The Debt 5 Read Online Free PDF Page A

pool without
coming up for air.   He surfaced down
at the far end, took a breath and then went back under.   When he popped up again he was right in
front of her.
    He lifted the upper part of his torso
above the waterline and hung his arms on the side of the pool.   Water dripped down his face and he used
his hand to wipe it from his eyes.   “Towel?” he asked, reaching out to her.
    She grabbed his towel and handed it over
to him.   He pressed it against his
face and then handed it back to her.
    “Jake, I can’t accept that,” she told
him.
    “It’s just a damp towel,” he joked.
    “I’m serious.   I can’t take that money, it’s too much.”   She held onto his towel, clutching it to
her lap.
    Jake stared at her, his brown eyes
somehow warm and cold all at once.   “Raven, it’s not up for discussion.   I’m telling you what’s happening so you know what to expect.”
    “But why?   You’re angry at me, I didn’t help you, I
only made things worse—“
    “Because I want to do it.   And anyway, the money’s already been
wired to your checking account.”
    Raven once again had to resist the tears
that were welling up behind her eyes.   She blinked rapidly and looked away, and then Jake dipped backwards into
the water, and was swimming beneath the surface towards the other side of the
pool.
    She watched as he smoothly came up once
more for air on the far end, took a breath, then dipped back under and began the
next lap.
    He did lap after lap, not stopping to
rest or talk.   Raven started to feel
that she’d been dismissed.  
    It was over, wasn’t it?
    This was the big kiss-off.   He was paying her to get out of his life
and not carry any hard feelings.   She stood, as Jake was midway through one of his laps across the
pool.  
    She watched him for a moment, his perfect
body mostly obscured under the blue water, gliding almost effortlessly,
glimmering there beneath the surface, so close yet so distant all at once.  
    It was like she’d been living in a dream
world, and now she was waking up.   The shimmering glow of this new world faded and everything became just
normal once again—her old world had returned with a vengeance.   She was just a regular girl, going back
to Boston, looking for work, trying to find a place to
live.
    The wild, restless soul that had pulled her
out of her shell and shown her places within and without that she’d never
imagined—that restless soul was moving on.   He would never be tamed, never settle
for someone ordinary like Raven.
    She was on her own again, and she was
going back to her old life.
    Maybe that would be a relief in a way.
    Raven turned and walked away from the
pool, wondering if Jake would even notice she had gone.

 
    ***

 
    She took almost nothing with her, in the
end—just the clothes on her back, choosing to leave behind the suitcase
full of couture that Kurt had brought to her room, along with his sneer and his
manipulations.
    Besides, Raven didn’t want any clothing
that would remind her of this time spent with Jake—it would be too sad.
    Before leaving, she stopped by Skylar’s
room and said goodbye.   Skylar was
planning on returning to Boston late the next day with her parents.   She had another doctor’s appointment to
go to, but she seemed in great spirits.
    It seemed as though Jake had continued to
be in contact with Skylar and the staff at Sloan Kettering, which made Raven
both relieved and desperately sad all at once.
    Skylar seemed to sense that there was
something going on between Jake and Raven, but didn’t ask any questions.   That was a relief, because if Raven had
had to talk about any of it, she’d have broken down sobbing.   And that wouldn’t have been at all fair
to do with her friend who’d just received a cancer diagnosis.
    Skylar promised she would make Raven aware
of any important updates, and then they hugged and said they’d see one another
back in Boston.
    A few minutes later, Raven was