Save Me Read online

  Save

  Me

  By Stephanie Street

  Save Me

  Text Copyright © 2018 Stephanie Street

  All Rights Reserved

  To my sisters, Sarah and Stephanie.

  Thanks for letting me borrow your names.

  Love you!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Sample Chapters of The Perks of Dating You

  Sample Chapters of Dating: One on One

  Chapter 1

  Joie

  With sweating palms, I rang the doorbell to the house across the street. It had been more than three years since the last time I stood on this porch. Back then I never rang the bell or knocked, instead walked in knowing I was as welcome there as if it were my own house. But that was a long time ago. Things have changed since then. Or maybe they haven’t as much as I’d like to think. Either way, desperate times called for desperate measures and I was desperate.

  Mrs. Lewis had finally given me the go-ahead to start preliminary stages of production for the play I’d written. The play was my ticket out of here. The only problem- there hadn’t been a dramatic production at my high school in over a decade. It had taken some serious effort, and by effort, I mean begging and pleading, to find a teacher willing to sponsor the play and participate as the resident voice of authority over the newly formed drama club, of which I was currently the president and only member.

  And so here I was, at the house across the street. Because everyone knows any great production needed a celebrity. And Cole Parker was the closest thing to a celebrity our little town could claim.

  “Joie! What a surprise!” Mrs. Parker greeted, a furrow forming between her brows even as her lips curled into a happy smile.

  “Hi, Mrs. Parker. Is Cole home,” I asked, nerves shaking my voice.

  If possible, Mrs. Parker’s smile widened. “Of course, he’s up in his room. Should I call him down or do you want to go on up?”

  “Oh, no. I can go up.” I glanced up the stairs. “Are you sure that’s okay?”

  Mrs. Parker placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure. It’s good to see you, Joie.” She gave me a sad smile. She had no idea why I stopped showing up on her doorstep and for the first time, I felt bad about it. Not just for my own sake or Cole’s, but for this family who had been as much mine as his. Before I could talk myself out of it, I gave Mrs. Parker a quick hug.

  “It’s good to see you.” She squeezed me tight when I would have pulled away, holding on for a few seconds more.

  “Go on up. He’s supposed to be doing homework.” Mrs. Parker’s expression turned jokingly sour. “But he’s probably watching SportsCenter.”

  I laughed, because even though I hadn’t talked to Cole in a long time, I felt certain she was right. Taking a deep breath, I placed my foot on the first step leading to the second story of the Parker’s home. Memories pulsed through my mind with each one. Cole and I as little kids, sliding down the steps in slick sleeping bags. Picnics on the landing with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and grape Kool-Aid. Building castles and spaceships with Legos in his room for hours and hours until his mom called us down for dinner. Forcing him to play house after his sister, Macy, was born, pretending she was our daughter. Ha. Maybe I could use that one as blackmail.

  Too soon, I stood in front of his door. Taking a deep breath, I slid my damp palms down the thighs of my bootcut jeans. From inside the room, sports commentators discussed the likelihood of some college basketball team making it into the tournament next month. I could picture Cole easily in my mind. Just because we hadn’t spoken in years didn’t mean I hadn’t seen him as recently as a couple of hours ago. In fact, I’d seen him not thirty minutes ago when he pulled his beat up old Camaro into the driveway out front. I’d given it that long before coming over, so he’d have time to shower and eat.

  Cole would be reclined on his bed, books strewn around him. He was a good student and would get his homework done, even with SportsCenter on. His dark brown hair would probably still be damp from his shower and he’d smell like Acqua Di Gio. He’d started wearing it before- well, just before. And he’d be wearing some kind of Cambridge High garb. Sweats and a t-shirt. If I was a betting girl, that’s what I’d gamble on. Not that Cole was predictable, except when it came to school spirit.

  Come on, Joie. You can do this. But I wasn’t entirely sure I could. He’d caught my eye a few times since well, then, and I’d seen it in his eyes. The confusion. The anger. Emotions he attempted to hide behind a mask of indifference. Every time, I turned away from him as quickly as I could. It was fine. He didn’t need me. And I didn’t need him. He had his football team. His basketball team. The love and adoration of the whole school. What did it matter he didn’t have small, insignificant me? It didn’t.

  And me? Well, I had my writing. My plans. My goals. And as soon as I could- I’d be out of here. At the beginning of this year, my senior year, I’d begun a countdown. One hundred and five days and I would graduate. Another ninety-two before classes started at USC, the top-five school for performance arts that was the furthest from my hometown of South Bend, Indiana. And that was why I was here, in the one place I swore I’d never be again. Because I needed my play to be a success if I was ever going to leave this place. And I needed Cole to do it.

  I raised my knuckles and knocked on his door.

  Cole

  “I’m doing my homework, I swear, Ma!” I shouted, scrambling for the remote buried in my comforter and pushing the mute button. Damn! Where was my Calculus book? Grabbing it off the floor, I opened to a random page. Notebook? Check. Where was that pencil? There.

  “Cole.”

