Read Online Stardust by Rue Volley - Free Book Online Page B

to collect and befriend other people, you could seriously live your life there without being familiar with anyone or anything. Stillcreek was not that way. The population had grown, even since I was little, but still, it was a town that thrives on a certain “feel”, you know what I mean. The kind of place that welcomes you, regardless of how long you have been gone. If you were born here, you would always be a part of it. I sighed as familiar faces walked along the sidewalks. Some of them from school and some parents of those I had gone to school with. I felt a squeeze at my hand and glanced at Cody, who, for a minute, I forgot was even standing next to me.
    “This is awesome,” he said to me as I grinned. I looked at the cobblestone street and the vintage buildings, nodding my head in agreement.
    “It is, just like a postcard.”
    “I can see why people would want to call this home.”
    I paused and thought about that for a minute and then the tears came. I could not help it. It was like a gate had been opened and I lost all sight of how to control it. I quickly walked towards an open alley and ran down it. Stopping along the brick wall as my hand momentarily rested on it. Then I turned and pressed my back against the cold brick and mortar as I stared up and watched the clouds going from white to gray. A storm was coming, a storm not only in the sky, but in my heart. I heard Cody call out to me as he ran down the alley towards me. He stopped and stared at me as I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. He shook his head very slowly as he stepped up to me. I sighed and then looked into his eyes.
    “What did I do wrong?” he asked me in a quiet tone.
    “I appreciate you doing all of this, but I can’t. I can’t do it. I can’t think about you and about my dad. I just, it is too much, and I am sorry, this is my fault…all of it! I should have said no to you when you offered to come here, I should have stopped you from feeling pity for me…” I laughed, I could not help it as I continued to wipe the warm tears from my skin. “I mean, this is crazy, all of it. I am here to bury my dad.” My voice cracked as I said the words out loud and they chipped away at my heart. I shook my head and clinched my fists. “And great…now I am drama, just like I said I would never be…awesome…I just…” I looked up at him, as he calmly listened to me. He said nothing and I didn’t know what he could say as I stood here having my first big meltdown in front of him. He reached out and placed a hand to my cheek and stared into my eyes. I stopped talking as I got lost in how he looked at me. His eyes spoke more than any words could possibly say. They were filled with compassion. His compassion was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was pure and his touch instantly calmed me down, making this entire thing one hundred times harder than it needed to be.
    “Jazz, calm down,” he said quietly as I sniffled. He let his thumb move across my cheek and wiped away a stray tear as my eyes remained locked onto his.
    “I’m a mess. You are right, I have panic attacks, I am insecure and probably the worst possible person in the world to get involved with. I don’t allow people to get near me, I push them off and then I ignore regretting it. I just do and I can’t…I don’t know why I am even telling you this shit! I mean, you have been nothing but amazing to me, I mean, just so amazing and I don’t want you to get hurt…I don’t, Cody, this is just… .it is crazy, I am crazy…I am, I have lost my mind.”
    The thunder rolled above us as the first drops of rain started to come down. I was almost relieved when the first couple of drops hit my face and mingled with the tears. I looked at Cody as he stepped closer to me, the rain hitting his face, too, and then saturating his shirt. I pressed my back against the brick as he leaned into my face, his lips dripping with rain and he spoke to me without any harshness in