Loving Lies

by Linda Kage

  “He saved me too,” Aubrey called from his stretcher.

  The microphone and light from the camera instantly shifted away from Jonah to swerve his roommate’s way.

  “Three of us were trapped under this tree prop that had fallen on stage, when suddenly I heard Jonah calling my name. Then he appeared like an angel from the smoke and pushed the beam off us. None of us could walk so he carried us, and, oh hell. Your leg’s broken. How could you carry all three of us?”

  The camera and reporter whirled back to Jonah. “Your leg’s broken?”

  Jonah shrugged. “My femur’s still technically mending from being shattered in the massacre.”

  “Wait!” Charlie Martin waved his hand with an incredulous air. “You were wounded in the school shooting, you had a broken femur, and you still carried three people out of a burning building?”

  “Well…” Hmm, he had, hadn’t he? That was strange. It sounded almost noble when phrased that way. But still…“It’s practically healed. I’ve had over three months to—”

  “He was amazing. Totally amazing.” Tess wrapped her hands around his arm and squeezed. “We were screaming at him, begging him not to go back inside. But he was so determined and brave.”

  “Then he used the laser off my flashlight to wedge in the doorway so he could see his way back out,” Bailey felt the need to add with a self-congratulatory nod.

  Charlie Martin’s jaw dropped. “So, you’d already escaped outside after the fire had started, but you went back in?” The light from the video recorder shifted and the cameraman moved to get a better shot of Jonah’s face. “Weren’t you scared?”

  “Of course.” Jesus, who wouldn’t be scared? Was this guy for real? “But my friend was still in there. I couldn’t just leave him.”

  “And another girl came running through the doorway while he was inside because she’d been able to follow the line of red laser right out the exit.” Bailey preened, obviously still proud of her invention. “So, there’s another life he saved tonight.”

  “What’s that up to, then?” Aubrey asked. “Five people who might’ve died if not for him?” He gazed up at Jonah with complete adoration. “You really are a hero.”

  But Jonah shook his head. “No. My leg gave out on me about ten feet from the door. I dropped all three of you guys, and—” he glanced at Tess “—I don’t know who, but someone else got us all outside.”

  No one seemed to care that he hadn’t done it all by himself. Charlie Martin shook his head with amazement. “What did you say your name was again?”

  Jonah paled. “I didn’t—”

  Aubrey talked over him. “His name’s Jonah Abbott. That’s Abbott with two b’s and two t’s.”

  Mouth falling open, Charlie Martin gaped at him before stuttering, “Did you say…J-Jonah Abbott?”

  “Oh, so, you remember totally lambasting him a couple months back, do you?” Bailey smirked cheerfully as she hooked her arm through Tess’s. “Just because he owned a gun, which a really bad person stole to do really bad things with. No, I guess a hero with a bum leg risking his life and rushing inside a burning building to save his best gay friend from certain death doesn’t quite fit the mold of evil bullying bigot all you friendly media people made him out to be, does it?”

  “Ooh…burn,” Aubrey said. Bailey laughed and fist-bumped him.

  After gaping at the two of them for totally defending him, Jonah looked incredulously at Tess. Had she just heard the same thing he’d heard? Maybe too much smoke to the brain was making him hallucinate.

  But Tess merely grinned at him and lifted up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Reason number one why having Bailey for a friend kicks ass,” she murmured in his ear.

  Um…yeah. Definitely.

  As the news reporter stammered for an apt reply, a trio of firemen approached them. From the sweat and soot streaming off their faces and uniforms, they’d all just come from inside the building.

  “Hey, man. We heard what you did. Carrying three people out of there all at one time was pretty heroic.” They gave him a solemn nod.

  Staring at them in awe, because firefighters—freaking firefighters—were commending him for a job well done, he began to stutter profusely. “I…I…” Hell, he had no idea what to say to firemen who saved lives on a daily basis while they were looking at him as if impressed. “I…played football,” he finished lamely. “I’m used to carrying a lot of weight on my shoulders.”

