Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 179812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 899(@200wpm)___ 719(@250wpm)___ 599(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 179812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 899(@200wpm)___ 719(@250wpm)___ 599(@300wpm)
Chapter Six
THE WRECKING THORN
Of course she ran.
And of course I followed her. Only she had no clue. She still doesn’t. She doesn’t know I’m outside her apartment, right across the street, sitting in my truck.
Watching her bedroom window.
It’s not the sanest thing to do, watching a girl’s window in the middle of the night. But I’m not exactly sane right now. Or very calm. I could blame it on the conversation I had with Con in his office today. And yes, it’s one of the reasons why I’m feeling the way I am. But it’s not just that. It’s her. She’s the reason I’m feeling angry and aggressive. Restless.
She’s always been the reason.
Jupiter Jones. My little sister’s best friend and the girl, for some strange, strange reason, I don’t ever stop thinking about. I haven’t stopped thinking about her ever since I saw her over a year ago at Callie’s house.
I hate to admit it, but I remember the exact moment I saw her.
It was one of my sister’s get-togethers and I’d just arrived at the backyard where everyone was gathered. She was standing off to the side, facing away from me, and all I saw was her hair. Miles and miles of it. Thick and wavy, going down to the small of her back. I remember thinking I’d never seen hair that long or that thick. Or even that shade. Which should’ve been bullshit because I have seen redheads before. I’ve fucked them too. But in all my years of misadventures, I’d never seen a shade like hers, more violet than orange, fucking sparkling under the sun and against the green t-shirt she had on.
I also remember thinking that what I was doing, staring at her without her knowledge, was uncharacteristic of me. I couldn’t remember the last time I did that. Probably never. I never had to. Girls always knew who I was, and by the time I looked they’d usually already be looking at me, trying to catch my attention. Even Isadora had been the one to approach me first.
This strawberry-haired girl had no clue that I saw her first before she ever saw me.
Not until someone—Ledger—clapped my shoulder, and broke the moment. In more ways than one. As in, she realized I was there and spun around, her eyes widening. And like a fucking dumbstruck moron, I thought that just like her hair, I’d never seen eyes that color before, pure emerald green.
In any case, that was that. I put her out of my head. Or rather tried to. But every time our paths crossed after that, she made me halt in my tracks and look. I realized she had a shy smile but a loud laugh. She always stood on the periphery, at the edge of everything, like she wanted to be a part of things but didn’t think she could be. She was friendly to everyone but only close to a couple of the girls in Callie’s group. She wasn’t exactly quiet per se, but she wasn’t crazy talkative, and she could be sassy when she wanted to be.
Her favorite color’s purple. She likes anything coconut-flavored but claims her favorite fruit is pineapple. She loves summer more than winter. She loves to go swimming. She likes to wear shorts more than skirts, skirts more than dresses. She always puts her hair up in a bun or a ponytail. Her freckles sparkle under the sun, and her lips, just like her hair, remind me of strawberries.
But most of all, I realized she watched me. She didn’t make it obvious, like the other girls. She didn’t put herself in my path or try to get my attention. In fact, she did the opposite. She went to great lengths to hide the fact that she had a thing for me. She went to great lengths to run from me. She went to even greater lengths to hide that it bothered her to see me with my girlfriend. It not only bothered her, it broke her heart every time I brought Isadora around. Her stark green eyes would appear hurt, and her cinnamon-sprinkled features held pain. And it only got worse with time.
To the point where it made me feel like I was doing something wrong. It felt wrong to put my arm around Isadora. To smile at my girlfriend in front of her. It made me feel shitty. Made me feel like I was cheating on her. It felt like I owed her something. That I owed it to her to mend her heart and wipe all the tears I made her cry. That it was my fucking job to fulfil her dreams and give her whatever the fuck she desired.
It wasn’t. It isn’t.
She’s nothing to me. Which is why in all our encounters, I’ve told her to stay away from me.