More Than Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #2)

by Kelly Oram

  I sat there in a daze. That was it. The end of the road. I had no plan now. Taking down Visticorp was the only way I’d ever be safe to go home, and if Teddy couldn’t do it…

  “Is it really so awful?” Teddy asked. “You’ve been happy enough here this month, haven’t you?”

  “That was when I thought I was going to get my family and Ryan back. When I thought I had something worth living for.”

  Teddy’s voice was really small when he replied. “And now you don’t?”

  I sighed and forced myself to pull it together. “Of course I do. You’re a great friend, Teddy. Like the brother I always wanted.”

  “Brother?” Teddy made a choking noise.

  “Teddy…”

  I tried to grab his hand but he scrambled off the couch away from me. “Don’t, Jamie. Don’t say that. Don’t think about me like that.”

  “I can’t help how I feel.”

  “Yes, you can!” Teddy suddenly shouted. “You’ve never tried to see me as anything but a friend! You’ve never given the idea a chance! I get that you loved him. I do. I can be patient. I can wait for you to get over him.”

  My jaw dropped. “Get over him? I can’t just get over him! Why would I?”

  “Ryan is your past and you can’t go back! You’ve got to think about your future now.”

  “What future?” I yelled. Angry tears started to gather in my eyes. “Spending the rest of my life hiding out in the middle of the freaking desert pretending everything and everyone I’ve ever cared about doesn’t exist is not a future!”

  “What about finding other people like us?”

  “What does it matter? Say we do find others like us, then what? Bring them back here so they can hide out with us? Why would we go find them just to ruin their lives, too? Let it go, Teddy! If there are others, leave them in peace!”

  Teddy had been about to yell back, but suddenly lost all the air in his lungs. “Is that how you really feel? That I ruined your life by coming to find you?”

  I almost said yes. I was so angry that I almost placed the blame of all my problems on the guy who’d done nothing but risk his life for me, then save me and help me when I needed it most.

  “Of course not,” I said. “I don’t blame you. They were already coming for me, and you were the one who helped me save what little of my life is left. I’m happy that you came to find me, but I can’t give you what you want. It doesn’t matter how long you wait. You can’t have my heart. I already gave it to Ryan.”

  “So that’s it? You love Ryan, so you’re just giving up on me? You’re not even going to try?”

  I saw his point, and for a second I honestly tried to imagine this life he’d laid out for me. Maybe when I’d first arrived I could have imagined it possible, but after spending a month away from Ryan I realized he was right that day when he told me that life wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t there with him. It was the same for me.

  Maybe Ryan was safer away from me, but I had no doubt that he was every bit as miserable as I was, and what kind of life was that? Some things were worth the risk. The love Ryan and I shared was worth the danger.

  “I’m not giving up on you, Teddy. I’m saying good-bye.”

  “What?” Teddy looked genuinely startled.

  “If I can’t stop Visticorp and go home, then I’m bringing my home to me. I’m going to get Ryan. And then I’m going to get my parents and his if they’ll come, and we’ll do exactly what Ryan suggested. We’ll get lost like Gilligan together.”

  “Jamie, you can’t do that.”

  “Why not? I’ve been perfectly safe here with you. We’ll get them new identities as well and find a place where we can all be together. I don’t know about Ryan’s parents, but Ryan and my mom and dad would rather give up their lives than lose me forever. I’m sure of it. I’m going to at least give them the option.”

  I could see Teddy’s mind racing, trying to come up with another solution—any other solution. Eventually the spark left his eyes and he gave up.

  “You could come with us,” I said, hating the look of despair on his face. “I can’t be what you want me to be, but I am your friend. You would be welcome with us. My parents would no doubt adopt you into the family. We could still try to find others like us. If we had our own island or whatever, we could find them and bring them to us if they wanted to come. We could form our own little town—a refuge for others like us and their families or something.” I smirked. “Hell, we could even invite Carter. He could be our devious little partner in crime. We could take down people like Visticorp for real and start a real-life Justice League. Who knows, maybe we’d find you a hotter girl than me with cooler powers and a thing for adorkableness.”

