”
    I wanted to grab this boy and hug him with everything I had. “What about your family, Jeremy?”
    “I have no family. I’ve never had family. My parents didn’t want me. After living a life of foster care and hospitals, I decided it was best to keep my distance from everyone. No one wants to look after a sick kid. Nobody wants to ever get too close. And I can understand that. In fact, I’d be exactly the same.”
    I sat there in complete shock and awe of this boy. A part of me wanted to hug the life out of him, but another part of me wanted to shake him a little, too. For someone who was only fifteen-years-old, he certainly seemed to want to carry a lot of weight and responsibility on his shoulders.
    “What are you thinking about?” Jeremy asked when I was silent.
    Looking up at him, I smiled timidly. “I was just thinking about how grown-up you are for someone who’s only fifteen.”
    “So you agree with me then?”
    “I didn’t say I agreed with you. I just think you’re putting too much responsibility on your shoulders.”
    “So you don’t agree with it?”
    I shook my head. “No, Jeremy. I don’t. I’ve only known you ten minutes and I already know I want you as a friend. I don’t care about anything else but that.”
    Now it was Jeremy’s turn to shake his head. “No. You’re better off not being my friend. A friend is someone you have long-term. Someone you rely on for life. I won’t be around for long.”
    “What makes you say that?”
    “I don’t know. Call it gut instinct. I’ve been fighting Leukaemia for years. I don’t think my body can take much more. It’s hard to keep on fighting. It’s hard to have the will to keep fighting.”
    Grabbing his hand, I looked into his light blue eyes. “Maybe if you let people into your life, you would want to keep fighting for them. Everybody needs somebody.”
    Jeremy’s sad face suddenly lit up with a cheeky grin. “Are you wanting to be my somebody then?”
    I shook my head and, with a smile, leaned back a little. “Not if it involves kissing you. I’ll leave that up to you and Julie to get it on.”
    I saw the glint in his eye the moment I mentioned her name. “I like me Julie.”
    I giggled a little at his reference to Ali G. “You should really tell your Julie .”
    “That’s why I’ve got you here, isn’t it?”
    I nodded. “I will make it my mission to run this in Monday morning’s edition.”
    Jeremy smiled and sat back on his pillow. He saw the book underneath the Twiglets and pulled it out. “You haven’t read that, have you?”
    He shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard the film is pretty good.”
    I nodded because I had seen the film about a week ago. “It’s good. And I’ve heard the book is even better.”
    Jeremy’s expression was one of amusement. “Isn’t that the way it always goes?”
    I chuckled a little. “Yes, it normally is that way.”
    “Well, thank you for the book. I’ll start reading it later. I have nothing better to do.”
    I grimaced a little, feeling terrible that I could leave here and go back to my life. Jeremy