No Strings Attached

Chapter 10

Jaime’s POV:

“Danielle?” I looked at the curvy blonde who stood at my doorway. She was stunningly beautiful and loud and bad. She strutted in and dragged a suitcase behind her. I gulped, she was staying.

“Hey nice flat.” He eyes lingered all around. She had a certain gleam to her graying eyes. “Thanks I uh got my mum to pick it all out for me.”

“Oh yes um Aunt Margie is the reason I’m here.” She strolled around my flat aimlessly ogling everything, which wasn’t much. I felt my blood run cold as her fingers linger around my desk and piles of books. Her eyes were locked on mine. It was as if her eyes were searching for any remnants of the past. If I should be trusted, but it wasn’t my fault, I swear. My eyes burned like hell, “Are you stopping by?”

She shook her head, “No I was hoping I could stay,” she noticed my face screaming no, “Look hear me out. I really need you. My mum kicked me out and I-I”

My crazy cousin collapsed into my arms, she came undone like a fragile piece of paper that has soaked in an outpour. I patted her head as she cried-howled even- inside my abs. She shook and sobbed and her make-up smeared all over me, but I let her cry.

Dan looked so odd and bold against the pale lavender of my walls and powder white furniture. She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t be crying into me with a suitcase behind her. Her make-up should be perfectly done and patted. She should be far away from here. From me. I chew nervously at my thumbnail; it wasn’t long before I tasted the bitterness of my blood. I kept my hand on the top of her head.

“It’s okay. You can stay.”

She instantly perked up and jumped at her feet, “Thank you!” her smile was a mile long and it shined brighter than any star I ever saw.

“Ok.” I was dazed as if I just finished a blunt and I was tripping out to the max, I felt like I was going to fly off the face of the planet. Dan clutched her suitcase and frolicked to my bed, “I’ll split the rent with you, I swear.”

She knelt down and shoved her suitcase under but scratched her head in confusion when it didn’t go in all the way. She then proceeded to paw at the space under my bed before coming back with the lumpy opaque bag full of swans.

“What’s this?” Her outstretched arms lingered towards to the trash can and in a second I jump and swipe it from her hands; I clutched the bag to my chest and heaved harshly. “Gee you’d think there were crystals or diamonds in that bag.” Dan snorted. I wanted to punch her. I wanted to grab her suitcase and throw it out.

“They aren’t crystals but to me,” my heart cried and I sighed to let the anguish go, “They might as well be.”

She starred wide eyed before jumping to any topic. She wanted to know everything about everything. She wanted to know what I ate for breakfast. When I take showers? What’s my favorite book and what I plan to study? It wasn’t long before we fell asleep talking.

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I jogged up the grassy knoll and made a sharp turn into the English department and climbing up a flight of stairs before hurdling into Pisano’s class. I shuffled to my seat and rummaged wildly for a pen, paper, and my book. Once I found my materials I stared on ahead.

Pisano stalked around the room with his hands behind his back. “As you see Looking for Alaska is a coming of age story, it’s so beautifully written and so painstakingly descriptive. It’s an all-time classic,” he paused and checked to see if he had our attention and it was obvious by the urgency of his voice he did, “You see Pudge is hopelessly in love and yet the cold hard reality is Alaska has a boyfriend, it’s very uncommon for the protagonist to have unrequited feelings. Okay so before I loose what little attention I have,” the class chuckled light heartedly, “I need your next essay to be about a first that went wrong.”

The class erupted in murmurs and some people had already gone to stroll down memory lane. Pisano raised up his hand,” Okay I know it sounds like first time having sex or falling in love and yes its usually around those margins, but it could be about anything honestly.”

He let us go so we could go on and start our essay. I cringed. I walked on idly by. Down the flight of stairs, out the English department, and down the grassy knoll. The street and city was bustling and full of life. I thought and pondered on what to write my essay about and my thoughts always led me back to Louis.

Somehow I wandered out until I reached a small park. Really it was nothing grand, but God was it beautiful. It had a small pond in the middle of it, the ducklings dutifully following their mother. It was windy as the blossoming flowers of nearby trees scattered all around the cold bench I sat on. I pulled my legs up to my chest and went back into a darker time. . .

I ran. My throat burned and my legs begged to stop they begged for a minimal break. I pumped myself into the nearby rose bush, I felt the thorns pierce my skin and my shirt tangled into the thinning branches which at the time resembled a witch’s fingers. My heart pounded inside my chest and I trembled. I heard their footsteps and their angry growls as they craned their necks this way and that in search of me, the culprit.

“Quick I think she ran this way! She’s fucked up, she couldn’t have gone that far!” the tall brunette rasped as he got the group to clamor around in the general direction that was opposite of the thorn bush. The bush that hid me so well. I bit my cheeks so hard I soon punctured it letting a small trickle of blood run down my mouth. I felt woozy, hot, and sticky. Soon my eyelids felt oh so heavy and I struggled to keep them open. I shut my eyes and shut my whole body down and leaned down next to someone.

How long had it been? A year? Two perhaps? I’m not sure. I realize that this park is the same exact park that Louis confessed to me as his secret get-away. You had to climb up the dirt hill and go under the prickly under bush. This is where he curled into me-like a child- and cried his little eyes out when his mum and dad got a divorce. Once I went under the bush I found our very well stamped butt marks on the dirt. I sat down where I sat almost years ago and slept for God knows how long.

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