A Spotlight Summer (Jack Gilinsky)

Chapter Nineteen

Kelsey POV

I surged forward, reaching for Fiona's hands in an attempt to stop her from hurting Johnson anymore. She struggled at first, but eventually she conceded defeat and allowed me to drag her away from the boys. I led her a little deeper into the woods, not far enough so that we would get lost but far enough to be out of ear shot of everyone else.

Even through the darkness, I could tell how disheveled Fiona looked. Her perfect blonde hair was in shambles from her shaky fingers constantly running through it, her cheeks were stained with mascara, and her eyes were red and puffy. Despite only knowing Fiona for a short time, my heart broke for her. For some reason the relationships I was forming in Omaha were more real than almost all my relationships back in New York.

"Fiona—" I began to speak and was silently thankful when Fiona interrupted me before I could babble some cliché sentence that certainly would not make her feel better.

"Jesus Kelsey, fine. Let's just get it out of the way." Fiona started.

"Hey, I was just going to ask if you're ok." I replied, my forehead creasing in worry and confusion.

"I'm sure you were. And then you would have followed up with questions. So I'll just answer them to save you the trouble. But first let's sit down, because I don't think I can tell this story and stand at the same time." Fiona ended her statement as she plopped to the ground.

I gave her an odd look and hesitantly sunk down the dirt to follow her.

"At least it's not muddy." Fiona winked.

I gave her a smile and Fiona braced herself for the tale she was about to reveal. I did nothing but sit and listen to my newfound friend as she shared the secrets of her past.

"I'm sure Jack and Jack told you the famous kindergarten story of how they met right? Well, they always leave out a very important detail—I was there too. Even though I was a tiny girl, I had no problem going right up to the two of them and forcing my friendship upon them. They were skeptical at first, but in the end, they welcomed their new friend. Soon, we became a trio.

"We were always a trio." Fiona whispered the last part and I instantly noticed a faraway look in her eye.

She continued, "We were inseparable. The three of us did everything together. And then we started Jr. High and the boys made new friends, but no matter how popular they got, I was always their first priority.

"It was the eighth grade when Jack—Johnson—finally grew a pair and asked me out. I said no of course. But he was persistent. And I wasn't as strong-willed as I am now, so I eventually said yes. Somehow, we fell into this vortex of one another. It was different than before obviously; we were now in a relationship rather than just a friendship. It wasn't until we turned fifteen that we realized how in love we were. And I know that sounds a little ridiculous because we were so young. But it was real. I know it was.

"The summer before junior year, we had been together for a little over three years. And I knew he was it for me. I can't explain the feeling, but everything was perfect when we were together. Even when we weren't on dates and we would just be playing stupid video games with Jack, it was all I wanted. Everything I wanted. So I lost my virginity to him, and still, we were so strong. We were so happy. I never thought I would find a love like I had with Jack.

"Then we went on the annual summer camping trip with all the guys and we got into a stupid fight about vine and the future and I don't even remember what else. But it was a complete blow up, so I got in my car and left. Words had been said, words that I am not proud of and words that I still think about to this day. I cried my eyes out the entire way home because I wasn't sure if we could come back from everything that happened. While I was crying, Johnson was getting drunk with the boys. Somehow, the little camping trip turned into a complete frat party in the woods, with everyone we knew in attendance. That same night, not even three hours after I left, he made out with some girl from our school. I found out of course, and he did everything he could to come up with excuses that he thought I would be dumb enough to believe. He said that we had 'broken-up' and that he was drunk. He did everything but take responsibility and apologize. We haven't spoken since.