The Strings Attached

Chapter 34 - Jace

She leads me to her room and I can't help but stare at her ass when she walks. It bounces in her loose grey sweatpants. I have to breathe deep and slow to will my growing erection away.

Loni crawls onto her bed and pulls her knees close to her chest. "Sorry, I told you to come over."

I laugh, "Why are you sorry about that?"

"It's just..." she doesn't meet my eyes. "Normally you come over and we fool around but... Can we just talk."

My eyes are wide for a second, but I blink my shocked expression away. Honestly, I would love nothing more than to talk to her. I sit down on her bed. "You can always talk to me."

A half-smile caresses her lips. "I just had a really shitty day. And I really hate to be a baby but I just need to vent, you know?"

"Loni, you can tell me anything. What's going on?"

"This guy Adam, I'm co-directing the short film with, he was such a dick to me today. He threatened to get me kicked out of the group. He just takes control of everything. I can't stand it. He even yelled at me."

"He yelled at you?" My skin gets hot. "You want me to kick his ass?" I joke, but not really. The thought of someone yelling at my girl— I mean Loni -- yelling at Loni, pisses me off. She doesn't deserve to be disrespected.

"Thanks for the offer," she giggles. "But I think I have Adam covered." She drops her smile and looks away from me again.

"What else is going on?"

She lets out a long sigh. "My parents. It's like I don't even exist to them. They don't notice me at all. They have no idea what goes on in my life. My mom, she..." She pauses, shaking her head. "I wish I had a close family. I wish they cared to call me more than once a month, if that. They care more about traveling the world than they do about their own daughter."

"I'm so sorry."

She shakes her head. "It's fine. Not your fault."

"You should be happy to know you're not the only one who had a shitty day today."

Her brows raise and her body perks up. Probably happy to have the attention off of herself.

"Coach is driving me crazy. I haven't hit a baseball in months."

"Is there anything you can do?"

I shake my head. "No. And honestly I don't want to. Part of me just wants to quit the team."

"Why?"

I shrug. "I got into baseball because my dad wanted me to. I did it to please him, to get his attention, to be away from him. Being suspended from the team now, though, I don't know, I feel free, I guess. Free of him."

"What happened between the two of you?"

I wrinkle my brows, giving her a confused look.

"It's just, when you talk about him, your voice changes, and your hands, they shake."

I look down at my trembling hands and hide them in my lap. "I can't... I'd rather not—"

She grabs my hand. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

Those green eyes make me want to crumble. Seriously, I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life.

"I did a lot of fucked up things to get his attention, and he never noticed me. Not once. I just wanted to elicit some kind of parental response out of him, but he didn't even care."

"What about your mom?"

My throat closes, instantly, and I can't breathe. Not until a hand touches my cheek.