45. Missing her - Jacob - . This week was better than my first one at school. I underestimated how much I would miss Coco. Bought me a huge side pillow. No use. There is no warmth! Coco’s farewell bought me and Natalie back on talking terms, But I can see she still avoids me. Or maybe I am reading too much into the situation. This is the reason I need to keep myself busy. So I would just stop thinking about her. I should get out of the house tonight. It’s Friday night after all. West & team is having another get-together, but I don’t want to meet David & Sam outside our practice matches yet. At school, I am spending my time around West, Norris & girls. But I am irking Norris company a little. David’s words from that night come to my mind whenever I meet him. ‘What? That is a fact! Ask Norris.’ Natalie is right. Not talking to each other at school is a good decision overall. She & West aren’t on good terms. Norris probably spread rumors against her. The team often made demea
47. His first kiss- Jacob -.“Soo... Who is she?” Hanna asks me once the team leaves us alone.“uhmmm... Someone who’s probably not gonna happen...” I sigh and take a gulp of my drink.Hanna scoffs and belittles me again. “Thank God! Humanity’s procreation is not on your shoulders, Jacob... We would have gone extinct in no time.”I look at her with my eyebrows squinted. Where does she find those insults?“Seriously, are you interested in her? Is she your first crush or something?”I nod and say ruefully, “But I am not in the mood to talk about her...”Her mouth goes slack.“Noooo you don’t get to say that. Fuck! you didn’t tell me, Jacob...” She smacks my arm.“Not now!”She shrugs and pulls her phone out. “I am staying for the night at your place.”“I am not gonna gossip about her with you!”“I know I know. There are things I need to tell you.”Okay... Works fine by me.We dance and play games for a while, then we finally head home once I am feeling sober enough to drive.“Guess who
48. Night Out- Natalie -.I want to get out of the house tonight. I avoided Jacob this week, thinking it would mellow down my thoughts about him. But Ira dropped her two cents this evening.“More you avoid him, the more you will yearn for him. We want things we can’t have.”Ok… She may be right.I guess it’s high time to stop torturing myself and get out of the house. I glance out of the window, thinking if I should visit Jacob’s place. Then I see him. Ready for some party and hopping in the car with a girl.Sigh!What was I thinking? Normal people have plans for Friday evenings. If I want to spend time with him, I have to ask first. Book his slot. I am sure I ain’t the only one to fancy him. It’s a miracle how he is still single. He has been at school for two weeks. I gasp with realization.Is he seeing that girl?No wonder she looked gorgeous. Just like him.Crap!My shoulder slump with hopelessness. I won’t let this stop me from getting out of the house. I am sure I have many peo
49. Shhh…- Jacob -.I park my car in front of the location shared by Natalie. I am restless and uptight, if it was a good idea to ask her to drive. She sounded fairly shocked and frantic. She had told me she wasn’t feeling safe and location of the party was too far from my house. I didn’t want her to wait alone in the car for an hour.I see a car enter the driveway and I exhale a breath of relief.She gets out of the car and says, “I am sorry Jacob... I called Ira but she didn’t-”“Relax…” I tell her, “Don’t ever hesitate to call me if you ever feel unsafe or something…”She blinks and nods.“How is he?” I ask, opening the back door.“Kind of out… Barely conscious.”We bolster him by the shoulder and take him towards the house. Natalie finds the keys in his pocket and unlocks the door. I don’t like it when she slips her hands in his pocket. But it’s fucking unreasonable thought so I try to ignore it.“Do you know anybody we could call?” I ask as we enter the house. We cannot leave h
51. Sex Saga - Natalie -.I wake up around eight in the morning when mom knocks on my door to wake me up. Ira has blasted my phone with missed calls and messages.Ira calling…I sigh and pick up the phone.“Natalie!! You alright? Tell me you are alright…”“No, Ira! I died last night.”“Not funny! What happened? Why did you call me so many times?”“You know what happens when I go out… I don’t know why I don’t give up and stay in my house forever…”She is quiet for a while, then asks again. I tell her everything that happened.She sighs. “I am sorry Girl... I am sure it’s just some terrible phase going on… It won’t last.”“I fucking hope so,” I reply with indifference.“That was really nice of Jacob to come.”I glance at the clock and say, “Yeah... I gotta meet him at 9. I better take a bath… ”“Listen…”“Yeah?”“There wasn’t any foul play on Nico’s behalf. Right?”I don’t think so, but… I am not sure anymore.“I hope not.”After having my breakfast, I leave for Jacob’s house with som
53. Rejection Stings - Natalie - . “I really enjoy your company, Natalie… I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me?” I think I gaped at him for at least a minute. Or maybe more... Or maybe time stopped. I am not even sure what happened. “You want to date me?” I ask in shock. “Yes..” Is this really happening? I fancy him. I like him. But do I want to date him? He is asking me for a date. If he had asked me this question a few months ago. I would probably have said yes. I wanted to be in a relationship then. But now… I am not sure anymore. We are leaving for college in five months. Different cities. I don’t even remember where he is going… But it’s certainly a different city. I don’t have any experience with long-distance things but people say it’s pain, misery, and eventual death of a relationship. Five months are not enough to know each other. I knew West and Jake for more than 7-8 months. Still, they kicked me out of their lives so easily. Getting into a relations
55. Win Natalie- Jacob -.By Monday I feel better. It’s not the end of my life. Hanna and June added me into a group chat and kept texting me the world’s absurdist plans to ‘Win Natalie’.Most of them were to fuck with me.They named the group ‘Help Jacob Win Natalie Group’ and gave it a stupid long description: ‘We have gathered here for a humble cause of providing help and assistance to Jacob with his troubles with the only woman of his life. The Natalie Relish.’
