Beads of sweat trickled down from my neck and to my chest as I folded the apron and placed it on the cabinet. Even though the weather was a little chilly, I was sweating like a distressed monkey.All the muscles in my body ached and every movement I made was agony. My head still hurts so bad and I've been sneezing all day. I was going to get sick.It was a miracle that I was able to go to classes and also complete my shift without fainting.I gently walked out of the kitchen and stood beside Lucy."You look terrible, girl." Lucy said as she observed my appearance. She walked towards me, placed her palm on my head and gasped."You're burning up, Shea. You should go home. Call your boyfriend to come pick you up." I didn't have the strength to tell her that Dylan wasn't my boyfriend right now."Is something going on here?" Seth asked as he made his way towards us. When his eyes landed on me, his brows knitted into a frown."Shea, are you alright? You look kinda pale." He asked as he obse
"Grumps, hey grumps." I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder, I opened my eyes and saw two people standing in front of me, one was short and the other was tall. How did they get into my room?"Grumps, are you awake? It's me. I'm back" Ryker said as he gently sat on the bed."I know it's you, nobody else calls me grumps." I said to him weakly as I sat up and rested my back on my pillow."Is your head good? Do you feel a bit better?" I nodded at him and looked at the lady that stood beside my bed, she had been watching me all along. "Grumps, this is my sister, Doris. She's a doctor, she's going to examine you." Ryker stood and pointed at the short lady, she was just about my height, and she was very beautiful too. She had short blonde hair just like Ryker but the color of her eyes were different from Ryker's own, they were a mixture of blue and gray. It was so beautiful.I guess beauty runs in their family."Hi, Shea. How are you feeling?" Doris said with a smile as she sat with me on the
The week rolled by and before I knew it, tomorrow was Monday again. I had not seen Ryker around or at the café since the day he left my hostel. I hope he's fine though.I got my first payment from the café yesterday. I was so excited that I kept checking my purse to see if the money was still there.I had promised to take myself out on a solo date when I get my first salary. I deserved it, after a long and stressful week.Same had returned yesterday, but she didn't leave me alone until I told her everything that happened when she wasn't around.I put on a black jeans and a gray top, packed my hair in a low bun and applied a bit of make-up.And by make-up , I meant my strawberry flavor lip gloss. I wasn't really a fan of make-up. At prom, back in highschool, I only did natural make-up, and Dylan said it barely changed my face.I checked my reflection in the mirror, twisting and turning as Sam gave me a pat on my flat ass."You look perfect, girl. Are you going to see someone?" Sam ask
I returned back to my hostel after I agreed to be Ryker's date for the fundraising event. Sam wasn't around when I got back, so I took off my clothes and threw on some baggy and comfortable sweats. I jumped on my bed, plugged in my earphones and worked on some assignments.As soon as Pink venom by Black Pink started to play, I closed my books and stood up from my bed. I balled my palm into a fist and used it as an imaginary mic, I sang the rubbish I knew and danced to the beat."One time into focus, come down move and you know this, everybody come on shut that portion, mean it on that pink pink ocean" I was the best in singing rubbish and I know that. Whenever I hear a song and I don't know the lyrics, I'll stick to the words I heard from the song.I swung my hand and hips as I danced to the song like I was on a stage."Just stop, drop. I bring the pain like ratatata, ratata-" My phone beeped, making the song stop playing. I checked my phone and it was a text from Ryker.Ryker: Hey,
All sorts of products were applied to my face, but the beauticians didn't allow me to check the mirror. They said it's bad to look at the mirror while your make up is being done by someone because it'll make your beauty fade.I doubt that is true, but I complied anyway.Soon, they moved to my hair, they sprayed some things into my hair then curled it.When they were done, they told me to look at the mirror. And when I did, I was stunned because I was staring at a totally different person.I just shape shifted into a totally different person, a beautiful person.I smiled and turned my head sideways to inspect my hair. It was perfectly done.I looked stunning, I didn't know that I could ever look like that."Do you love it?" A female beautician, whom I suspected to be the boss, asked me."Of course, I do. It's amazing, it's perfect. You're really good at your job, your hands are really gifted." I complimented her."I know right? But we only did a small job because you're already beautif
Before I knew it, I was shivering in my seat and my teeth started to chatter. God! I really need a jacket right now. I looked at Ryker, who typed away on his phone oblivious of what was happening to me. I wrapped my hands around myself and decided to call his attention to my situation."Big guy, I really need-""Why are you calling me Big guy, you are not my sister." He said quietly, in order not to attract attention."I've decided that that's what I'll call you since you insisted on calling me Grumps. So, I guess that makes us even." I said through my chattering teeth."Whatever, I don't really care about that." Ryker said, but there was a faint smile on his lips, if I wasn't sitting so close to him, I wouldn't have noticed it.He took off his jacket and gave it to me, "You should wear that, you're shaking so much. I don't want you to get sick again because of me." "Oh! Thank you so much." I said as I wore the jacket which literally swallowed my body. I was instantly surrounded wit
