KIMBERLY *Two Years Ago* "Kimberly, thanks for what you did yesterday, I don't know what would have happened to him if you hadn't showed up." "It's okay, Lydia, I'll always be there for Brandon." She smiles sadly and blinks back tears. "Are you okay?" I take a step closer then place my hand on top of her shaking one. She looks up at me and wipes the tears with her other hand. "I got so scared when he refused to open the door,Kim. It took me back to the darkest times of his life." "The darkest times?" "Yes, you see, there was this girl in Bran's life, they literally grew up together, it was obvious they both had a crush on each other since childhood ,but when they grew up,they still refused to admit it. They got into so much trouble, Bran would scare off boys who liked her and she would make other girl's lives miserable." I listen to her attentively as she tells her son's love story. "At fourteen, they finally got together and they were so cute. As they grew older, they fell
KIMBERLYIt's been two days since I last saw Brandon, I've been doing everything possible to make sure I don't bump into him. Of course I do reply to his messages, he checks up on me from time to time."Are you sure you want to go back?" Nao asks."I'll be fine."I hug her and then leave.* *Our Apartment* *I take a shower and lay down on the bed, taking a deep breath in and out.I call Xander."Look who decided to call."I smile at the sound of his voice."Hey Xander, how are you doing? I miss you.""What's wrong? I know something is wrong when you use that line.""I'm just..." I pause. "Has Brandon called you these past few days?""Uh,yes, why?""It's just, anyway,it's nothing. How've you been?""Don't do that Kim, you're my friend, you can tell me anything, I'm here for you."My emotions start to get the best of me, my eyes water and I can't stop thinking about that picture."But you're also Bran's best friend," I whisper and there's silence on the other end."So this is about Bra
BRANDONThe words stumble out of her mouth like glass slicing her throat and tongue, her eyes are dark and stormy, the violet being swallowed by pain, pain I've never seen in her eyes before, pain i regret ever putting there,pain I will make sure i never put there again, i stand and sit on the bed next to her."No."The word comes out pure without any hesitation, because yes, the answer is NO. I am not cheating on her and I never will, not even in my wildest dreams.Her eyes never leave mine, they close and when I try to touch her, she swiftly moves her hand away out of instinct. That's the thing about us, we know when one is in the room even without physically seeing each other, we feel each other.She nods once and I know it's not because she believes me.She stands and walks to the other side of the room as if needing space away from me, while running her fingers through her hair."I want the truth Brandon, tell me the truth."I stand."I'm not cheating on you.""Just stop lying t
KIMBERLY It's been a week since i left the apartment, I'm in the hall restrooms when dark wavy hair and blue eyes catch my eyes in the mirror. Marisa.Suddenly, my own saliva feels like grass to swallow. She's a bit taller than me, about five feet five if I'm correct, I'm just five feet two.The bitch has the nerve to smile at me and say, "Hi, i guess it's high time i officially introduced myself since you must already know of me, judging by how you kept looking at me back there. I'm Marisa, Brandon's first love."I just ignore her hand and walk past her but she just won't stop, she follows me."You know, if I were you, I'd be worried too, Brandon almost died because I left him."I turn around to face her."What do you want Marisa?""You know what I want, Kimberly.""And what you want doesn't belong to you, it never will."Her stupid smile is still in place and I want nothing more than to slap it off her right now, but Nao's words stop me."She's going to try to provoke you, she'll
KIMBERLEY It's been a while since Brandon and I spoke properly, maybe I should have a talk with him, it's time we sat down and had a proper conversation without the yelling. Since it's a Friday, the girls and i agreed to skip movie night and join the guys at the bar instead.I open messages and type one to Jonathan.Me: Is he going to be there?I nervously wait for his reply which comes after five minutes.Jonathan: Yes, he is.I suck in a deep breath and type another one before I throw the phone on the bed.Me: Don't tell him I asked.We head out and get in Nao's car, the one her boyfriend, Nate, bought for her on her nineteenth birthday.The Lexus engine purs to life and I lean back in the leather seat, thinking about the many ways things can either go right or left tonight.I check my phone and read the message Jonathan sent.Jonathan: No problem, I won't.I need to get everything off my chest, I just need to be calm and get it over with. We enter the bar and it doesn't take us l
KIMBERLYEver since Brandon and i had the conversation of living separately, things have been a bit tense between us. I texted him this morning, informing him that I would be picking up my things today, he's only response was,"Alright."I hate this, I hate how we are, I hate the fact that we don't talk like we used to back then.After I finish packing up, I write him another text letting him know I'm ready to go.Me: I'm done, got everything I need.His reply comes after a few seconds.Bran: Cool.I look around the bedroom one last time, conflicted between two decisions. I've been living with Bran for the past three years and I don't know how the change will feel.I sit at the edge of the bed, feeling invisible hands tightening around my heart. Do I really want this? To leave?My phone rings, startling me out of my own messed up thoughts, I see Killian flash on the screen and compose myself then pick up."Hey baby bro!"He grunts in irritation."Stop doing that. I'm not a kid anymor
