Page 48 of Withered

Once my breathing returns to normal, I get up and find Jake lying on his bed with his eyes closed.

“Was this the reason you wanted me to stay?” I ask him.

With eyes still closed, he answers, his voice a throaty tone. “Well, yes and no.”

“Huh?” I sat with my legs crossed, facing him.

“Last time you were here, I liked it. I have always been thefuck and leavekind of guy, so it stunned me when you, of all people, were here to help me. No one does that to me,” he says with his eyes closed.

Why isn’t he opening his damn eyes? I’m dying to see those green orbs. I have always been a sucker for green eyes. Jake happens to have the best of them all.

“Have you ever seen yourself in the mirror?” I ask him. It’s hard to believe that there is no one to help him. “Trust me, throw one wink at the group of girls in our school, and you’ll have all of them at your feet. For your attention,” I tell him.

“Oh yeah?” He asked in a teasing tone.

“Yes.” I nod.

He opens his eyes and sits across from me, legs crossed and back leaning against the headboard. He tilts his head to one side as he looks at me.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask. He’s making me nervous, so I look down at my hands.

“Fuck. You are so hot,” he responds after a few seconds.

And damn, his words make me blush. The color on my cheeks must have returned, as I feel the warmth spread from my cheeks to my body.

I try to keep my cool. “Yeah, I know. A boy once told me.” I bite the inside of my cheek.

“Who was that?” He said it so fast that I almost didn’t catch it. His back, which was leaning, is suddenly straight in a defensive posture. Anger is evident on his face.

“Woah. Chill, it was you; remember in the kitchen when—” I halt. My cheeks growing hotter with each passing second.

“Oh. Yeah.” He scratches the back of his neck.

There is a minute of silence, and it feels strangely comfortable with him. I’m at a loss for words, and I believe he is as well. Our breath and the crickets outside are the only sounds in his room.

I look outside the window, and the night has never looked more alive. Even though my friends sometimes call me‘sunshine,'which is ridiculous if you ask me, I have and will always prefer the night.

“Hey. Are you even listening to me?” Jake puts a hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my trance.

“Sorry. I zoned out.”

“Do you do that often?” He asks.

“Sometimes,” I say, shrugging.

He nods, then asks, “So, tomorrow?”

“What tomorrow?” I ask, confused.

“Jesus fuck, were you even listening?” He says this, running his hand through his hair.

“I just told you, I zoned out. You’re the one who is not listening.”

He rolls his eyes and says, “Since we have two days off, want to have some fun? Let’s start over.”

I think about it for a second. I haven’t talked to Kristy yet about all of this; she hasn’t messaged me anything, which only means she’s still with Tyler.

“What is thisfunyou are talking about?”

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