  The guys chuckled. “Well, you did good, kid.” One slugged him companionably on the shoulder. “You ever need a job, come see us.”

  Jonah gawked after them as they walked away.

  Tess curled her arms around one of his and rested her chin on his shoulder. “And I bet you still don’t feel as if you redeemed yourself tonight, do you?”

  A small smile played across his face as he glanced at her. “Stop reading my mind, woman.”

  Grinning, she kissed his cheek. “Take me home, handsome. Some very brave and gorgeous hero just told me I needed a shower.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  TESS AND JONAH didn’t actually make it back to his apartment until the wee hours of the morning. He’d been required to go to the hospital to get checked out, so they’d been forced to sit around for hours, waiting until he was released. Then, they had showered together, soaping each other’s hair three times before they gave up and decided they were just doomed to smell like smoke for a while. But after lying down for a few hours of shut eye, they were both up again, unable to sleep.

  After another shower, Tess lingered in the bathroom to blow-dry her hair. Wrinkling her nose, she smelled one of her pungent locks as she strolled back into the living room where she caught sight of Jonah sitting on the couch, hanging up his cell phone.

  “Well, Aubrey has a broken leg,” he announced with a heavy sigh. “The prop that fell on him busted his femur, just like mine.”

  “Oh, my God.” Covering her mouth, she let out a small, horrified laugh. “And you told him to break a leg.”

  Jonah groaned. “Don’t remind me. Seriously, the two of us hobbling around here for the next half a year is going to be hell, especially with the drama queen. He got a paper cut once and literally cried. With tears.”

  Tess sobered immediately and winced. “Oh, boy. Poor Aubrey. But at least he wasn’t hurt any more than that. He could’ve been crushed to death. Or burned to a crisp.”

  “Amen.” Wrapping his arms around her waist when she came close enough for him to touch her, he buried his face in her stomach. “All that matters is he’s alive.”

  She stroked his hair as he rested his face against her.

  “I’m going to go see him in a little bit, here. But I think I’m going to dig out my crutches first. My leg’s killing me.”

  Tess eased out of his grip so she could sit beside him. Silently, she dug her fingers into the muscle he’d been trying to loosen when she’d walked into the room.

  He groaned out a sound that told her her ministrations were the good kind of pain. Throwing his head back to rest it on the back cushion of the sofa, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his mouth.

  “Thank you. That feels…God…amazing.”

  “How bad did you hurt it?” she asked quietly, already knowing it wasn’t good.

  He cracked open one eye to give her a why’d-you-have-to-ask-that glance. “Let’s just say my PT is going to be pissed when I see him for my next checkup.”

  She bit her lip and dug a little deeper into the twisted mass of tissue. He sucked in a breath and grabbed the armrest to brace himself. “God, that’s perfect.”

  Emotion rose in her throat. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, how amazed she was by all the heroism he’d shown last night, and how scared she’d been when she was sure he’d never make it out of that building alive. But it was all right there, too close to the surface. She didn’t want to cry any more, and if she said anything that was on her mind, she knew she’d lose it. So, she decide
d to keep it light.

  “I decided on a major.”

  He opened his beautiful brown eyes to study her. “So, you finally realized physical therapy was your calling, huh? Good.”

  “Wait, how’d you know—” Her shoulder fell as she smiled and shook her head. “This is scary. Are you supposed to know me quite this well yet?”

  He just smiled at her. “Couldn’t have happened fast enough for me.” Taking her hand, he played with her fingers as he looked into her eyes. “Speaking of moving fast, I was going to ask you to move in with me so we don’t have to be apart this summer, but that might not be a great idea. I think this apartment is cursed. Whoever stays here ends up with a broken leg.”

  Tess caught her breath and unconsciously squeezed his hand as she gaped at him. “You mean, you…you really want me here?”

  He snorted out an incredulous sound. “Of course I want you here. But—”

  “But what?”

