[Currently being rewritten and updated chapter by chapter]
Book One in the "Hard Love" series.
It's hard being knocked down. And it's even harder getting back up.
Thalia Carter grew up on the south side of Chicago with a dead-beat dad and never real...
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Unlike last night, sleep was making a valiant effort to break through the surface for the entirety of the day.
And I still had to go to Isaac's after school to do more studying. Not even the prospect of being alone with him could reboot my system.
Anddd I need to take a minute to gather my thoughts before meeting him in the lot, because I should not be getting excited about stuff like that. Who cares if it's just us today? Not me, that's who. Because it doesn't matter. We're just friends.
That didn't even sound convincing in my head.
A shiver runs through my body as I step outside, and I know without a doubt it has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the grey eyed boy leaning against his black car. There's practically a chasm between us, separated by rows of cars and students passing and disrupting my view of him every few seconds, but our eyes lock almost immediately.
He smiles, and I feel my heart skip a beat. It should be illegal to be that gorgeous.
"How was your day?" he asks when I reach him, taking my bag and tossing it in the backseat.
We only have calculus together, so aside from lunch, we don't really get to see each other. He's in a lot of AP classes and I'm...not. We're technically covering the same material in most classes, his are just a lot more fast paced and have twice the workload. And yet he still finds time to tutor me on top of all of that.
"Long," I answer with a rueful smile. "I nearly dozed off five times in English."
Isaac chuckles, sliding into the drivers seat as I do the same in the passengers side. He starts the engine and begins to maneuver his way out of the lot and in the direction of his place, which is a mere five minute drive.
"I know how you feel. By sixth period, I was done for."
As he says that, a yawn breaks loose from my mouth, making him laugh again.
"We'll go easy today," he promises, taking his eyes off the road for a split second to smile at me. "If you want, we can chill for a bit before we start?"
I nod gratefully. "That sounds perfect." Maybe I can even squeeze in a nap, if Isaac doesn't mind.
•••
Silence greets us as we walk through the house, showing that we truly are alone. The only sound is our footsteps reverberating off the marble floors. I can't recall what Zoe said she was doing after school, but his parents must be at work. That also means there's no need for any staff in the house.
It feels like the temperature in the room just jumped up ten degrees.
Isaac lets me lead the way to the second floor. I stop in front of what I know to be his room, directly across the hall from Zoe's, but don't open it. I've never been in there before, and I don't want to seem like I'm making myself too comfortable here.
