I take off my lab coat as my first chemistry lab ends. It's been a long session and quite tiring. Tucking the files back into my bag, I wonder how I'll get home later. I guess that I would take the bus, since my car is broken -- I just found out this morning when I couldn't start the engine."Have you asked someone to fix your car?" Kyla asks beside me, slinging her backpack over her shoulders. Since we're taking the same major, we have many classes together, and I find it pleasing. She's my first friend here."Nope." I sigh."Why don't you try to ask Lance?" she asks as we exit the lab. She winks, teasing me, and I roll my eyes.So, this girl here has asked me about how I managed to hand my jaw-dropping assignment to Professor Adams so quickly, and I've told her about Lance.But no, I can't trouble Lance again. I'm well aware that Lance is busy preparing for the football game tomorrow, and I don't want to disturb him.Why do I have to be so clueless about cars?I'm going to call a mec
Tears brimming my vision, I stare at Lance storming in our direction. I can't believe that someone actually comes to save me.The sick, perverted psychopath abruptly lets go of me, pushing me to the wall. He wastes no time to run off, leaving me here with mouth agape, shaking on the ground."Don't you dare, you asshole." Lance is ready to run after him, but when he sees the state that I'm in, he stops dead in his track. He freezes. I can see that he's shocked by how I look.My head pulses with sharp pain, and I wince, touching my forehead. Then I find blood on my palm. My forehead is apparently bleeding from the smack against the brick wall."Jesus, Ken -- " he rasps before his jaw tightens, and I can even see his eyes burning with rage before he snaps his head back toward the bastard running away."No," I cry out, stopping him before he can move further to catch the bastard. "D-don't leave me," I stutter. I can barely speak after what happened.I don't want to be left alone in this da
Lance grabs the bathrobe hanging on the wall and covers my body with it. I realize that I was almost naked in front of him. I've never thought before that it would be that hard just to clean myself up. He seems to realize that I can't do it either, so he lifts me in his arms and carries me back into my bedroom.He lays me down on the bed, and my body tenses at the sudden loss of his warmth. Thankfully, he also lays down beside me before pulling me closer to him.It's like I need him to forget about what the psycho did to me inside the alley, to replace all the horrible and nasty feelings on my body. I still haven't cleaned myself up, but I'll survive if he keeps holding me close to him.I put my hands on his back, sighing. "Did you call the cops?""I did," Lance says. "He deserves to rot in jail. Sick bastard." His anger is still evident in his voice. "If they don't find him, I'm going to hunt him myself. I'll find the person who fucking did this to you."Somehow, I feel something new
Lance eyes meet mine as he scans the bleachers, perhaps because we're sitting quite close to the field. I smile, waving my hand to him. I really hope that they'll win this game, so I won't have to feel guilty for consuming most of his time."Oh my Gosh," Kyla gasps beside me. "He's a hottie. Is that Lance?"I nod, biting my lip. "Yup.""Well, I've actually heard about him before," Kyla says. "He and Russell are really popular, like, if you're into college football, they shine so bright and make every girl swoon. But I didn't expect he would look that good. I mean, look at his body," she tattles.I don't know why, but I feel a bit irritated from knowing that she's checking his body out. Easy, girl.Oh, crap. Am I jealous? What are you thinking, Kendall? Stupid brain.No. Stupid heart.Luckily, the game starts with a kickoff, shifting my attention back to reality before I can keep blaming myself. I've heard that the opponent's team from the neighboring university is tough, but hopefully,
I'm shocked at the sudden movement. Prince lips brush against mine. They feel so soft and delicate, and his mouth smells like fresh mint gum. He starts to move his lips, but I'm still star struck that I don't even know what I'm going to do. It tells how inexperienced I am. "Open your mouth," he whispers against my lips. What? My mind is still in cloud nine that I can't comprehend anything he says. Is this the kind of 'teaching that he meant before? Naughty, naughty Prince. But I comply anyway. I give him access, and the next thing I know is that he shoves his tongue into my mouth. His tongue teases mine and explores the new territory, so slowly that it makes me almost moan. Almost. Pull yourself together, Cheska. You don't want to embarrass yourself. But he continues kissing me, and everything feels so good and sweet in my mouth. I don't think that I'll be able to hold my moan for a long time. I like it. Fuck. I like my first kiss. I close my eyes and kiss him back, trying to
"She's not worth it, Prince." I remember Drake saying those words to Prince about Gia. Oh God, why do those words keep haunting me now that I'm trying to close my eyes to sleep? This is so infuriating. I roll my body to the side, restless. Maybe I should try counting sheep to get it out of my mind. Drake wouldn't have said something like that if Prince had really moved on, right? Drake must have known that Prince was still living under the shadow of his ex-girlfriend. Shit. I should have been aware of the aftereffect of the kiss before I allowed him to kiss me. Now, I'm becoming such an insecure girl. Because it's too good to be true. I've never felt something like this before. The chemistry between us is real -- or at least, I think so. He's too good to be true, but at the same time too real for me to pretend like he doesn't exist. And too dangerous for my vulnerable heart. I like him. I really do. To the point that I'm afraid that everything will be shattered once I enter too
