[|]The following day, I was coming back from the hospital when I heard my name being called. I raised an eyebrow at the familiar voice before I turned around to see who it was. I blinked at the sight of Clark, running toward me. I looked over my shoulder before walking to meet him at the start of the stairs leading to the apartment building."Hey," Clark said as he came to a stop in front of me. "Hi," I responded, feeling awkward to be in his presence, knowing he had caused my best friend some mental stress and was a jerk for denying the pregnancy Maddy had for him."You still live here, right?" He asked and waved at the building behind me. "Yeah," I replied, suspicion heavy in my voice. "Why'd you ask?"Clark scratched his head and shrugged. He looked flushed for a moment before he sighed."Okay... The thing is, I messed up. I offended someone and it caused a serious problem and I'm looking for a way to have her forgive me. I don't know what she likes so I'm here to get her an apa
[|]Lucas' POV"I can't believe Ruth could do such a thing. When you called and told me about it, I wanted to argue that it isn't true," Axel said from his spot on the floor. "Ruth was the only one I cared about before you and I reconciled. She cared about me too and we always had each other's back. Yes, she threatened to make my life a living hell if I don't stop smoking, beating people up, and walking with criminals. But, it's just sad that the people close to us can do such a thing," I said, rubbing my face in agony.Ruth was someone I would kill for before Jackie came into my life. Even before she was raped by one of my adoptive father's business friends, I had always cared for and protected her but now, I wanted to hate her, to despise her for going low. It was disgusting that she did such a thing to another woman, in the same manner. "What are you going to do now?" Axel asked."I already called a friend of mine. He's going to get more information about her before this week com
[|]Jackie's POVI looked from one person to the other, trying to understand what I had just seen. They had been hugging each other when I stepped in, making me confused because they were not too touchy with one another. They barely had any conversations, so it was suspicious the way they had been hugging themselves."You're back," Maddy said, getting off the stool. She pulled down her dress and I eyed the motion.I could trust them but I was still human and felt jealous or suspicious. Lucas and Maddy had a past, which made me easily feel uncomfortable about what I had seen."Lucas and I were just talking about our families. Since we used to kinda know each other before," Maddy said and walked over to the couch in the living room. "I got you the dress for the event."I pushed away every feeling I had and smiled. "Really? What dress?" I asked as I approached her. Maddy raised the bag and handed it to me."You can try it out later. Right now, I want you to tell me all about the plans y
[|]"Mom?!" I flinched at the angry voice of Maddy who grabbed her mother's arm and tugged her back. "What, Maddy?" She asked in a tone that was heavy with humor."Stop this. You're always embarrassing me. Stop disrespecting my friends. How many times do I have to tell you that Lucas and I are just friends? Stop trying to play matchmaker with every guy that I fucking know! Also, mind your words. I came here because you and dad forced me here and I will not tolerate it if you insult my friends, especially Jackie. Do you understand?"I felt relief at Maddy's defense and then smiled at her mother when she glared at me with hatred in her eyes. The woman has always hated me because of my friendship with her daughter and has accused me of a lot of things that I was not guilty of all because I am poor and not in their status."Very well then but I will be keeping my eyes on her. I don't want anything going wrong," she said and walked away, nose in the air.Lucas wrapped his arm around my s
Slight Matured Scene. [|]"I can explain," I said with speed and Maddy blinked. "Explain what?" She asked, tilting her head with a raised eyebrow. "Because what I just saw was the most fantastic comeback ever! Give me a high five!"Maddy raised her right hand in front of my face and I only stared in utter shock as I tried to grasp what had just happened."Um." That was the only word I could speak.Maddy looked past me and moved me aside. She sighed heavily and shook her head at her mother who was looking more shocked than before."Now, dear mother. How did it feel when someone insulted you for a change? It felt bad, right? Listen, I will be the one to put you in your place if you ever attack Jackie again. Also, Jackie isn't the reason why I have a sex life. Who I fuck isn't anyone's doing but mine. It's not hers or my fault dad can't service you down there anymore."I covered my mouth so I would not laugh at her words. It was hilarious and savage. I had to look away to pretend like
[|]"Your sister writes love letters to you?" I was stunned to hear this. How was it so possible that she did such without anyone knowing. "None of her letters came to me... Wait, I remember one time in Redside High. I had just finished practicing when I found a love note in my locker. I didn't even bother reading it because I tore it up and tossed it into a trashcan. That means, she has been writing this for a long and Axel's hired guy had broken into our house to find them."I stepped back and started to imagine why someone would feel attracted to their brother. It was disgusting to me. "Why would she do that when she knows we are related in some way?" Lucas asked, running his fingers through his hair in distress."Maybe she knows that you're her half-brother," I replied and he stared at me with an incredulous look."We are still related by blood, Jackie. We share the same mother. Nah, something doesn't feel right about this. It's just... It's crazy and disturbing that she would t