57. Mocktail- Natalie -.As I wake up in the morning and glance at the clock. I grin. I still have a half-hour to sleep. It’s been a few days since I have been going to school with Jacob. I panicked every morning when I looked at the watch, thinking I missed my bus. Took me a moment to recall that Jacob is giving me a lift to school nowadays.No longer, the first words out of my mouth in the morning are ‘Oh shit’ and I love it. With Jacob, I don’t have to get ready more than an hour ago to catch the bus on time. I don’t end up in school half-hour early. We leave for school barely twenty minutes befor
Upcoming Books in 'Not Sure Anymore Series':– Riley and ?? - An age gap Romance after 1 year: 'Ruining My Enemy's Daughter' (onGoing)– West - Making of a Don- after 2 years (Coming Soon) – Norris and June - Brother’s Best friend Romance after 2 years (Coming Soon)– Ira & Liam - Second chance romance after 5 years (Coming Soon)– West and ?? - Mafia Romance after 10 years (Coming Soon)---- 'Ruining My Enemy's Daughter' (onGoing) ----- "Typical Women. They want everything. Don’t they? They want money. A big house. A good fucking bank balance and when you work hard, pour your sweat and blood for them. They cheat.... She hurt me by choosing him years ago. It's my time to hurt them back." - Mikolaj … … Riley is reeling under the trauma of her assault. She needs kindness and compassion in her life. Someone to help her pick her bits and pieces and make her whole again. Mikolaj is someone she shouldn’t be around. He is a ruthless CEO out for vengeance on her parents. How will she
- Jacob - . “When are you coming home?” June pouts over the video call that has been going past 15 minutes. I am surprised how she finds so many things to talk about with me nowadays. Turns out Mom and dad have been breathing down her neck ever since I left for college. Now I realize maybe Mom and dad didn't exactly have any special grudge with me. They just needed someone to bicker all the time. I feel bad about June, because I know how overbearing they can be. “June, I cannot come this weekend.” I don’t have money and time! “Why!” “I am busy with studies..” “How come Norris is not busy but you are… he is going home the same weekend I am asking you to come,” she says and I frown. Yea… Sometimes I wish to switch places with Norris. Especially when I feel I am not giving Natalie proper attention. I could really use some free time. Wait a minute…. “How do you know Norris is coming home that week?” She flushers. “Uhmm… I… just know. Gotta go bye!” she says and cuts the call.
