The rest of our classes for the day crawl by like some slimmy lazy snail. Luke didn't come back to class. Reece kept cutting me the 'what the hell is wrong with you' glances, and my eyes kept on patronizing the wall clock in our class like I am its favourite customer.Gosh! I can't wait to go home.__________________"Alicia, wait for me!"My hands clutch tighter to the straps of my bag as I hurry down the staircase leading out of the hallway, ignoring Reece's yell. The bell for school dismissal ringing overhead and throughout the entire school seems to be the best sound to my ears right now."ALICIA!"I finally halt in my tracks, my feet already down on the pavement in front of the staircase. The rest of the students chatter among themselves as they walk past me to head out of the school premises.My eyes instinctively follow them as they head towards the school gate. I scan around for Luke's bike or maybe to check if I can see the blue Jaguar.But as my eyes dart around the gate, I
This is going to be one hell of a very long conversation.A very long conversation that would have been cut short if I had fucking told Reece about my first kiss with Luke a long time ago."See Reece, let me explain everything."I begin."That day, after you left, Luke took me to Bailey's so that we could talk about how to go about the project. He was hungry and so was I. After ordering for some food, we got served and we began to eat. As we ate, Luke proposed that we could try to be friends, even just for the sake of the project, and I agreed.""You agreed?" Reece interrupts."Yeah. That was the only way I could think of at that time to help Luke and I from allowing our dislike for each other to ruin the project. I know it sounds stupid, but even you once blurted out one time about 'how we both can do the project together without ending up killing each other.' I accepted his offer just for the sake of the project, and for my grades."Reece huffs."I know I said that Alicia. But, acce
"What did he say?" Reece asks, her voice giving me a break from my reluctance.Her eyes are filled with so much anticipation and concern that they end up making the decision for me. "He said he wants me more than he has ever wanted anything or anyone in his entire life."Reece recoils back like she's just been bitten by a spider. At least she isn't in as much shock as I was back then that I had to cling my back to the wall behind me for support."He. . . .he said that?" She asks.I nod."Oh my gosh Alicia.""I was confused Reece, but he went on to say he much he needs me, and how he doesn't want to lose me and our friendship and before I knew what I was about to do, I had already done it.""You mean you. . . . .you kissed him?""Yes. And he kissed me back. And he didn't stop. Reece, I couldn't stop myself either. It was the ringing of the bell indicating the end of lunch break that stopped us. I have to leave before I find myself doing something. . . . . . something worse."I swallow
To stay true to my word, I avoided Luke like a plague the following day.And the next.And well, up until today's evening.I ignored him when he tried to talk to me. I swear I visited the restroom more than a dozen times to ease my bladder because it always got so filled up every damn hour I sat near him in class, feeling my heart banging against my chest.When I stood in front of my locker in the hallway after school dismissal today to grab some notes, I kept my head down when he walked past me. Reece seemed to have noticed my discomfort, because she stopped chatting about how happy she is to attend Camilla's party tonight.It took everything in me not to lift my head up to look at Luke when he walked past me. Or to reach out my hand to him.Now, I am home, back from school.And alone.Sarah is at the hospital now, but before she left the house, she sneaked her silver boots, her makeup bag, and a paper note into my room while I was in the shower, getting freshened for Camilla's party
My clothes are already laid out on the bed. After pulling off my bath robe, I put on the black tank top and the black latex skirt. Reece is busy on her phone, texting only God-knows-who.After zipping my feet into Sarah's silver boots, I grab my pair of silver hoop earrings from my jewelry box and hook them on my ears.I breath out, flipping my hair over my shoulders. I adjust my stance, feeling so glad and relieved that the heels of Sarah's boots are well balanced.After spraying my perfume, I check myself out in front of my mirror once more. Through the mirror, I can still see Reece glued to her phone.It is so unlike her to be like this, especially when we are together. By now, the Reece I know will be shouting and squealing out how great or how different or how beautiful I look, but right now, it feels like it is just her shadow that is with me in this room now.I cough loudly, but it takes a while before she looks up from her phone."Gosh Alicia. Your outfit looks so amazing on yo
The driver finally arrives in front of Camilla's house, which is already booming with party music. Reece had already paid the driver online before we got to Camilla's house, so Reece and I just simply opened the door and alighted.When the driver starts his car and drives off, Reece and I turn around to take a full look at Camilla's house.Camilla's parents are rich. I mean, freaking, fucking rich. But I doubt if they really know that their only child is very bratty since they are too busy flying all over the world to build their wealth and leaving their imperial mansion to Camilla to do as she sees fit.A group of girls from my class dressed in skimpy party clothes wave at Reece and I as they walk past us, giggling at one another."We better go inside." Reece says, grabbing my hand. She starts to lead us both towards the house entrance.___________________As Reece and I enter fully into the house, the air hits my nostrils, reeking of booze and something fruity. I feel the nausea bui
