laughing.
“Yeah, I don’t think so either,” he
agreed.
***
They slept naked together the rest of the
night.
Raven had run to the bathroom and cleaned
herself off, and then she’d come back to bed and Jake had been waiting for her,
opening his arms and inviting her in.
He’d held her close all night, and
despite being home, despite seeing that her father was ill, her brother sort of
hated her, and the bullies had yet again lied about her and tried to ruin her
life—despite all of that, she slept like a baby.
She was safe.
The next morning, she opened her eyes and
found Jake staring at her.
“Hey,” she said, smiling, a little
self-conscious.
“Hey,” he said. “I was watching you sleep. You’re beautiful, you know. Like, exquisitely beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she said, unable to believe
he’d said it. Especially
in the morning, when she so clearly did not look all that great.
“I used to wake up sometimes and look at Peyton,
my fiancé,” he said thoughtfully. “And I never felt the way about her that I feel when I look at you.”
Raven was shocked to hear him say that,
on so many levels. “You loved her,
though.”
He was quiet for a long time. He rolled onto his back and stared at
the ceiling. “I thought I did at
the time. But we were young, and
things weren’t as great as they paint it in the media. Nothing’s the way the media tries to
make it out to be, but then, I guess I don’t have to explain that to you
anymore.”
Raven couldn’t comprehend what she was hearing
right then. Jake had suddenly, out
of the blue, just opened up to her about his life. And she didn’t know quite what to say.
“What happened?” she said. “I mean, what went wrong between you two? Did you argue?”
“Yeah, sometimes. But it went a lot deeper than
that.” He didn’t say anything for
so long that Raven thought he was done talking about it. But then, finally, he said, “Trust was
broken.”
“Oh.” She wanted to ask who broke the trust,
and how, but she sensed it was very delicate. He was staring at the ceiling and his
body was rigid, like he’d been carved out of stone.
She reached out to touch his shoulder and
he flinched as if she’d burned him, and then he was sitting up in bed. “I should get up,” he said,
suddenly. And then, just like that,
he was putting on his jeans and a shirt. “I’m going to go have some coffee. Sounds like your folks are already awake down there.”
“Are you all right?” she asked him, feeling
unsure now about how he was acting.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, but didn’t look
at her. And then he was leaving the
room, closing the door as he went out.
Raven just sat there, not knowing what
had happened. He’d never really
mentioned his fiancé before. Why
did he bring her up at this time?
Maybe
because he’s falling in love with you and now he knows it.
Wishful
thinking, as usual, Raven.
But nothing else could quite make sense
of how emotional he’d become just then.
Raven got out of bed and put on her
clothes too. She figured she might as well join him downstairs , she
certainly wasn’t tired anymore . Not after that bombshell.
Trust
was broken.
What did that even mean?
Just as she was about to leave the room,
Raven had a thought and stopped before opening the door. Although Raven had heard about Peyton
and how she’d passed away, Raven had never actually seen what Jake’s deceased
fiancé looked like.
Now, after hearing him talk about her,
Raven was suddenly curious.
She took her cell phone and went online
and searched for images.
You’re
seriously looking at images of his dead fiancé now? You’ve really lost the plot, Raven. Get a hold of yourself, girl.
But she couldn’t help it. She wanted to see what Peyton looked like, she wanted to get a sense of who this woman had been.
Does
it matter? She’s gone and Jake
“Yeah, I don’t think so either,” he
agreed.
***
They slept naked together the rest of the
night.
Raven had run to the bathroom and cleaned
herself off, and then she’d come back to bed and Jake had been waiting for her,
opening his arms and inviting her in.
He’d held her close all night, and
despite being home, despite seeing that her father was ill, her brother sort of
hated her, and the bullies had yet again lied about her and tried to ruin her
life—despite all of that, she slept like a baby.
She was safe.
The next morning, she opened her eyes and
found Jake staring at her.
“Hey,” she said, smiling, a little
self-conscious.
“Hey,” he said. “I was watching you sleep. You’re beautiful, you know. Like, exquisitely beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she said, unable to believe
he’d said it. Especially
in the morning, when she so clearly did not look all that great.
“I used to wake up sometimes and look at Peyton,
my fiancé,” he said thoughtfully. “And I never felt the way about her that I feel when I look at you.”
Raven was shocked to hear him say that,
on so many levels. “You loved her,
though.”
He was quiet for a long time. He rolled onto his back and stared at
the ceiling. “I thought I did at
the time. But we were young, and
things weren’t as great as they paint it in the media. Nothing’s the way the media tries to
make it out to be, but then, I guess I don’t have to explain that to you
anymore.”
Raven couldn’t comprehend what she was hearing
right then. Jake had suddenly, out
of the blue, just opened up to her about his life. And she didn’t know quite what to say.
“What happened?” she said. “I mean, what went wrong between you two? Did you argue?”
“Yeah, sometimes. But it went a lot deeper than
that.” He didn’t say anything for
so long that Raven thought he was done talking about it. But then, finally, he said, “Trust was
broken.”
“Oh.” She wanted to ask who broke the trust,
and how, but she sensed it was very delicate. He was staring at the ceiling and his
body was rigid, like he’d been carved out of stone.
She reached out to touch his shoulder and
he flinched as if she’d burned him, and then he was sitting up in bed. “I should get up,” he said,
suddenly. And then, just like that,
he was putting on his jeans and a shirt. “I’m going to go have some coffee. Sounds like your folks are already awake down there.”
“Are you all right?” she asked him, feeling
unsure now about how he was acting.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, but didn’t look
at her. And then he was leaving the
room, closing the door as he went out.
Raven just sat there, not knowing what
had happened. He’d never really
mentioned his fiancé before. Why
did he bring her up at this time?
Maybe
because he’s falling in love with you and now he knows it.
Wishful
thinking, as usual, Raven.
But nothing else could quite make sense
of how emotional he’d become just then.
Raven got out of bed and put on her
clothes too. She figured she might as well join him downstairs , she
certainly wasn’t tired anymore . Not after that bombshell.
Trust
was broken.
What did that even mean?
Just as she was about to leave the room,
Raven had a thought and stopped before opening the door. Although Raven had heard about Peyton
and how she’d passed away, Raven had never actually seen what Jake’s deceased
fiancé looked like.
Now, after hearing him talk about her,
Raven was suddenly curious.
She took her cell phone and went online
and searched for images.
You’re
seriously looking at images of his dead fiancé now? You’ve really lost the plot, Raven. Get a hold of yourself, girl.
But she couldn’t help it. She wanted to see what Peyton looked like, she wanted to get a sense of who this woman had been.
Does
it matter? She’s gone and Jake
Similar Books
