The Forget Me Not Pact (The Secret Author Series, #1.4)

by M. J. Padgett

  I continued to play with his hair and ran my fingers over his face, the few parts that weren’t bruised, cut, or scraped. My mind began to wander, and a horrible thought came to mind. If his stepfather was happy enough to smash his face in such a horrific way, what else had he done? I knew they argued. I knew his mother was too weak and submissive to leave Carson, despite him using her as a punching bag as well. I also knew Jordan would do everything he could to keep me safe, which included not telling me exactly how bad his situation was until it was literally staring me in the face

  I allowed my hands to wander over his shoulders and down his arm, and when he didn’t wake, my fingers traveled to the hem of his shirt. I gently pulled it up as I held my breath. Blades of grass fell from under his shirt, so I knew he’d been at work. Whatever happened must have happened after his shift, which would explain his obscene lateness.

  With every inch I raised his shirt, the more I wanted to die. Some of the bruises were yellowed and old, others were purple and fresh. Another thought occurred to me that hadn’t before.

  Jordan was good to me, denying sex because he thought it was in my best interest to wait, and he was right. It would have been a mistake to throw my virginity out the window to spite my parents, even if it was with him. But what if he was protecting me in other ways as well? How long had he been taking beatings at the hands of his step-father but not telling me, so I wouldn’t worry?

  I couldn’t let it continue. Carson would kill him, and if that happened...

  If that happened, Carson wouldn’t live to see the next day.

  Day 665

  Jordan

  I WAS STUCK BETWEEN dreams. I knew Dana was moving around me, but I didn’t know what she was doing until I heard her sharp intake of breath. It brought me out of the dream fully, and I felt the cool air on my back. My eyes fluttered open, and I was met with angry blue eyes.

  I swallowed hard, the saliva catching in my throat, meeting the bile I could hardly keep down.

  “You weren’t supposed to see that,” I admitted, and she grew angrier still. Her cheeks were red, and her eyes narrowed.

  “I assumed as much. You are not going back to that house, not ever,” she said, her small hand still tightly gripping a handful of my shirt.

  I’d seen her angry with her own parents—frustrated, annoyed, even irate. But this, the way she was behaving in our special hiding place, my shirt in one hand and her other hand with vice grip on her phone, I knew she was about to do something drastic.

  “Dana...”

  “Not a word, Jordan. Just... just don’t.”

  She motioned to let her stand and allowed me to ease off her lap until I was leaning against the wall again. I ached all over, and I knew it would only feel worse in the morning.

  “Tell me what happened. All of it, right now.”

  There was no way to hide it from her any longer. I wouldn’t lie to her face when she asked me a point-blank question—never. I leaned my head against the wall wishing it could swallow me up and spit back out a boy who deserved her and all the love she had to give. But, things like that didn’t happen, so I resolved to keep trying to be a man she could be proud of—beginning with telling her the whole story.

  “It started shortly after your birthday. I was home a lot more since we were only meeting once a week. He’d hit me before. That was nothing new, but a full-on beating was. He was drunk, obviously, and I was too loud, so he freaked out.”

  “Okay,” she interrupted. “Tell me what happened today, specifically.”

  I took a breath and dove in. “Mr. Jacoby let me off early because it’s his twentieth anniversary, and he had plans with his wife. When I went home to shower, Carson thought I quit or got fired or... something. I don’t know. I ignored his screaming so I could just get a shower and get the heck out. He didn’t like the way I was treating him, his words, and he shoved me. I punched him, then... well... then this,” I said, pointing to my face.

  “I’ve heard enough. We’re going to the police right now.”

