Beyond Eighteen Read Online Free PDF Page A

do to your hands?” Wilson asked from behind me. I
heard her feet clomp against the asphalt driveway.
    “ Let’s just get out of
here. I’ll explain later,” I said without making eye contact. I
knew the influence she had over me and I didn’t want to lose any
control I had over my emotions by looking at her. I just needed to
get the hell away from that house.
    I pressed my hands against the open trunk
lid and felt the pain drain past my knuckles, into my hands,
through my wrists, and down into my forearms. I really didn’t feel
like getting into what had gone down with Nick, while still
standing in the driveway at the Browlers’ house. I lowered one hand
and motioned for Joanie’s suitcase. She didn’t move.
    “ Max?” I heard Wilson’s
trembling voice behind me.
    I slammed the trunk shut
and stood motionless, my hands pushing on the back of the car, my
head lowered. God, I wish she wouldn’t say
my name that way. Her vulnerability bled
into every cell of my body. I wanted to tell her how much I hurt.
How much pain was ripping through my body—pain that was magnified
by mistakes she made. But I couldn’t find a way to say it. It was
easier to shut down. If she’d just let me
work through this the best way I know how…
    “ Are you going to look at
me?” she whispered.
    I didn’t move. I felt the thick, heavy
moment weigh between us.
    “ I just want to take you
home,” I said resolutely before I turned to face her. “Can I take
you home with me now…please?” I continued intently. I knew if I
didn’t get her away from the Browlers’ before I told her what I’d
done to Nick, she’d end up running back in there to him. And I just
couldn’t handle that.
    “ I’m going to stay here,”
Joanie piped up.
    My intense trance on Wilson was broken by
Joanie’s voice.
    “ Wilson, I think you guys
need some time alone,” Joanie continued in a whisper as she busied
herself with the handle on her suitcase.
    “ No, J, you’re coming home
with us,” Wilson insisted.
    “ No, Wil, I’m not. You’ll
be fine. You both need some time alone, and I…well, it’s better if
I stay here. I’ll call you later. Promise,” Joanie muttered as she
crossed her heart with her finger before she leaned in and hugged
Wilson.
    I walked around to the passenger’s side of
the car and pulled open the door before I held my hand out to
Wilson, my way of asking her to come with me.
    Wilson stared at Joanie, lost to words that
wouldn’t be said between them. She walked over to me. We didn’t say
a word as she slipped into my car. After making sure she was
securely buckled in and the door was shut, I walked back to where
Joanie and her suitcase were waiting.
    “ Whenever you decide to
call Wilson…don’t tell her about—Nick. Please, just…let me,” I said
in a husky tone.
    “ Oh, kay,” Joanie said,
caught off guard. Worry clung to her expression.
    I nodded my head and was about to walk away
when I felt the need to thank her for taking care of Wilson when I
couldn’t.
    “ And, Joanie? Thanks,” I
mumbled.
    “ For what?” she retorted
without missing a beat.
    “ Taking care of Wilson,
when…I—”
    “ I just wish I’d gotten
here sooner,” Joanie interrupted.
    “ Yeah, me too. Before
Nick—” I stopped short from finishing my sentence. Then I turned
and walked away.
    “ Hey…Max…you know you’re
Wilson’s everything,” Joanie choked. “Nick was a distraction from
all the pain she was in. She needed you to come for her and you
never did. You never came.” Joanie turned away from me and carried
her suitcase back into the Browlers’ cabin. When the door shut I
was left with Joanie’s echoing words ripping through my head while
Wilson waited for me in the car. In an instant, Aspen had grown
even colder.

Chapter Five
    ~ Wilson ~
    I sat there in the freezing car, alone,
wondering if I should just get out. I wanted to confront Max again
about those huge gashes across his knuckles. Wanted him to