Read Online The Truth About Mallory Bain by Clare Hexom - Free Book Online

’til dawn?”
    â€œGood times. We aren’t carefree anymore. Can’t be when starting a career. Too much at stake. Big responsibility.” He didn’t wait for my comment. “Everybody’s got an itch they can’t scratch until they move on. Let it go, Mallory. Change is an inevitable fact of life.” He gestured at Chad, drinking alone at a table across the room. “Check out Powers if you’re looking for a challenge. Figure out what’s plaguing him these days.”
    Chad had been cheerful enough when Ben and I arrived. Now he downed tequila shots with beer backups, his expression deadpan.
    â€œI’m sure you have a hunch,” I said and turned back to Jack.
    â€œI might. I’ll tell you when I find out more.”
    â€œBetter hurry. He’s abandoning us. A lot of our friends are.”
    He chuckled despite his frown. Crossed one long, lanky leg over the other. “Yes. They are. Make new friends, Mallory. I may leave, too. We can’t ever look back. It’s sad to watch but our group is collapsing right before our eyes.”
    I smiled and clung to his arm, feigning anxiety, which had always made him laugh. “Oh, please, Jack. Please make it stop.”
    He nudged his elbow against me and chuckled again.
    I repositioned myself sideways, one leg up and one down, and watched him with devoted interest.
    â€œI am not the all-powerful Jack Harwood you think I am, sweetheart, but thank you for thinking so these past three years. We will settle into our new lives and our careers. A few of us will remain friends. A few won’t, nor will we ever want them as friends for a myriad of reasons.”
    â€œAn entire myriad, huh?”
    His frown deepened. He made a
tsk
ing noise as he leaned back against Chad’s futon with arms folded behind his head.“Focus on your possibilities. Forget the losers.” He nodded toward Chad.
    I gave Chad a quick glance. Even a week before, Jack never would have called him a loser.
    â€œMaybe he’s in trouble.”
    â€œHe ought to be except he’s such a rich, pathetic ass he won’t be.” Jack turned his focus on Dana. “Our futures can be whatever we choose. Picture the beautiful future you and Ben are creating.”
    â€œHe’s all I think about anymore. I can’t imagine life without him.”
    â€œPrecisely. All of us can expect a spectacular future. Consider where I’m headed.”
    â€œSans Dana, I’m thinking.”
    He drew in a slow sip from his cup and shot me a devilish side-glance, that scoundrelly kind of look he wore whenever he felt playful. “Perhaps.” He tipped his head and clinked his plastic cup against mine, which was nearly drained of ginger ale. One corner of his mouth stretched into a mysterious smile.
    â€œWhat’s up with Chad, then?” I asked.
    â€œI’ll say when I’m not shitfaced. It’d be good for you to know.”
    I remained sitting beside Jack Harwood. Ben’s astute older friend. A good-looking man, usually enthusiastic about life. A critical thinker. In the few short years I’d known him, his educated opinion on any subject impressed me, the youngest in our group. I’d be worse than sad if he told us goodbye, too.
    â€œPeople will hurt you, Mallory, but only when you let them.”
    Not clear why or when he’d formed that opinion, I disagreed. “In some cases that isn’t true.” My head filled with examples supporting my opinion. Still, I chose silence because I knew he had more on his mind.
    He said nothing for a long while, however. Contemplating my response, or so I presumed. Rather than expanding his point per usual, he focused with knitted brow and penetrating eyes on a cluster of friends that included his then-girlfriend Dana Norris.He wrinkled his nose, and I sensed he disapproved of her “less is more” choice of clothing.
    Ronnie Moore was there, too. She