Possessing Jessie Read Online Free PDF Page B

here.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œJust because.”
    â€œAre you staying with your Mom or not letting go of Jason?”
    â€œWhatever.”
    Alisha sat with her fists clenched, fighting to keep her voice calm. “Does staying here include wearing Jason’s clothes?”
    â€œI can wear what I want. There’s no law–”
    â€œJessie, how long are you going to keep this up?”
    â€œAs long as I damn well like!” Leaving her lunch, Jessie got up and walked away, her chin high and her shoulders hard.
    Alisha couldn’t eat. She couldn’t even see her lunch tray through the blur in her eyes. Don’t give up , she commanded herself, clenching her teeth, refusing to let the tears fall. Jessie had always been there for her. Jessie was the only one who would sit with her that first month of middle school. Jessie had gone clothes shopping with her. Jessie had helped her with her English papers. Don’t give up on her now that she needs help .

Chapter Seven
    When Jessie swaggered in from school, Mom was waiting in her shopping clothes–knit top and slacks–instead of her usual housedress. With a big smile on her face, she waved a check. “The life insurance money came through,” she said. “What kind of car should we get?”
    Jessie didn’t give a rat’s hind end about cars, but she knew what Jason would say. He had talked about it all the time. “A Z-car. Nissan.”
    â€œOkay, let’s go shopping!”
    Not Jessie’s idea of fun. She mumbled almost in her own voice, “Um, I have a lot of homework to do.”
    â€œSweetie! Homework can wait!”
    â€œOkay. Um, yeah, yeah.”
    They took the check to the bank in town first, then headed for the main highway out to the sprawling car lots. Jessie drove because Mom was nervous behind the wheel. Yet Mom didn’t like being a passenger, either. She sat clutching both armrests. Jessie handled the rental car carefully, trying not to spook Mom, and as they approached the Nissan dealer Mom exclaimed, “Sweetie, I had no idea you were such a good driver! You deserve the very best car we can get you.”
    â€œYeah, yeah.”
    From tagging along with her father, Jessie knew that car shopping took a long time. Looking around, comparing costs, miles per gallon, style, performance, then price and warranty negotiation–it took forever. But not this time. They walked onto the lot, and Jessie’s mom asked, “Which one?”
    Not really caring, just being Jason, Jessie pointed toward a row of low, two-seater, sexy-looking sports cars.
    â€œThey’re pretty .” Mom started dodging between cars and peering at sticker prices. Jessie wandered from car to car more casually, ever so cool, with her shoulders square and her hands in her pockets. Pretending not to care, still, she was watching her mother. She remembered her father had once told her that the reason she and her mother didn’t get along was because they were so much alike. Back then, Dad had loved both Mom and her, so it was okay for him to say they were alike, but Jessie had never really understood. Dad had said they were both perfectionists, both idealists, and neither of them accepted reality very well. Jessie wondered what Dad would think if he saw Mom cooing over these expensive cars.
    Anger kicked in. To hell with Dad. He probably had an expensive car, too. If he knew about the insurance money, he would probably want some of it for himself. The amount Jessie had seen printed on the check had been huge. Apparently they paid a lot for dead people.
    Dead. Jason.
    It hit her in the gut as always. Jessie had to bite her lip to keep from sobbing.
    A salesman came out of the showroom. Actually, several sales guys came out and kind of lined up. Jessie noticed they were looking at her as if she freaked them out, but why? These people hadn’t known Jason.
    â€œSweetie!” Mom called after the