"What brings you here?" I ask, trying to sound as casual as possible, my pulse quickening with every second passing by. Prince stares at me with those piercing eyes that have captivated me from the first time I laid my eyes on them. He tilts his head to the side and scoffs. "What brings me here? I guess I have no choice, since you never answered any of my texts and calls." His eyes dart on mine, as if trying to find what I'm hiding from him. I gulp, bracing my self. It's so hard to do this when the person I've been thinking about the whole time is now right here, standing before me, making my knees go weak. But I've made up my mind. This feeling is not worth it. Think about all the things in jeopardize. My heart. And his friendship with my brother. I'm such a weakling, but I'm just not ready enough to take a risk. Don't blame me, though. I have no experience whatsoever in love. All I can see are the images of those girls being dumped by my brother. "I was busy," I say nonchalantl
About 15 minutes ago, she arrived at my house, and I was surprised to find myself totally underdressed. She wears an elegant midnight blue dress, while I'm only dressed up in black jeans, blouse and blazer. I thought that a concert for the college orchestra would be nothing fancy, but it turns out that they invited some special guests tonight, so the event is much more formal than I thought. I ponder on the outfit Kyla just chose for me. The black dress is lovely. It's knee-length, exposes my shoulder and accentuates my curve. More importantly, it speaks high class. But isn't it too much? It's not like I'm going to watch a philharmonic orchestra in Vienna's most phenomenal concert hall. I raise my brow at her. "Don't you think it's too much?" "Come on," she growls. "Trust me. You'll look fabulous." I roll my eyes and decide to trust her. Once I get dressed, I look at my reflection in the full-body length mirror, and I'm quite satisfied with the result. "Wow." Kyla whistles. "Look
Today, every step that I make as I walk along the corridor of the hospital feels heavy. I just made a phone call to somewhere far away. Somewhere I will be. Soon. It has been three days after I received the first phone call from them. And I've made up my mind. I halt in front of the room, peeking through the glass on the door. And there inside the room, I see Prince, sitting on the bed. And my throat hurts so much. Tears pool in my eyes. I'm starting to doubt myself again whether I have enough strength to do this. To leave him. Right now. When he's still lying in the hospital. Wounded because of me. And it's very cruel of me that what I'm going to do next will just add more pain to his wounds, making them even worse. I move away from the door and lean back against the wall. I can't do this. But I have to. For myself. For him. For us. Tears escape my eyes and roll down my cheeks. It hurts so much. It hurts me to the core that I have to leave him. I wish I could spend more time
I can't believe what I see. Is this real? Because if this is all just a dream, I don't want to wake up. Prince tries to move his finger again, but he's still very weak. I stroke his hand, a soft smile touching my lips as tears brim my eyes. "You-you woke up," I whisper. He gazes at me with his intense eyes. "I had a dream," he rasps, his voice just as weak as his stare. "And there, you called me. Many times." I brush my fingers across his cheek. There's a tear in the corner of his eye, and I wipe it away as it escapes. "I've been thinking .. " he pauses, his voice hoarse. "What if you haven't forgiven me? I couldn't just go away, leaving you like that, could I?” My lips tremble, and I choke in tears. He stares at me, his eyes begging. "Cheska," he whispers. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all that I've done to you. I'm sorry that I hurt you." I shake my head. He's begging me like he's dying. He has sacrificed himself to save me to the point that he almost lost his life. But now, here h
I'm driving to my office when I hear my phone ringing on the dashboard. A smile tugs at my lips when I see the caller. Fiona. I press the speaker button, and her voice fills the air. "Morning, Drake." I almost want to bite my tongue to prevent myself from saying the next words, but hell with that, I decide to give myself a chance, ’Morning, beautiful." I know that she won't take this one like the other girls normally would have done. Still, a smirk curves on my lips. " You hit your head or what?" she asks, and I can imagine that she's rolling her eyes. "Easy there, Casanova." I chuckle. What a perfect way to begin my day in the morning. Our banters. Suddenly, all the tension from the morning rush disappears, just from hearing her voice. I like Fiona. Everybody might think that this is bullshit, since I always like girls. When do I not? Even my reputation as a player has already reached Fiona. But what I mean here is that I really like Fiona. I'm definitely taking this slowly and
