TAYA's POV :
Judah just stared at me for the longest time without saying a word. There was something about him, his face was downcast, which made me even more self-conscious about this whole thing.
"Should I?" I repeated my question again when he wasn't responding.
Please say no. Please tell me to stay.
He kept his head down and took a deep breath. Then he looked up at me with a dejected look on his face as he said, "You... should go,"
"What?" I gaped, but my voice came out in a whisper.
"I said you should go be with him," he repeated himself, his tone was cold and flat.
I was still waiting, thinking that he would say something else, or say that he was joking. But he just stood there with a dead serious expression.
After everything that happened between us, could it be that Judah didn't f
TAYA's POV :I was bawling my eyes out and Blake was driving around for a while. We stayed mostly in silence, and Blake would throw worried glances at me every so often. We were driving around for a while, and when I finally stopped crying, I noticed that we were already on the other side of town. We had arrived at the Harrison Resort, the place where Blake took me on our first date."I didn't know where to go, so..." he trailed as the car reached the lobby entrance."It's okay, this is fine,” I gave him a weak smile. “I just need some air,""Taya, whatever it is that's making you so upset, you know you can tell me, right?"I nodded my head lightly, but I wasn't speaking still. I didn’t think it was fair to unload on him about Judah. So we sat there in silence for a few minutes. I was already tired of crying at this point, so I started wiping my
JUDAH's POV :"Fuck! This isn't working!"My fist slammed to the nearest wall and my eyes scrunched in pain. My head was spinning and I was staggering all over the room, hitting the furniture all around me.After our talk and Blondie took off running, it was as if she took my sanity along with her. I couldn't blame her for leaving though. I said some pretty shitty things to her.I wanted her to leave me alone and that was what she did. But when I saw her took off with Blake in his car, for a split second there I wanted to bang my fist on the car window, telling her to get off.But I had no right. She was way better off.After she was gone, I was left with this void and anger. I was mad — at myself, at the world, and at everything else. There was so much anger in me and I was desperate to numb the pain, so I headed over to Castr
TAYA’s POV :My eyes widened in shock and my breath was stuck in my throat as I read the screen.Judah Calling...I debated with myself, whether or not I should answer him. It was 2.30 AM right now. What could he possibly have to say to me at this hour?But against my better judgment, my thumb swiped across the screen and I pressed the phone to my ear."Hello?" I said in a whisper, careful not to wake Blake up.The person on the other line didn't say anything, but I could hear him breathing.Judah? Why are you calling me? – I wanted to say, but I didn't say it.I couldn't sleep. Thinking of you. – I imagined hearing him say it, but he was just quiet.There were no words being exchanged. Just empty breaths in the air. An
JUDAH’s POV :Sitting inside the cramped bathroom stall, I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. With the drugs steadily flowing in my system, I felt warm and nice. So much so that I was taken back to that day where Blondie and I went to the cliff."You wanna know what drugs feel like?" I asked her once.I waited for her to respond, and she nodded her head slightly. I leaned closer, and she thought that I was going to kiss her again because her eyes fluttered shut. But instead, I pulled her in my arms and secured her tight."They feel like a long, warm hug," I murmured as I buried my head deep on the nook of her neck.Blondie was frozen in shock as my body was being pressed up against her, my chest was heaving up and down with my breaths. Slowly, her hands then went to my back, holding onto me there. She
TAYA's POV :"Dude! Where exactly are you? Your mom's been calling me and I've been covering for your ass all day," Hallee was yelling at the top of her lungs as soon as I picked up her call."I know, sorry," I whispered as I tiptoed away from the bed. "I'm with Blake,""You're with who?! What? How did that happen?""It’s a long story. I'll tell you later," I shushed her quickly as I stole a glance over to Blake, who was still sound asleep.It was almost 5 in the afternoon now. After we got up in the morning, Blake and I ended up staying around the resort, enjoying a wonderful brunch, spending some time at the beach, before returning back to the room to take a nap. He looked so peaceful and I couldn't help but notice his gorgeous features as he lay there sleeping."Is everything alright? You just up and left last night and you told your
