Chapter 3: The List
Okay. So maybe almost-jumping off a bridge messes with your head. That was the only explanation I had for what I was doing.
Riding on the back of Jake Roberts’ motorbike.
Without a helmet.
Still wearing my hoodie with tear-stained sleeves and puffy eyes.
“You sure you’re not, like… kidnapping me?” I asked as the wind whipped through my hair.
Jake didn’t turn around, but I could hear his smirk. “You came willingly.”
I clung to the back of his jacket and muttered, “Kinda.”
We rode for maybe fifteen minutes — away from town, away from school, away from the world. He took this winding hill road I didn’t even know existed, and eventually we reached a little overlook spot with a bench and a wide, open view of the city below.
It was… quiet. Calming. Golden with early sunlight.
Jake parked the bike and nodded toward the bench. “This is my thinking spot.”
“You think?”
He shot me a glare over his shoulder. “Try it sometime.”
I snorted and followed him, settling onto the bench with a sigh. I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t peaceful. It wasn’t… nice.
“So,” he said, plopping down next to me. “Your life’s boring, right?”
I glanced sideways at him. “Gee, thanks.”
“You said it first.”
“Still rude.”
He ignored me. “Open your notes app.”
“What?”
“Your phone. Notes. Open it.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because you’re gonna write a bucket list,” he said like it was obvious. “Thirty things. That’s ten per month for summer.”
I blinked. “You’re serious?”
He turned to me fully, one eyebrow raised. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
I stared at him for a second. He didn’t look sarcastic or smug. Just… expectant.
“You’re actually doing this?”
“You said you had nothing to live for,” he said quietly. “Let’s fix that.”
That shut me up.
I opened the app and sat there, staring at the blinking cursor like it held all the answers I didn’t have.
Jake nudged me with his shoulder. “Go on.”
“I don’t even know what to write,” I mumbled.
“Then start with the dumb stuff. What would make you laugh? What would make you feel… something?”
I chewed my lip. “This is stupid.”
“Write it anyway.”
So I did.
I started slow, typing without thinking. Eat 50 nuggets. Go skinny dipping. Crash a college party. Then bigger things. Tell my parents I don’t want to be a lawyer. Move out. Lose my virginity before graduation — that one I hesitated on. But I didn’t delete it.
I added Buy friendship bracelets with the girls, and Get a dog named Butter because why not.
Some of it was silly. Some of it hurt. Some of it was just… mine.
Jake sat silently next to me the whole time, staring at the city, like he wasn’t dying to peek. Like he knew I needed to do this myself.
When I finally stopped typing, I whispered, “Okay. Done.”
“Let me see.”
I clutched my phone to my chest. “No way.”
“Lily.”
“Nope.”
“Hand it over.”
“Some of them are embarrassing!”
He didn’t wait. He reached over and snatched the phone out of my hands like a literal thief.
“Jake!” I squeaked, grabbing for it.
He leaned away, scrolling through the list with a totally unreadable face. No smirk. No laughter. Just… focused.
I stared at him nervously, biting my lip. “Say something.”
He didn’t.
My chest tightened. “It’s dumb, isn’t it? Like, what am I even thinking? I’m not actually going to do half of that stuff. My mom would kill me. My school would kill me. I’d probably chicken out anyway—”
Jake cut me off by standing up.
And then holding out his hand.
I blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Sealing the deal.”
“What deal?”
“You and me,” he said. “This list. We’re doing it.”
I gaped. “Wait, no — hold on. That wasn’t—”
“First one’s happening tomorrow,” he said, nodding like it was already decided. “We’re ditching school before lunch.”
I nearly dropped dead right there. “Excuse me?!”
He grinned. “You said ‘ditch class’ — it’s on the list.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t mean now! I need time to emotionally prepare—”
Jake shrugged. “Too late. I’m picking you up at ten.”
“Jake.”
“Lily.”
I groaned and flopped back on the bench, hands covering my face.
“This is the worst idea ever.”
“It’s gonna be fun.”
“It’s going to ruin my GPA.”
“It’s going to save your summer.”
I peeked at him through my fingers. “You’re totally insane.”
He just smirked again.
And I think, maybe for the first time in a long time, my heart beat for something other than pain.