BRANDON When Michael said Kimberly was here, I thought he was fucking with my head because no way would she come to this place, she was supposed to be moving out, she texted me that she had everything she needed and was leaving the apartment. To my utter shock, I turned around and surprise surprise! There she was, throwing herself in my arms. The moment Kimberly said she wanted to move out, fear gnawed it's way inside of me and gripped my heart tightly. That's how relationships start to fade, the moment your partner says they want time away from you, then that means they're starting to question the relationship. Kim didn't actually say "she wanted time away" but moving out practically points to that road. When she said she loved me and never wanted to be away from me? That just blowed the breath I was holding on to like breathing through a straw seep back into me in full force. At one point, I thought she was starting to fall out of love with me, but I was wrong. I look at th
BRANDON There's a family gathering back in Blackwool, since it's a holiday, were all heading there. Kimberly and Ronan are now good friends, he's less of a dick to me and we have some sort of understanding ground, he's cool, I'm cool. We're not exactly friends but we do drink together and talk soccer. Kim leans over from the other seat and bites my neck. I haven't said a single word about what happend at the bonfire a week ago. "Baby, you're going to have to stop doing that and behave if you want us to get to Blackwool quickly." "And if I don't?" She places her hand at the side of my neck and continues nibbling on the skin there. "There are two possibilities. One, we might get into an accident." I push her back into the seat and she whines. "Two, I might park the car and get between those sexy legs of yours." "Mmm," she muses and I meet her eyes briefly then look back to the road. "I might have gone with numb
KIMBERLYI hug my books to my chest, leaning against the wall and smiling at Harry."Sooo, you will make it, right?"I sigh."I don't know, Harry. But I promise I'll try my best to make time."His face falls and I instantly feel bad for turning him down."Hey babe," Brandon says from beside Harry and he goes tense.Bran's eyes find Harry, but instead of scaring him off, he smiles at him and says,"Hi." I'm taken aback for a second there and so is Harry."Uh, hello. Kim, I better get going.""Sure, see you around."He walks off and I'm left with Brandon. I turn to him and smile with amusement."Well look who's being nice."He corners me until there's no space behind me and the wall. He places his hands on the wall behind me, caging my head between them, then he leans down so close such that I have to cross my eyes to get a better look at him."For you, I'd be nice even to the devil."He smiles down at me and I'm reminded once again that this man is the only one for me.I smile back an
KIMBERLY I was wrong, again. I need to stop acting out of jealousy or impulse. Brandon steps closer and places his palm on my cheek. "Now, can we talk?" I shake my head, yes. He pulls me outside and to the backyard. He takes a seat on a bench and I do the same next to him. I focus ahead but can feel his eyes on me. "I need you to stop doubting me," he says. My eyes meet his. "I need you to trust me as much as I trust you, Kimberly." "Then don't give me any reason to doubt you," I say softly. "And I am trying, that's why I cut off Marisa completely." "But did you?" I search his eyes. "What?" He frowns and I take in a sharp breath. "The night I got attacked," I start and notice his body tense. "You went to her, didn't you?" We search each others eyes and he says without blinking. "Yes." He answers, i swallow at his honesty. "And I beat myself up every day for it, she was wasted, when a bartender called me and said she was drunk, I went to take her home." It hurts that he
BRANDON The death glares Naomi has been giving me since yesterday are enough to put someone in a damn comma. When Kimberly asked me if I fucked Shiloh, I was dumbfounded. Lying and cheating are two different things, the fact that she thinks I would actually dip my dick in someone else who isn't her pisses the shit out of me. I'm anything but a fucking cheater. I hate that she was crying, I hate it when she does. The angry sex though? It was everything, I liked the pain she inflicted on me, I wouldn't mind if she repeated it over and over again, it just made my dick hard. Backing up has never been my thing, I'm just giving her a few hours to calm the fuck down and I'll be bursting through that damn door so that we can talk. What she found in that frat was a pre party chill, the actual party is tonight and I wouldn't put it past Kim to think I'll be fucking Shiloh. I need to erase that doubt from her mind, my dick won't be fucking anyone in this lifetime apart from Kimberly. I flo