  “Dana, I can’t!” I yelled, pulling my hand out of hers. “Where will I go? I’ll be homeless and—”

  “No, you won’t. I’ll stay here in the clocktower with you until we can find a place for you to—”

  “You’re crazy if you think I’m gonna watch you sleep on the stone floor of a leaky old clocktower, Dana. It’s not camping out, it’s... it’s dingy and cold and... you deserve—”

  “Jordan, if you say it’s not what I deserve one more time, I’ll scream. You treat me like an angel. Maybe you’re not rich, maybe you’re not perfect, but you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. Every time you say you’re not good enough for me, it kills me. It’s like you’re saying I don’t deserve the amazing person you are.”

  “What? No, that’s not what I meant at all, Dana.”

  “Then stop. Just stop. We both have our issues, and neither of us is perfect, but we are perfect for each other and that’s what matters. Now, what are you going to do, because I’ll drop dead before I let you go back there.”

  I stared at her, the only woman I’d ever loved in my short life, the only woman I respected with all that I had. My own mother loved me, but she couldn’t escape herself long enough to save me. All I had in life was Dana, and she never asked for anything.

  “Will you go to prom with me?” I asked, knowing she wanted to go to both hers and mine but didn’t want to force me to rent a tux twice.

  Her jaw dropped open, and she blinked so many times I was beginning to worry she was having a seizure. She closed her mouth, but it fell open again. I realized she was trying to speak, but I’d left her speechless—again.

  “It’s just... I love you, Dana. And it would make me so happy to take you.”

  “Did you really just ask me to prom to distract me from the horrific mess on your face?”

  I laughed a little, but it hurt, so I stopped and pulled her down onto my lap. She let me rest my forehead on hers, then she let me kiss her again. For those few moments, I was free and happy. I would never have that with anyone else, and my eighteen-year-old self was wise enough to know I shouldn’t screw it up.

  When the kiss ended, I nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay here tonight, and tomorrow I’ll talk to my guidance counselor, but you are not staying here in this crappy tower with me.”

  “First, don’t tell me what to do. Second, it’s not crappy, it’s our place. Third, I’m staying, so deal with it. I have blankets in my car from last week’s picnic and a change of clothes, so I’ll be fine. We can spread the blanket here and stargaze through the window until we fall asleep. Don’t argue with me, Jordan.”

  I cracked a smile again despite the pain. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  With that, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and ran down the stairs to her car. While she was outside, I placed a phone call that would change my life forever. Dana gave me strength, and before I felt alone and useless again, I dialed the number I’d considered dialing for over six months.

  “Child and Family Services, how may I direct your call?”

  “Um... I... I need to report a case of abuse...”

  Day 710

  Dana

  “WHERE DID YOU LEARN to share, Jordan Clark?” I asked, then pushed him over and pinned him down until I could pry the spoon from his hands.

  “They tried to teach me in kindergarten, but I’m a rebel without a cause, remember?” he argued, hogging the ice cream for himself. His smirk told me everything—that he had every intention of giving me the ice cream, only probably not how I wanted it.

  “If you dump that carton on my head and waste perfectly good ice cream, I’ll... I’ll... I’m not sure, but it will be so bad.”

  “Ooh, shaking in my shoes, baby.” He sat back up and handed me the ice cream like a good boyfriend, then got up to finish unpacking his boxes.

  “I can’t believe you live all by yourself now. It’s really great Mr. Jacoby took you in for a while, but thi
s is awesome. I can escape my parents and spend time with you without them being all judgy.”

  Jordan’s boss had immediately taken him in when he discovered Jordan’s abusive situation at home. He helped Jordan open his own checking account, taught him how to better manage his money, then paid the deposit on an apartment for him.

  “The guy’s been better to me than my own family,” he commented as he emptied his meager belongings onto the floor. “Still need furniture, but I think I can find something decent at that refurbished place downtown.”

  I sighed and handed him the ice cream back, then started folding the towels and hanging his clothes. It wasn’t much, but at least he wasn’t in danger of being beaten again. When I saw the bruises and marks, all I wanted to do was curl in a ball and die. Against my parent’s threats, I ended up staying in that old clock tower with him for three nights, then I went to his boss. Jordan was a little mad that I went against his wishes, but what else could I do?

