In His Shadow [On Hold]

18: The First Fight

Georgia's POV

I browse through Facebook while lying in bed trying to decompress from today. All I see are photos and status updates of girls doing cute things with their boyfriends. In some photos couples Eskimo kiss and in other photos they're baking or playing sports together. Couples are always showing how happy they are but it can't always be like that, can it?

A notification pops up in the corner and when I click I see the name, Jake Butler asking to be my friend on Facebook. That's the guy who I played Call of Duty with at the party. Without seeing a reason not to, I click accept.

Denver climbs onto the top bunk and gets settled in. She turns off the light and the room grows quiet.

"Denver, how come you don't date?" I ask.

"Because I don't need a man to be happy and if I meet a man who I find equivalent to me, then I will consider it. I'm not going to date a guy just to date," she states.

"Then how will you know if they are equivalent to you or not, if you don't date?"

A message pops up from Jake of a gif from Call of Duty. Why is he messaging me?

"I don't know. Maybe he will be my friend first. Or maybe I'll never date. I don't think about it really. Right now I'm focused on myself and I what beauty school I want to go to."

"What do you mean, beauty school? "

"Yeah, Dakota and I plan on going to beauty school after we graduate and open up our own salon on Main Street."

"What about mom's bakery and the farm?"

"There's plenty of kittens in this litter to help out. Plus, maybe we'll open our shop next to the bakery, so we can help out from time-to-time! Don't you know what you want to be when you grow up? I'm sure it's not living in this house forever with Tenny's farting habit."

We both laugh because it's true, Tenny farts in her sleep and it's so gross.

"I never thought about what I wanted to be when I grow up. Shit, I barely know what I want to be in high school," I admit.

"Well now is the perfect time to figure it out. Anyway, I'm exhausted. We can talk about more tomorrow if you want," she yawns.

"Yeah, sure, good night," I reply.

Does everyone in high school think about what they want to be when they grow up?

Another message pops up from Jake.

I slide under the covers, phone still in hand, trying to think of a way to reply to him. After several minutes, I decided to reply with a simple greeting, Hey.

Dakota's POV

The single street lamp reflects off the puddle on the ground from the storm that rolled through earlier and I keep my gaze on it, waiting to see his reflection appear. We purposely chose this as our place because the lack of light can keep us honest.

I chew on my lip, glancing down at my phone, the time reads, 10:30 p.m. but no notifications appear and the worry inside me sets in, he's late.

A cold breeze travels through the wind tunnel created by the two buildings I stand between and I turn toward the brick, my back taking the brunt of it.

After it passes, I shift my weight against the wet pavement, cursing under my breath because I did not climb out of my bedroom window to be stood up on a cold-rainy night.

Right before I throw my hood up, calling it a night, I feel two hands wrap around my stomach, pulling me back into their arms, bringing a wave of comfort over me.