  I froze. I knew that voice. An aching pain sluiced through my body. What was she doing here? And why in the hell had my mother sent her up to my room? Jumping from the bed, I threw on a Cambridge High t-shirt. If I was going to see her, it wasn’t going to be bare-chested. She knocked again.

  “Cole. Please. It’s me.”

  Like I didn’t already know. Pretending I wanted to check the mirror for...something, and that I wasn’t too chicken to open my bedroom door, I studied my reflection. I took a second to wonder what Joie saw when she looked at me these days. If she looked at me at all- the way I looked at her.

  I’ve tried not to over the years. Not to notice the way she’d grown a couple of inches since middle school. And that even with the extra height she still didn’t come up passed the middle of my chest. I didn’t notice the way she’d grown out her long chocolate brown hair until it reached the top of her round bottom, which I also didn’t notice. I didn’t even notice when she sat by herself in the school cafeteria or when she walked home alone after school. I especially didn’t notice when she sat at the window in her room, her gaze straying toward mine every now and then. I never saw that.

  Come on, man. Get it together. Rolling my shoulders, I tried to ps
ych myself out, jumping up and down a couple of times and jabbing the air in front of me, practiced breaths puffing out of my mouth. If I was going open that door, I better get my game face on.

  Chapter 2

  Joie

  Just as I was about to give up on Cole ever answering his door, it swung open. Seeing him in sweats and a Cambridge High t-shirt almost made me smile. Had I called that, or what? I didn’t smile though. Instead, I stood, rooted to the carpet outside his room, intimidated by the cold, impassive expression on his face, trying not to be affected by the scent of him washing over me.

  “Hey.” I wanted to roll my eyes at myself but refrained. My first words to the boy in years and I open with ‘hey’?

  “Hey,” he replied, not giving an inch. I expected no less. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Can I come in?” I gestured to his room.

  Cole didn’t answer for a moment, just continued to stare, his clear blue gaze piercing my armor against my will. I would need to shore up my defenses- and quick. I pushed my thick-rimmed glasses up the slick bridge of my nose. They slid back down.

  Cole’s lip twitched, and his eyes sparked with the first sign of emotion I’d seen since that day. I fought the urge to remove my glasses and wipe them and my nose with the cuff of my sleeve. I lifted one brow, challenging.

  He let out a long sigh. “Yeah, come on in.” He opened the door wide and stepped to one side allowing me to pass through the opening.

  Emotions slammed through me as I crossed the threshold. Joy. Pain. Nostalgia- bittersweet memories. The ache of missing this place- missing him- threatened to crush me right where I stood. I didn’t know if I could do this. I wanted to run. My gaze darted around the room, trying to find a safe place to land.

  Ohhhh…

  Without thought, I approached, like I was stuck in a tractor beam, unable to correct my course, even though I knew I should. Reaching out, my fingers almost brushed the glass protecting the worn photo. He cleared his throat behind me and my hand dropped to my side. Why did he have it?

  Tearing my gaze away, I turned to face him. Cole stood, frowning, his arms crossed over his chest. I couldn’t help but notice the changes to his body since the last time I’d been this close. Back then, I’d seen the promise of the man he was quickly becoming. He’d always been strong, lean. But now, his body bulged with muscles, his veins pulsing close to his skin, not an ounce of fat hiding them. He’d grown taller, too. We hadn’t been the same height since fifth grade, but now he towered over me. His handsome face, which used to light with a mischievous smile whenever he saw me, was tense, his jaw muscles clenched.

  I swallowed hard. “You’ve changed things around.” Stupid! I had more important things to discuss with him than the arrangement of his bedroom. But suddenly, the changes seemed significant. Like the placement of his bed against the opposite wall from where it had been and the desk’s new position by the door were symbols of the changes in our relationship. Even the Star Wars bedspread had been replaced by a crimson and navy comforter. I missed Darth Vader’s mask.

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah.” I blinked a few times- hard! This was worse than I thought it would be. I wasn’t sure I could do this. If Cole agreed to my plan, we would have to spend time together. I would have to spend time with him. It would be the second hardest thing I’d ever have to do. Leaving him had been the first.

  “What are you doing here, Jo?” He sat on the edge of his desk.

  I turned away. The sound of his voice, combined with the smell of him and- Jo. My body felt how it did when I was sick with a fever, achy and hot. Like if anyone touched my skin, it would be the most painful thing. And then I saw it, the thing I needed to be reminded of- why I was here in the first place. Out his window- my house.

  I took a deep breath. “I need your help, Cole.”

  He sniggered, the sound so derisive. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Shaking myself, I added a few more bricks to my defenses. I could do this. I had to do this. I cloaked myself with the professionalism I’d learned working as an assistant in the office of a local realtor. It was a perfect job for me. Fake smiles. Feigned happiness. Masks. Plus, between answering phone calls, I was able to work on my writing. Thrusting my emotions aside, I faced Cole.

  “Not kidding. And you owe me.” It was low, calling in an old debt, especially after...everything. But it was true, he did owe me.

