Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
“Are you sure about this, Kennedy? I’m not sure your mental or physical state is ready.” I roll my eyes, wishing he would go back to not caring if I was breathing or dead.
“I don’t really care what you think. I’m leaving, and you don’t have to follow me. In fact, I would be grateful if you didn’t.” Shoving past him, an electrical current rips through me as my arm brushes against his. This would all be so much easier if I didn’t feel drawn to him. If my heartbeat didn’t spike in his presence.
“No can do, Kennedy. Let me grab my stuff, and then we can leave,” he says, and I’m thankful he isn’t fighting me on this. I don’t really have the strength to argue with him right now anyway. Going into the kitchen, I grab an apple and make a quick cup of coffee, putting it in my travel mug.
When I’m done, Jackson is waiting at the door, and this time, I don’t stop myself from looking at him. Arrogantly beautiful, menacing, and capable of death. He’ll make you believe anything and then rip the carpet right out from under your feet.
Walking ahead of him, I make sure my pace is faster than his, which is a pain in the ass since he’s taller than me. I manage, though, because I don’t want anyone to think we’re walking together. When I reach my first class, I almost sigh. The tension in my body makes my muscles ache, and I can’t wait to put some space between us.
“Whoa, wait,” Jackson calls, his hand landing on my shoulder, stopping me from continuing forward. “I’m going to be here when you get out.”
“Can’t you just go away,” I growl, shrugging off his hold. Every time he touches me, warmth envelops my body. My heart clings to him while my brain knows better, knows the damage he can cause.
I make the mistake of looking up and into his mossy green eyes. “No, I can’t just go away, and I won’t. I’m going to be up your ass, and I’m going to make sure that you’re okay because I owe it to you.”
Shaking my head, I take a step back, both wanting and needing to put some distance between us. “You don’t owe me a thing, and even if you did, I don’t trust you. I don’t want anything from you because everything comes at a cost, Jackson, and I’m done paying your prices. I’m done.” Turning, I walk away and straight through the double doors. I don’t stop until I reach my class and slump down into a seat.
Students filter in, taking their seats, and the professor takes the podium at the front of the room. I do my best to focus on what the professor is saying, jotting down notes, and trying to retain all the information I missed while I was gone. Somehow, it feels like people are staring at me, watching me more than usual, so I end up spending most of the class looking over my shoulder like a crazed person.
A few girls are whispering and looking my way, but I don’t catch anyone else watching me. Brushing it off to paranoia, I finish class, and when we’re dismissed, I walk down the hall and head to my next class even though I want to run back to my apartment.
Stepping outside, I spot Jackson leaning against a tree, his posture is relaxed, casual, and as soon as he spots me, he pushes off the tree and walks over to greet me.
He wasn’t lying, he really was waiting. Which disgusts me and makes me feel warm all at once. I hate that he didn’t listen to me, didn’t go away when I told him to.
“How was class?” he asks.
“Fine. You know you don’t need to follow me around, your friends are going to start asking questions if you do.”
Jackson shrugs. “I don’t really care what they ask or what they say. All I care about is you and what you think and feel.”
My mouth pops open, and I’m not really sure what I plan to say, but I guess it doesn’t matter because Crystal comes walking up to us, her shoulder slamming into mine, causing me to almost crash into Jackson.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” She says, chuckling beside Jackson. “Wait, I thought you…” She makes a motion of cutting her wrists and then says, “Looks like you didn’t do a good enough job if I do say so myself.”
I’m not really shocked at her words, of course, someone as selfish and heartless as her would say something like that. It’s fitting, really.
Jackson reacts before I can, grabbing her by the arm and twisting her around to face him. “What the fuck? You think it makes you look cool to say shit like that?” The anger that contorts his face is scary as hell, but a look that I’ve seen a few times myself.