Chapter 6
Six months later
I sit opposite Jackson in the crowded restaurant. Usually I wolf down my food in Subway, but today my stomach is full of butterflies. I, Tori Campbell, the girl who broke up with Connor Nolcott and lived to tell the tale, is nervous. On a date. Even though I know Jackson would never do what Connor did, it is our first date and I am petrified.
If I think back and really consider Connor, for a moment I can almost feel sorry for him. It turned out his dad used to beat him up and so he took his anger out on his girlfriends. His mum was a DRUGG!E. After meeting some of his other ex-girlfriends who got away with broken arms and legs, and visiting him at his home in Chicago, I realised that he's just an ordinary 17 year old who's had a rough time. Of course he was given a restraining order, but he's finally happy now.
And in one reassuring breath, the words which Jackson whispers softly to me across the table comfort me to my very core.
"I love you."