I couldn't help it.I was so mad I wanted to tear the skin right off my face- just claw my nails deep into my cheeks and pull down slow and hard.Arrgh!!!!How dare he?! How. Dare. He!That was the second time in my life someone had ever kissed me! And as if that wasn't bad enough, it had to be done by that- that- fucker!!!!!I was on the verge of self-imploding and all because of him- that guy with the perfect smile, perfect midnight blue eyes, and velvet-soft lips...Wait, what?Arghhh! No one had ever pissed me off to this extent before- never! It was like he knew just what buttons to push to make me go off the deep end, and unlike the rest of the people who knew me, he didn't seem to be afraid of the consequences.It was either that or he was just too stupid to realize I really could beat him within an inch of his life...I sniffed angrily, stomping furiously across the neat black-topped parking structure to my car. Why the hell were there so many cars anyway? I didn't see a damn
"Oh my God, Rio! Why'd you keep it a secret?!"Mom's voice was grating. Dad's smile was blinding. The stupid guy beside me was a dazzling masterpiece full of smiles and fluttering lashes.And I was pissed."We're not dating!" I growled, my voice echoing in the jail booking center.At this, Asheton, whose arm was suddenly around my waist the minute my legs gave out, keeping me from crashing to the ground, chuckled. When I looked at him, his cheeks were flushed and there was this bashful smile on his lips that nearly made sick. And he seemed to notice my discomfort as he offered me a comforting smile, his long thick lashes fluttering softly against his cheeks as he leaned down.I didn't know what the hell he was thinking but I turned away before his face could get any closer, my lips curled in disgust."Actually, it happened earlier today." He chuckled, unbothered by my rebuff. "Cash came into my office to, uh... thank me for the gifts I sent, and things just kind of took off from there
"For the record, I don't feel bad for you.""Why thank you Cash, I'd feel bad if you did, haha."My hands balled into fists.The last half hour walking alongside Mr. Richy-Rich had been the worst thirty minutes of my life. He just didn't know when to shut-up! From old childhood stories to teenage years overseas, I'd learned more about him than I'd ever known about anyone else! And I could give a shit about all those memories and happy moments in his life- I didn't want to know any of them in the first place and yet there he was, laughing and smiling fondly as he forced them onto me.He was driving me nuts."Well, I hope you get blisters." I shot back, my mouth curled into a tight scowl."Um, I'd be troubled if I did. Although I do hike a lot. I like to get my cardio in when I can so I'm pretty confident I won't."I grit my teeth, digging my nails deep into the fleshy palms of my hands.I couldn't understand him. I just couldn't.Every scorn-filled comment I shot his way was met with a
Asheton froze.And I knew right then that that would be my only chance to break free.In the split-second it took for him to gather himself, I splayed my hands flat on his chest and pushed hard. When he stumbled back, confusion plain on his face, I wrapped a hand around the black tie around his neck, pulled down hard, and shoved my knee deep into his stomach.A smile tugged at the corners of my lips when I felt the hard planes of his abdomen give under my knee. I wanted to laugh at the pained groan that exploded out of his lush lips. But I wasn't finished.Not by a long shot.Still clenching his tie, I pulled down again, kneeing him over and over until he cru
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.Hell, I couldn't believe what I was hearing!The things coming out of both these guys' mouths-'Don't touch... she's mine...''I don't think so, she can decide that for herself.'What the fuck was this, a cringy teen drama?!And who the hell did Asheton think he was?I was not his- not now and not ever.I'd made that painfully clear.And just what was up with
"Mom, door!" I called out absently as I continued to stare at the screen before me.The curser on the blank document in front of me blinked as if to remind me of the unproductive past two hours I'd spent sitting at my desk.I didn't get it.I mean,No matter how many times I tapped my fingers against the keys, no words would appear.No matter how loud I blasted the music at my earphones, no inspiration struck.And no matter how many times I called for mom, that doorbell still kept ringing.As it had been for the past 10 minutes already.Whatever- sooner or later, mom would show up or the jackass at the door would eventually grow tired and leave and I'd finally have peace to write... maybe, if this stupid blank slate in my head ever decided to come up with something.There had to be something in there for me to write. It couldn't just stay empty this long... right?Ugh... ever since last night, my head had been a complete mess. I mean, first the whole jail thing, then the whole Asheton
There was a moment of stunned silence.None of us could find words, much less the courage to break the thick stillness that descended upon us after such... brutality.I mean, the living room was a complete wreck.The coffee table had been reduced to a pile of broken pieces of wood. The tv stand, along with the glass elephant figurines mom collected and other little knick-knacks upon it, were all smashed into unrecognizable shards of crystal and bits of wood. The tv lay in a heap of plastic and glass on the floor. And amidst all that rubble lay Nico, an unmoving mass of bloody limbs and rumpled business suit.This was... this was a violent act of aggression. One my mind just couldn't wrap around, mu
"Oh, my fu-!!!!"My nails dug into the fleshy part of my palms as I gripped the grab handle above me with every bit of strength I had when Asheton zipped into the right lane of the highway again.He'd been zigging and zagging, cutting in front of speeding cars whose tires squealed while their horns blared angrily every time he did. For the past twenty minutes, that felt more like hours, I forced my eyes shut every time the car jolted from one side of the highway to the other while trying to convince my brain that I wasn't dying... at least not yet."Asheton! Jesus! Slow down!!!!" I shrieked, squeezing my eyes tight against the sudden impact I was sure would come but didn't."Not until we get there," Asheton whispere
