Out of the Shadow by Jl Paul

as she was certain students hung out at the local restaurants, malls, and bars. It looked like if she wanted to spend any time at all with Cole and with RJ, she’d have to do it on the weekends and it would have to be in the tiny little town they all lived in on the outskirts of Chicago. That was a thirty minute drive one way.
    She pushed the thoughts from her head, deciding that she’d discuss the matter with Cole. Maybe he had an idea or a solution. Maybe he’d already figured things out and just hadn’t told her yet. She smacked her knees and stood. “Let’s finish and then go grab some burgers, okay?”
    “ Sure,” he said as he disappeared back into the closet. He started tossing football pants, cleats, and pads out as his cell phone, which was resting on his desk, started to ring.
    “ Grab that, will you?” he shouted from the depths of his closet.
    She snatched the phone and her eyes widened at the name on the screen. She flipped the phone open. “Hello?”
    “ Oh, um, who is this?” the girl asked.
    “ Hey, Stephanie,” Ally said, her teeth clenched. She managed to insert the right amount of friendliness in her voice, but she wasn’t exactly crazy about her boyfriend’s stepsister.
    “ Oh, hi Ally,” Stephanie said. “I was trying to reach Jamie. I did call the right number, didn’t I?”
    “ Yes, but he’s in his closet somewhere, looking for sports equipment to pack for school. Hang on and I’ll get him for you,” Ally offered. She stepped inside the closet and handed him the phone, rolling her eyes.
    “ Hey, Steph,” Jamie said as Ally left the closet, not in the least interested in eavesdropping on that conversation.
    At first, she hadn’t minded a whole lot when Jamie and Stephanie dated during their junior year but when they called things off after only a few short weeks, she’d been relieved. Try as she might, she’d never really warmed up to Stephanie and she hadn’t liked seeing Jamie with that girl. Plus, she’d secretly feared that Jamie and Cole’s friendship wouldn’t have survived a horrid breakup.
    She busied herself with packing his clothes in the suitcases while his voice droned on and on in the closet. She couldn’t make out the exact words and frankly, she hadn’t wanted to, either. She was pretty sure that Jamie had no romantic interest in Stephanie but that didn’t mean the same rang true for the girl. For all Ally knew, Stephanie could still be harboring feelings for Jamie and perhaps that was why the girl was still calling him.
    Ally paused and wiped her brow. For all she knew, Jamie could be harboring secret feelings for Stephanie, afraid to let his feelings be known because of his friendship with Cole. Maybe they were carrying on in private – a sort of secret love affair. The thought caused Ally’s stomach to curdle.
    She returned to her task as she heard Jamie end his conversation, rejoining her near his heaping luggage. She lifted a questioning brow as he tossed his phone on the bed.
    “ It’s nothing, cuz,” he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “I swear. She just calls every once in awhile to see how things are going.”
    Ally’s brow furrowed as she pushed the suitcases aside and sat on the edge of Jamie’s bed. “Please tell me that you’re not lying, Jamie,” she begged. “Please tell me you and her aren’t messing around behind Cole’s back.”
    Jamie chuckled and mussed her hair. “I promise you that there is nothing going on with me and Stephanie. She’s all right, I guess, but I don’t like her that way at all. When I went out with her before, she was way too clingy and possessive and we’d only dated a short time. I can’t deal with that,” he said with a shudder. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Besides, I wouldn’t go behind Cole’s back like that – you should know that.”
    “ I do,” she said, properly ashamed. “Sorry.”
    “ Don’t worry about it,” he said with a wink.
    “ She’ll