[|]My lunch with Jared had gone smoothly. Jared was a funny person as he shared his childhood stories with me. During our lunch, he had not done or said anything that hinted that he wanted me or liked me in that manner. I had been expecting he would try to woo me or do something after that night, especially seeing me in such a state. It was almost as if that night never happened and I was glad because I didn't want things to be awkward between the both of us.Since he was living in the apartment across ours, Jared and I walked home together, talking more about high school. As we reached the apartment building, Jared went his way and I stayed back when my phone rang. I took it out of my bag and saw it was a call from Andrea, making me clench my fist. I was not in the mood to speak to her about anything.I accepted the call and placed the phone against my ear. I stayed silent and waited for her to speak only to hear another voice."...where do you want to go?" It was Lucas' voice and I
[|]Lucas' POV"Fuck!" I pressed my head against the wet wall of the shower cubicle. I was slowly losing my mind over Jackie. Something wasn't right about how I was feeling. Almost a year ago when I met her, she was so cute in that long black dress that clung to her body in the locker room.The moment I laid my eyes on her, she had been the cutest girl I have ever seen. At first, I had thought she was someone's girl for a hookup in the locker room but when she clarified that she wasn't, something in me made me want her that instant. That want made me go after her in high school to the point that I bought her a phone because I wanted to get her attention until she ended up in my bed but the more time I spent with her and the more time my lips touched hers, something ignited inside of me.Something that made me feel she was not like other girls. Her innocence intrigued me, her curiosity made me want to make her know things, the little things she did like biting her lip didn't come out
[|]Jackie's POVA new week had begun and I had barely spoken to Lucas because he was barely around the house. When I came back from work, he was not around and in the middle of the night, he would sneak in and out. One night when I had come back from work, I saw him getting into the passenger seat of a black sports car. Since then, I saw him in the same place. Not even a text or call from him got to me. It left me worried for him and thinking about him a lot.Now, I was at work, sitting on the stool I was supposed to be used to clean the cobwebs high up the ceiling. I was lost in thought that I didn't hear the door opening until it slammed close, scaring me.I sat up and turned my body to face the door. Clark was at the door, hunched over, trying to get his shoe off. I noticed how he staggered a little and I went up to him. He stood at his full height and I saw how disheveled his hair was and irritated his eyes were. I sniffed the air and got the strong scent of alcohol. I stepped b
[|]A new month had begun and I was still working for Clark but things have been professional between us since then. He now paid me more each day I finished at work and mostly left the money in my bank account or an envelope in the house. It was better that way and I hoped it stayed professional and business-like. As I rounded up for the evening, I got a text from Andrea, saying I should meet her up at a cafe. I was too tired to meet her but I had to because the last thing I wanted was to spend my free time with her. So, I texted her back letting her know I was on my way. Some minutes later, I was at the cafe with a tired body. I saw her sitting at a table beside the window and I went over to her. She smiled at my presence while I took a seat across from her."Thank you for coming," Andrea said."Yeah... So, what are we doing here?" I asked and she waved her hand."Relax, girl. I'm not in a rush."Well, I am if you aren't. I wanted to say it out loud but smiled at her."How have you
[|]I marched into the house and dumped my bag angrily on the floor, getting Lucas' attention. He stared at me with shock on his face while I stood glaring at him. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, standing up."You!" I pointed at him and he looked behind him. That angered me more, so I approached him."I'm talking to you! What is wrong with you, Lucas?""I don't know what you're talking about, Jackie. Go straight to the point, I have things to attend to," he replied and was about to turn away from me but I stopped him by grabbing his wrist which I released when he glared at me."You need to make Andrea understand that I have no business with your relationship with her!""Relationship? What the fuck are you talking about?"I scoffed. "Andrea met up with me today and was talking about your birthday this, your birthday that."Lucas sighed. "She's been trying to get me to celebrate it ever since she saw my driver's license.""Well, I don't like how she's trying to get me involved in thi
[|]I didn't forget about Lucas' birthday or think of what to get him as a present. But knowing how rich he was, I was sure any gifts he received today would be too expensive and high above my wallet to impress him."I'm just going to get him whatever I can and not embarrass myself in the process," I said as I folded the rest of my clothes into my luggage. I had just a few minutes to leave Lucas' house for Jared's before Andrea came over.She had called Lucas and told him that she would be arriving in an hour and my time was up. It was annoying that I had to drag my things next door but I had to bear the consequences of my lies. "Done," I said as I placed the last folded clothe in the luggage. I immediately zipped it and dragged my luggage out of the room. I saw Lucas downstairs on his laptop with a lot of scattered papers around him. I always wondered why he was still doing such when we weren't in school sessions. I looked away from him and went downstairs. "Oh, you're already pac
[|]"I asked you a question," she said in a strong tone, as if she was angry."Oh, I was looking for the bathroom and I came up here. I luckily found one," I replied and gulped. My heart was racing so fast because I felt our plan had been ruined."This is a private area. You can't just use any bathroom you see especially when it's just one," she said in an angrier tone which offended me."What's your problem anyway? I just needed to empty my full bladder. You didn't expect me to piss in a cup or something," I shot back at her and her stiff shoulders slackened."Look, I'm sorry. Tonight didn't end the way I expected it to end," Andrea said in a sad voice.I moved away from the bathroom door and stopped a foot away from her. She sighed and looked at the floor."Lucas isn't happy and it's my fault," Andrea said."Oh... Why? Did something happen?"Andrea raised her head and I saw an unreadable look on her face. She scoffed and lifted her hand into my line of vision. My eyes went wide when
[|]Lucas' POVI fucking kissed her and I loved it. I missed kissing her lips the moment my lips touched hers. It felt so different and exciting like the first time. She felt so right and good against my body and a thrill went through my body at it. I moaned when she parted her lips and I dove my tongue into her warm mouth. I wrapped my hand around her throat and tilted her head sideways with my other hand to deepen the kiss. I moaned once again when she kissed me back with passion, sending goosebumps out of my body. When she moaned, I loved the sound and felt myself go hard. I squeezed her throat a little and pulled her closer to me. I felt tempted to run my hand over her body, to feel her body that drove me wild. When the need for air came, I pulled away from her soft lips and kissed her cheek then her jawline. I latched my lips on her neck and ran my tongue over the salty flesh. I nibbled on her skin and felt her grip my arms. I smirked and bit a little more to leave a mark. "
[|] 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