I didn't have anything to say to him. I simply smiled and shrugged."Sorry. I got distracted. This place reminds me of home. Sorry for wasting time. I'll get going now," I said and rushed past him to the living room.I was not comfortable in this place anymore. Something was off about Matt and that picture. Could Matt be related to them in some way? The more this kept unfolding, the more I had to tell Lucas about this."Are you guys ready?" Matt asked as he walked into the living room.I avoided his eyes and stared at the coffee table. My heart was pounding because I didn't want him to be suspicious of me. I needed to get to the bottom of who this man was. My hunch kept telling me to dig further and at the same time, I wanted to question him so bad, but I felt it would not end well or it was just my experience with people that made me not trust anyone."Where's Victor?" Bria asked from her spot across me."Are you feeling okay, Jackie?" Matt asked me as he sat down beside me on the co
Jared’s POVThe sound of my alarm ringing loudly forced me awake with an annoyed groan leaving my lips. I squeezed my eyes for a moment and open them again then stared at the wall of my room. Events of last night came to my mind, reminding me of what had happened and how much I hated thinking of it. Thinking specifically of him.I huffed and sat up on my bed, bunching the blanket around my waist. I glared at my door as Axel, filled my head once again. I didn’t know how and why or when this started but recently, he started to piss me off by getting into my head. It made me want to rip my brain out. I hated thinking of him and I hated the growing warmth I felt in my heart when I was around him. I knew the feeling, it was attraction and I hated it with all my heart.I never told anyone about my sexuality as there wasn’t any need to. My bisexuality was something I never told anyone since the day I fell in love with a high school classmate of mine. I hated it because each man I wanted was
Jackie’s POVI was not sure of what I had heard Jared say. I found it hard to believe everything he said as I could not believe that a person like Barry could hurt Axel. I wanted to not let the anger that was slowly creeping in me to take over as the thought of anyone or anything hurting Axel made me angry.“Is this true?” Axel asked in a quiet tone. He stood beside me with hands clenched and shoulders shaking.Barry said nothing but shoved Jared away. A smirk appeared on their lips. It only made me madder. I could not believe they could do such a thing. Their relationship was something that I always admired yet this happened.“Explain!” Axel hollered.The highness in his tone of voice made me shiver from shock. This was the first time I saw him angry to this extent and I could tell that his heart was broken.“Tell me why you did this. You promised never to hurt me and what happened in the end? You did!” Axel yelled more, body shaking. “I trusted you! I made myself vulnerable for you!
Jackie’s POVI could not believe what I was hearing. Cindy was such a bitch, probably worse than who shall not be named. How could she treat an innocent child like trash? Her behavior made me wonder if she was even related to the child. The child was innocent and it made me furious about how he would grow up with such a mother. At the back of my mind, I pondered on how she took care of him and at that, I remembered the one time she had left him alone at home with me to go out.In anger, I walked into the house and banged the door shut. I noticed her startle at the sound and stand with her baby in her arms. I kept a blank expression on my face as I made my way past where she stood.“What are you doing here? I don’t think you’re supposed to be here,” she said and went around the couch before standing in front of me, blocking my view.“Ge out of my way,” I said and she scoffed.“No. If you don’t leave, I’m calling Lucas.”“And what will you say?” I taunted with a smile. “That I came to b
Jackie’s POVI was at Evangeline's place when I got a call from a stranger that Lucas was in prison. I had thought it was some prank call but when I remembered that Lucas had said something about always landing in jail, I knew it couldn’t be some type of joke. The information had left me disoriented and scared as I did not know why he was at the police station.The moment Evangeline had come home, I pushed Paul into her arms and ran out of the house to ours where I boarded my car and drove off to the police station. All through the drive, I called Axel and Jared, so they knew what was happening and after getting them, they said they were on their way.Once I arrived at the police station, I rushed straight to the officer behind a desk, panting and sweating. He eyed me like I was crazy before I smiled.“Hi, I am here to see someone,” I said and looked around the holding cells that had people in them. I did not see Lucas and got worried.“Who are you here to see?” He asked and I faced h
Lucas’ POVFew hours ago…I was still shaking from the fact that I had murdered someone. Even as I sat in the cell, I could barely think straight. So many things were running through my mind. How would I get out of this? What will happen to the family I was building with Jackie? Who would take care of them? My kid would see me as a father who was in prison for murder, that is if he sees me leave this place if I get punished by the persecutor.My heart was racing every second, making my blood pump from fear. I had no one to save me from such a crime. Even though Jared had teased and made himself my lawyer, the case would end up with a charge heavier than what I was used to as an illegal street racer.I had been so deep in my thoughts that I did not hear when a cop had been calling my name until he banged the bars of the cell, shouting my name. I rose to my feet and watched the cop walk away. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and took some steps toward the iron bars, only to stop when
