In My Dreams (First Tracks Book 2) by Kristen James Read Free Book Online

fail this term otherwise.”
    “I know.” I closed my eyes tightly, wanting to hide from
this but knowing I couldn’t.
    “I’m here to help. I can get a few things started for you. I
have some notes, but you’ve missed a lot…”
    Jazz, my practical friend. I love her for that.
    “Thanks. I’ll start with that. I better go, but I wanted to
let you know.”
    “See you soon?” She didn’t sound sure.
    “I’ll keep you updated.”
    “Bye,” we said at the same time. I should have told her I
was there for her too, in case she needed anything. Why did I have a lingering
feeling there was more to her question about dreams?
    Marcus had a dream last night—I vaguely remembered him
telling me something about it when I climbed into bed with him. That didn’t
have anything to do with me really or Jazz though.
    I headed back to his room feeling heavy. I have so much to
do back in Ashland. When I reached his door, his parents and Jen walked out.
Jen gave me an encouraging smile, and I got the feeling they’d all been talking
about me.
    “How’s he doing?” I asked her.
    “Good,” she said but not too convincingly. She patted my arm
as she left with her parents. “Cheer him up for us!” she called back over her
shoulder.
    “I’ll do my best.”
    Jen glanced back and it hit me, she really does expect me to
cheer him up. That’s either a lot of pressure or a show of trust. Maybe both.
    I stepped inside in time to see Marcus staring out the
window, a faraway look on his face. The covers were pulled up over his waist.
I’d hate to wear one of those hospital gowns for days on end; Marcus must too. Thankfully
the bruises were getting lighter with each day.
    He turned toward me but his eyes weren’t focused for a few
seconds; he was completely lost in another world of thought. After another few
seconds, his gaze swept over my face and his attention returned.
    “Babe, just the person I wanted to see.”
    I smiled as I sat on his bed and he pulled me into him. We
held each other for a long moment while I listened to his steady heartbeat.
    “I can’t keep you anymore,” he said, stroking my hair. “Ave,
you’ve got to get going. It’s a long drive back.”
    I ducked my face and nodded. “I called Jazz and said I’m
going back to class,” I told him. I know he’s right, but I don’t like it at
all. I can’t argue either because he feels bad for screwing up my life as it
is.
    His finger nudged my chin.
    “We can have weekends and stuff, right?” he asked.
    “Yeah, we can…” Reality started setting in. “I just don’t
know how often I can drive back and forth, and it’ll be so hard being that far
away from you.”
    “It’s too much driving?” he asked, confused.
    I shrugged. “It’s a lot of gas money and my car isn’t the
most dependable.” A flash of memory came, of when it broke down and I had to
call Nash for help.
    “Ave, don’t worry about that, okay?” He flattened his hand
on the side of my face, holding me gently so I wouldn’t look away. “I’ll cover
your gas. We’ll figure it out if the car needs work. It’ll be okay.”
    At his words, tears popped up in my eyes and started running
down my face, surprising me. Marcus has been right about so many things. I wanted
to believe him now. It’d just been so long since I heard those words from
anyone.
    He reached to me again, wiping my tears away.
    He pulled on my shirt and I slid my body completely onto the
bed beside him, facing him with my face pressed to his chest. I felt his breath
on my forehead as it slowed down, and I closed my eyes, falling asleep with
him.
     
    ***
     
    The sound of low voices washed over me for a while before I
realized they didn’t sound happy. I woke up but kept my eyes shut, listening to
Tom and Marcus.
    “She should be in class.”
    “She’s going home today.”
    “But why did she wait? She should have left yesterday so she
could attend today.”
    “Dad!” Marcus broke off and the room went