  He flushed and glanced away. “But, I don’t know. Jesus, Tess. We just started this. I know it’s too soon to go asking if we can live together. Isn’t it? I mean, after all the shit that’s happened this year, last night included—”

  Setting her fingers over his lips to silence him, she gave a soft, thrilled laugh. “After everything that’s happened, I’d think we’d have learned by now that every second we have is a gift we shouldn’t squander by worrying about things happening too fast. If we have a chance to be happy, then we should grasp it with both hands and hang on tight for as long as it lasts.”

  Jonah gazed at her, his eyes suddenly glassy. Then he reached out and gripped her face with both hands, bringing her in close. “In that case, I don’t want you to go home for the summer. I don’t want to spend a day without you. Stay here, with me.”

  The joy that welled inside her bubbled up until she was laughing and crying and throwing her arms around his neck to hug and kiss him. “Okay.” She sniffed away the happy tears. “Okay.”

  Tess drew in a deep breath. When Bailey had learned that she and Jonah wanted to go see Aubrey, she’d decided to tag along. The three of them took Bailey’s car, since Jonah wasn’t really in any condition to drive.

  Flanked by her best friend and her boyfriend, Tess recalled a few months earlier when she’d made this very same walk up the front sidewalk to Granton Regional’s entrance. She’d had no idea her life was about to change forever.

  It felt strange, entering the same building today, as if everything had come full circle. Except, now, as she glanced at the ornamental trees lining the sidewalk, she realized the branches weren’t as frozen and bare as they’d been in February. Green buds had popped out fresh leaves, signaling a new beginning.

  With all the metaphorical optimism literally springing up around her, she took Bailey’s hand and squeezed Jonah’s forearm to let them both know how much they meant to her.

  “Oh, God.” Bailey groaned. “You’re remembering the first night you met Abbott, aren’t you?”

  Tess merely grinned at her before she leaned up past his crutches to kiss his cheek. “Of course. It’s a great memory.”

  Bailey snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure the fact that you lied to him the entire evening is something to pass along to the grandkids.”

  Tess merely shrugged. “Best lie I ever told.”

  “Amen.” He grinned back at her.

  “Gag me,” Bailey muttered. She let go of Tess’s hand and led the way into the hospital.

  They found Aubrey’s room a few minutes later. He was resting when the three trooped quietly in. Bailey, Tess, and Jonah exchanged a glance, wondering if they should bother to wake him or come back later, when he stirred and slowly blinked open his eyes.

  “Hey,” Jonah said softly, approaching him. “How’re you feeling?”

  Aubrey was pale and had cuts all over his face and arms; some of them had even been stitched back together. But he smiled from dry, chapped lips. “I feel great,” he slurred, his voice so hoarse Tess had to wince because she could actually hear how raw his throat must be after so much smoke inhalation.

  She glanced worriedly at Jonah. He wasn’t as hoarse, but his esophagus had to be sore after being inside the building for as long as he’d been. She knew he was keeping how much his leg hurt from her; she kept catching him rubbing it. But what other pains wasn’t he mentioning?

  “Drugs are a beautiful thing.” Aubrey’s eyes glazed over as he gave the girls a goofy grin. Then he reached for Jonah’s hand. “Almost as beautiful as you.”

  Jonah jerked his arm back and shook his finger at his roommate. “Damn, Aub. How can you be half-dead, doped up on painkillers, and still manage to freaking flirt?”

  The loopy patient merely grinned. “Talent,” he said and blew Jonah a kiss before turning his attention to Tess. “And there’s the only girl who could make me go straight.” When he held out his hand to her, she took it eagerly, squeezing with a gentle warmth.

  “I don’t know if anyone’s told you this yet, but your performance last night was…amazing. You were by far the best actor on that stage.”

  Tears glittered in his eyes. “Actually, no. No one’s talked to me about the play at all. They’ve only mentioned—” Too choked up to continue, he slid his hand away from Tess’s to wipe his damp cheeks. “Did you guys watch the news last night?”

  When Jonah gave a loud sigh, Tess met his gaze. He sent her a weary look. “No. We haven’t.” From his tone, it was obvious he didn’t care to know what he’d missed. “So, what’d they have to say about me?”

  “They called you a hero,” Bailey answered.

