JASON'S POVThe game that evening was both disastrous and fun. Disastrous in that seated in the bleachers was the whole group of the girls in my life full of indifferences and drama erupted two or more times throughout the whole game. On the other hand, our team was winning. Even Evan was nicer toward me. I couldn't tell if it was because he was the captain and needed to win so bad. Yeah , maybe it was exactly that. During the last minute, I ran across the field and reached touched down winning us the last goal that marked the end of the game. I jumped into a group celebration with the rest of the team. Evan stood a safe distance away from us but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. He was happy just like everyone else. He just couldn't get over his ego and need to be the center of attention. I didn't pay him much attention.I was running across the field heading to the locker rooms when Lexi and her cheerleader friends ran into my path. Consciously, I turned around and found Te
TESSIE'S POV For the past month or so, I hadn't dreaded a weekend like I was dreading this one. The constant thought of hanging out with Evan again after avoiding him for weeks was causing havoc to break out in my stomach. The words he had used to describe it were haunting me and I had to keep reminding myself that I was doing this for the right reasons. He had called it a 'perfect date' and my guilt was having a field day in my subconscious for agreeing and actually smiling in encouragement.I was seated in the kitchen eating my evening snack. Snacks were my go to whenever I was nervous or anxious about something. Honestly, I couldn't wait to just get the night done with. My dad walked in adjusting his shirt. I stared at him as he went ahead to groom his hair nervously. I guess I inherited more of his nervous genes because this white dude was a whole wrecking ball of them. Judging from what he said of her, my African-American mother was the confident one. "Dad," I c
TESSIE'S POVI wasn't ready for this. I knew I wasn't going to be ready for it and if only it had some kind of skip button to rush through the hours, I would have hit it without thinking. And 'the theatre was big enough'? I was now strongly disagreeing with that because as we walked in to find our seats, I located him sitting across the room with her.If I was being honest, I was actually glad they were seated where I could see them. I hated to feel the way I was feeling, unable to trust that nothing we hadn't agreed on would happen but I couldn't help it. They couldn't possibly have sex there, could they? Yeah, I was definitely spiralling. It wasn't good and if I didn't get my head back in motion, I was going to ruin everything. I shook the thoughts off and followed Evan but bumped into him. He had stopped suddenly while I was busy roaming my mental streets. It was a miracle the popcorn I was carrying didn't fall. "You are nervous," he stated gently. "Is everything oka
JASON'S POVI felt bad and guilty. I wanted so bad to defend Tessie right then but I knew it would only cause more drama. Lexi was the actual definition of mean and entitled and his half-brother wasn't spared. I could see the difference between their personalities clearly and Evan was way better.I didn't know how to feel about that. Seeing him walk out with Tessie had a thousand thoughts racing through my head. If he turned out to be good enough to change Tessie's mind... No. I wouldn't think about that. Tessie was mine, she couldn't just walk away like that. "Did you come here with me or with them?" Lexi asked forcing me to turn back to her. "That wasn't nice," I decided to give her my thoughts. "You don't have to be mean to them or even acknowledge them, you know?" "Oh my God," she exhaled deeply rolling her eyes. "Does it offend you that I don't want to be around my half-brother and your little sister when we are on a date?"
