Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
My phone buzzes again, but I ignore it and snag my headphones off my bed, sliding them over my ears. I tap on a random Spotify playlist, hit play, and crank the volume up as high as I can tolerate.
Frankly, I’m not in the mood for music, but I really don’t want to hear anything right now. Not Julia’s door opening or her voice in the hallway or the sound of her coming home from the party…with Eyebrows.
But when the silence around me still feels like too much, I turn up the volume a little more while an aggressive beat blares in my ears.
I can’t handle silence right now.
The silence lets me think. And all I can think about is how her big blue eyes looked when she stared up at me. How good she felt in my arms. How badly I wanted to kiss her and how close I was to kissing her.
How I told her I was in love with her a week ago and she looked at me like I set fire to everything we ever were.
Like I set fire to everything? Hahahaha. I mean, I did light my apartment on fire for her.
Julia’s rejection feels like more than a fucking rejection—she erased us.
I plop down on my sofa, close my eyes, and lean my head against the back of the couch. The music’s pounding so hard in my ears a headache threatens at my temples, but it doesn’t touch the hollow in my chest.
God, I miss her.
I miss her so much.
But the more my mind races, the more thoughts I have about Julia and us and everything that’s happened, the more I start to feel really fucking angry.
My chest grows tight, and each breath I release feels more and more restricted. I told Julia I love her, and she basically told me she didn’t believe me. She told me that the only reason I was saying that was because she was with Drew.
And that is so fucking far from the truth, it’s not even funny.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, and my thumbs fly across the screen.
Such such bullshit Lias. The whole fuckin thing is shits. We best friends for our whole lives…! I told you I love you and now you wants me gone. You wants me to poofs be a ghost.? Fuck, Julia Julia Julia. This is so fucked
I stare at it.
Then I delete the whole damn thing.
Give it another try, man. You can do it. You’re Acer.
i wants to hold you and hugs you and kiss you all the times. I miss you. I miss us.
Okay, you’re maybe too drunk for this…
Delete.
I drop my phone on the couch beside me and let my head fall back again.
Everything is so fucked, and I might be a little boozed right now, but even my inebriated brain is convinced I can’t change any of it.
I can’t fix it because Julia doesn’t want me. Not even as her best friend.
Julia
Drew’s hand is warm in mine as we walk down the hall, the leftover glow of the black-light paint still clinging faintly to our clothes and skin. My stomach is tangled in knots, but it’s not from the beer I drank or the noise of the party. It’s from what almost happened in the keg room.
From Ace.
My mind won’t stop replaying that moment in my head. Won’t stop thinking about how close I was to kissing him…again. Won’t stop reminding me that I have a boyfriend and that I’m a slimeball for even considering doing something like that.
I’ve never thought of myself as a cheater. I’ve always thought I was a loyal kind of girl. But evidently, I do stupid things when it comes to Ace Kelly.
“You okay?” Drew asks as we step off the elevator and onto my floor. I know I’ve barely said anything since we left the party.
“Yeah.” I nod too quickly. “Just tired.”
He watches me for a beat but then eventually gives a small smile. “Tonight was fun. Though, I feel like I didn’t see you much.”
“It was chaotic.” I force a smile. “I mean, that goat ate my fake money and then decided that I was enemy number one and proceeded to chase me halfway across campus.”
Truthfully, I wasn’t even planning on going to the Double C event tonight, but between Scottie telling me I needed to be there and Drew wanting to be there, I couldn’t say no.
“The goat ate your money?” Drew asks, an amused chuckle leaving his throat.
“He was a pushy little bastard.”
“Damn, Julia. You should’ve texted me. I would’ve come and saved you.” Drew chuckles again and pulls me into a hug when we stop in front of my door. “So, I was thinking,” he says, and his arms are still wrapped around my waist as he looks down at me. “I could come in for a bit? Just hang. Nothing major.”