Why is he here?!I can barely feel the noise around me, but my skin burns like it's on fire with the way Luke's eyes stare back at me like I am the only girl in the room.His hair is messy as usual, but his blue eyes are a little bit dim compared to the bright colored lights swirling around in the room. He looks breathtaking in his white t-shirt, and I find myself gulping at the thought of all the hot tattoos and muscled sexiness the fabric is hiding.I look back up at his face, and I swallow again when I find him still staring at me. Shame begins to churn the contents of my stomach, but as I try to look away from him, someone else catches my attention.A girl, almost the same height as me, appears by his side, wrapping her hand around his arm. She tugs at him. Luke breaks eye contact with me and turns to her. The uneasiness in the pit of my stomach is replaced with thick nausea when she lifts up her feet and mutters something to Luke's ear, making him laugh.My heart is starting to b
Before I leave through the door to join Camilla outside, I pause for a while and turn back, my eyes scanning around the noisy house for Luke. Pain stops my heart for a moment when I don't see him. My belly burns with the thought of him being alone with that girl in some fucking room upstairs, allowing her mess around with him and having her rub her hands all over him and maybe even allowing her to fuck him—"Alicia." Reece calls, making me turn around. I walk towards her and when I reach her, she grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze."Why the hell did you agree to play truth or dare?" She whispers. "You and I are well aware of the fact that you haven't played truth or dare before in your life.""I will be fine Reece." I whisper back, my words coming out with a bit slur. "Don't worry about me."I pat the back of her hand wrapped around my hand. I lift it up and give it a little peck.What the hell is wrong with me?Well, whatever.Reece sighs and snuggles close to Michael with her hand
What?!" I gasp.The breeze whips through Luke's hair, blowing it across his face. His hand pushes it back."Yeah. There is this lady called Sienna that I started seeing quite often with my dad since like three months ago. She is pretty, jovial, and I thought she was just one of my dad's friends. But this week Monday, my dad came out to me about his true relationship with her. I was paralyzed with shock to the point that I couldn't do anything that day." "You said you found out this week Monday?" I interrupt, my mind going through a puzzle."Yeah."The dots connect. Shit. "So that was why you weren't in school that day?" I blurt out, my realization hitting me with a bang.He nods. "The news fucked up my head so bad that I couldn't bring myself to come to school that day. I spent most of that day at Tyler's studio. I wasn't expecting to see you there later that day. I also wasn't in my right frame of mind." He sighs deeply. "I still feel a bit pissed at myself that I reacted so bad towa
This is cruel. This is so cruel. So cruel that I feel like dragging my fingers through my hair. So cruel that it reminds me of my own pain. So when Luke was grappling with his mum's death, I and Sarah were being whisked around from court to court to listen to my parents yell and throw curses at each other and to listen from judge to judge asking Sarah and I which parent we would want to stay with. Why do we have to suffer for the shitty things our parents did? We didn't force any of them to bring us into this world. The least they could have done for us was to try to be better for us."I passed the night at my uncle's place. I stayed in his house a couple more days, and then on the third day, in the morning, my dad showed up at my uncle's house, looking normal. He begged me to come back home with him. My uncle, who was his elder brother, beat him up so badly and had the police arrest him for trespassing his property. It was a tough, ugly scenerio to watch. During my mom's burial, my da
He goes super still and silent at my question for a while, but just when I begin to think that he may not answer me or do anything, his hands on my back and face leave my body. He steps back a bit from me and lifts his t-shirt up over his head, exposing his naked torso to me. My eyes go directly to the tattooed date on the left side of his abdomen.15. 05. 2012.I am not given enough time to ogle at it because Luke turns around in silence, his inked back facing me as he walks to a space on the clearing a little bit far from the motorcycle. I watch his hard muscles flex with each movement. They flex harder when he settles down on the mowed grass. He drops his t-shirt to his bosom, staring afar at the blue water crashing its waves to the rocks.I wonder what is going through his mind right now, but I know that whatever it is must definitely be related to my question earlier. His silence lures me to join him there, and I do. I walk over to him and settle down beside him on the grass. His
