Oaklyn West has tried to live out a normal high school existence, despite her haunting past and torturous future.
She's always in the shadows, under a rock, or lurking in the corner of a room.
All that changes, however, with the arrival of a mysteri...
After lunch, I walk down the narrow hallways on my way to English, one of my least despised classes. In creative language arts, I can really let loose, write down all my thoughts on paper and clear my head.
And...Damn, do I have a lot to think about! This is the time of day where I have the opportunity to do all that thinking that is usually demanded to stay bottled up inside of me, screwed with an iron cork and kept out of sight, out of mind.
Call it therapy, if you will.
Today, as I turn the corner to enter the classroom, I realize at the last second that I will be passing by Jack's locker.
What will I do when I walk past him? Will we share a knowing glance? Will we pretend nothing happened? Will we even acknowledge each other?
I get my answer as soon as my shoe squeaks past the bend. He's pushed up against his locker with Paige over him, openly making out.
I cover a gasp and bite my lip to stay quiet. I knew we'd have to go to such intimate lengths to keep her from suspecting that it's all a set-up, but I still wasn't prepared for this sight!
I feel a foreign feeling start in the pit of my stomach and then extend to the tips of my fingers. Jealousy?
Why should I be jealous? I know that he harbors no such feelings for Paige, and I know that whatever's going on right now is fake. I guess I just always assumed that would happen to me before it happened to her.
Paige lifts herself off of Jack to catch a breath of air and then stumbles backward. Jack wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and then spots me, widening his eyes.
Paige spins around to face me, slightly wobbly and then smirks. Her lipstick is smudged and imprinted on Jack's collar, mouth and neck.
I grit my teeth and fight the urge to cry.
Paige takes a light step forward and whispers into my ear.
"Good choice you made. Stay away."
My eyes shift away from her commanding gaze and then flit to Jack. He looks at me pleadingly, reminding me that it's just a show. That I shouldn't take it personally.
Is this how it felt like for him seeing me with Noah?
Paige flips her hair and then moves toward Jack, pulling his collar down again and raising her lips to meet his. I cringe and hurry down the hallway.
No...This is much worse.
...
At the end of the school day, I tiredly gather up my books into my carrier and hurry out of school. I need to get home and catch up on schoolwork.
I still babysit Amara, except these days it's Mrs. Travels who comes to pick her up. I can't risk being seen with Jack. Ever. So now we've come to the agreement that we should only communicate through texts.
In some ways it's relieving. Things have changed between us. We no longer insult each other or poke fun at each other or...Okay, we totally do...But it's gotten a little more serious.And being around him now has a different effect on me. Every point of physical contact feels...Special.
On the other hand, sometimes it can be an irritation, seeing him everywhere and not being able to talk to him.
But apparently I got his sister terminally ill and he's supposed to hate me. Hypothetically, people who hate each other aren't seen with each other hanging around a pizza parlor, like we used to after school when we researched court cases.
We've planned to keep this up until the trial, meet each other there and get it over with. The end of the school year is supposed to be soon. After that, Paige's threats have no chance on doing any real good. I'll have my summer free, start the year at Prep and see how life takes me.
Somehow, though, I find it infuriating that Paige manages to stamp me out of the picture for a full four months.
But then I must remember...I'm only doing this to stay safe.
That is my number one priority. If staying safe means staying away from Jack, then that's what I'll do.
I sigh and force myself to forget about the whole ordeal. I'll go upstairs and take care of Amara, get some serious work done and then move on to the next big thing...
I let myself into my apartment and shuffle in, hanging up my coat and slipping my shoes off. A moment later, my waist slams against the wall and my shoulders are pinned back.
I look up and gasp, but a hand is pressed over my mouth. I smell mint and then suddenly relax. The fingers around my mouth uncurl one at a time, and then are replaced by a set of soft lips.
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