  When Tess and Jonah sent her a startled glance, she and Aubrey nodded. “They showed the same picture of you they’d showed back when they were calling you the anti-Christ, and they even brought up your involvements with the shooting.”

  Jonah groaned, and Tess stroked his arm in sympathy, until Aubrey took up where Bailey had left off. “And they damn near apologized for turning you into a public menace. They said after tonight’s events, your true colors came out and showed off the amazing person you really are.”

  “They what?” Jonah glanced at Tess as if to see if she’d heard what he’d just heard before he turned back to Bailey and Aubrey. “They didn’t really say that.”

  Bailey just nodded. “Oh, yes, they did. Practically verbatim.”

  “Wow.” Jonah sank into the chair by Aubrey’s bedside.

  He was still sitting there looking stupefied when his cell phone rang. After digging it from his pants pocket, he wrinkled his face at the number.

  “Hello?”

  Tess touched his shoulder when he pulled back his head, obviously experiencing another shock. “Yeah…” he continued. “Okay…but there’s no way I could play by next semester. Oh. I see…well…wow. Thank you. Okay. Thanks.”

  When he hung up, he sat in silence staring at the phone as if he didn’t know what to do with it.

  “Well?” Bailey finally said.

  He lifted his face. “That was Coach Whitely. He called on behalf of the university.” Hand trembling, he covered his face. “Jesus.”

  “What?” Tess demanded, worry gnawing at her gut.

  He looked up at her. “They saw me on the news last night. Crap. When I heard that, I thought I was going to get reamed out for being caught on campus. But…they’re rescinding my expulsion. I can enroll in classes again for the Fall semester.”

  “Oh, Jonah. That’s amazing.”

  “I know.” He hugged Tess back, still sounding dazed by the news. “Coach even knew there’s no way I could play ball my senior year, but he still wanted to be the one to call me personally so he could…apologize for the way the university treated me.”

  When he glanced at Tess, she could only grin. With a happy squeal, she hugged him hard. “That’s great.”

  “And about freaking time.” Bailey gave a vengeful sniff. “You never really did anything wrong.”

  “I brought a gun on campus,” he reminded her. “If I
hadn’t done that, none of this would’ve happened.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it would’ve happened,” Aubrey said. “Just not in the same way. And it probably wouldn’t have brought you and I together. You’ve become one of my best friends, Jonah.” Tears leaked down his cheeks. “Which is why what I have to say next so incredibly hard.”

  When Jonah’s face paled, Tess grasped his hand.

  “What?”

  Aubrey glanced away. “After everything that’s happened this year, I’m not coming back next semester. I’m going home.”

  Jonah blew out a shaky breath, his grip on Tess’s hand never losing its strength. “You’re leaving?”

  His roommate nodded. “I’m not strong like you. I can’t deal with all the tragedy this town has delivered me. I just need to go home.”

  After blinking a few times, Jonah gave a short, jerky nod. “It’s okay,” he assured. “I completely understand.”

  Aubrey wiped more tears away. “The apartment’s all yours. We both know Sean would’ve wanted you to have it. Do you think you’ll be able to afford the utilities by yourself?”

  Jonah glanced at Tess. “Actually, I might have another roommate already lined up.”

  Bailey glanced between them with a suspicious frown. “Wait. Are you moving in with him?”

  Tess bit her lip. “Um…” When she cringed, her best friend narrowed her eyes.

  “Holy shit, you are.”

  “Bailey, I—” Tess floundered and glanced to Jonah for help.

  “I just asked her this morning,” he said, rushing to defend her. “And she never answered.” It was a lie—a loving lie. “I think she wanted to discuss it with you first.”

  Bailey nodded before cursing under her breath. “Okay, fine,” she finally said. “Here’s the deal. I found an apartment for us, a really amazing, beautiful, nice, spacious place in a good neighborhood, close to campus. But it’s three bedrooms and a little out of our price range. So…I asked Paige if she wanted to chip in and take the third room. But, of course, she’s in the same boat as you. Physically attached to her man, so it seems.”