Page 103 of Withered

My day is spent catching up on homework and assignments. Jake’s window is closed, and I haven’t seen him since our little thing yesterday.

Is he ignoring me?Not wanting to think about anything stupid, I grab my phone and text him.

Me:Where are you?

After five minutes, I get his reply.

Him:Out. Taking care of something. See you in an hour.

“Missed me?” Jake opens his window after an hour.

“You did,” I say, glancing up from my books.

“I surely did.” His words fill me with joy. When I’m near him, it’s as if I have a tight knot around my heart.

He sits on the window sill and asks, “What’s up?”

“I’m just completing this.” I gesture at the mess of books.

He smirks and says, “I already did.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Do you have any idea how envious I am right now?”

His smirk grows.What an idiot.

“Anyways, what time are we leaving tomorrow?” I ask.

“I’ll pick you up at 6,” he informs me.

“Okay,” I say, nodding.

“Are you excited or nervous?” I go near the window.

“Nothing. I just want to get this over with,” he mutters, his voice tense.

“Can I ask you something?”

He nods and stares at me. “Why do you hate him so much? I know he left you and your mom and married another woman, but that happens all the time.”

Jake’s knuckles turn white, and anger replaces his face. I think I hit a nerve somewhere. “He used to hit Mum.”

His words make my eyes widen.

“When Mum suspected he was cheating on her, he used to hit her,” he continues, “I saw it one day, and that’s when I started loathing that fucking asshole.”

This part of his story explains why he hates his dad so much. No child would ever want to see that.

Jake’s phone rings. He cuts it off and says, “Pick you up at 6 tomorrow. Gotta go.”

That being said, he leaves, and I am left alone with my homework. I hope everything goes well tomorrow.

Jakearrivesfifteenminutespast six o’clock. I open the door before he could knock as I see him pull up in front of my house. I was waiting for him in the living room, flipping through the channels at random.

“Hi,” I smile. I wasn’t expecting him to dress up to meet his dad. He looks hell as fine—just enough to make me drool.

“Hey.” He nears me. He stops when his gaze settles on something behind me.

I turn and see my mom approaching us with a smile on her face. She’s dressed in a dark blue dress with light makeup, and her hair is down. When I told Mom I was going out to dinner with Jake, she and Dad made plans and are now on their way.

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