MARIE ✔️

T E N

J A S M I N E

Kaden pulls into the driveway of my house. I feel a little self conscious knowing this guy probably has hundreds of dollars in just pocket change, while we're in front of a trashy house with a basket ball hoop that doesn't even have a net.

He stops the car and turns to me.

It's a 8:15 am so the sun is just now rising. But it's Saturday, so I'm not worried about my sleep schedule. He let me sleep for a few hours, and then I woke up saying that I need to sleep in my own bed. I have trouble sleeping in places I'm not familiar with.

Annalise on the other hand had no problem dozing off. In fact, she's still in the backseat, her head perched on the window. Her thick curly hair is in a messy, low bun.

Did she drink yesterday?

She probably did, she was at a party. And for some reason, I can't seem to be as mad at her as I was last night. I was just scared and worried that she could have died.

"Thank you for helping me yesterday." I softly say. Kaden's head tilts to the side as he runs a hand over his jaw.

"You don't have to thank me, Marie." His tattooed fingers tap on the steering wheel as he talks. "But... If you really want to make it up to me... You can give me your number." He slightly chuckles.

And I laugh too. Even after last night, the fear I felt when I heard him speaking so coldly, he's also somehow the person who makes me feel the most safe.

I smile and then sigh. "Okay, fine." I hold my hand out, motioning for his phone. He digs it out of of his pocket and then hands it to me.

My hands slight shake as I type my number in the dial pad and add it to his contacts.

I hand it back to him and watch as a slight smirk appears. He looks at me and then frowns, replacing the smirk he had just seconds ago.

"You still don't like Marie, huh?" He turns his phone and shows me what I labeled my contact as.

Jasmine :)

"It's unusual for people to call me that. I guess I'll have to get used to it, huh?" I ask, hoping to give him the hint that I truly do want him around.

He smiles. A genuine smile. "Yea, I guess you will." His deep voice makes me shiver. I feel my face heat up and he laughs at that.

"I would ask you to come inside, but I'm guessing you're starting to get tired of me." I say with an exaggerated sigh.

He throws his head back and gives a small laugh. "Yea, I guess I sorta am." He says in a teasing manner. I giggle like child and cover my blushing cheeks.

"You're chill, though. You don't carry a lot of trouble with you." He shrugs his shoulders.

Yea, maybe it's because you're the one who's trouble.

"Wow. Thank you so much for that." I joke. He looks at me and laughs. "You're nice company." I softly say, scared that he might laugh at my choice of words.

But he doesn't. He stares at me. He doesn't laugh or smirk, or grin. He just stares at me as if I'm the only thing he wants to be around. It's hard to believe that, isn't it? Do you truly want to be around the same person all the time? I think I used to believe that. But the more time I spent with that person, the more fucked up I became.

The car is starting to feel suffocating. I need to go inside and be in my own space before I absolutely go crazy. "I should probably go inside." I break our earth shattering eye contact to turn away from him. I can still feel his eyes boring into me even when I'm not looking.