The Heart Wants What It Wants

♡ THIRTY EIGHT ♡

❝ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇsᴛ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀʟʏ ᴀᴅᴠɪᴄᴇ ɪs ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs
ᴛᴏ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ, ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ ʜᴜʀᴛs ❞

~~~

🇭 🇺 🇳 🇹 🇪 🇷 :

I flip the journal open, paging through it, and stopping at another random page. My eyes move over the words.

[ 𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐾𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑟'𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 ]

He has a brother. And a sister.

That could be used to our advantage. All I have to do now is search through our files again. Maybe I missed something. Overlooked it, perhaps, when I'd rushed through.

♡♡♡

My entire body freezes at the sound of footsteps moving toward me. I flip the journal closed and lay the front flat. My eyes lift to meet a blank stare.

“Taylors.” He says flatly.

My hand drops to the journal unconsciously. And Theo's words from earlier, along with the journal extract I'd read, plays in my head on repeat.

Remember what mom said about second chances? How about giving Kaz a second chance.

Somewhere deep down inside of me, I know there's a part of me that still trusts him. It might not be as strong as Gaby's trust toward him, but it's there. Just buried. Beneath all that hatred I'd gained for him over the past five years.

“What's up with you lately?” I ask with a hint of concern. Maybe if I fake it, it'll eventually become real.

His blank expression falters for a second, confusion flashing across his honey brown eyes. And within another second, he places the blank mask back on.

“Nothing.”

“It doesn't look like nothing.”

“What's the sudden interest in how I'm doing, golden boy?” Annoyance swirls around his words as they fall from his mouth.

I'm not quite sure, but we're here, I guess.

I reply with a shrug, and his eyebrow arches slightly. Curiosity overtaking his blank expression.

“Is Ella in her room?” He asks, changing the subject. I realise then that I'd found myself outside Gaby's room window without even realising where I'd walked.

“No. She's with Theo.” He nods once, then turns to leave. When he takes one step away, he pauses and turns halfway to me, facing the trees that surround Taylors Manor. His expression gives nothing away to how he is truly feeling.

“What are you doing with my journal?” He asks in a tone so cold, I almost get frostbite. I don't answer, my mouth sewn shut. I push the book behind my back in an attempt to hide it from him.

“How did you acquire it?” I flinch slightly at the harshness in his voice. When he speaks in that tone, he sounds so similar to my father. It's frightening.

“Answer me, Taylors. Where did you get it?” He fully turns to me, a chaotic fire blazing in his eyes.

I hold my ground and mirror his rage. “It's none of your fucking business.”

“It is my business when it belongs to me.” He takes a seat at the edge of the roof, his back facing me. “What did you read?”

“Nothing.” I say too quickly, and curse myself for it.

“Can we forget our dislike for each other for just a second. Tell me what you read.” I pause for a second, weighing my options. Maybe there's no alterior motive here, and he just wants to know what I read…

“Mostly just things about Gaby.” He nods slowly.

“She's all I ever think about.” I clench my jaw at the rush of anger his words bring. I brush it off. For now.

“And you have siblings. A brother, and a sister.” He visibly tenses. A sore subject, huh? Definitely leverage.

“Did you get their names?” My brows draw tight.

“Names?” I repeat. My hand itches to flip through the book to look for their names.

“I only wrote my sister’s name.” He says in a whisper, standing abruptly. “But once you get hers, you'll get his.”

I stand as well, slipping the journal into my back pocket. I step toward him. “What do you mean? Did you write his name as well or not?” He turns to me then, an emotion in his eyes I can't quite decipher.

“You'll figure it out. You're smart like that, Hunter.” I step back as if he'd slapped me in the face. Did he… compliment me? Or is this just his way to get under my skin again. Bring my guard down and slither his way into my life again. Tearing not only me down, but the rest of them as well.

“What did you want with Gaby?” I ask, ignoring the unease settling in my bones.

“I just…” He looks away from me, as if in thought. “I wanted to talk to her, that's all.” When he looks at me again, the friendliness from earlier is gone, and his eyes shine with seriousness.

“Do me a favour. Dn't mess that up.” My eyebrows pull together with confusion.

“Mess what up?” He sighs, and turns his full attention to me.

“If you're going to be with her, treat her the way she deserves. Don't fuck it up like I did.” Without another word, he drops from the roof, and the sound of a motorcycle revving echoes in the night air.