  “Jamie, wait. Why don’t you just give me a little more time? I’ll try again. Maybe I missed something.”

  I shook my head. I didn’t even have to think about it now. The future I’d just laid out sounded better than the thought of going back home and always having to lie to my friends and worry about whether or not I was really safe. In fact, how Ryan and I hadn’t come up with this idea before was a little surprising. It was so simple.

  “Please, Teddy?” A real smile crept across my face. The first genuine one I’d managed since I’d left home. “I’ll do it without you, but I really want you to come with me. At least think about it?”

  Teddy looked defeated as he finally nodded his head. “Okay. Fine, okay. I’ll help you.”

  “Really?” I actually squeaked from excitement.

  I wished Teddy shared my enthusiasm. I hated seeing him so sad when I was finally so happy. “It’s better than losing you and being alone forever,” he said. “But it’s going to take me a few days to get IDs made for them and bank accounts transferred and stuff.”

  “No problem. We’ll give you as much time as you need. We need to do this right. I’ll meet you back here on Friday with whoever is going with us and we’ll hang out here until we have everything sorted out. I’m sure nobody will mind the cramped quarters for a while.”

  “You’ll meet me—wait, where are you going?”

  I felt my smile spread all the way to my ears. “I owe my boyfriend a trip to the Grand Canyon.”

  The first thing I did was hike a bunch of gear from The Lair out to my absolute favorite spot on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon and set up the perfect camp for two. It was miles from anywhere. Not even hikers or other campers ever came close to this spot. The only thing that would be there after sunset would be Ryan, me, and a universe of stars.

  Next I had to do some reconnaissance. I couldn’t just call and ask Ryan where he was. Teddy and I had new cell phones, but he insisted that I could never call anyone from my old life because Visticorp could be monitoring their cell phones, then figure out it was me and trace it back to The Lair.

  Normally, Ryan would be at practice this time of day. I ran past the stadium just in case, but he wasn’t there. Becky was, though, practicing with the cheerleaders. As much as it hurt my heart to see her and not speak to her, I was at least grateful to confirm that she was alive and well and going on with her life. I hated to think about how it was going to be for her after I stole Ryan from her. I wanted to take her with me, but she had an entire family that would be devastated if she were to disappear.

  It took me forever to find Ryan. I had to carefully zoom past all of his normal haunts. Then, when that proved unsuccessful, I searched the entire campus and finally found him in a park near campus throwing a football around with Mike.

  I gasped at the sight of him. It had been so long and I’d missed him so badly that my eyes stung just looking at him. I felt as if I didn’t touch him soon I might never again be able to fill my lungs with air.

  I made my way to the roof of a building that was as far away as I could get from them and still see and hear them. Then I ducked as out of sight as possible and watched them toss the ball for a few minutes.

  Ryan was laughing and joking around with his best friend just like
he used to in high school, even though Mike was in a wheelchair and Ryan was throwing the ball left-handed because his right arm was in a sling. It was comforting and heartbreaking all at the same time.

  For a split second, I wondered if I was making the wrong decision. Mike needed Ryan, and so did Becky. It was selfish of me to want to take him away from them. But then he missed Mike’s next throw, and the sigh that escaped him as he chased after the ball brought tears to my eyes.

  “I’m done,” he said, tossing the ball to Mike.

  “Still hurts?” Mike asked.

  Ryan nodded and walked alongside Mike as they slowly made their way back toward the school.

  “That sucks, dude. Thanks for coming, though. It’s good to see you outdoors for a change.”

  That made me worry. Since when could Ryan stand to be cooped up inside?

  “Nah, you were right. I needed the fresh air.”

  “You need more than that, Ryan. Your mom called me. She said you quit school?”

  Ryan shrugged. “Not forever. I just needed to take some time, you know?”

