Jay’s jaw clenched tightly, as if the image was too much for even him to bear, but his voice was considerate. “I know you’re afraid. But they will catch him, and until then, I’m not gonna let you out of my sight. No one’s going to let anything bad happen to you.” He didn’t say it, but Violet heard the word again hanging there behind his words.

But she still felt better just hearing his reassurances, like she wasn’t alone.

“I’m okay. I think all this isolation, and all the extra security stuff, is just starting to wear on me. I’m going a little stir-crazy being cooped up all the time.” She tried to explain her sulky mood. “Especially with Homecoming this weekend. The idea of sitting around here, while everyone else is out having fun, just sucks.”

He didn’t react the way she’d expected him to react. She’d expected some more sympathy, and maybe even some suggestive comments about the two of them being left alone together. What she didn’t expect was for him to smile at her. But he did. And it was his sideways smile, which told Violet that he knew something she didn’t.

“What?” she demanded adamantly.

He grinned. He was definitely keeping something from her.

“Tell me!” she insisted, glowering at him.

“I don’t know…” he teased her. “I’m not sure you deserve it.”

She punched him in the arm for making her beg. “Please, just tell me.”

He laughed at her. “Fine. I give up. Bully.” He pretended to rub his arm where she’d hit him. “What if I were to tell you that…”—he dragged it out, making her lean closer in anticipation, his crooked smile lighting up his face—“…we’re still going to the dance?”

Violet was speechless. That wasn’t at all what she’d expected him to say.

“Yeah, right,” she retorted cynically. “My parents barely let me go to school, let alone go to the dance.”

“You’re right, they didn’t want you to go, but we talked about it, and even your uncle Stephen helped out. The football game was definitely out of the question; there are just too many people coming and going, and there’re no restrictions for getting in. But the dance is at school, in the gym. Only students and their dates can get in, and your uncle said he was already planning to have extra security there. So, as long as I promise to keep a close eye on you…which I do”—his voice suggested that the last part had nothing to do with keeping her safe, and Violet felt her cheeks flushing in response—“your parents have agreed to let you go.”

She glanced down at her ankle, double-wrapped in Ace bandages, and completely useless. “But I can’t dance.” She felt crestfallen.

He slid his finger beneath her chin and lifted it up so that she was staring into his eyes. “I don’t care at all if we dance. I just want to take my girlfriend”—his emphasis on the word gave her goose bumps, and she smiled—“to Homecoming.”

They stayed there like that, with their eyes locked and unspoken meaning passing between them, for several long, electrifying moments. Violet was the first to break the spell. “Lissie’ll be there,” she stated in a voice that was devoid of any real jealousy.

Jay shook his head, still gazing at her intently. “I won’t even notice her. I won’t be able to take my eyes off you.”

Violet was glad she was already sitting, because his words made her feel weak and fluttery. The corner of her mouth twitched upward with satisfaction. “Not if I have any say in it, you won’t,” she answered.

CHAPTER 24

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG FOR VIOLET TO ADJUST TO the idea of going to the dance. In truth, Saturday night couldn’t come fast enough.

Friday went by in a blur of activity. There was a huge pep assembly at school that took up the last half of the afternoon. The entire football team was introduced, to a frenzy of cheers and screams from the student body watching from the bleachers. Violet wished more than ever that she didn’t have to miss the game, but she understood all too well why she couldn’t go. Still, it was easy to get swept up in the fervor of school spirit.

When the Homecoming Court was announced, Violet felt a moment of insecurity. Lissie gracefully swept out on to the hardwood floor of the gymnasium like she’d been born for this role. Violet glanced inconspicuously at Jay, wondering why on earth he would have picked her over the stunning Lissie Adams.

But he wasn’t looking at Lissie. All of his attention was focused on Violet instead, and he caught her fleeting look in his direction.

“She’s not half as beautiful as you are,” he promised, in answer to her silent doubts.

She nudged him lightly with her shoulder. “Shut up.” But she couldn’t keep the smile off her lips as she said it.

“Knock it off, you guys. Get a room, for God’s sake!” Chelsea squealed at the two of them above the clamor of the crowd in the bleachers.

When the assembly was over, Jay became a human barrier between Violet, who was wobbling along on her crutches, and the throng of students in their mass exodus to get away from the school. In the parking lot, car horns were blaring loudly and windows were rolled down, despite the cool autumn weather, and the air was filled with shrieks and battle cries. The game was going to be thunderous tonight.

Jay drove Violet home, where she thought he’d be staying with her for the evening, so she was surprised when they got to her house and Jay’s mom was waiting for him in the driveway.