Three years ago.Jace's POV.Hallcreek River is all about business, it's neat and nice hence why it's considered a tourist attraction.My Mum's pizzeria is one of the many restaurants lined up at Hallcreek River but it's nothing fancy, it's simple and loud and Mum sets up a stage outside the restaurant on Sundays so random talented people can perform infront of a crowd.My Mum lets my siblings and I work at the restaurant on weekends, I hate every moment of it, not because I don't wanna help out but because of all the stares and flirting I receive from some of the customers.I won't lie, I really used to like the attention but now it's just upsetting.Diego and I set up the stage outside earlier but it started raining so I guess no one is performing tonight.I haven't thought about the talk I had with Olivia, I like how the conversation ended.I have a feeling she won't actually break up with her boyfriend but maybe that's a good thing, but then again if she does end up doing it then.
Three years ago.Jace's POV.Olivia drank three beers and started stuttering and giggling.Beer doesn't do it for me so I got myself something stronger, the bench got really cold so we moved to the back of Diego's car.Olivia is telling me a story about the first time she talked to Diego while I'm taking large gulps from the liquor bottle in my hand and studying every movement she's making.We had that moment, the moment where we told each other our big, darkest fears then she told me she broke up with her boyfriend.I don't know what we are doing right about now but I don't care, this is worth it, she's worth it.Like on instinct, I bring my hand to her ponytail, pulling the scrunchie and releasing her hair.She stops talking because of it, I slip the scrunchie on my wrist, taking another long sip, "Continue." She rakes her fingers through her hair and and shakes her head at me with an amused smile."Why didn't you tell me we had met before? At that costume party last year?" I final
Three years ago.Jace's POV.I'm locked inside Olivia's bathroom, my eyes haven't left my reflection in the mirror and a part of me wants to punch through the glass. I don't know what I'm doing in here, I should be on my way home.I decided to come in here right after she told me it was her first time, I mean, I don't get it, she told me her boyfriend was her first time but even if she hadn't, why wouldn't she just tell me the goddamn truth?Breaking someone's virginity isn't something I do on a Sunday night, there's a reason why I don't associate with virgins, the last virgin I was with was Sandra and that was my first time too and it was absolutely stressful, I thought I was hurting her the entire time regardless of her constantly telling me she was fine.And because I didn't know Liv was a virgin, I went at her like an animal thinking that she...... Hell, I can't even bring myself to say it."Fuck, fuck, fuck." I rub the side of my face, guilt swimming in the pit of my chest, killi
Present Day.Olivia's POV.Ryder.Ryder.Ryder.Ryder.That name keeps whispering itself in my ear over and over again, not because I'm drunk, no, I had two bottles of beer and then I stopped drinking cause I didn't feel like swallowing anything, I felt like vomiting, I was so sick with myself.Literally.I walk back to my apartment building in the rain, it's kinda funny how people will look at you when you walk casually while it's raining.I'm not depressed, people, I promise.I push through the heavy doors of the building, sighing at the sight of the stairs, I start climbing them, one step at a time.I'm soaking wet, my chest hurts so bad and thoughts about my past self won't leave me the hell alone.I reach my apartment door, turning the knob and slamming my body against the door but it doesn't budge, I check underneath the mat for the spare key but I don't find it."You've got to be fucking shitting me." I grit out.I hear the door behind me open and I rest my forehead against my
Three years ago.Jace's POV.It's been a week since the incident with Olivia happened, we haven't talked or crossed paths since then, I mean I did see her from a distance at school and I caught her staring at me in the cafeteria on Wednesday but that was it.She probably thinks I lost interest after... That night but that's not the case, I just don't know how to look into her eyes after what happened, it was too brutal."Hey, man, Angelo says you need to show your ass at the races one of these days." Diego snaps me out of my thoughts, passing me an opened bottle of beer.Blair wanted to meet both of us at the drive-in cinema, she was being pretty mysterious about it but my guess is, she likes it when I third wheel."I need to fix those brakes first." I take the beer from his hand, swinging a sip, most of the people here are watching the movie from inside their cars but Diego and I are outside, leaning against the hood of his car and drinking the beer he stole from his Mum's new boyfri
Three years ago.Jace's POV.I don't regret doing what I did.I did it for Cass, I fucked with a one point nine million dollar car for Cassandra Richardson and I'm not even shaken by it, let alone regret it.I've thought about her since I got locked in here, I don't think I've realized it but Cass and I have a lot in common, she understands me more than I understand myself and we haven't even known each other for that long.But the question still stands, where does that leave Olivia?Things with Olivia are too complicated, it wouldn't be like that with Cass, we'd just fuck and smoke weed all day every day.But at the same time, I know how toxic that would turn out and I don't need another one of those.I sigh, turning my head to where Diego is singing his ass off.Jail is hell.Hearing Diego sing while we're in jail is worse than hell.I'm laying on the cold metal bench, Diego is standing by the jail bars, singing, the guy that was thrown in here after us last night is passed out on t