Jackie’s POVEver since Lucas went to New York which has been just a day, I have been pensive over the recent happenings around us. I barely even slept well last night, coupled with the cries from Paul since I was still with him. My thoughts were filled with what the future will be like, what to expect in the coming days and what life our child will come into as things were beginning to seem unpredictable.At the sound of Paul babbling in his baby language, I smiled and went over to where he lay on the bed. I sat beside him and scooped him up, bringing him to my face. I kissed his puffy cheeks and sniffed his baby scent. He was just so cute, and it pained me that he was related to Cindy who did not care about him at all.“Do you miss your mama?” I asked and nuzzled his nose with mine. He replied with a babble, and I chuckled. “I’m sure you don’t. Alright, let’s go to the kitchen. Time for lunch.”I rose from the bed and propped him on my hip then left the room. Once I got to the kitch
Jackie’s POVI ignored the pain I was feeling in my foot from the shards of ceramic as all my eyes and attention were on the piece of paper in my hand. I read over the information on the small piece of rectangular paper full of the grocery items he had bought and the sum total and his name which was in Matt. J Hamilton. I was confused, while a rush of wonder filled me.How does Matt have the same last name as Lucas and Axel? Did it have something to do with the pictures I kept seeing?I heard hurried footsteps and when I raised my head, I saw Bria, Victor and behind them was Matt. I kept my eyes on Matt who had a blank stare on until his eyes shifted to the paper in my hand and a shadow crossed his face.“Are you okay?” Bria asked and came to me. She grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the mess I made.“You’re bleeding,” Victor said, and I looked down at
Jackie’s POV“Evangeline, please.”I laughed at the way Matt had spoken. He was so down bad for Evangeline who gave him an incredulous look. I watched him wrap his arms around her waist and put his face in her neck. I could see that Evangeline was blushing from his touch, and it made me happy for her. At least, Matt has become a new man and no longer the person he was, plus, he made her happy even though she still played hard to get. I shipped them so hard. The day they announced that they were dating, I would rejoice.“Are you done?”I looked away from the duo to Andrea who was pointing at the sliced apples on the chopping board. In her arms was Paul, who was sucking on his pacifier. He grinned when he noticed my attention was on me, making my heart melt.“Lucas’ mom wants to see you,” Andrea said, and confusion filled.“Me?” I pointed at my chest. “Do you know why?”“Girl, I don’t know. She just wants to talk to you about something.”I dropped the knife I was holding and wiped my han
Chapter’s Soundtrack Love Me Hard by Elly DuheLucas’ POVI felt the dawn of a new day and opened my eyes. There was slight darkness in the room as my eyes took in the expanse of the room. I yawned and tried to stretch, only to feel a weight on my arm. I blinked and looked down, then smiled at the sight of Jackie sleeping in my arms. My heart fluttered at the feel of her body resting against mine, fitting perfectly.I held my breath when she moved and moaned before cuddling me more. I pressed my lips against her head and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. I looked at the hand that was fisted on my bare chest then took it, lacing it with mine. I brought her hand close to my face and kissed the knuckles of her hand. I opened her hand and pressed her soft palm on my cheek before nuzzling it with my nose.She moaned and moved in my arms again, making me stop what I was doing. She moved her head against my chest, rubbing her nose on it before raising her head off it. I smiled when she co
Lucas' POVI knew trying to trigger Henry was the wrong move but seeing Matt and Jackie with me gave me the courage to know that we would all walk out alive, but it seemed as if I was wrong as I watched him pull the trigger. The first thing that came to my mind was to protect Jackie, and how a repeat of what happened was about to repeat itself.But what I did not expect was for Matt to stand between us and Henry, taking the bullet. When he dropped to the ground, it felt as if everywhere around me went dark. My heart squeezed from fear and worry as I stared down at his body that lay unmoving on the floor.When Jackie screamed, I snapped out of my state and looked up with rage coursing through my veins. Henry was stiff from shock, and I took that as an opportunity to dash my way to him. I hit the and that held the gun, sending it flying away. Before he could react, I hit him in the face. I barely had any strength but adrenaline to finish off Henry was in me. I had the urge to kill him,