I stare back squarely at him, gulping hard. "Even if you wish you could take it back, the sad news is you can't, Luke, because I love you too."My somersaulting heart gradually stops thumping so hard, and I feel like a huge burden has just been uplifted from my chest. Luke blinks hard at my confession, the action making a single tear drop from his right eye down to his cheek. He wipes it away quickly as his eyes squint back at me, crease lines appearing on the top of his forehead. He takes a step back away from me, shaking his head. A sad chuckle escapes from his lips."You don't have to fucking lie to me that you love me just to make me feel better, Alicia. I do not want your pity. What I want is your complete honesty with me, at least I deserve that."My heart shreds. Why is everything crumbling so fast? I love him. Why can't he see that? I know exactly what I feel for him. It is crazy. Exhilarating, and I know for sure that I did not leave my fucking house just to come all this way
The wind whips through my hair roughly, wheezing past me in sharp gusts as Luke races down the road with a speed that steals every of my exhaling breaths away. I love the cool sharp feeling of the wind blasting my face, but what I love more is how the blowing wind carries Luke's scent to me.Gosh I love this. I love him. I still hate myself for having to deny the truth to myself for this long.We race past various cars and road signs, and I feel my eyes nearly popping out of their sockets when I catch the view of a set of hills outside town.The truth is that they are not just some ordinary set of hills that I have never seen before. They are the same set of hills that Luke and I visited the day he showed me his art studio for the first time. The blue water waves are splashing at the thick rocks beneath the tall cliffs, their crashing beauty reminding me of the awe I felt when I saw them for the very first time that day.I know Luke is taking us there. I can feel it deep in my guts.I
"Mr Douglas?" I croak out, still finding it very hard to believe my eyes.What the hell am I seeing right now?! What the freaking hell is going on here?!"Alicia what are you. . . . .what are you doing here?" He stutters back at me, his blue eyes bulging so wide that I can clearly see the shock and discomfort shimmering in them.Wait a minute.I turn my eyes away from Mr Douglas and place them right back at Luke, who is now staring at me like I just caught him gorging on a forbidden box of sweet milk candies. That is when I see it. Notice it. For the very, first, time.The resemblance is there. Fuck! It has always been there. In their identical deep blue eyes and perfectly sculpted jawlines. The rest of Luke's facial features look softer, feminine.And I figure out instantly that he may be sharing those softer features with his mom, who I am just finding out today, is dead.God. Why the fuck does no one in school know about them? Just how much don't I know about Luke Evans?The tensi
"Hey Alicia, how are you?"Tyler's voice is the first thing that greets me immediately I step out of the cab that drops me in front of his studio, which was of course the first place that popped into my mind to go search for Luke.I just hope he is here."I am cool." I reply, looking around the premises. My doubt begins to poke my insides when I don't see any sign of Luke's motorcycle parked around. "Have you seen Luke? Is he here?" I hurriedly rush out the questions.Tyler shakes his head. "No. He is not here." He corks his eyebrows at me, looking me over, two thin lines creasing at the top of his forehead. "What is going on Alicia? You look. . . . . .tensed."Tensed is an understatement. He should see how torn apart and messy I look inside."It is just. . . . ." I take in a short breath. "I have been searching and calling Luke, but he has not picked any of my calls.""Yo, what happened between you two?"I scratch the back of my neck in impatience. "It is a long story Tyler. Please, d
I climb out of the bathtub and wipe my wet body quickly with my towel. When I dash into my room, I glance at the clock.It is just 8:45am.Sarah must be very tired and probably asleep right now, so I will just drop her a note.I quickly go through my skincare routine of applying my body lotion and my facial cream and serum. Next, I throw on a black tank top and blue jeans shorts. The sun is surprisingly hot this early in the morning, and the last thing I need now is to feel sweaty in big clothes.I brush my hair and pull it up into a messy bun. After applying some powder and lip gloss with some perfume, I pick up a pen and tear out a sheet of paper from my rough book to scribble down a note to Sarah, to inform her that I will be leaving to go see Luke. Done, I grab my sling bag lying lazily on my bed and tuck in the note, my phone, my spare library key, and some cash from my drawer into the bag.I glance at the clock again. 9:02am.I look back at myself in the mirror and gulp in a bre
To my Dearest Readers, Thank you all so much for coming this far with me on this story. Your support and perseverance with this book gives me enough strength to continue this story, and for that, I am really thankful. Sadly, it is with great pain and helplessness that I write to you all today to inform you guys that I won't be able to update this story for some period of time. My school exams are choking me right now, and in order to keep giving you guys the best of this story, I have to clear my papers first so that my brain will be relieved and stable enough to keep on giving you guys the best. I am so sorry for whatever inconvenience this may cause any of you, but I promise to bounce back and smother you all with lots of delicious chapters. I love you all, and I also value your feedbacks, ratings and endless support. I am really glad to be on this ride with you all. You guys are the real MVPs. With so much love, Lora Ashley.