Epilogue - II.- Natalie -.“She will probably sprinkle holy water all over in there,” Jacob quips as we walk out of my room. It makes me giggle.He is probably right.I never knew she was so devoted to her religion when I came here for a runner program last year.She is nice.. But too rigid sometimes.I try not to judge her, but she judges me all the damn time.“I wish I could rent an apartment,” I say ruefully. He hums and rubs my back.Jacob has his own Two-room apartment he shares with Norris, whereas I had nobody to share the rent. Ira and Riley wanted to stay on campus as it’s much cheaper and with travel costs in picture there was no point spending money elsewhere.We walk towards the restaurant to meet Ira and Riley for lunch. They are roommates now. I feel jealous as fuck sometimes.”How is Riley doing?”“She is good.. mostly good… She finally started seeing this guy who was following her around for the past two months,” I hope something works out for her. I am glad she is
117. Epilogue—A Year Later—- Jacob -.My phone pings for the third time, and I roll my eyes. Jeez.. Have patience, girl! I pull out my phone and check it anyway. Just to be sure she doesn't have some surprising news at the last minute. My-Impatient-Girlfriend: ‘Where the hell are you?’Me: ‘Almost there… your building’s security guard is slow.’Damn Slow…I am here to see her and right now we are on a timer. According to Natalie, we only have 20 minutes left. I hate being on a timer, but I am desperate too. As soon as the guard lets me into the building, I make a run for her dorm-room.18 minutes…I have raced through this building many times. But this time I am too late. Two more minutes to see her. Time is too short today.“Oh wow! Hey Jacob…”I wince at hearing her voice. I turn and wave at Ira.“I… will see you at lunch! Bye!” I say without stopping for her.She laughs and yells at me, “I don’t think you will make it this time. "Yeah, mock me. I turn and smirk. “Oh I will, I a
116. When she went missing - Trigger Warning - Implied Rape- West -.Everything is dark and blurry…Pungent smell of blood and urine is all over the place. I can hear someone sobbing. I blink repeatedly, trying to focus. Dread sets in my heart when I realize it’s Riley.How? What happened?I know it’s her.I am trying to think and turn my head to look for her. I heard her scream.Fuck!They got hold of her… My head is throbbing as I conclude the obvious
115. Make it work - Jacob - . We both lay on the floor in my closet, our limbs tangled in each other. “We should go to bed… “I say, sighing heavily. “No..” She whines. “I don’t want a sore back again, Natalie.. “ We have been laying here for the past hour. She hugs me tight with determination so I cannot get up. “This is not fair! “ I grumble. “You got a nice little mattress called Jacob… What about me?” She giggles and gets up. “I have news..” she says while grabbing my T-shirt to wear. I look at her, and she drops the bombshell. “Dad asked you to join us for breakfast.” Ahh fuck… “I knew this was coming…” I sigh. I cannot keep sleeping with his daughter while avoiding him altogether. “Don’t worry…” she says in a fake sympathetic voice, “I told him not to push you around this time.” That makes me laugh, and she grins back at me. “It’s not a pleasant experience to fall on your bum.” I tell her while getting back into the room. “How would you feel if my family aske
–Present Day–- Natalie -.Nowadays, I spend my time with Riley as much as I can. Sometimes we style each other’s hair while watching movies. Sometimes we paint. I suck at it.Sometimes we bake. She sucks at it. I can see her mood improving a little every day. I have been convincing her to go to prom with us.“Norris would love to take you as his date.” I tell her as I realize that she is thinking about the date, or maybe West.She isn’t angry with him. Maybe she had been telling the truth all along. There was no sexual assault. It doesn’t make sense though.She shrugs. “Okay!”“Really!” My eyes widen.She laughs. “Yeah why not..”I have to make sure Norris isn’t taking anybody else.Sh*t Sh*t Sh*t!Once we exhaust all our options to pass our time, we go out cycling. I take her to the campsite by the lake, where I spent that night with Jacob. We sit there for hours and I tell her stories of college campus. I tell her about my hot coach and how Jacob was green with envy when he met
114. That Day – Three weeks ago – - West - . When I reach home, I stiffen to realize someone is inside. Alfred is usually out at this time and doesn’t come back until late at night. I open the door carefully and see Riley sitting by the kitchen counter doing her schoolwork. She still has the keys. “You are late,” she says. I blink at her. She turns and raises her brow, expecting an answer from me. It makes me smile. “I didn’t want to come back to an empty house.” I admit. That damn call from Spain has messed up my head today. I am not sure how I am feeling exactly. “What are you doing here?” I ask as I notice a cake box, some flowers and a tiny gift sitting on the counter next to her bag. Considering the way she snapped at me in the parking lot, I am sure it’s not for me. “Bought these for Mom’s birthday… “ She says then asks after a pause, “Do you remember who else’s birthday it is today?” I sigh. She is here to pick up a fight. That day when she saw the pics… She was t
113. Confused - West - . It’s for the first time I have ever been alone for this long. Single is the word, I guess. I tried to convince Riley, and I tried hard. But then I realized she can be God damn stubborn when she wants to be. In the next few days, a few things happened… Subtle, but enough to put me on edge and I felt it was better to leave her alone. “What happened to your girlfriend?” Caleb had asked. “None of your business!” He chuckled. “I know you guys broke up.” He shoves my personal information in my face to show me he keeps tabs on me. His tactics are getting old and have little effect on me. His requests to keep his precious packages secured in my house have increased. I have an inkling he is trying to set up a business for himself. I just hope he doesn’t drag me in his mess. “You must miss her in bed.” “Don’t push me Caleb.” I warned him. He shrugged. “If you are not dating her, I guess it’s an open pass for me-” I punched his face before he could complete his