TESSIE'S POVI sat silently in Evan's car looking outside the window trying to ignore him but I could still feel his gaze on me. I convinced myself that ignoring him would work as long as I didn't turn to him. He would read my face right away. Or maybe that was just what I was afraid of. "Don't take whatever Lexi says to heart. Being mean is the only thing she knows how to do best," he broke the silence but I didn't look at him. "Honestly I don't know if she can change or it's just in her nature." "People do change. Look at you, you used to be a bully. The meanest and worst person in school," I stated without thinking. Evan went silent. It was then that I realized the intensity of my words and suddenly, I felt bad. Upon turning, he had a firm grip on the steering wheel and through his side profile, I noticed a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." "Nah, it's okay. I deserve that or even worse," he
TESSIE'S POV As soon as Evan stopped his car in our driveway, I grabbed my pouch and made my way outside. My evening had turned bittersweet all because of him. At least now my mind wasn't overrun by thoughts and all I could do was smile.I bid him goodnight but before I could walk two steps away from the car, he got out and ran after me. "Let me walk you to the door," he stated. "You said that no one is home so, I want to make sure that you get in safe," he added the moment I hesitated. "Okay," I smiled. The house was deserted as expected and the lights were out. Even the porch light. I had to use my phone's flashlight to look for the keys. I didn't like darkness. The intensity of it always gave me the creeps so having Evan there was an advantage. I finally breathed the moment I got inside and switched them on.Evan stood outside the door indecisively. I could see it in his eyes. What could I do though, invite him inside? No, that would be a bad idea. It
TESSIE'S POV Everything happened so fast that I didn't even have enough to time to think about what I was doing. I wasn't thinking straight and his determination and passion was making it even harder. Before I could realize it, I was leaning against the wall with my top off and my bra half off.Maybe it was the cold on the wall or maybe it was my senses that finally decided to kick in. I slowed down before pulling away. He was about to take off his shirt when I acted. "Evan, wait!"He turned to me breathlessly. My chest was heaving rapidly and my whole body panic stricken. What was I doing? Evan stared at me in confusion. "Not here," I stated. "Right," he chuckled. "Well, maybe it's about time you gave me the house tour to your bedroom?"His enthusiasm and smiles were charming. I would say hard to resist but that would be going too far because what I was feeling was only my body reacting to his touch and actions around me. I didn't even realize
TESSIE'S POV I was woken up the following morning by a loud knock at the door. At first, I woke up in a state of disorientation not sure whether I had actually heard it or it had been just in my imagination. Jace's hand was under my neck and my head was on his chest. had no idea how that had happened. Maybe I had turned in my sleep and he had been open enough to hold me like that. It wasn't the first time falling asleep in my bed together but this was different. And I was still mad at him for not defending me against Lexi. "Tessie? I need to get your clothes to do the laundry," the doorknob turned.I sat up quickly. That was Jace's mother. Thankfully the door was locked. I shook Jace vigorously trying to wake him up. He groaned and struggled to open his eyes. "Wake up dummy!" I slapped him lightly several times and whispered, "Your mom is standing outside the door. Go back to your room!" "What?" he sat up in confusion. "G
TESSIE'S POV "Tessie!" My father's voice alerted me from the hallway followed by a loud knock. I turned with a groan and sat up rubbing my eyes. Why was he waking me up so early ? "I know it's Saturday but you need to get up and have breakfast with us before I head to work. We have some news we want to share." "What time is it?" I managed to mutter under my breath and reached for my phone. It was some minutes past eight. My father didn't have to go to work early on Saturdays which explained why he was still there. "Tessie? Are you awake?" "You woke me up, Dad!" I shouted back. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen you since yesterday. Is it so bad that I want to share a meal with my daughter?" "I'll be there in a few minutes," I gave in knowing there was no point in arguing when he got like that.Beside me, Jace stirred awake and stretched his hand to me. He wrapped it around my waist and forced me back to bed with him. A silent gasp escaped me
TESSIE'S POVTears sprung out of my eyes as I watched Ava run away from me. This is what I had been so afraid of— watching her walk away with that hatred in her eyes. Were we ever going to be okay again? Jace pulled closer and I leaned against his chest, my heart completely torn. I had wanted Ava to know the truth. I was going to tell her everything because I didn't want her to find out this way. "I fucked up," I breathed hard. "She is never going to talk to me again." "Tessie, it's not your fault. We both did this, I did this," Jace comforted me. "I lost control, Tessie. I thought she had left." "She did. At least I thought she did. I don't know why she came back." "Hey, it's okay. Stop beating yourself so hard about it. Ava is going to come around, we will talk to her together." "What if she tells our parents?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. "Do you really think she would?" "I don't know. She is very upset and migh
