"You and Alec, again?" Samara asks me, as she flips through one of my magazines, chewing her gum obnoxiously. "Really thought that was a one-time thing."
"Yeah, I did, too." I agree. "I know he isn't looking to date, he just wants to fool around. But I don't want to sleep with him, so..."
"Why not?" she shrugs. "I know the whole Miles thing has messed with your head, but Alec is a nice guy."
I stare at her, baffled. "He is a player. He has slept with plenty of girls. Once I give it up, he'll get bored and move on. I don't want my first time to be like that."
"Well, that's your choice."
"It is my choice," I argue, frowning. "I only want to do it with someone I'm dating. Who I love."
"Okay, okay, I get it," she replies, holding up her hands in a peace gesture.
I let out a huff. Samara frustrates me. She is so unemotional sometimes. It irks me that she doesn't care about things like that. She sleeps with peopl
"How was your date?""It wasn't a date," Finn huffs, his face screwing up as he pushes against his weight, the veins in his arm protruding from his skin."Sure it wasn't.""Why don't you believe me?""Because I know you," I point out, pulling the handgrip, feeling my muscles ache."What about you?" he suddenly asks and I let go out of the handle, causing the weight to hit the pole loudly, the sounding bouncing off the walls as I grimace.He quirks an eyebrow at me as I scramble to pick it back up. I put the handle back in the holding spot and lean back in the uncomfortable, worn, leather seat."What do you mean?""I mean, how's your dating life going? What's going on with Bentley?""You mean after he grabbed me, told everyone I don't put out, and then said he should have known better than to get involved with me? No, there is no me and Bentley." I replied sourly, getting to my feet, dragging the back of my
Sweat drips down the back of my neck as I struggle to catch up with Finn's long strides.I pant, feeling my body growing weaker as my energy drains. Finn slows to a walk once we're on our street and I join him eagerly, placing my hands on my hips as I try to regain my regular breathing."God, it feels good to run," he breathes, throwing his hand through his sweat-drenched hair."I like running, but it's always exhausting going with you," I pant beside him."You're fast, but you need to work on your endurance.""Yes sir."He rolls his eyes as we make our way up the path. We walk into the kitchen. Finn withdraws two Powerade, unscrewing the lid of one and tossing the other in my direction. I weakly catch it, before collapsing onto the dining table chair."You ready for the game this Friday?" I ask Finn.The upcoming game has been the talk of the school, throughout the week. We are versing Richmond River, who is our
"Finn, get out of here," the Coach quickly mutters as Principal Harrison began striding over, a look of fury on his face.Finn darts off to the side, before disappearing behind the grandstand. He has been warned that he is at risk of being suspended and losing his Captain position on the football team if he gets into any more fights."Who started it?" Harrison barks immediately. "And who was involved?"Eli let out a humourless laugh as the paramedics began working on him, as he watched the football team begin to scramble."Alec, come here," Harrison said and Alec sighs, walking over to him. "Where's Finn?"Alec shrugs, unable to wipe the cocky grin off his face. "Haven't seen him since the game finished."Principal Harrison narrowed his eyes at him. "Get over to the bench. Now."Alec rolls his eyes, doing as he's told.Harrison looks at Jai. "You didn't throw any punches, did you?""Nah," Jai replies honest
"What about an ambulance?" I cry out frantically."Invite them to a party, where 70% of the kids are underage?" Alec points out, already dialling Finn's number. "Besides, he's already been seen paramedics, he just passed out because he drank too much, under the influence of pain killers. I need help carrying him.""Alec, we can sort this out ourselves. We just need to get him inside," I insist, wanting nothing more than to leave Finn out of this."Hey man, what's up?" I hear Finn's voice as Alec has his iPhone in his hand, Finn on speaker."Don't," I mouth, my eyes pleading.Alec returns my stare, a blank expression on his face. "We need you here, man. It's Jai."I shake my head at Alec in disappointment, getting to my feet. Jai's face seemed peaceful as he lays there on the cold grass. I turn my back to Alec and walk into the party, attempting to find Samara.Ignoring the stares and a few fox whistles, I p
"You agreed to go on a date with him?" Samara exclaims in surprise. "Yeah," I nod. "Is that bad?" "No, I will always support your decision..." she trails off. "But, what about everything he has done?" "I know, that's why I'm so hesitant about it. But he truly does seem like he wants to change." I tell her, chewing at my lip. "What about Alec?" I blow out a breath, taking a seat beside Samara. I lean my elbows onto my thighs, shaking my head, my dark hair spilling down my shoulders. "I don't know. I love spending time with him, but I can't help thinking he will get bored and move on soon."