Three years ago.Jace's POV.High school will devour every little drama and make it the hottest topic of the week.Diego and I are the hottest topic of this week and we're getting all the fucking attention, aside from that, people are convinced that I'm in a serious relationship with Cassandra Richardson.How did this happen?Oh, well, whenever one asks around why I did what I did to that person's car, the name Cassandra Richardson is mentioned in every response, and of course I couldn't have done something like that for a friend, so they concluded that we're in a romantic relationship.Which is going to be complicated now that I have a real girlfriend.I wanna kiss Olivia all the fucking time, I wanna hold her hand, laugh in the hallways before class, take her for a ride on my motorcycle but I can't do all those things if the world around has already put me in the hands of another girl, not to mention the fact that Cass is a fucking celebrity, me being seen with another girl two days
Present Day.Olivia's POV.Waking up to the reminder of the best night of my life is the best part.Somewhere in the middle of the night when we both stirred awake, Jace buried his head in-between my legs and ate me out till I came in his mouth, then he flipped me over and fucked me from behind until my body was left weak and helpless by the time he was done.I can still feel him between my legs, my body feels tired and relieved at the same time.But....Something about all this gives me major deja Vu, I feel like I've experienced all this before even though I know for sure that I haven't. Maybe Olivia one experienced something like this with that guy Tristan or that other guy Ryder.Lucky bitch.I wonder if the same Ryder guy can make me feel as good as Jace does.Wouldn't bet on it.Jace is not in bed, he told me he has trouble sleeping, he usually just stares at the ceiling and gets up earlier than the entire apartment complex.I wouldn't want that to happen to me, I love my beauty
Present Day.Olivia's POV.His side of the story is worse than I imagined.I feel like throwing up.I feel like getting out of here, of this entire apartment building, I feel like running on that sidewalk until my legs give out.I haven't cried, I don't know why I haven't cried but my insides are bottling up with all kinds of emotions.I love this guy, there was a part of me that said it was just lust but right now, I know for sure that it's love cause only love can make me hurt the way I'm hurting right now.But the question is, is this guy real? The Jace from three years ago was nothing like this Jace. This Jace is perfect and he makes me feel safe but what if he was just doing all those things because of what he did to me? What if it was all an act? What if I'm in love with someone who doesn't exist?I decide to snap out of my head and listen to what he's rambling about."Liv, please, I know I fucked up but I'm here now, I'm here for you," he pleads, stalking closer to me.I pin h
Three years ago.Jace's POV.I don't even know what I'm doing at this point.I'm supposed to be staying away from her and starting my brand new chapter but here I am, driving her home.I glance over to her and I catch her hand wiping her cheeks as she stares out the window.Shit."Are you crying? What'd I say?" I ask as I shift my eyes back to the dark road."Nothing, I'm not crying, I have something in my eye," her voice is hoarse like she's been crying a while."Hey, what'd I say?" I touch her shoulder."Nothing, I just realized that our relationship was just so... not meant to be, you know?" "Yeah. freaky, right?" I tighten my grip on the steeling wheel."Hurtful." She says softly."Hurtful." I repeat in a whisper."Guess you should have this back," her hands reach behind her neck to take off the star necklace I gave her."No, Liv, you don't have to-""I know but I can't keep it, Jace, it'll never let me let you go," she takes it off and holds it out for me.I know I have no choic
Three years ago.Jace's POV.Dunkin's cabin makes this party feel important, I mean, it is important, we just graduated high school and we'll be leaving our parents's houses in a few months and we'll be all alone in the real world.It's a little bit scary but it sounds ecstatic."Where are you going for the summer?" I ask Cass, passing her the joint that we came out here to smoke."New York," she takes it from my fingers, "I signed with a really good agency and I think it's time to give modeling my full attention," she says with a lot of certainty."What about College?" I shove my hands in my pockets."College who?" She places the joint between her lips and sucks in her cheeks."Seriously?" I chuckle at her response."Nah," she laughs, "I'll take online classes," she tells me."You have it all figured out, huh?" I sigh, looking up at the sky that rumbles with thunder."No one has it all figured out, plans change all the time," she breaths out a puff of smoke, "And you? Where are you g