  “Hell yeah, I know. I’m staring down a jail sentence.”

  “Did you finally get your court date?”

  Mike nodded. “It’s in two weeks. My lawyer thinks that if I get any jail time I’m looking at six months or less. Hey, when I get out we should take a year together and just get out of Sacramento for a while. Go travel and see some places or something.”

  Ryan’s “Yeah, maybe” sounded so depressing that Mike stopped wheeling his chair and looked up at him. “We could try to find her,” he said.

  My breath caught in my lungs. I couldn’t believe it, but I was actually grateful that I’d spilled the beans to Mike before I left. I was so glad that Ryan had someone to help him get through the last month. I also knew that I was not leaving without him. Ryan was mine as much as I was his, and I was taking him back.

  I pulled out the letter I’d written back at The Lair explaining that I was the one who’d taken Ryan, and not Visticorp. It outlined my plan to come back for whoever wanted to disappear with me in two days’ time and where to meet me if they wanted to go. I figured I’d have to leave it with my parents, but since Mike knew my secret, and his best friend was about to disappear right in front of his eyes, I was glad I’d decided to go to Ryan first before dropping it off at my house. Mike could relay the message to my parents easily enough.

  I scanned the area and spotted at least four people who looked like they could be Visticorp spies. I was going to have to be fast—just grab him and go. If I stopped even for a second, I was sure someone would have time to get a shot off or flip the switch on some evil Jamie-stopping gadget.

  I climbed down from the roof of the building I’d been hiding on, took a few deep breaths, and then ran as fast as my legs would carry me.

  I didn’t stick around to see how long it took Mike to realize that Ryan was gone or find the letter I’d dropped in his lap. I simply scooped Ryan into my arms, careful of his injured arm, and didn’t stop until we were in Arizona.

  I was crying by the time I set him on his feet in front of our campsite. “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to warn you I was com—”

  My words were cut off with the most passionate kiss I’d ever received in my entire life. Ryan had to physically wrench himself away from me when his body demanded oxygen. He held me by the shoulders and raked his gaze over me, still a little unbelieving that I was really standing there.

  “What took you so long?” he demanded in a deliriously happy sigh.

  “I was—”

  Apparently he didn’t care about the answer because he kissed me again—kissed me as if the world were coming to an end right that second. As if I were going to disappear from him again at any moment. He held me tight and drank me in as if I were giving him a second chance at life.

  I knew the feeling.

  I had a million things I wanted to say, and questions I wanted to ask. I was still so relieved to be with him again, to feel him and taste him, that I was crying as hard as ever, but I let him kiss me and I kissed him back until he’d finally had enough.

  “Ry, I am so sorry,” I started again.

  “Shh.”

  Without another word Ryan wiped the tears from my face, then turned me around and pulled me tightly against his chest. He wrapped his left arm tight around me and rested his head on top of mine, gently rocking us as we watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon.

  More tears streamed silently down my face, but these were the happiest happy tears ever to have been cried.

  I’d had a dream like this once—Ryan holding me as the world turned into a wondrous rainbow canvas around us. At the time it had felt so real. Funny how now that it was actually happening, it felt more like a dream.

  I’d seen the sun set over the desert a thousand times, but it had never looked so beautiful. This sunset had a million more colors, and everything sparkled with so much more vibrancy. Nothing else would ever compare to this moment.

  I melted into Ryan’s embrace. There was nowhere else on the earth I fit better. Nowhere else I belonged. He really was my other half. My soul.

  After a few minutes Ryan began to shiver, but he refused to let go of me. I could tell by the way he clung to me that he was prepared to fight me if I tried to pull away, so I didn’t try. He planned on never letting go of me again, and I planned on letting him hang on.

  Just before the sun disappeared below the horizon I felt Ryan’s lips press lightly against my neck. “The wait was worth every second,” he whispered.

