The Light in the Wound by Christine Brae Page B

pursue me as soon as he caught the ball. I hit the ball two more times until he chased me down and lifted me off the ground.
    “Jess!” I panted, as he swooped me in his arms. “That was hard work! What do I get for doing this?” I flirted.
    “Me,” he responded, as I wrapped my arms and legs around him.
    “I’ll take that,” I whispered, and with a tender kiss, I gave him permission to carry me back to the dugout.

 
     
    “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
    —Helen Keller
     
     
    Sophomore year was upon us. I was spending more and more time alone, as Jesse’s time was consumed by baseball practices, baseball games and extracurricular activities. He was voted in as the University’s Sports Council President and there was an entourage of people that followed his every move. I was happy to remain in the background. I knew that he saw me every chance he got, regardless of how rare those times were. He did call me every evening and we would talk about our day. Betty would see me as often as she could, too, but we both accepted the fact that her time with Leigh was a priority. Carter and Alicia were getting ready to have their second baby, and Carter’s family had purchased an apartment for them to move into. Evie was still seriously into Seth and they were making plans to get married after graduation.
     

     
    My mother was now out of rehab and dating a doctor that she met while confined in the hospital. His name was Lance and he was an older gentleman with grown kids. He was kind to her and available at her beck and call. He came over to visit every evening and before we knew it, he had moved into our house. He cooked for her, took her dancing, worked hard and was smitten by her. But he was quiet and shy and her personality always overpowered his. She seemed happy, so who were we to question it? She insisted on marrying him, complete with a wedding dress and all. Evie, Alicia and I would share many laughs over this.
    “She’s crazy. It looks so stupid! Why is she making a fool of herself?”
    And yet, there we were. Watching her walk down the aisle to meet him in front of his best man and a priest.
     

     
    Jesse’s university connections helped me to circumvent the twelve-credit hour requirement for enrollment in any sport. I didn’t have to choose any sport. The head of the Sports Committee had marked my course curriculum as completed . I was like royalty, actually. Everywhere I went on campus, people knew I was dating Jesse. By this time I was used to girls coming up to me just to gush about how wonderful he was. I was gracious about their compliments and would tease Jesse about it whenever we were alone together. The passion we had for each other kept me secure in knowing that it was just me for him. At parties I would feel so separated from him, despite the fact that he was holding my hand. His conversations with others would refer to events that I wasn’t there to witness. They would laugh about it — crack up about it — and I would smile until my mouth would cramp up. But right when I would start to feel insecure or doubtful, he would pull me aside and show me how much he loved me. It didn’t matter where we were. There were stolen trysts in the bathroom. At the University’s Student Center late at night. In the stalls of the gym locker room. I lived for those moments, minutes, seconds … I needed to touch his skin to make me feel alive.
    Jesse’s friend, Ryan would silently watch me at these parties and come to my rescue whenever he saw my eyes glazing over. He would crack jokes, make useless conversation, or help me find Jesse whenever I would lose him to a group of people. We became close friends and soon enough, he completed my trio circle with Betty rounding up the other end.
    My Econ classes kicked in during my sophomore year and I looked forward to these classes and the group of people that were in the class with me. James was one of them. James was of Spanish descent,