  Cole came up off the edge of the desk. In one stride, he was so close I felt the heat from his body through the thin fabric of my long-sleeved tee. His breaths- short, harsh bursts- sent loose tendrils of hair to tickling my forehead. I wanted to take a step back. I didn’t.

  His blue eyes searched mine. I hid nothing. I couldn’t anyway. Cole already knew it all. Well, almost.

  “You promised, Cole.” Nothing could stop me, not my pride. Not even my remorse. “You’ve never broken a promise.”

  “Unlike you.” The venom in his voice hit its mark, piercing my armor just a bit.

  “Yes. Unlike me. You’ve always been better than me, Cole. We both know it.”

  Something flickered in his eyes and I knew without him saying anything that he wanted to refute my claim, but he didn’t. His gaze held mine for a moment more.

  “Talk.” He finally broke away, flopping down on his bed. He stretched out, crossing his ankles and lacing his fingers behind his head on his pillow, staring at the ceiling.

  I sat in his desk chair. “I need you to star in my play.” No sense beating around the bush. Cole’s eyes bulged, and his jaw fell slack.

  I rushed on. “It will be the first dramatic production in more than a decade at the school. I’m reviving the Drama Club.”

  Cole rolled until he sat on the edge of his bed, his elbows propped on his thighs as he leaned over.

  “You. Are. Crazy.” He enunciated each word, his voice growing louder.

  I knew that. But I still needed him. “It’s my play. I wrote it.” I didn’t tell him that I’d written the male lead with him in mind, knowing I would someday be here, asking him to do this. “You’re the only one that can do this, Cole.”

  “Why? Why me?”

  “I need a celebrity-”

  Cole sat back, scoffing.

  “No. I mean it. You’re freaking immune. You can do anything and everyone will think it’s cool. You’re the only guy in school that could pull this off and make my play a success. Just your name on the program will pack the auditorium and you know I’m right.” I watched the wheels turn in his head as he pondered my words.

  “Look, if you agree to this, the rest will follow. Tryouts will be packed with girls wanting to get close to you and guys who want to be as cool as you. Even if you sucked, and we both know you won’t, it wouldn’t matter. They would show up anyway.” Stroking his ego was one strategy.

  Cole folded his arms across his chest, watching me through narrowed eyes. “What do I get out of this? I can get girls without it and I have all the friends I need.”

  So much for the ego tactic. “Humble much?”

  He barked out a laugh. “You just said the same thing.” His eyes were on me again. It was just like before. Like he could see right through me. I hated it.

  “Stop that.”

  He pulled back his chin. “Stop what?”

  Turning away, I paced the small patch of carpet beside his bed. “That thing you do. Trying to figure me out.”

  Cole snorted. “Believe me, if I could figure you out things would be a lot different.”

  I pulled up short, pinning him with a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing. What happened to your contacts?” He gestured to my face just as I pushed my glasses back up my nose for the fifth time since entering his room, lifting them just a bit to swipe my nose with my sleeve.

  “I don’t like them,” I answered, averting my gaze when his became too intense. No matter what he thought, he’d always been able to read me and that was exactly w
hat I didn’t need- Cole digging too deep. Cole digging at all.

  “Why are you doing this, Jo? Why’s it so important?” He suddenly looked exhausted.

  “It doesn’t matter, does it? You owe me, remember?” It was petty to keep bringing that up. The debt was a weak reason and we both knew it. But I was counting on our history- the before history- to mean something to him. Preying on his sense of loyalty to the friendship we once shared.

  “I owe you for some grade school pact, huh?” Cole rose to his feet, his six-foot three frame imposing in the small space. His brow furrowed between his blue eyes and as much as I wanted to look away from them, I couldn’t. It hurt. He hurt. I hurt. It was plain in the depths hidden beneath layers of masks we both wore. “What about the last three years, Jo? I’m just supposed to forget about that?”

  I shook my head. “We aren’t going to talk about that.”

  He scoffed, whirling away from me. “You gotta give me more than that. A ten-year-old pact isn’t enough right now. Basketball’s almost over and then I start training. The football scholarship is only good as long as I keep my grades up. I can’t afford to screw around.”

  I bit my lip. This was one thing I knew would come up. Doing my play would be a huge sacrifice for Cole, but I still needed him. “We won’t start rehearsals until after basketball. I just need an agreement that you will play the male lead so I can start auditions for the other roles and get started on sets and costumes. I’ll plan rehearsals around you if I have to.”

  “You still haven’t answered why.” He watched closely.

  Against my will, I glanced at my house, out his window. Of course, he noticed. His face turned to stone. The only sign he wasn’t actually carved from the stuff was a slight tick in his jaw. It was time to beg.

  “You can do this, Cole. You are perfect for the role. I wrote it for you.” I decided to pull out the big guns. “No one knows how talented you really are. This could be so amazing.” I laid it on thick, my voice soft, appealing.

  His chin dropped to his chest and hope bloomed. He was thinking about it. The war raged within, but at least he was thinking about it.