"Right then, I knew there was something different about you and I just...I needed to know you."
──・・𖥸・・──
Myrtle Beach is just one of those cities where you never know what you're going to get. One day it can be all smiles and rainbows, and the nex...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
──・・𖥸・・──
Once I got inside, I took a brisk shower and changed into my pajamas.
Now, I'm sitting on my bed, trying to convince myself to just listen to the goddamn message. I don't know why I'm so nervous, it's just a stuffed animal. But I know it's not just that. I don't know what it is, but it's not as simple as a toy sheep. At some point, I just convince myself to do it, so I squeeze the sheep, causing his voice to fill the air.
"Um, I'm not really sure what to say, but...if no one's told you this today, I'm here for you. And I care about you. Remember that."
Eighteen simple words steal my breath away. Eighteen simple words make my throat tighten and my eyes sting with incoming tears. Eighteen simple words make me realize I was so wrong about this boy.
Eighteen simple words make me realize Hudson Whittaker has a big, beautiful, golden heart.
I hug the sheep again to replay the message. I didn't know how much I needed to hear those words, but God, I'm glad that I heard them. I crawl into bed and play the message over and over again. I don't know why, nor do I care. The message repeats itself over and over until sleep overcomes me.
. . .
Instead of waking up on my own, the sound of a notification on my phone rouses me. As I blink the sleep from my eyes, I check my messages.
Hudson: Good morning, Water Lily!
A smile creeps its way onto my features as my gaze travels to where I left the sheep last night. But it's not there.
My sheep is gone. Where the fuck did my sheep go?
The thought of responding to Hudson's text evaporates as I scramble out of bed and check the ground surrounding it in case I pushed it off the bed in my sleep. Nope. Nothing there.
I run downstairs, praying that the most likely scenario hasn't happened.
But of course it has.
Selene is sitting on the couch, turning the plush sheep over in her hands. Rage, fear, and anxiety flash through me at once before I settle on a mixture of the three.
"Why do you have my sheep?" I ask her, trying to keep my tone as nice as possible.
She glances over her shoulder and shrugs. "Because I do. What about it?"
I step toward her and grab onto it, pulling it toward me but she won't let go. "Come on, let it go, Selene. It's not yours. You know you can't just take things that don't belong to you."
She snorts. "It could have been mine."
"Are you serious?" I groan. "Selene, I don't know why you're so mad about me being friends with him. He did something nice for me, out of the kindness of his heart. Cause that's what friends do. Or have you forgotten how that works?"
