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
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
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
I turned lazily and accidentally kicked the alarm clock off the bedside table. The shattering sound it produced was enough to wake me up fully knowing that I had gotten myself in trouble. My dad had definitely heard that which meant that was another item added to the list of the things I was yet to pay for, all I had broken because of my clumsiness. I held my breath with my eyes closed waiting for his voice from downstairs but after two minutes, it didn't come. I frowned. Where was he? That was so unusual but maybe it was my lucky day. Maybe I was going to have a great start of my junior year but that would only happen if I got out of that bed and got ready. I was already running late as it was and my best friend Ava would be up my ass again. My phone rang. *Talk of the devil.* I thought as I flipped it to see the caller ID. "Hey bitch!" Ava greeted as soon as her face appeared on the screen. "You are not dressed yet?" she gasped.I lowered the camera trying to hide my pyjamas but i
"Did you get the pages for the maths homework?" I asked Ava as soon as I got back to class from a bathroom break only that Ava's mind was elsewhere. "Ava!" I shouted snapping her out of her daydreams. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked suddenly gathering her books. I sighed and sat down heavily. "What? Don't look at me like that, I'm heartbroken." "Or you are fantasizing about a certain hottie who isn't even in your class and is obviously worse than Tim." "Don't be so mean. How could you even compare him to my ugly ass ex? I also sat behind him in AP History. Apparently juniors and seniors are going to have it together this semester so joke's on you." I shook my head. Whenever Ava got like this, getting her back was next to impossible. I didn't blame her though. Any girl who set her eyes on the mysterious new student was prone to acquire that fever and even I had found myself thinking about him in one occasion or two and I didn't like that he was distracting me during my classes. What I
Playing football with the school team in my new school had been the highlight of my first day in the new town and just like my appearance had caused a stir the whole day in all my classes, the football field was no exception. I never cared about my looks like everyone else who wasn't me did. I never wanted to come off as obnoxious but the situations around me forced me to be using that as the only way to push people away from knowing who I really was. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Those were the moments I had to embrace and fit in but it was only because of my mother. Everything I did was for her otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to move states leaving behind the life I had known for eighteen years to start over in a new school in my senior year.I had just changed back into my regular clothes when a message popped up on my screen. It was my mother reminding me of the meeting we had with her new boyfriend. I loved her and it always made me happy to see her smiling especia
I ran upstairs and disappeared inside my room breathing hard. I couldn't believe my eyes or even any part of my body but most of all, I was mad. I was mad at my father for all the secrets and what they would have done but I was also mad at myself. His eyes, his face and his smile were stuck in my head. How could all those years of never being crazy about boys be deleted in just one day. I wasn't sure what I was even more mad about. Was it my father for keeping all this from me and then springing all of them at me at once or was it the fact that I had a crush on my stepbrother? "Oh God!" I exhaled sharply as the reality hit me right in the face. I started pacing up and down. If my dad was marrying his mother, that meant that we would be living together. How could I reset my mind and and divert my thoughts from what I had spent the whole day thinking about- what I was still thinking about? "Why does he have to be such a hottie?" I asked out loud in the empty room but a knock at my d
Meeting Tess Prescott had been surprising but within minutes of knowing her, I knew that if I focused more on making her an ally she could be my ticket out of the marriage my mother had saddled me into. Well, it was her marriage but being still in high school, I was forced to live with them which made it feel like a marriage to me too. I had never had to move in permanently with any of her boyfriends. Now we were moving across states and I was not ready to start a new life, even for her especially after I had found out that she had kept a secret from me.As she drove me across the town heading to my aunt's house where we had been staying before that day, I took some time to observe her. Her focus was on the road gripping the steering wheel with too much intensity that made it seem like she was hurting. Tess was obviously younger than me and I had already observed that she was shy. Attempting to make conversation with her always resulted in either being ignored or answered vaguely. I wa
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.