Paradox (Unearthly Paradox Series Book 1)

Chapter 5

                 

The house was empty when I got home, but the silence didn't bother me. I liked to be alone because that meant I didn't need to put up with my father and his incessant need to talk about himself or about how I wasn't living up to his expectations. Screw his expectations. I didn't want to become some heartless prick that had no real friends and got off on having his minions chasing after him.

I dumped my bag on the dining table and went into the kitchen to grab an Up&Go and a chocolate bar then jogged up the stairs to my bedroom. After I changed out of my school uniform into a pair of shorts and singlet, I opened the doors to my balcony and stepped outside. I didn't have any furniture there yet, but that was something I definitely would have to buy.

I looked down at the beach and felt guilty as I watched a couple jog along the shore toward Surfers Paradise. I hadn't done any exercise since the move, and I was afraid I would start getting a bit frumpy if I left it much longer. But that would have to wait for another day. I really couldn't be bothered going for a run, but I did want to get my feet in the sand.

I went downstairs and stepped outside. The warmth of the afternoon sun was behind me as I walked down the back patio steps and onto the sand dunes. I stuck my straw in my drink as I sat down in the sand. Staring out at the water, I sucked down the coffee-flavoured breakfast drink.

A few kids from my school were surfing the breaks. I'd seen them around but hadn't spoken to them. That was one sport I wasn't going to get into any time soon.

My breath caught in my throat as I spotted my black-eyed boy coming out of the water. He carried a board under his arm. Okay, so I might just have to take up surfing, or at least become very interested in watching.

From where I was sitting, nothing about him looked unusual. But I was probably the one who looked like a freak with my mouth wide open. I was practically drooling as he walked up the beach. His shorts hung off his hips, revealing that sexy V that only came with countless hours of working out and watching what he ate.

I looked down at the chocolate bar in my hand. I definitely needed to ditch the cellulite-in-a-wrapper things and get my ass out there to work it off. Tomorrow. I shoved the rest of the chocolate into my mouth and tucked the wrapper in my pocket.

Jett dropped his surfboard and picked up his towel. Considering I was only twenty metres away, he had to have known that I was staring at him, but he never once looked in my direction. Typical guy. Couldn't keep his eyes off a girl, and then the moment she showed a little bit of interest... I choked on a laugh. A little bit of interest? God, I had to wipe the drool from my chin.

My phone went off in my pocket. I checked the screen. It was my reminder to study. I didn't even know why I bothered. Thanks to my dad making me move at the start of exams, I had pretty much no chance in hell of passing with grades good enough to get into university. If I didn't pass, he would make sure I got in anyway. As he liked to say, "Money talks." But I didn't want him to pay. I wanted to be able to do things on my own, live my own life.

I wondered what life would've been like if my mum hadn't died when I was born. Had my father always been an asshole, or was the greed just a way of coping with her death? He couldn't control her passing away, so maybe he needed to do something where he was in control. He made the decisions at work, and nothing went down without his permission.

Getting up, I took a last wistful look at Jett's gorgeous body then headed back up to the house to study.

I pulled my tablet out of my school bag and ran up the stairs to my room. I sat down at my desk and checked my email. My math teacher had sent a practise exam, and my art teacher had posted some homework for next class. Art? No other art teacher I'd ever known had asked us to do a sketch to bring to our next class after everyone had already handed in their final project.