[|]I felt like I could barely breathe, almost as if I was choking as I struggled to open my eyes that were oddly too tight for me to part. I fisted my hands and heard faint voices around me, which made me remember what had happened.I screamed while opening my eyes then raised my body, only to be pushed down by a force. I was seeing blurry images as I was forced back onto something soft. I shut my eyes, hoping to clear the blurriness in my eyes. After a count of ten, I opened my eyes and saw a white ceiling with a small fan rotating from it.I looked to my side and saw a window, showing me nothing but a tall lit building. It was dark outside which was confusing because I remembered it being the day when I was at the golf course. "Jackie?"I sharply turned my head and saw Lucas. His eyes were dull, bags around them and some stubble growing around his jawline. His hair was disheveled as he leaned over me. I looked down at myself and saw I was laying on a hospital bed with a blue blank
[|]"Open your mouth," Lucas said.I grimaced at the food sitting on the spoon he was holding and shook my head. I was too tired and had no appetite to eat. Still, he was forcing me to take a bite of a disgusting vegetable food that looked yucky to me.It has been a day since we left Redside and Lucas had been pampering me. Alongside Axel and Maddy. It was annoying because I didn't want to feel too dependent on them when I could still do things. The only problem was that I was still having the side effects of the pills. I was also having nightmares of me losing my baby and seeing Mrs. Kingston's face. I didn't want to tell anyone as they were already too worried about me. The only thing I wanted was to start a new job and try to forget everything that happened. Being bedridden left me with thoughts that took me back to what that witch had done."What do I do for you to eat? Listen, I will buy you anything, just mention it if you eat everything on this plate," Lucas said but I rolled
[|] The next day, we were back to the hotel we had been in before Maddy captured me. When I woke up, I felt an odd feeling at the thought of Maddy being dead. Even though she ended up betraying me, she had been part of my life and it made me a little sad that she had to end the way she did. I pushed away the feeling and sat up on the bed. I looked at the other side of the bed and smiled at a sleeping Lucas. He was facing the other way, bare-chested. I leaned forward and ran my hand over his smooth chest. He moved his body a little but didn't wake up. I rested my chin on my palm and stared at him. His jawline was covered with very light beards and I pictured him with a full beard. He would look handsome with it and more mature as I imagined him with a trimmed beard. It made me smile as I focused on his hair which was a bit longer. I began to imagine our life together with a child running around the house. I smiled wider at the imagination. "All I want is happiness from here on ou
[|]"Hey."I flinched at the sound of Lucas' voice. I turned away from the floor-length window in the hallway of the hospital and faced him. He was looking stressed out with bags under his eyes, scattered hair, and pale skin. I wouldn't be surprised if I was matching his look."How are you?" I asked, walking up to him. I opened my arms for a hug and he came into it and I wrapped my arms around him. He lowered his height and rested his head on my shoulder."I'm so tired and I'm sure you are too," he said and hugged me back."I'm better now that I know Axel is fine," I said and pulled away from him.Axel had gone into surgery the moment we arrived at the hospital and it's been hours since we arrived. Barry had not left the door of the operating room. I could see how much they loved Axel. "You need to sleep. You are stressed from everything," Lucas said and cupped my face."I'm kinda hungry though," I said with a smile. "I need a nap but I won't do all these until I'm sure that Axel is
[|] The loudness of the gun was ringing in my ears and I could barely hear my heartbeat. I was frozen on top of Maddy as I felt fear move through me. I gulped and wondered why I couldn't feel anything, I was numb. I rolled away from Maddy and looked down at my stomach. There was blood on my shirt but I couldn't feel any wound. It was when I looked at Maddy, that I realized the blood belonged to her and not me. She had a bullet hole in her chest while the gun was slack in her hands. Her eyes were wide as her chest moved up and down quickly. I rose to my feet, holding my stomach out of fear and protecting the baby in me. "Jackie?!" I looked up at the sound of a new voice. I saw Lucas staring at me with fear in his eyes. He ran up to me and cupped my cheeks"Jackie, you're shot," he said. I snapped out of my shocked state and shook my head. "No... Not me," I replied and looked down at Maddy who was laying on the ground, still breathing. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows and slowly fol