KIMBERLY The entire ride, all I can think about is how Brandon let those stupid whores embarrass me. Michael and Jonathan too. I wipe at the tears angrily and park the car in the driveway. I thought about not coming back to the girl's apartment incase Brandon decides to follow me, but then I thought about the words he slapped me with last time, "I always run away at a small sign of misunderstanding". I lean my hands on the kitchen island and close my eyes. The door opens but I don't move, his cologne hits me even before his voice does. "It's not what you think." I turn around and slap him hard across the face. I glare at him through a blurry vision and I hate that stupid tears keep forming behind my eyelids. I need to show him that I'm strong, not just some weak girl who runs away every time and cries anytime we aren't in good books. His jaw clenches and his eyes harden. That annoys me more because he has no right to be mad that I slapped him, so I do it again. "Kim," he says
KIMBERLY Operation, "Find Out What The Guys Are Up To." is in full progress.I lie on my back on the bed, wondering what the hell is going on when the door opens and Nao walks in with a bowl of ice cream.It's just the two of us today since Sam went out with this new guy she met a few weeks ago, I'm happy to say that things are really looking good for them, i want Sam to be happy and the fact that she's finally giving herself a chance to be loved and to love makes me so proud.I sit up and give Nao a warm smile."Hey," "Hey," she replies. "There's someone downstairs for you.""Who is it?""He said his name is Harry, from school.""Oh." I get up and walk downstairs.Harry is seated on the sofa with a glass of water in his hand. Ever since he heard about my attack two weeks ago, he kept checking up on me over the phone, this is the first i've seen him in person after our school project together."Harry?"He turns around and smiles at me over his shoulder."Kim," he places the glass o
KIMBERLY The past two weeks have been hard. My bruises are gone but I'm still self conscious, so I apply too much makeup on my eye. I still have no idea who the hell saved me that night. As for Brandon, he's gone back to the routine of disappearing and coming back with bruised knuckles or a split lip.Brandon is not one to hurt innocent people, that's why I'm worried where he goes to every time only to come back like he's from war.Ever since I got beat up, I've had this awful fear of taxi's or ubers, so i always walk my way home.I enter the girl's apartment and find them cuddled on the sofa watching a romance movie on Netflix."Hey!" Nao say, she straightens from her position where she was resting her head on Sam's shoulder then pats the space between them. "You took too long we couldn't wait.""That's fine," I say and sit in the middle. "What's the storyline?"Sam gives a brief description and then there's comfortable silence as we watch the movie. * *A tap on my shoulder startl
BRANDON"I asked you to keep an eye on her, why the hell did you let her leave?" I whisper to Michael."Now I'm the one to blame for what happened to her? Dude, I didn't expect that to happen either."I let out a deep sigh and run my hand over my face. When I saw how she looked last night, my heart almost leaped out of my chest. She was all bruised and swollen I almost didn't recognize her."And that comes to my question, where the hell were you?"My eyes snap to Michael's and my heart swells in my chest when I think about where I was. This fucking guilt I will carry for the rest of my life. I left her, I wasn't there to save her and that fact eats me the fuck up. Whoever saved her protected her, I don't even want to imagine what would have happened to her if that person didn't appear on the scene on time. I can't even thank him because she doesn't know who he is, she didn't see his face."I had to take care of something.""Was it that important that you had to leave her behind witho
KIMBERLY"Oh. You so you've seen him in your dreams?" Because you're obsessed with him not because it's fate. I say but don't tell her that."Yes.""What dreams are they?""You won't judge me, right?""Of course not."Her cheeks tint a bright shade of pink."He ..he does things to me that no man has ever done."Oh shit. She really is obsessed. And, she's a...virgin?Silence.More silence."Please don't think I'm a psychopath, I swear I'm not.""April, no. I don't think like that at all."I lean back in my seat and take in all her features. Michael doesn't like innocence, he likes them all ruffled up, he likes rebels and strays.April is too innocent, but there's no denying the fact that she's extremely beautiful, if I'm being honest, she's slightly more prettier than Sam and trust me, Sam is pretty. The one who wants to make us run for the hills with her beauty is Nao. April grabbing Michael's attention?Well, it's a long shot but worth trying."Can we take a pic together, you know,
KIMBERLYI'm extremely annoyed, no, annoyed is an understatement, I'm utterly pissed and livid, I'm angry, I'm a lot of things right now. I glare at Michael who is seated opposite me with his elbows resting on his knees and a bottle of beer dangling between his fingers. The moron looks unbothered by my glare, in fact, when i glare harder and my eyes turn to slits, he grins at me."Michael!" I say with more annoyance and frustration but his grin widens some more."What?" He arches a brow.I sigh,"Are you just going to sit there and follow orders from Brandon instead of having fun?"He takes a sip and keeps staring at me as if I didn't even say a single word. My attempt at poking him fails miserably but I don't give up.Scooting closer to the edge of the sofa, I try to bargain with him."Look," he turns his head away from me, pretending to be avoiding me but I continue. "If you just let me do whatever the hell I want, I might get you a date with April."His eyes snap to mine.Yes!"I