TAYA’s POV :“I'm Blake Harrison, Taya's boyfriend," Blake said firmly as he stretched his hand out to dad."You're what?" Kai spat as the rest of the room went silent. I was like a deer caught in headlights. I didn’t know what to do or say."And since we're all here... I wanted to ask for your permission," Blake said again, looking to mom and dad. He moved a step over to me and his hand snaked around to grip mine."I would like to date your daughter,"I gasped instantly and Kai had the biggest shock on his face. Dad turned his head over to mom in confusion, who just shrugged and smiled at him. Dad then turned to me, then to Blake, and then back to me. He searched my face and I just smiled sheepishly at him, not knowing what else to do at this point.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *O N E M O N T H L A T E R* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *TAYA's POV :"I can't believe today's finally here... the first day of our second semester as high school seniors!" Hallee sighed dramatically as she pulled open her locker door."Yeah, winter break went by so fast," Gabe said, leaning his back against the next row of lockers."Think about it, in just seven months, we'll all be leaving for college," Hallee squealed as her eyes darted to the collage of NYU stickers all over the insides of her locker wall."Have you heard anything from NYU yet?" I asked her.Our play was a great success and she had sent in footage from our play as her portfolio in her application to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.&nbs
TAYA’s POV :I’d walk up to him out on the bleachers. He’d put his earphones away once he saw me coming. Standing right in front of him, I’d give him a smile before taking the seat next to him."Hey Jude," I'd say to him like always."Hey Blondie," he'd beam at me with those cute dimples of his.Not gonna lie, I did entertain that thought for a second. I thought of going outside, finding Judah by his usual spot on the bleachers, wearing his signature denim jacket as he laid there under the warm sun. Those were some entertaining thoughts. But then I remembered something else that he told me once."When a guy really likes you, he won't be afraid to tell the whole world about you. Hell, he'd want to tell the whole world about you,"Those words struck a chord in me. I realized it now, if Judah really did like me,
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *NEW YORK CITYFOUR YEARS LATER* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *TAYA's POV :"Well?" Hallee came right in, bombarding my personal space as soon as I stepped out of the auditorium lobby.Her eyes were wide, full of hope and expectancy. I gave her a small, sad smile and sighed, "I didn't get in,""Aw, man! Are you serious? I really thought you had it in the bag. I mean, the Juilliard admission was all over you, flying you out to New York City for a damn audition too,""Meh, it's okay. I'll get it next time,"It really was nice of the Juilliard Academy to fly me all the way over here for an audition into their selective conservatory program. A representative of the school saw my graduation piece at UCLA and she loved it so much, she came to me after the show to talk about the possibility of me having a future in New York City — Broadway and all that jazz.I never even thought that something like this would be an option. So of course, I took
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *LOS ANGELES, CASIX MONTHS LATER* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *JUDAH’s POV :Christmas used to mean nothing to me.My mom and I were too busy being in survival mode to care about stupid holidays like that. Plus, we didn't have any money for gifts or holidays. Usually, she’d work through Christmas, and I’d get high and pass it by.But not this year.This year would be our first Christmas together, Blondie and I. We went back to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, as we promised our friends, but we were staying in California for Christmas. Plane tickets were expensive and Blondie wanted to stay here and rehearse anyway. That’s right, my very own Blondie was chosen as the lead role for UCLA’s upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet. That's fucking sick. I'm hella proud of her. The play would open in January, and Blondie would rather spend Christmas break practicing than anything else. Even though the school and the production were on break
GABE’s POV :It all started because of one stupid promise.I promised my friends that I would speak to Maddie before I leave for college. I had a crush on this girl since freshman year of high school, though the number of conversations we had could be counted with one hand.Though my friends had already left for college and I was the last one to go, I couldn’t leave without keeping that promise. But the problem was that Maddie didn't even know I exist. I couldn’t just go to her house and declare my undying love for her. I had to meet her somewhere and I don't know, maybe strike a conversation first?So when I got word that there was gonna be a party at a yacht thrown by Ryder Jake Williams and that Maddie would be there, I thought this must be a sign. Maybe this was the universe’s way of giving me a chance to speak to her.Ryder Jake Williams was actually Taya’s cousin. He was quite well known in this town. He was this surfer hero that all the guys wished they could be and all the gir
RYDER’s POV :“Hey, Ryyy!” Taya screeched as soon as I picked up her Facetime call.“Hey, T, what’s up?” I chuckled.From where I was standing, my cousin sister looked alright. Her skin was glowing and her hair was neatly tied up. Several days had passed since she left Hawaii and I was glad to see her alive and doing well.“Ry, we just saw the article online, congrats on winning the Hawaii Pro. We’re so proud of you!”“Thanks,” I said. “Who’s we?”“Judah and me, of course,” she chirped. She then turned the camera slightly and showed Judah sitting next to her on the couch.“Right,” I snorted. “How are you doing out there? Is everything good? Is he being nice to you? You tell me if he’s doing something sh—”“Everything is great and he is perfect, Ryder,” she cut me off sternly. “We just moved in to our apartment and got our first couch today. Everything’s great here, so don’t you worry about us,”“Geez, stop referring to yourself as we and us. It’s creepy,” I rolled my eyes.“Oh, Ryder,