[|]Jackie's POVThe moment Lucas had shifted, I was confused because I had been expecting him to fall at the impact of the bullet but I saw someone else; Axel.When I had seen Lucas at first, I felt my heart stop beating, I had felt like I lost it all. I thought I had lost him, I thought I had lost the man I loved but when I saw Axel, I didn't feel any different. Axel was my best friend, a brother I never had. I never had a sibling but it felt like I was losing one when I saw Axel taking the bullet for us. I didn't know if I could have screamed or passed out at the sight of Axel. I had not expected Axel to take the bullet. When I saw Lucas broken at the sight of his brother, I prayed that Axel was alright.The moment I saw Maddy run off, I knew I had to go after her before she escaped. I didn't even think twice and ran after her, picking up the gun she had dropped in the process.When I saw that Maddy had run out through a door in a corner. I pushed the door and looked on each side
[|]Lucas' POVI could not let Jackie die. I would rather die than let the woman who has suffered enough go through death. I just couldn't watch her take that bullet.So, when I saw Maddy pull out her gun, I knew things would not end well. I had thought she would not pull the trigger but I was wrong when I saw her finger push the trigger. Knowing how fast a bullet was, I blocked Jackie to take the bullet with my eyes shut the moment she fired the gun.But when three seconds went by and I did not feel the burning and body-numbing feeling of the bullet, I opened my eyes and felt like my soul left my body when I saw the last person I was expecting in front of me."Axel?!" I screamed at the top of my voice, the same time Jackie said my name.I couldn't feel my body as I watched Axel slump to the floor. Everything around me became dark and I found myself falling to my knees and crawling toward him. He rolled onto his back and my eyes went straight to his bleeding chest. My hands began to s
[|]Jackie's POVIt hurt so bad.It broke my heart to see him sign the contract. It made me angry to see them kiss. It wasn't Lucas' fault, I was not mad at him. I was mad at Maddy. She was so cruel. The worst feeling I felt was helplessness. I couldn't do anything to stop everything as I watched them kiss. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and tossed into a larva. I felt like I could not breathe. It was at that moment I knew that people could die from heartbreak. I just couldn't withstand the sight and thought of losing Lucas to her."Finally," Maddy said and I raised my head.I sniffed and glared at her when she looked at me, smiling wide with the contract pressed against her chest. She giggled and walked up to me."Won't you congratulate me?" She asked, craning her head to the side.I formed some saliva in my mouth and spat on her face. She gasped and closed her eyes at the impact. I smiled at the sight of my spit on her face then chuckled."I already got what I want
[|]Lucas' POVI took out my gun from my duffle bag and checked for bullets. I saw it was fully loaded and fixed the gun between the waistline of my pants and my back. I covered it up with my shirt and grabbed my jacket then turned toward the door. I paused to take deep breaths. I was scared and worried and I was feeling like I was going to go crazy. I was so mad at myself for leaving Jackie alone when I knew Maddy was around. Now, she was with a crazy bitch who was probably going to hurt her. Whatever I had to do, I had to act smart and not put Jackie in danger.I exhaled and opened the door then walked out of the room where I met Barry leaning against the wall across me."Ready to go?" They asked and I nodded."Yes. Have you called the police?" I asked."Remember the Redside police department is on their payroll, I don't think it's going to be something they'll like to hear," Barry said, pushing themselves off the wall."You're right. They won't care about what we say," I said and
[|]"You know, at some point, I started to give up on Lucas since I saw you weren't interested in him. That's where Clark comes in," Maddy said and sat down on a chair the man had brought for her. "I saw him, he was rich, handsome, and a player like Lucas. They had the same issues, family problems and all. I felt like I had Lucas but in a different body."I was too weak to even try to tell her how crazy she was. I saw her type of person in the movies and books. It was so unbelievable I was experiencing such before my very eyes. "As I was saying before this, I found out Lucas was going to our college and I had to forfeit a prestigious university to be close to him. I watched him but with you around, it was so hard. I ended up regretting canceling your scholarship to the college in the UK. I wish I had but I'm only human. When I found out you choose this college as your second choice, I had to keep you close and make sure you got in. I'm sorry for everything you went through but you de
[|]My eyelids hurt so bad that I felt pain when I struggled to open my eyes. When I had them open, the first thing I saw was my lap through slightly blurred vision. I hissed and then moaned when I felt a dull ache on my head. I tried to raise my head but it was difficult, almost as if my neck was stiff with pain. I shut my eyes against another wave of a dull headache then opened them when I heard heavy footsteps."You're finally awake," a gruff masculine voice reached my ears and I groaned out in pain when my hair was yanked back.The pain in my neck and head doubled and I felt dizzy from the movement. I took deep breaths and looked to my side, I saw the same man who had been following me in the supermarket. My eyes widened as fear came over me then I became aware of my surroundings. I was facing a church altar and on my side were rows of wooden benches. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked back at the altar in confusion. I could tell from the stained glass window behind the cross that