AVA'S POVI blinked slowly trying to take in the scene in front of me but my whole body shut down for several seconds. I couldn't move or say anything so I just stared. Tessie and Jace broke apart quickly, their faces pale from shock. At first, I wanted to believe that I had imagined everything but the moment my eyes met theirs, all I could see was betrayal.My insides shredded at that instant. Tears stung my eyes and a soft sigh escaped me. My entire strength failed and I forgot to breathe for a second. "Ava..." Tessie stepped forward.It was at that moment that I managed to gather myself. I turned on my heels and ran out down the hall and headed downstairs. I couldn't be there, I couldn't face her, and I didn't want to talk to her or even see her face. "Ava, please wait!" she called after me as I ran out the front door without looking back. "Ava!" "I have nothing to say to you two!" I turned sharply and shouted. "Unless you want to tell me that wha
JASON'S POV We searched for her for almost twenty minutes without seeing any sign of her or Evan. I hated myself for thinking that maybe she had gone home with him and used feeling unwell as an excuse. I couldn't stop thinking that they were off somewhere in the backseat of Evan's car or his bedroom making out or having sex.The thought drained the energy out of me and I paused outside the gym trying to fight it off. Just as I was about to give up the search, Evan appeared, heading back to the gym. I straightened up and met him. "Hey, do you know where Tessie is?" I asked. "She texted Ava that she was unwell and now we can't find her." "Yeah, she told me to drive her home. She has a headache but she is safe."I exhaled in relief. Right then, Ava joined us. "Is she mad at me for disappearing on her? Please tell me she isn't mad," Ava asked desperately. "I don't know," he sighed. "But I think you should check on her or call her to find out what's going o
JASON'S POV "So, how do you and Jude know each other?" I asked Ava as we danced amongst the crowd. "We met through our parents. They used to be coworkers then friends. What about you guys?" "He is my cousin," I stated casually, not surprised that Jude hadn't mentioned my relationship with him. "The one you are staying with," she stated.I frowned slightly, "How do you know that if he never mentioned me before?" "Tess told me, plus I live a few houses down from the Prescott's so... I know things." "Right," I nodded, my heart skipping several beats wondering how much Tessie had shared with her best friend. The truth? "What else did Tessie tell you?" I asked lightly. "Nothing much, except that you are single again which probably the whole school knows and many girls might be trying to get your hands on you." "Tessie told you that?" I cocked an eyebrow. Ava chuckled, "Not really. That was me blurting out every un
TESSIE'S POV "There you are!" Evan exclaimed as he joined me in the gym. I had completely forgotten about him until I saw him. My mind was elsewhere, sweeping through the crowd for Ava who had decided to abandon me. "May I have this dance?" "Yes," I took his offered hand with a sigh and followed him into the crowd. "Hey, did you see Ava while coming in?" "Yeah, she was right by the door with some guy. I don't think he goes to our school. I've never seen him before." "He must be his mystery man/blind date," I chuckled. "Well, wherever they are now, they must be having fun," Evan offered. "I don't see why we shouldn't as well. You want to see me break some moves?" he asked breaking into a pop and rock dance with both feet and hands.I laughed, immediately taken back to the day he danced for free ice cream on our first date. Evan was sweet, contrasting every thought I ever had of him. It would have been so easy to love him especially since
JASON'S POV "Bro, I think I found a solution for your girl problem and I might just have found you a date to homecoming!" my cousin announced and jumped into my bed, disrupting my sleep. "I told you, I'm not going to homecoming, Jude," I groaned and turned, pulling a pillow over my head to block his voice.I wasn't sleeping, but I was in no mood to talk to anyone. Not after the day I'd had. Months of trying to get over Tessie, all the effort I had put in was not making it any easier. I had finally decided to get over it, get over my ego and talk to her and I just had to stumble over her agreeing on a date with Evan.Evan! Again! Yeah, that was it. I wasn't going to try again and I wasn't going to subject myself to that torture— watching them together for a whole night. "Dude, you are in the football team. You can't miss the game!" he shook me awake. "Besides, do you really want to miss your last homecoming dance just because a chick broke your heart? Look
TESSIE'S POVMonths sped by quickly and before I knew it, junior year was already halfway done. Everyone was counting days to the homecoming dance, which was all the talk in the school hallways, washrooms, cafeteria, everywhere. It was beginning to get on my nerves especially when — "Have you found a date to the homecoming dance yet?"When that topic came up. I looked up, my sandwich halfway to my mouth, and met Ava's eyes dancing with curiosity. Way to ruin a girl's lunch! "No," I put the sandwich down. "And I'm not interested in finding one or going." "Tess, this is the second last homecoming dance you are ever going to get a chance to attend! You can't just throw that chance away." "I can, Ava. And I am." "No, you are not. You have to be there because I'm running for homecoming queen and you are not going to let me face Lexi 'you know who' on my own."My mouth dropped, "You are not serious, are you?" "About what part?"
TESSIE'S POVThe level of scrutinizing I was getting at home ever since Jace moved out was too high. There had been numerous questions about what had happened, all to which I had responded the best way I could — feigned oblivion. I hated that my Dad blamed himself for going off on him for getting home late but what could I do?He would have to bear that lie and deal with it. As for me, sleeping in on weekends until they left and leaving so early in the morning during school days to avoid them was how I coped. That morning however, I wasn't so lucky because it was Diane's off day.I was seated in the kitchen taking my breakfast when she joined me. "I saw Jace."I looked up sharply and forced down the sudden panic that name brought to me especially in that house, "Yeah?" "Yeah, he told me why he had to move out." "He did?" I swallowed hard. Why was she being so vague? The tension was killing me inside. "Yes, it wasn't anything to do with your father.