BLAKE’s POV :“Blake, no!” My mom said rather sternly. She was blocking the door to my dad’s office with her body. “Your father’s not in a good mood right now,” she hissed.“This can’t wait,” I said simply and pushed past inside.“Blake!” she called after me, but I only shut the door behind her.My dad finally came back from his business trip to Nevada. He was gone for weeks. When I heard that he was back tonight, I left the prom right away and went home. I was still in my prom attire as I walked into his office. I yanked my tie open and stepped inside. He was alone, sitting at his desk, and a glass of bourbon was by his side. You could tell a lot about my dad’s condition by his choice of drink. Scotch meant that he was happy, and bourbon meant that he just had a bad deal. He mustn’t be in a good mood right now.“Dad, I have to talk to you,” I said once I stood in front of his desk.“Not now son,” he sighed and tipped his head back. “It’s been a long day,”“It can’t wait, dad,”I had
TAYA’s POV :“Make sure you’ll call right after you land,” Mom said.“And call us when you get to the apartment,” Jenny added.“Don’t sign anything if you’re not ready to sign,” Mom continued.“And call us if they try to—““Ma, stop,” Judah groaned.“We got this, mom,” I said to my mom as well.My mom and Jenny were standing with us in front of the departure gate at the airport. Finally, it was time for Judah and me to leave for California. We got our two big suitcases with us and we were ready to go. Except, mom and Jenny kept trying to hold us from leaving, giving us advice after advice.The two of them exchanged a look and a smile. They had been giving us the same advice over and over again the past week. But like Jesse said, moms will be moms.“You’re right,” mom sighed finally. “I know you two will be fine,”“But please, call us anyway,” Jenny added.“We will,” Judah said as he hugged his mom. “I’ll miss you ma,”“I’ll miss you too, sweetheart,” Jenny started crying as she leaned
TAYA’s POV :We were sitting under a bed full of stars. And they were shining so bring, they looked like diamonds scattered across the Milky Way. I had never seen anything more magical than this. I was completely in awe, but Judah didn’t look so impressed.“What?” I asked him. “You know a better spot than this in Hawaii?”“Of course,” he said.“Where?”He put a hand on the side of my cheek, tilting my face towards his. And with that sexy smile on his face, he aimed for my lips and said, “Right… here,”Oh, that was so smooth.His lips landed on top of mine gently and I tilted my face to the side, allowing for more access. Tightening his grip on my face, Judah deepened the kiss and I kissed him back with the same hunger and passion. Though it was cold out here, my body was burning up. Soft moans escaped my lips and Judah’s tongue slid his way into my mouth. Our tongues met and they tangled breathlessly as warmth and desire overtook our bodies.Pulling away slightly, Judah threw the blan
JUDAH’s POV :* HONK! * HONK! *“Come on, Judah! Rise and shine!”Parked right outside my house, Blondie was beaming and honking the car. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses, a simple tank top, and jeans. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and there were two large cups of iced coffees in the cup holders. This could only mean one thing, she meant business.“Blondie… the sun’s not even out yet!” I protested as I neared the car.Ignoring me, she simply asked, “Did you bring a change of clothes like I told you?”I lifted the duffel bag in my hand. “Yeah, and what are we doing exactly?”“You ask too many questions, Judah,” she rolled her eyes and pushed the car door open, gesturing for me to get in. “Come on, chop-chop, we got places to be!”* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *The next thing I knew, Ed Sheeran was blasting on the radio as Blondie drove us to the highway. The cool breeze was blowing in our hair and the sun was just rising. I was a
TAYA’s POV :- - - - - One Week Later - - - - -“Taya, honey,”This morning, I woke up to my mom’s voice calling after me. I felt the bed dip and I stirred and groaned. I slept pretty late last night because I was binge watching Stranger Things on Netflix.And since I’m not a high school student anymore, aren’t we done with this? “Wake up, sweetie,” she said again when I refused to open my eyes.“Mom, what is it?” I sighed dramatically. “It’s Saturday morning… and I’m not in school anymore!”“I know, but you have company downstairs,” she said.Out of curiosity, I peered my eyes open. “Who?”“Who else,” she smiled knowingly. She leaned down and kissed my forehead, saying, “Oh, and happy birthday, sweetie,”That’s right! It’s my birthday today!Mom didn’t say anything else and she walked out of my room with a naughty smile playing on her face. My body jerked up instinctively. There could only be one person crazy enough to show up unannounced and wake me up at eight in the morning on a