"I didn't want to tell you because it would make me feel worse than I already do," Samara huffs as she slides her large, gold hoop through her ear."What do you mean?" I question, sitting back onto my bed, already organized for tonight."I know Jai's one of your good friends, practically a part of your family. He's an amazing guy, I just... don't feel the same way. I love being single, I don't want to be tied down. Not until I at least get with Eli Matthews. Then, I can die happy," she informs me and I laugh, her obsession with Eli still prominent after all these years. She turns to me. "By the way, if I got offered to have 'revenge sex' with Eli, I would do it in a heartbeat.""Don't remind me," I laugh, shaking my head, knowing that if I ever did take up the offer, Samara would kill me in my sleep. "And I'm not going to make you feel bad. You can't force yourself to like someone.""But you think we would work together and be really cute, don't you?"
Miles moans loudly and it drives me to my knees.I frantically pat my hands over his body, trying to figure out how I can help."Feels like my insides are upside down," he gasps, looking on the verge of passing out."Can you get to your feet?" I ask him, feeling sick with worry.Gritting his teeth, he nods. I wrap my arm around his torso. I try to lift and fall backward, landing in a heap on the porch."Fuck," Miles groans. "I can't walk.""How am I supposed to get you inside?" I cry out, feeling useless.His blinking slows down, before he slumps, his head rolling to the right."Shit!" I curse, shaking him. "Miles, wake up!"I can't believe this is happening again - first Jai, now Miles. With tears streaming down my face, my trembling hands begin dialling Finn's number."Yo," he greets after a few rings. "Where are you?""Finn!" I sob. "Come home and come alone. I need your help."He's
A light tap on my door, makes me slowly open my eyes.I roll to my side, as the door opens. Finn pokes his head in, his unruly dark hair sticking up at odd angles. As if sensing my eyes, he quickly pushes his hand through it, in an attempt to flatten it."Hey," he greets, his usually confident voice quiet.We haven't spoken since last night. I don't really know what to say. I want to thank him, of course, but we made a deal about Miles. I broke it. He knows I was sneaking around with Miles, again. He took the news very well, much better than expected, but I can't help thinking that now it's a new day, he might not be so calm about it all."Hey," I reply softly."You okay?""Yeah," I shrug, not quite sure if I mean it. "You?""Yeah," he nods. "I'm going to get lunch with The Boys and then we're heading to the beach. Want to come?"Alec's hurt face flashes in my mind, making my stomach clench for the thousandth time
A few months later"How have you been?" Ashley questions as she takes a sip of her coffee. She leans back into her chair, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She gives me a warm smile."Really good," I tell her honestly. "Miles' and I moved into our place last weekend.""That's fantastic!" she beams at me. "You two have come so far.""Yeah," I agree with a shy smile. "I never would have imagined us to be living together. Especially after everything.""True love conquers all," she teases.I let out a quiet laugh. "And you? How have you been?""I've been well. I'm taking next semester off and am travelling to Europe. I'm also thinking of taking a position across town. It's an office job.""Oh that sounds great!""I haven't made a decision yet. And I've been dating a guy for a few months now, so that might change things." Her cheeks blossom red when she speaks about him and her lips curve upwards.
"Thanks, man," Miles's voice sounds close but far away at the same time."You kids have fun," the taxi driver grins, offering us both a sly wink when he thinks the other isn't looking.I take Miles' hand and he tugs me out of the car. I tilt my head back and stare at the cabin with an awed expression. It's a beautiful, dainty cabin with fairy lights hanging from the windows and the roof in a raining portrayal. My lips are parted and my breath was taken away as I stare at its beauty.A wooden arch borders the path leading to the front door. Beautiful white and pink flowers are embedded in the silver chains, twisting their way around the frame."Oh," I whisper, my eyes unable to tear away from the sight before me. "It's gorgeous.""Wait until you see the inside!" Miles says excitedly, his fingers tangling with mine.He pulls me after him. I feel breathless, my head full and light, my eyes searching, my heart thumping loudly. He ope
I press my lips together and rub slowly, before making apopsound.I meet my gaze in the mirror reflection. My dark hair is curled beside my face, my dark eyes framed with long lashes, my lips painted red."Almost ready for photos?" Kiarra asks, stepping out of the bathroom, her brilliant-blue dress flaring around her legs as she walks. Her heels click against the tiles, before changing to a soft thud as she walks across my carpeted floor, flicking out her long hair."Sure am," I reply, getting to my feet and wobbling. I hastily reach for my desk. Iknewthese heels were too high for me. Or maybe it was the three glasses of champagne..."Do I look alright?" Becca asks us, her voice unusually timid.She stands and runs her fingers down the light pink dress that is securely wrapped around her body."Hell to the yeah," Kiarra nods."Really?" she whispers."My brother will probably drop dead a