"No, are you okay?" I asked as I stared at him."Shea, you're bleeding!" He said as he looked at my arm.He called me Shea, he's definitely not okay.I looked down at my arm too and my eyes widened slightly, four moon crescents were dripping with blood."Come, let's get it treated." Ryker said as he placed his hand on my back and led me to his car. He picked me up easily and placed me on the hood of the car. Then he walked around the car to the passengers side and came back with a small first aid box.He put some antiseptic on the wool and looked at me softly, his eyes were still red and the green in his eyes was a shade darker. I've never seen him like this before. I wonder what his dad meant by 'dealing with his grief'."This will sting a little." He said as he gently dabbed the soaked wool on my wound. I hissed at the pain and unconsciously placed my hand on Ryker's shoulder. He blew air on the wound as he cleaned it and then applied ointment on it before covering it up with a plas
I walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my chest and my hair was dripping with water. I threw my dress and my bra on the couch.Ryker was sitting on the bed, still half naked with his phone in his hands. When he noticed me, he dropped his phone on the bed and smiled, a sly smile."Oh! You're done. How's your ass by the way? That was a really hard fall. You know, I could help you massage it If you want, it's actually one of my specialties." He said as he stood up. "Shut up." I told him as I walked to the other side of the bed, with hands on my butt.Ryker grabbed his white shirt and tossed it at me. Thank God for quick reflexes, I snatched it before it hit the ground."You can wear that." He said as he headed into the bathroom.I dried my body and my hair, then put on his shirt. I was instantly assaulted by his cologne, his wonderfully hypnotizing cologne. The shirt stopped just above my knees, I buttoned up and gently sat on the bed, grabbed Ryker's phone and starte
I closed the door quietly so I wouldn't wake Sam, who was still sleeping inside. I made my way down the stairs and sighted the cab that I had ordered. I got in and gave the driver my location.I rested my back on the seat and sighed as I shut my eyes. It's been twelve days since Dylan and I had that talk and I had been seriously thinking about it because I didn't want to regret my actions.With Ryker's connection and all, Cassie got arrested. Olivia and Jasmine too, since they were accomplices. I was called to the station to give a statement of what happened. I didn't want to go at first but Sam and Dylan convinced me to go.Jasmine and Olivia had been released on bail but Cassie's case was more deeper than that. I knew her parents wouldn't allow her to go to prison. She even lied that I fell into the pool myself but the CCTV footage showed otherwise.Jasmine also came to apologize to me, I had forgiven her but it didn't mean we were going to continue being friends. I don't need frien
"Where are you taking me?" I asked when he guided me through the dance floor and started walking towards the entrance of the clubhouse. My vision was still blurry and I was still drunk."Somewhere I can talk to you." He answered. "But I don't wanna talk to you, remember?" I told him "I'm not going with you, Sam is still inside." I tried to free myself from his grip."She can go home by herself. I'm not letting you go until I talk to you." "And you think I'm just gonna follow you and listen to whatever you wanna say. I'm not Bruno. I don't wanna listen to anything you have to say. You are just going to lie to me again." I said. We were already outside the club house and I saw that his car was parked on the other side of the road.Ryker opened the door for me and made me enter the car. Then he buckled me up before shutting the door and walking to the other side of the car.He entered the car and started to drive. He took off his cap and mask and that was when I saw that Dylan did a re
The clubhouse was crowded as usual, loud music, sweaty bodies and people making out in dark corners. Sam and I made our way through the crowd and found a spot to sit in front of the bar, drinks weren’t free today. I guess someone paid for all the drinks the last time we came here. I had a shot of tequila but Sam didn’t drink anything, she said she was going to watch over me so I could drink as much as I liked.“Hey, let’s dance.” I told her as I pulled her to the dance floor, the alcohol was starting to kick in. I swung my body to the beat while Sam did the same.“Shea?” I heard someone call my name, I looked back and saw that it was Felix. Why the heck did he call me? Did Ryker send him to beg me?“Hey.” I said nonchalantly and continued to dance.“Look, Ryker didn’t mean what he did, he already called off the bet when he realized how he feels about you.” He shouted over the music.“Do you mind? I don’t wanna talk about that.” I said as I rolled my eyes at him.“Back off!” Sam said a