I can't believe that I let him hold me again when I broke down. I must admit that his being here makes my heart at ease while Damien is on the run. I watch as he sits at the desk in the guest bedroom, opening his laptop, while I prepare my breakfast. I don't know if he already had one or not, but there's nothing wrong with preparing the food for him as well. I hear him talking to a person on the phone about some academic projects. It's too early in the morning to talk about that -- it might be something urgent. Then I remember that he's supposed to start his internship in the oil company -- the one I visited when I brought him the notebook. That time, he told me that it would start in three months after he passed his interview -- which is around this month. Is he postponing the start date? Because of me? My heart sinks as I think again about the circumstances that I'm in. I've been right all along. Our future doesn't work together. Mine will be a hindrance to him. I'll only be a bur
Cheska The thought of Drake purchasing a gun still bothered my mind the entire night, but I decide not to question him again about that. I keep wondering why he suddenly decides to carry it now. We've been living in California for two weeks, and so far, everything is fine. This morning, he leaves for work, as usual. While I'm about to finish blow-drying my hair inside my bathroom, I hear footstep sounds from downstairs. That makes my heart thump hard against my chest. Ever since the incident of Andrew breaking into our house in England, the smallest sound and the slightest movement can make me become a paranoid again. I'm sure that Jake has locked the door, so if it weren't him, who else would enter this house? Slowly, I step out of my room and head downstairs, almost tiptoeing so that I won't make too much sound. My pulse quickens as I finally reach the ground level. When I see the person entering the living room, I yelp in surprise. My eyes widen as I see Prince standing before m
Cheska The moment I close the door behind me, my sobs finally break. I’ve never thought that I would say those words to him, but I had to. We can’t be together anymore. I’ve promised myself that I’m going to forget everything about my painful past, about him. I need to be strong, and I can only be so without him. I’ve planned my future, and he won’t be in the picture. Our future doesn’t work together. Mine will destroy his. Drake leans back against the wall, his arms crossed on his chest, his eyes closed. He has heard everything as well. When he turns to me and walks closer to hug me, I bury my face in his chest and cry my eyes out, hugging him back. I can’t bear the pain anymore. Hurting Prince breaks my own heart, worse than when he broke mine. He came all the way here for me. He waited for days, standing on the street outside. He still waited for me even when the rain had been pouring hard on him. He was crying when he said that he loved me. But then, I just crushed him with m
Cheska As soon as Drake comes back from work, he visits my room. I sigh, closing my laptop. Drake leans back against my door frame, still in his office attire. “ Are you sure, Ches?” he asks me the question once again. I nod. This past week, I've been spending time with my laptop to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. And finally, I've found a light, filled with hope for my future. A way to achieve my dreams. "You know, I never thought that something like this would ever happen, but-" he falters, and I give him a hopeful look. A soft smile touches his lips. "As long as it makes you happy, I'm fine with it." Relief washes over me. I thought that he would be reluctant to accept my idea at first, butI always know that he's going to be supportive, as long as it's the best for me. I stand up from the chair, approach him and hug him, making him sigh. "Thank you, Drake. I always know that you're gonna be on my side." When we pull away, I do see the sadness in his eyes. Regrets
Cheska Today is my second day in Italy. It’s early morning, and I’m setting up my new cellphone when Drake emerges in my doorway. He’s talking to someone on the phone before handing it to me, making me wonder who it is. “ It’s your friend Kate,” he says. “ She got my number from Prince.” The mentioning of such name still makes my heart drop. I sigh and take the phone from Drake. “Hello?” Kate’s cries fill my ear as soon as I speak, and she goes frantic. “Oh my God, Ches. Are you okay? How are you doing over there?” A soft smile tugs at my lips. I miss her. It feels like ages since the last time I heard from her. This girl is worrying about me like I’m dying. “I’m okay. Don’t worry.” “God, I never thought that – “ she stops talking and starts sobbing. “If only I’d figured it out earlier.” She’s speaking about Andrew. There’s a guilt in her voice, and I want to tell her that none of this is her fault. Before, neither of us realized that Andrew was such a psychopath. We thought th
Prince Andrew ends up in the hospital. And I end up spending the night at the police station. That bastard is fucking lucky that I didn’t kill him, because before I could do so, three policemen came to stop me. I remember roaring like a mad person when they pulled me away from Andrew, who was already bleeding to death when the emergency response team from the hospital took him with the stretcher. My hands shaking, I look down and bury my face in them. What the hell am I doing here? I shouldn’t be here right now. I should be with her. Cheska. Cheska. Cheska. She’s the only thing in my mind now. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling at the moment. She must be scared, not knowing that to do. She must be broken. Hopeless. Alone. To settle the matters with the police, I’ve called my lawyer, whom I know from a friend I worked with for one of the influential companies I did my project with. He’s good, so I expect that the police can give me some dispensation once they find out that Andrew