Jackie’s POVFear was back.I could feel the fear just as I could feel the weight of the gun against my cheek as he began to count from number one. I looked away from Lucas to the side to try to stare at the monster. He had a nasty smile on his face, a maniacal one that reminded me of Maddy’s. It was crazy how there were psychopaths moving with us. Why couldn’t my love life have jealous exes who did not murder and crazy family members who didn’t just like their child’s partner?“Three… You’re not saying anything, son.”He needed to stop calling him that.My heart skipped a beat when he dug the mouth of the gun into my cheek, making me feel pain there. I gritted my teeth and tried to look over my shoulder at Matt. What was that fucker doing? He needed to cut the man off per our agreement.“Tw—”“Wait,” Matt said, getting our attention.I let out a sigh of relief and thanked the heavens when he left my head and let me fall back to the floor. I crawled over to Lucas’ feet and held his an
Jackie’s POVI felt like I was going crazy from all the influx of emotions inside of me.Anger, sadness, guilt, worry and shame.They were at war within me as I tried to clear my mind, to remain sane, to be hopeful. I was forcing myself to believe that it was not my fault. I was not at fault for losing Drake and was about to lose Lucas too. I felt so stupid all because I wanted to get a few school items. If I had just waited a little more, or forgot about it, a stranger would not have snuck into our home and taken my child.Tears formed in my eyes, and I let them fall, heating up my cold cheeks. I sniffled and began to cry softly. I had no idea what condition Drake and Lucas were in while I sat in comfort. I hated feeling useless. I wished I could do something to save Lucas and Drake, but I was useless. I was barely healed from childbirth and that made me even more angry.I curled my body on the bed and cried harder, trying to force the pain in my heart to seize. I grabbed a handful o
Lucas’ POVPain, dullness and a slight feverish feeling was heavy on me as I struggled to open my eyes. I started to feel confused, wondering where I was and what had happened, especially why it felt as if I could not move. My chest felt heavy and at the same time, it felt as if I could not feel one side of my body.I opened my eyes and hissed as an ache hit my head. I blinked multiple times before my eyes opened properly. I raised my head and groaned when my arm hurt so badly. I looked at the arm and saw that the sleeve of my jacket was stained with blood.“Finally awake?” A deep voice asked.I tried to sit up and grunted when I realized that I was tied to the spot I was sitting in. I looked down at my body and saw a thick rope tied around my torso, arms and legs. I raised my gaze to the person and frowned when I saw Henry. He was sitting on a couch across the room, holding a gun and a glass of wine.“Untie me, you bastard,” I demanded, and he laughed with a shake of his head.“I kno
Lucas’ POVI didn’t know how I boarded a flight back to Atherton, but I did and throughout, it felt like my soul was not in my body. I felt empty with only fear and anxiety as I was trying to understand how my son was kidnapped. Everything around me felt as if I was in some type of bad dream that I desperately wanted to wake up from.Jared was beside me on the plane, trying to calm me down but his words were either distant or jumbled up. All I could think of was Drake. What was anyone doing when such happened? Was Jackie okay? Was anyone harmed? I needed answers.Almost two hours later, I arrived at Atherton and booked a ride home. The moment we arrived at our destination, I rushed out of the car, leaving Jared to pay for the ride. There were cops parked in front of the house and my heart only picked up from fear.Jackie.I ran into the house and was met with more cops in the living room and a crying Ruth sitting on the couch. I went over to her and fell on my knees in front of her.“
Lucas’ POVI returned to Rochester the following day the moment Ruth came to Atherton, saying she wanted to see her nephew. She was still pensive about Cindy’s son, Paul. She hated Cindy right from the beginning, even before Paul was conceived and her hatred now made more sense to her than before. So, when she texted me that she was in Atherton to see her nephew and not nephews, I knew what she meant. I already made her understand that hating a child that had nothing to do with how nasty his real mother was made no sense and she just told me she didn’t hate the boy.I just didn’t want any more bad blood between our families as our generation needed to move on and make amends from the damages created by our older family members. Which was why I was still stunned and somewhat relieved when the person who bought the night racing group was Matt Jefferson. I never knew the fucker had it in him to be good for fucking once.A knock on my office door made me blink out of my thoughts. I cleare
Jackie’s POVEver since I saw the email stating that the scholarship I had applied for was a success, I have not been in the right state of mind. All I could think about was what Lucas would say or how he would react to the news.Looking at him now, it was hard to tell what he was thinking because of how blank his expression was as he read through the paper again and again. I knew this was going to be difficult. I had applied for the scholarship after Andrea sent me a link to the school since her family knew the dean. When I applied for it, I never thought he and I would get back with each other. I was scared now that we were back together. The scholarship would keep me out of the continent for years and it made me worried with fear.“Lucas?” I said his name softly.I watched the edges of his mouth twitch before it expanded into a smile. I was confused for a second before he looked up at me with an even bigger smile on his face. He opened his arms like before and I got even more confu