New York To Los Angeles

Chapter 27- A Heated Apology

Dedicated to Michelle for being an awesome motivator and friend :D

I let out a frustrated groan as Julia and Alex try to pull me to yet another area in the mall-the toy store to be specific. What this had to do with the whole 'Experiencing the most of Los Angeles before we leave' I don't know. What I do know however, is that I'm exhausted, hungry and just downright cranky. I yank my arm out of Julia's hold, with enough force to send her stumbling and while I regret the action I kept the scowl on my face intact.

"I've had enough! I'm tired of shopping and walking around! The whole day you two have been dragging me all over the place. I'm tired, hungry and the last thing I want to do is walk around aimlessly in a bloody shopping mall. Now you can either come with me or find a way home yourselves, it's up to you" I tell them in a low voice, not wanting to attract the attention of near by shoppers. My irritation had grown as time passed by, we'd been at the mall for four hours. Four! I didn't even know one could spend so much time here, just window shopping!

Julia and Alex quickly agreed and without further delay we were seated in the car practically racing down the street far away from the shopping centre. I couldn't stand being in that place any longer! There was nothing I wanted to do more right now, than to binge on a load of junk food before falling asleep in my nice, warm bed.

During the drive my irritation slowly ebbed away and all that was left was the need to be in my own home, where I could just sit and read a good book. I take a quick glance in the rear view mirror to see what Julia and Alex were doing. The two were sitting close together, hushed whispers being exchanged between them. It was unlike the sweet, flirty comments they were usually caught whispering, instead they seemed to be discussing something important. I shrug off their strange behaviour and return my attention to the road.

"He so owes us! I mean, four hours in a freaking mall, Julia! I think I actually felt my testosterone levels dropping" Alex whispers loudly and I stifle a laugh at his dramatic behaviour.

"Hey! There are plenty of manly guys out there who love shopping, you just happen to be one of the idiots who doesn't" Julia snaps forgetting to whisper altogether. "Besides we're doing this for his and Amelia's love life, the way best friends do. So suck it up and handle it like a man and not a whiny baby"

I felt the seat-belt tightening around my chest as I was jerked out of my thoughts- literally. My foot had slammed on the brakes as the shock settled into my brain causing all three of us to jolt forward before being slammed back into our seats by the belts. I stare at the empty road ahead of me, eyes glazed over as I let their words sink in. I knew exactly who they were talking about- it wasn't exactly rocket science. My heart raced and butterflies erupted within me, my breaths ragged as I thought about the one person who could bring this type of reaction out of me at the mere mention of his name. 

Jake Carter. 

"What happened?!" Alex's panicked voice echoes in the background and I swallow harshly, hoping to push back the lump in my throat. After a couple more questions being fired by Alex and Julia I compose myself enough to send them an apologetic smile, mutter something about there "being a squirrel on the road" and continue to drive back home.

I escape the car the minute it comes to a standstill, chucking the keys to Alex before doing so. I felt as if the walls were closing in on me, as if no matter how hard I tried to breathe there was no air coming into my lungs. I could feel my eyes starting to tear up, my heart aching painfully as I raced up to my room, just managing to slam the door and land face first on my bed. It was just too much to handle. The prospect of Jake and I. He had made it clear he didn't think of me in that way and the fact that my friends were essentially trying to force us into a relationship annoyed me. As sweet as they were for trying to make me happy, the last thing I wanted was Jake to be forced into this whole thing; just to save my feelings.