Cole Walter is one of Jackie’s love interests in the text, a confident and outgoing teen who shields his deeper emotions. Cole develops as a character as Jackie gets to know him more and adjusts her perception of him. Like Jackie, Cole has recently experienced his first brush with real vulnerability, as a severe injury ended his football career and cost him a college scholarship. Like her, he seeks to escape this vulnerability by hiding his emotions from himself and others. He often jokes with Jackie during their interactions, and when she glimpses him in a vulnerable moment—working on his vintage car as an outlet for his repressed emotions—he quickly and brusquely asks her to leave him alone. When he sees her truly upset, however, he offers her a softer side of himself. When Jackie gets drunk during their day skipping school, Cole follows her to the car, where she is crying. He treats her gently: “‘I’m sorry, Jackie,’ Cole said then. He gently pulled me close to him, cradling my head in his lap” (172). While Cole often seeks to bring Jackie outside her comfort zone, this scene illustrates that Cole does have a tender side, especially when it comes to Jackie’s feelings.

Jackie understands Cole’s grief over his career-ending injury, as she realizes that football has been the foundation of his life and identity: “[F]ootball was Cole’s life. After he lost his scholarship, he stopped talking about the game completely. It was like he never played at all” (160). While at first, she believes Cole to be a shallow womanizer, as she learns more about Cole’s background and he becomes more vulnerable with her, Jackie amends her thinking: “Maybe there was more to Cole Walter than girls and sex” (70). Regardless, Jackie feels conflicted in her feelings for Cole: “Although spending time with Cole gave me this new, thrilling feeling I couldn’t quite explain, I never wanted to forget again” (177). Cole encourages Jackie to enjoy life, have fun, and let loose, but Jackie equates this with forgetting about her family and ignoring her trauma. This causes Jackie further guilt, which in turn pushes her away from him.

Cole likewise struggles to admit his feelings for Jackie, but when he does so, he shows how much their connection affects him as well: “Loving you just crept up on me, and before I knew it, I was head over heels for you […] Tell me you feel the same way, or that you feel something […] I just—I need to know that I’m not alone” (334). Cole is vulnerable at this moment, not only admitting his feelings for Jackie but admitting his anxiety that she will not return his feelings. This speaks to the strength of Jackie and Cole’s connection, as he struggles to share his true feelings with anyone else.

Cole learns how to find strength through vulnerability. This is shown when he chases after Jackie as she leaves for the airport to return to New York: “I’m sorry […] I was afraid. I don’t want to say goodbye to you” (351). He takes a risk going after Jackie, not only apologizing for refusing to say goodbye to her, but admitting his reasons for doing so. Though their relationship status hangs in limbo, both Jackie and Cole have learned about the vulnerability required to establish and maintain a relationship, setting them up for possible success in the future.

Alex Walter becomes a close friend to Jackie and becomes involved in a love triangle between himself, Jackie, and his brother, Cole. Jackie’s attraction to Alex grows in part because he is so different from Cole, who comes off as cocky and assured. Alex is quieter, a self-proclaimed “geek” (276) and avid video game player. Alex endears himself to Jackie early on in the text when he brings up Jackie’s family: “Alex was the first Walter to ask me a question about my family […] he seemed uncomfortable, more so than me, and for some strange reason that put me at ease” (134). The rest of the family actively avoids talking about Jackie’s family, not wanting to bring up traumatic memories for her, but Alex’s ability to talk about her family, even if it makes him uneasy, helps to make Jackie feel at ease and comfortable around Alex.

The safety that Jackie feels with Alex is something she clings to while dealing with the tumult of her life since moving to Colorado: “Alex was caring and dependable. I felt like he was someone I had known for my entire life, like I was home” (243). Seeking a sense of belonging and home, Jackie latches onto Alex, allowing the boundaries of their relationship to blur as Alex develops romantic feelings for Jackie. Although they do engage in a romantic relationship, it becomes clear as Jackie continues to struggle with unresolved feelings for Cole that her feelings for Alex are more platonic: “he reminded me of a puppy. Puppies were good, right? Everyone liked puppies” (305). This quote is most telling of Jackie’s feelings for Alex: While she deeply cares for him, she does not have romantic feelings for him.

Following Will’s wedding, Jackie and Alex are forced to confront the truth about their relationship. Alex admits that his attraction to Jackie grew, in part, due to the sibling rivalry between him and Cole: “I wanted to beat Cole, to feel like I accomplished something he hadn’t. And I wanted to prove to Mary that I was done with her” (341). This honesty allows Jackie to admit her own faults in their relationship, enabling the pair to keep their friendship intact although their romantic relationship is over.

Although their romantic relationship ends, Jackie reflects on Alex’s importance in her life: “Alex made living with the Walters so much easier for me—my anchor as I adjusted to the storm. He was my comfort, my first real kiss, but most importantly, he was my friend” (342). Though their relationship develops throughout the text, who Alex was to Jackie at the beginning of the novel is a constant, an “anchor” in a time when Jackie was in desperate need of consistency and stability. Alex and Jackie’s relationship illustrates that platonic relationships can be just as impactful and vital as romantic ones.