I hold my arm out for my brother. He hoists himself onto his feet and wobbles for a moment, before steadying."You okay?" I ask him."Better than ever," he grins.It's been a couple of weeks since the storm. The school has re-opened and Finn is now able to withstand weight on his leg. The muscles have decreased so he still limps and struggles to maintain his usual pace, but he's able to walk without crutches now. We still have them at home, but he seems to be handling walking pretty well without them.As we walk into school, girls are magnetically drawn to us, like they have been, despite Finn being off the market. He barely glances at them as he searches for Becca. I smile down at my feet as I walk.I make a beeline to my locker, to get out the textbooks I need for the first two classes. I jump in fright as I shut the door and Samara is leaning beside me, her vibrant hair loosely curled."You'll never guess who was caught swap
"Ready?""Hell yeah."I smile up at Miles as he shrugs into his jacket. He clenches his jaw and screws up his face in pain. I rush to his side and help his arm into the sleeve. Even though he is being discharged, he is still in quite a bit of pain.Wrapping an arm around his waist, I help him walk down the corridor. Once inside the elevator, he leans onto the railing with a weak smile on his face."What are you smiling about?" I question."I'm looking forward to the next week," he tells me."Me too," I agree.Due to the bad storm, a lot of places around town have been damaged, including the school. School is shut for the remaining week, to fix the damages. The school dance has been postponed for a few weeks, which works out perfectly for me. Miles wasn't able to attend, but now he will be.Considering we won't have school and Miles is in recovery, mum has offered him our spare room. Which isalso&nbs
When I wake the next morning, I rub my eyes, feeling like I haven't slept at all.I roll my head to the side, to see Kiarra open-mouthed and snoring beside me. I stretch, feeling a few bones in my back crack. The brightness of my phone screen makes me grimace. I hastily turn it down as I squint, seeing that it is 7:30 am.I pull myself from bed, making a beeline for the shower.The house is silent as I walk through ten minutes later, dressed in a denim skirt and a long-sleeve shirt. My hair is still wet, hanging limply down my shoulders. I wait until I'm out the front door, before sliding my vans onto my feet.The wind is unforgiving and harsh as I walk towards my car. I tug the sleeves down my hands and grimace, wishing I'd chosen to wear jeans instead.I stop into Brumby's Bakery on my way to the hospital, ordering two coffees and two cream pastry puffs. My stomach rumbles as the smell fill my car.By the time I
"Where are you going?""Out!" I say in a rush as I sprint past mum and out the door.I feel shaky as I fall behind the wheel. Every second that passes, feels like I'm slowly letting Miles down more and more.When I pull into the car park, my tires crunch against the loose gravel. My headlights pour across the vacant lot until they land on his motorbike. My stomach lurches. He's still here, which confirms my suspicions.Something bad has happened.I step out of my car and hesitantly walk towards the bike. It looks the exact same as it always does.I keep quiet as I begin to search the grounds, once again, returning to the locker room. I begin to feel nauseous when I can't find anything. I scour the oval and the perimeter of the field. By the time I get to the bus shelter at the end of the oval, my shoulders sag and my feet dragging. I feel helpless until I see it.Blood.There is spots of blood covering the grass a
"I thought you had plans tonight?"Me too, I think sourly as I stomp past mum."Plans changed." The bitterness is embedded in my voice as I reach for the juice and drink straight from the carton."You do realise we all drink that?" Mum asks me, quirking her eyebrow."Yes," I reply sharply, before marching out of the kitchen, feeling like a moody brat.While I mount the stairs, I ring Miles again, only for it to go straight to his voicemail.I'm beginning to feel sick.I don't know what I want more - to scream, to cry, or to have a drink. Possibly all three.A part of me wants to rush over to the party, to see if he's there. To see if history isreallyrepeating itself, while the other half of me has given up. I want to sit in the corner of my room and rock back and forth.Deciding to go with neither, I collapse onto the mattress and stare at the ceiling, feeling exh
When I scramble to my feet, my tear-stained cheeks cold from the wind, I feel incredibly stupid.Has this been his plan all along? Surely, someone could not fake those words, those feelings... He couldn't be that good of an actor.Something... Something has happened. That is the only thing I can believe. That thought is the very string keeping my sanity together. My fingers feel numb when I dial his number again."Hello, you've reached the voice mail of ---"I let out a groan of anger as I am tempted to throw my phone at the ground.I numbly walk to the locker room. It's dark. The only sounds I can hear is my quickened breathing and one of the taps drizzling water into the basin beneath it."Miles?" I whisper, before clearing my throat. "Miles?"No answer.Beginning to feel creeped out, I take a deep breath and turn my phone light on. I roam through the darkroom, hoping that nothing will jump out to scare m