As I stepped into the bathtub filled with warm water, I sat down and let the water soothe my skin, I closed my eyes so I could relax but then it suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe, like something was blocking my nose, like I was drowning. The memory of myself, struggling in the pool flashed through my mind. It was traumatizing.I opened my eyes and gasped for breath. I got down from the bathtub. I couldn't do it. Cassie had scarred me for life, I would never be able to have baths again, or even learn how to swim.I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around myself and walked out of the bathroom. I went straight to my closet and grabbed a shirt and shorts to wear."Shea, you didn't stay long in the bathroom this time." I heard Sam say. I turned to her and saw that she looked excited. She was excited that I didn't stay long and cry in the bathroom this time. If she knew what happened to me there, she wouldn't smile like that.But I smiled at her and covered my fears up. "Yeah." I said as I w
“Holy shit! I can’t believe it.” Sam exclaimed as sat on my bed and rubbed my back. I had told her everything I encountered in school today and she regretted telling me to go out with Ryker.“I was just a bet, a stupid bet.” I sniffed. I wanted to cry but the tears wouldn’t come out no matter how hard I squeezed my eyes. I guessed I had emptied my tear sac. I was tired, physically, emotionally and mentally tired.“And- and Jasmine, I don’t blame you for hating her. She was just a snitch for her psycho sister.” I said in a low voice.“I never liked that bitch. I knew there was something shady going on around her. And we should throw those people in jail.” Sam said as she rose from the bed and stood in front of me. I liked how she was taking this more seriously than I was.“I’ve actually thought about that on the way here. But Laurel told me her dad could easily bail her out, so it would be a waste of time.” I told her. Laurel also said that she had a huge fight with Cassie because of J
Ryker’s POVShit!I had been screwed by Cassie. She told Shea about the bet before I had the chance to tell her myself. I never wanted to hurt Shea. I just wanted to give her more time to heal from what she was going through. I had plans to take her out on another date, to tell her how much I loved and cherished her and then eventually tell her about the bet. But Cassie ruined everything.I ran out of the pool area to go after Shea, but she was already getting into a car. I knew it was Laurel’s car.I didn’t know what to do. Should I go after Laurel’s car so I could talk to Shea? Or should I give her some time? I honestly don’t know which is better.I slowly walked back to my car and got in. I hit my hands on the steering wheel multiple times and yelled my lungs out.“Fuck!” I yelled again. I groaned as pain soothed through my hands, but it was nothing compared to the pain Shea was going through right now. She called me a monster. She was right, I was a monster. I should have never ag
*Third person POV*Jasmine took out her phone as she ran out of the pool side. Her heart thrummed fast in her chest and her fingers trembled as she dialed Laurel’s number and placed the phone close to her ear.“Hey, baby girl.” Laurel’s voice rang through the phone.“Laurel, Cassie is going to do something terrible to Shea, I shouldn’t have led her there. I should have just ignored Cassie’s texts.” Jasmine ranted to Laurel.“Wait, slow down. What did you do to Shea?” Laurel asked calmly, unaware of the chaos in Jasmine’s mind.“Cassie told me she wanted to talk to Shea, she told me to bring her to the pool side and I did because I thought she was going to talk to her like a civil human being. But she started to talk about a bet, I thought she told me to become friends with Shea to give her updates because she didn’t want her near Ryker. I don’t know anything about a bet!” Jasmine explained.“And then- I- I think Cassie is going to push Shea into the pool.”“What?” Laurel yelled.“Oliv
“Shea, are you alright in there? Do you need any help?” Sam asked as she knocked on the door of the bathroom. I had been sitting in the bathtub for an hour now, thinking about my mom and how life had been completely unfair to her. It has been a few days since my mom’s memorial service. I haven’t been going to any class because I knew it would be a complete waste of time.Jasmine told me we had an important lecture today but I told her I wouldn't be coming. She kept insisting that I should come but I eventually ignored her messages when they were getting too much. A part of me wanted to go to school, but then, I knew I wouldn't be able to focus.“Hey, Shea!” Sam called out again when I didn’t answer her. She tried to open the door but discovered that I had locked it from behind.“Oh God! Please open the door, Shea. I just wanna make sure you are okay.” She pleaded.“Go away.” I muttered.“What?”“Leave me alone!” I said a little louder for her to hear. I didn’t mean to be harsh to her
Shea's POVIt's been three weeks since I heard the news about my mom's condition getting worse. I hadn't been focusing on classes and at work. I wasn't able to read very well for my tests, I always zoned out while reading on my own. The only time I would gain something from reading was when I read with Jasmine. She had a reading technique and it really helped me a lot.I burnt six cakes on different occasions at the café. When Brooks noticed that I wasn't myself, he told me that he would handle everything.Ryker had also been there for me. The best boyfriend I could ever ask for. He always called every hour to check on me and sometimes he would stay at café until my shift was over. I made sure to speak with my mom every single day, I would tell her how my day went and we would talk about different things. Her voice keeps getting weaker and weaker everyday and it really breaks my heart.I got down from Ryker's car and waved at him until his car was out of sight, then I went up the sta