  He sorted through the few dishes he had and neatly organized them in his kitchen cabinets. I finally saw the sparkle in those green eyes again, just as I had the first day we spent in the freezer. He caught me staring and smiled.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Nothing, just excited, I guess.”

  “It’s a crampy apartment with no furniture and an air mattress, not a five-star hotel, Dana,” he teased.

  “I don’t care. I’m just glad to have somewhere to be with you until I leave for college. I wish you could come with me, though,” I said for the hundredth time. I couldn’t help it. I’d miss him more than anything when I left, and I feared I would never feel whole while I was eight hours away from him. The connection we shared... I knew it could never be replicated. I also knew it would keep us together, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt to be apart all the same.

  “I’ll call you all the time, text you, email you... I’ll even learn to fly so I can leave sky signals, Dana. I love you, and that won’t change no matter how many miles are between us. You know that.”

  I went to him and snaked my arms around his waist. I laid my head on his chest, so comfortable and secure. He kissed the top of my head and held me, just us standing in the kitchen, listening to the crickets outside.

  “I love you so, so much, Dana. I had nothing before you, and now I feel like I have everything,” he whispered.

  “Funny, I had everything anyone could want before I met you, but I still felt empty. Now I have you, and I feel complete.”

  “Funny how that works, isn’t it?” he asked, then chuckled. “You ever wonder what would’ve happened if you hadn’t walked into that freezer?”

  “I almost didn’t. I was so tired, and all I wanted was to go home, but you were just sitting there all cute and I just—”

  “Cute? Well, that’s new information,” he teased.

  I smacked his chest and went on. “I think all the kissing that day should have told you I thought you were cute, idiot.”

  “You wound me, Dana. Why must you be so mean to me?”

  “You’re such a dork,” I said, but I saw the look in his eyes. I was about to be tickle-tortured or something like it if I didn’t run.

  I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could, but I was too slow. I aimed for the bedroom to lock myself in, but he caught me three strides from safety. His strong arms lifted me over his head, and he carried me back to the kitchen, where he plopped me onto the kitchen counter. I thought I was done for, that he would tickle me until I couldn’t breathe, but instead, he stood in front of me with a terrified look on his face.

  “What is it? Jordan, what’s wrong?”

  “I um... So, I know you’re leaving in a few days for school, but I wanted to ask... I mean, I was hoping maybe...”

  “Jordan, baby, spit it out. You’re freaking me out.” I tensed on the countertop. He noticed, which made him come closer to comfort me.

  “It’s nothing bad. I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

  I couldn’t figure out what on earth he could be nervous about. It was just me, the same Dana he’d always known, but he acted as if I was a scary person who might run him over with a car if he said something even remotely wrong. However, my mind was soon settled when he went on an adorable rambling monologue that made my poor heart swoon, and my brain explode.

  “What I was saying is, I know you’ll be living on campus... Obviously, because it’s not like you can drive a sixteen-hour round trip to school every day, but what I was thinking is... You know, since you’ll be coming home for holidays and breaks, that maybe if you’d like to, I could... I mean, we could live here. If you’d want to, that is. If you want, when you come home. And... Yeah, that’s all. I’m stupid. Ignore everything I said and I’ll just go die now.”

  He started to walk away, but I didn’t dare let him.

  “Jordan, did you just ask me to move in with you?”

  He dropped his head and sighed, then mumbled, “Yeah, like a total derfwad. That made no sense at all. I’m such an idiot.”

  “Well, you are a derfwad, but you’re my adorable derfwad. I already planned to crash your bachelor pad every chance I had, so your express permission to do so only makes it nicer.”

  “It’s not a bachelor pad. Don’t say that. I’d want you here all the time if you didn’t have school, Dana.” He went from embarrassed to dead-serious in seconds. “There is literally nothing in the world I want more than to start planning our future together, but since you have school, the best I can hope for is a few holidays and summer break.”

