Sprinkle of Life

Chapter 9

There's an external link on the side as always, my readers. 

The picture on the side is how Sage and Joey are cuddling in the later part of the story except they're clothed :)

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My mom ended up having to stay overnight at the hospital. I was going to walk home, but Bridgit refused to let me do that. I was in the backseat with Joey right now, my sandals in the floorboard and my legs crossed up in the seat. I could sense Joey’s eyes on me as we rode, and I knew he wanted to talk.

“Hey mom, I’m going to stay with Sage tonight, okay?” Joey asked, taking my hand into his and rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

“If that’s what Sage wants, I don’t mind,” Brigit said, smiling at me in the mirror. “Don’t forget that you have to take Mel to treatment at two tomorrow, though. I’ve got to meet with that manager at that place I'm applying at.”

“I won’t,” he said, bringing his hand up to my hand and kissing the top of it. “I don’t want you to have to be alone tonight, Sage.”

“Thanks,” I said, completely drained of emotions. “I don’t want to be alone either.”

Brigit stopped in front of my house and parked in the driveway. I said goodbye to Brigit and Melody before getting out of the car with Joey close behind me. I didn’t know how to act around him right now, I mean, we’d just made up after a huge fight.

“I don’t want us to be like this,” he sighed after an awkward silence enveloped us. “I want us to be like we were before I was a total douche nozzle.”

That made me giggle from my spot on the couch and toss a throw pillow at him. “You’re so cute it’s impossible to stay mad at you.”

He seemed happy with himself when I said that and kicked off his sneakers. He moved closer to me on the couch, but he didn’t touch me. I wanted to make him blush again, I wanted him to be the cute and awkward guy that I met at Roger’s.

“So how are things with you and Hailey?” I asked, turning to face him. “I saw the picture she posted of the two of you on her Instagram.”

He didn’t blush, he just shrugged his shoulders. “It’s nothing, we were just together and she wanted to take a picture. I don’t think it’s going to happen anymore though.”

“Why not? Do you not like her?” I asked, chewing on my lip.

“I don’t want to talk about it, if it’s okay,” he answered, turning to look at me. “Is there something we can do instead of that?”

I jumped up from the couch and ran upstairs to my room. I dug around in my drawers until I found a bikini and pulled it on before grabbing some ball shorts. I ran back downstairs and tossed them at Joey. He looked at me with an arched brow. Then his eyes took me in and I saw his cheeks turning pink.

I started jumping up and down and cried, “You blushed! I made you blush again!”

“Shut up,” he hissed, looking down at his lap instead of at me.

“I’m going out to my pool, that’s why I’m in a bikini. You can change and come with me or you can stay in here,” I said, turning on my heel and going out to the back deck.

My dad and I had installed this pool whenever I was seven and he was still here. It was in-ground and cost more than three months of our house payment. Mom hit the roof whenever she saw the bill, but she came around eventually after she started to enjoy the pool, but I couldn’t tell you the last time it was used.