I laughed. “You’re right, I won’t.”
Marcus came up beside me. “Why don’t you let me take you to get something to eat while you’re waiting. You have to be hungry.”
I was getting ready to turn him down when Ms. Mary nodded.
“Let the boys take you for a bite. It will be an hour before they let you back into your mom’s room. Besides, when you leave tonight, it is going to be too dark to stop somewhere on your own.”
“Sure.”
I knew I wouldn’t have to deal with any deep conversations with both Preston and Marcus there. I was hungry and getting out of the hospital would be a good change of scenery.
Luckily, we didn’t have to squeeze into Marcus’s truck because Preston had driven his Jeep. Marcus, however, was stuck in the back, and Preston seemed extremely pleased. We all agreed on going to grab a burger at the Pickle Shack. I hadn’t had any free time since I started my new job, and my visits from Marcus were always short. I was glad we were going to get to sit and talk without my having to hurry off to work.
We slipped into a booth, and Preston shot Marcus a deadly glare when he slid in beside me. I was beginning to think that Marcus wasn’t overreacting, and maybe Preston did like me. Not that it mattered. My heart didn’t race at the sight of him, and the tingles didn’t come. My knees didn’t go weak when he smiled. He was just another guy. I knew that it would always be this way. I was getting better with dealing with the memories and the pain. Once I had accepted that I would never love someone the way I love Jax, it was a little easier to breath. He would always be in my heart, whether he wanted to be there or not. I just didn’t have enough room for anyone else. He was my air, my soul, and the keeper of my heart.
“So, you ready for your senior year?” Preston leaned on the table and grinned.
He had a good grin--even a sexy grin--but it did nothing for me. I sighed and shrugged, because the truth was I didn’t care anymore about school. I didn’t think about my future like I had before the summer began.
“I guess I am as ready as I'll ever be,” I mumbled.
He frowned, “Your senior year is supposed to be the best year of your life. You have to be excited about it!”
I wasn’t and I knew they wouldn’t understand, so I didn’t try to explain that my reason for breathing was gone. I nodded as if to agree with him and just kept my mouth shut.
“I leave in a week to go back to Tuscaloosa. I have to get me an apartment and get moved down before the semester begins.”
Marcus’s words surprised me. I didn’t realize he was leaving so soon.
“Really?” I asked, hearing the sadness in my voice.
He nodded and looked away from me.
“Well, make sure to come tell me ‘bye,’” I reminded him, thinking that at least this goodbye wasn’t going to zap me of life.
He gazed at me with a strange expression on his face as if he wanted to say something but was fighting himself about it. “Yeah. I will,” he finally said half-heartedly.
“Well, the good news is I will not be going anywhere, and you can call me anytime and I will be more than willing to, uh, I don’t know, take you to dinner, a movie, or a--ouch!”
I jumped, and Preston shot daggers at Marcus.
“What did you do that for?” he challenged.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “I stopped you before you made an even bigger idiot of yourself.”
Preston snorted. “Is he always this moody around you?”
I grinned and shook my head. “Nope.”
Preston broke out into a grin. “So, you don’t like the competition, do you, big boy?” he teased, and Marcus glared at his friend and sighed before he turned to me.
“What he doesn’t realize is that the competition isn’t even at this table.”
Preston frowned, and then like a light went on he sat back, and he grew serious, which was a first.
“Can I get you something to drink...wait, OMG it is you! Ah, I can’t believe it! Jax Stone’s girlfriend.”
The girl rummaged through her apron and pulled out a piece of paper and handed me a pen. “Can I have your autograph, please?”
I was too shocked to respond, or move for that matter. I looked at Marcus, and I guess he noticed the panic in my eyes, because he took the paper and pen and handed it back to the girl.
“Uh, why don’t you take our drink order instead?”
The girl’s grin fell, and I dropped my eyes to my hands. I wasn’t sure what to say or how to respond. This was not something I had seen coming.
Marcus ordered me a Coke, and then took my hand. “I guess you haven’t been around town lately?” he asked cautiously.
I shook my head, but didn’t meet his gaze.
He sighed deeply and leaned down toward me. “Things are going to be a little different for you, for a while at least. You’re still on the news some, and, well, around this small town, you’re a star. No one has ever gotten as close to fame as you have.”
I closed my eyes. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Jax had left me to keep this from happening. Was my life going to always be this way? When would everyone realize the rock star had left me? I was no longer his, and I was no longer interesting. I was just Sadie White.
“Sadie, look at me, please,” Marcus whispered.
I met his eyes slowly and noticed the waitress pointing our way.
“Great, she is announcing my presence,” I muttered.
Marcus turned around to see the girls looking our way. He turned to Preston. “Could you go put those pretty boy looks to good use and distract the ‘OMG’ squad over there.”
Preston nodded. “Sure.” He went over to the girls, and, almost immediately, he had them giggling and smiling at him.
Relief washed over me. “Do you think he will go to school with me and do that?” I asked quietly.
Marcus chuckled. “No, you’ll be on your own there. But, remember, they will get over it. It’s just Jax recorded a new song, and it’s rumored all over the news that it is about you. It hit number one its first week on the radio. The buzz is being fed a little more.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “What does the song say?” I heard myself asking. Why I wanted to know was beyond me. This was going to be painful but I still wanted to know.
Marcus dropped his hands from mine and shifted in his seat. “Enough for me to know it is about you,” he said with no emotion to his voice.
I nodded and turned my attention to watching the world outside the window. Preston returned with our Cokes and sat them at the table.