Present Day.Olivia's POV.This is insane.I've never even been to New York city, I've never even dreamed about visiting the city but here I am.Cassandra sent me a ticket and she had someone pick me up from the airport, as promised, I spent the entire ride admiring the city, it's pretty crowded and everyone looks so busy but I think I like it, can't say I can imagine myself living here but a girl can't help but dream.Cassandra lives in a penthouse and it's freaking insane, it has floor to ceiling windows that make me feel nauseous, the furniture around me looks luxurious and I could die in peace on the leather sofa I'm sitting on.I've been sitting here for five minutes and she still hasn't come out of the shower that her assistant told me she was having. I'm getting anxious and impatient and my heart won't stop aching.Can't say it's because I'm meeting a celebrity.Whatever it is that Jace and his friend did to me, it's so important a celebrity sent me a ticket just to tell it to
Three years ago.Jace's POV.The drama.The fights.The scolding.The hard training.The excitement.The laughter.The meaningless relationships.It's all over in just one day.As I watch all the seniors run wild with excitement, ripping pages out of their notebooks and littering them around because whatever is on there has officially become useless to all of us, my thought is, what was the point? What was the point of high school?"School's out forever, bitches!" Matt screams in my ear and his girlfriend Daisy squeals after him.I push his face away from my personal space."Fucking finally!" Diego responds to Matt with the same energy."Did you guys hear about the last party ever?" Whispers Daisy as she wraps her hands around Matt's arm."What party?" Diego sounds just as lost as I am."Dunkin dumbass Dickinson is throwing a graduation party at his cabin tomorrow night," Says Matt with an eye roll."Yooo, his fucking cabin is sick!" Diego slaps my chest with the back of his hand."Ye
Present Day.Olivia's POV.A part of me doesn't want to but it has to be done.I have to find out what Jace is hiding. Now or never.The plan was to text Cassandra on social media but Myra suggested something easier.If Jace dated Cassandra in highschool and is still hung up on her then he probably still has her number, Jace trusts Myra with his devices so she's the right girl for the job.The new plan is for me to distract Jace while Myra "borrows" his phone and steals her phone number.Easy. I think.The only problem is that Jace has been nothing but sweet to me for these past few weeks, he takes me out on dates, photographs me because I'm the prettiest girl he's ever seen, he texts me first thing in the morning even though we only live a few feet from each other and he supports me and makes me feel beautiful.I don't know about Olivia one but no one's ever made me feel like that before, he makes me happy.But then again, deep down, I feel like it's too good to be true.Whatever it
Three years ago.Jace's POV."Hey, hey, hey, take it easy" Tyler yanks the bottle from my hand."I just can't stop picturing them having sex in his car while my mind was filled with stuff like where I was going to take her for our second date, I mean, I suck at those things but for her, I was willing to try," I rub my clammy hands against my jeans."What was so special about this girl anyway?" He wrinkles his face at me."She made me feel like I was ready to change, you know? Like I was ready to be a better version of me," I slur thoughtfully."And what do you feel right now?" He asks."I feel like staying single for a very long time, I don't want anyone else to make me feel this fucked up again," my chest heaves and I swallow the heavy lump in my throat."Yeah, the life of the party is the easiest thing there is," he pats my shoulder."Do you have any pills?" I bring my shaking hand to my neck, feeling the lump grow stronger and stronger."I'm not giving you any pills," he sounds det
Three years ago.Jace's POV.Today, I won the race because Olivia's parents are finally out of town and I'm finally free to see her at her house whenever I want.I can't stop thinking about getting the hell out of here and spending the rest of my night cuddling and kissing her.Yeah, I'm a walking cliche, I know."Holy mother of abs," Blair stands in front of my bike and dramatically widens her eyes at my chest."You like?" I playfully smooth a hand down my sweaty chest."Uh-huh," she nods and takes out her phone to take a picture of me."No, Blair, come on," I lift my hand to my face as an attempt to hide it from the camera."Relax, it's not for me, this is Cassandra's phone, imagine her face when she finds this picture in her phone," She laughs and I drop my hand, grinning at her."There we go," she takes the picture."Wait, Cass is here?" I look around the crowded place for the blonde."Yep, had to drag her out of bed and everything," she says as her thumbs fractionally type on Cas
Three Years ago.Jace's POV.Growing up, my mum made Milkshakes a solution to everyone's sadness, other parents would take their kids out for ice cream but she always thought milkshakes were better than ice cream.I'm not exactly sad, but I'm also not not sad. It's been two weeks since Olivia's parents showed up in town, two weeks since she and I had a fight over her moving around with her ex, two weeks since she assured me that he was nothing and I meant everything.I left it alone and we moved on but I barely see her, she calls me and we text all night but it's not enough. I wanna hear her laugh and kiss her while she's smiling at me.Anyway....I haven't been to Shake n' Sip since.... I don't even remember, well, I guess since Reign graduated, she brought the fun and humor to the place and I just couldn't see myself walking into the shop and not hearing a sarcastic remark from her.And yet here I am, drinking milkshakes on the counter, kinda like the same way a grown man with probl