  I let out this half-joyous, half-sob laugh. Ryan had been waiting for this moment with me since the first time I’d mentioned the Grand Canyon. I don’t know how many times he’d begged me to bring him here. This was our place, our moment in time. We’d claimed it for ourselves the way Neil Armstrong claimed the moon for mankind. Part of me wished we could freeze time and stay right here in this moment forever.

  When the sun was finally gone, I turned around and rested my head on Ryan’s shoulder. Before, I couldn’t wait to explain myself, but now I couldn’t find the right words to break the silence.

  “I told you you’d come back to me.”

  I laughed again, and then sighed. “I shouldn’t have. I should have stayed away, but I couldn’t.”

  “You stayed away long enough as it is.” Ryan’s grip on me tightened as if part of him was still waiting for me to bolt. “Honestly, babe, I expected you to wait a couple days, not a whole month.”

  “I was waiting until it was safe to go home. Teddy was going to hack into Visticorp’s computer system and then I was going to give all the evidence of their evildoings to Carter and get them all sent to federal prison for the rest of their lives. But then Teddy couldn’t find anything, and I realized I’d never get my life back. I couldn’t just disappear for the rest of my life without seeing you again. I owed you a weekend at the Grand Canyon first.”

  Ryan’s entire body went rigid. “No way, Jamie!” Ryan clamped onto me with, I’m sure, every intention of throwing a tantrum. “You are not taking me back! Wherever you go, I go. End of story.”

  I laughed. “Of course not. I was just making sure you still wanted to give everything up and spend the rest of your life with me.”

  “So not funny,” Ryan said.

  I smirked. “Was too.”

  “Was not.”

  “So was too.”

  Ryan tried to glare at me but couldn’t manage it.

  I laughed again and wrapped my arms around his waist. “So,” I said, kissing his lips quickly because they were just too close for me not to. Ryan looked ready for more, but I had to ask, “Are you really ready to spend the rest of your life with me?”

  Ryan’s eyes flashed, and suddenly he was smirking. “That’s supposed to be my line.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ryan pulled something out of his front pocket and I didn’t realize what it was until he fell to one knee. My stomach dro
pped with him, but it wasn’t from a sense of dread. I’d never once considered marriage yet, but looking at that ring, my heart was having a hard time staying within the confines of my chest.

  “I’ve known I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you for a long time, Jamie. I was only waiting for your stubborn butt to realize it, too.”

  Ryan’s eyes sparkled. He was amused greatly with this mother-of-all-surprises.

  He looked over at the canyon beside us and grinned. “Well, that and the right setting. Couldn’t have proposed anywhere else, so it’s a good thing you finally brought me here.”

  I still couldn’t quite believe it. “Are you serious?”

  “Marry me, Jamie.”

  He slipped the ring on my finger without waiting for an answer. It didn’t matter. He already knew it. Like always, he’d known what I wanted before I did.

  We could only grin at each other as he got back to his feet. I eventually managed to squeak out an “I love you” and then I threw my lips on his and showed him exactly how much I loved him.

  Later, as I lay in Ryan’s arms under a blanket of endless stars, he caught me smiling at my ring. The light of the campfire had been making it sparkle. “You like it?” he asked proudly.

  Like it? It was perfect. A simple diamond—a ridiculously large one, but still simple—just like I would have picked for myself. It was elegantly set in a slim platinum band. My favorite thing about it was the inscription on the inside of the band that read “You are my sunshine.” I’d laughed when I saw it, but I cherished it at the same time. It was so ridiculously cheesy and just so perfectly Ryan.

  “How long were you carrying it around in your pocket? I was gone for a month and supposedly never coming back.”

  Ryan chuckled. I loved the feel of his chest shaking beneath my head, and snuggled closer to him. “I told you I knew you were coming back for me,” he said, happily tightening his grip on me. “Picking this ring was the first thing I did the second I was released from the hospital. I knew that whenever you came back I probably wouldn’t have time to pack a bag, so I kept it on me all the time.”