"Hey, Cash- what are you doing?"I turned to give mom an exasperated look as I motioned to the boxes upon boxes, some full, most of them empty, nearly overtaking the floor of my bedroom."Cleaning."Her brows furrowed as she took in the sight of all the boxes nearly overflowing with the variety of trinkets I'd already stuffed into most of them. From keychains and headbands to travel mugs, collectible figures, and plushies- a whole slew of shit from the theme park Asheton had taken me to yesterday.I don't know how or when he'd managed to get all that stuff into my room and I'd been way too tired last night to deal with the mess when I came upon it after Nico left, so I just closed the door on all the cute l
"Cash has always been a very caring person, even if she won't admit it to herself. She likes to do things her way, you know?"Nina's gaze turned soft as she drowned in the memory of some other time, some other place, perhaps the very one she was about to present."She took her friend's death very hard, blamed herself even- she was the one who'd been by Luna's side the entire way, after all. She could've fought harder, nagged more, convinced her one way or another not to listen, not to go through with it- in the end, Cash felt she'd let her friend down.""When the baby was born, it was Cash who was there, by Luna's side, holding her hand, cutting the umbilical cord. You see, Luna's family disowned her when they found out she was pregnant, so
There was something seriously wrong with me today-First, the thing with Nico, I mean, I've punched him in the gut just for even daring to sass me. For what he'd done, forcing himself on me, I would've pummeled him to the ground, no mercy.And yet...I didn't.I could say it was because we were interrupted before I could even get the chance to, I could say it was because I felt bad for the guy- I could come up with a shit ton of different excuses to explain myself but the fact of the matter was that I didn't do what I normally would've and the reason was... well, I don't know.And then, as if things weren't weird enough already, I go and pull that shit
I've been to amusement parks before.Gone on all the rides after waiting excessive amounts of time in line just to get on them. I've ogled all the cute merch in all the park shops, just wishing I could take these home with me but not willing to pay the exorbitant prices listed on the tags. And at the end of the day, staring in awe at all the fireworks lighting up the night sky, I've realized that the throbbing in my feet and ache in my shoulders was all worth it.I've done all of that and more when I've been to amusement parks, which, now that I think of it, hasn't been in a really long time. But I've never, ever, experienced a day at a theme park quite like with Asheton.For starters, he snapped a lot of photos.
"Ok, so first of all- don't think for a second I've forgotten about what you did to my family's living room. Or Nico," I said, firmly jabbing a finger into Asheton's chest. "And second, where the hell are we?"To be honest, I didn't really need him to tell me where we were, I already knew. I'd have to be some kind of idiot not to recognize a theme park when I saw it. What I was actually asking was why.Why had he brought me to a theme park in the middle of a weekday?Didn't he have work? Or what, just because he was the boss's son, he thought he could play hooky? I mean... I knew I did. But still, he didn't seem like the type. And I still had a lot of writing to do too. Just thinking about it made me want to forget I even did, though.
"Oh, my fu-!!!!"My nails dug into the fleshy part of my palms as I gripped the grab handle above me with every bit of strength I had when Asheton zipped into the right lane of the highway again.He'd been zigging and zagging, cutting in front of speeding cars whose tires squealed while their horns blared angrily every time he did. For the past twenty minutes, that felt more like hours, I forced my eyes shut every time the car jolted from one side of the highway to the other while trying to convince my brain that I wasn't dying... at least not yet."Asheton! Jesus! Slow down!!!!" I shrieked, squeezing my eyes tight against the sudden impact I was sure would come but didn't."Not until we get there," Asheton whispere
There was a moment of stunned silence.None of us could find words, much less the courage to break the thick stillness that descended upon us after such... brutality.I mean, the living room was a complete wreck.The coffee table had been reduced to a pile of broken pieces of wood. The tv stand, along with the glass elephant figurines mom collected and other little knick-knacks upon it, were all smashed into unrecognizable shards of crystal and bits of wood. The tv lay in a heap of plastic and glass on the floor. And amidst all that rubble lay Nico, an unmoving mass of bloody limbs and rumpled business suit.This was... this was a violent act of aggression. One my mind just couldn't wrap around, mu
"Mom, door!" I called out absently as I continued to stare at the screen before me.The curser on the blank document in front of me blinked as if to remind me of the unproductive past two hours I'd spent sitting at my desk.I didn't get it.I mean,No matter how many times I tapped my fingers against the keys, no words would appear.No matter how loud I blasted the music at my earphones, no inspiration struck.And no matter how many times I called for mom, that doorbell still kept ringing.As it had been for the past 10 minutes already.Whatever- sooner or later, mom would show up or the jackass at the door would eventually grow tired and leave and I'd finally have peace to write... maybe, if this stupid blank slate in my head ever decided to come up with something.There had to be something in there for me to write. It couldn't just stay empty this long... right?Ugh... ever since last night, my head had been a complete mess. I mean, first the whole jail thing, then the whole Asheton
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.Hell, I couldn't believe what I was hearing!The things coming out of both these guys' mouths-'Don't touch... she's mine...''I don't think so, she can decide that for herself.'What the fuck was this, a cringy teen drama?!And who the hell did Asheton think he was?I was not his- not now and not ever.I'd made that painfully clear.And just what was up with