  “Of course, Jordan. Why else would I have crammed your bathroom full of tampons and a whole slew of other girly items?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You say that like I haven’t bought those things for you a hundred times. If a box of tampons was all it took to scare me off, what kind of man would I be?” he asked, finally relaxing.

  “Jordan Clark, I’d say you’re about as perfect as a man can get, but don’t let anyone hear that because you’re all mine.”

  His green eyes hazed over, and he pulled me closer. “I love you so much. How did I get this lucky?”

  I shrugged. “Fate? Divine intervention? Dumb luck? I’m still trying to figure that out myself,” I said, then let him kiss me until I couldn’t breathe.

  Day 710

  Jordan

  PERFECTION. There was no other word to describe Dana Franklin. As I kissed her, my mind reeled over the previous year and a half. Her parents were none too happy when we “resumed” dating after her eighteenth birthday, but she didn’t care. I still felt awful that her relationship with them was so strained because of me, but I couldn’t let her go—she was literally all I had in the world.

  She murmured something against my lips, but I didn’t hear. Reluctantly, I pulled away from her long enough to listen.

  “I’m hungry,” she repeated, causing me to laugh. “I’ll go pick up some pizza from that place down the street.”

  “No, you stay. I’ll go,” I insisted, so she decided to clean up a little more, not that there was a lot left to do. I grabbed my wallet and keys, then kissed her cheek before heading toward the door. If I had known that moment that I wouldn’t hold her again for 810 days, I would never have left. I would have stayed in that apartment with the doors locked forever. But I didn’t know, so I went.

  I walked down the street to the new pizzeria we smelled when we brought my boxes to the apartment. It smelled like pizza heaven, and when I opened the front door, I was sure whatever I ordered would ruin me for any other pizza ever again.

  While I waited, I felt a buzzing in my pocket. I pulled my phone out and saw a message from Dana.

  Forgot my overnight bag at my house. Going to grab it. Be back in fifteen.

  Her parents didn’t live far, but I knew it would be longer than fifteen minutes. Once they started in on their rants, it would take her that long to get from the front door to her bedroom. I replied and stuffed the phone back in my pocket.


  I carried the pizza back to my new place and pushed the door open. I missed her already, but knowing she would be back soon made me feel happy and secure. Half an hour passed, and I didn’t think much of it. When an hour passed, I started to worry, so I sent her a message. When two hours went by, and she hadn’t responded, I started to freak out.

  I called her parents, who didn’t answer. I called all her friends, and none of them knew where she was. I walked the block in case she was stranded somewhere, but nothing. I jogged all the way to her house to find her mother’s car was not in the drive and no one was home.

  Panic bubbled over. It did me no good, so I cleared my head and tried to think of all the places I hadn’t looked yet. I went to our place in the old clocktower, but she wasn’t there. I went to the beach, but there was no way I’d see her at night if she were there. I went everywhere, but she was gone. Dana Franklin disappeared from my life as strangely as she entered it.

  I finally called the police. They were hesitant to tell me anything, but at least I knew where to look. She’d been in an accident. A drunk driver hit her car in the side at an intersection. I called my boss, and he picked me up, then tried to encourage me on the drive to the hospital. He dropped me at the front door with his prayers and went to park his car.

  I ran inside and found Dana’s parents crying in the waiting room. They hated me. They hated me more than anything in the world because they thought the same thing I did—I wasn’t good enough for Dana. But at that moment I didn’t care what they thought; I only wanted to hear them tell me she was okay.

  Mr. Franklin stood and stopped me by raising his hands. Mrs. Franklin was crying so hard I couldn’t make out anything she was saying. Finally, her father spoke. “Jordan... She’s... she’s gone.”

  “No,” I replied to his cold, final statement. I shook my head vehemently. “No. I refuse to believe she’s gone. No, let me see her!”