𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.

Chapter Twenty-Three| Jamie

Hmm, maybe she did manipulate Lucas. No, what am I saying. Lucas is smart enough to know what he's doing. He got back with her for some reason; I just don't know why.

Rider and I talk a while longer before heading back to the party. I ask for some weed for later, which he gives me enough for two joints.

"Thanks for the talk I needed," I say, staring into his green orbs.

I've never realized how pink his lips were until now. Leaning in, I press my lips to his. A hint of mint lingers on his mouth as our lips move together. The kiss was short and sweet, but I shouldn't have done it.

I quickly get out of the car and go inside. It's half-past one, and no one is here except Cameron and Sophie. They're cleaning up the empty cups and bottles around the living room. I apologize for not being here and helping them out. After moving the couch back in the right place, I tell Cameron he can head home.

Sophie and I talk while we clean. She's staying over tonight, which is perfect because I need a friend right now. I didn't think having a crush would hurt this hard.

***

The next few days, I ignored Lucas's calls and texts. He came over a few times, and I told Kiera to say I wasn't home. We go back to school tomorrow, so it'll be harder to avoid him. I don't want to see him and Victoria, just the thought of it makes me angry. At first, I was upset, but now I just want to scream at Lucas for making a huge mistake.

Sophie can't hang out and distract me from my thoughts today. She's spending the day with Micah, which I don't mind because we hung out the whole week. Kiera is making lunch for both of us and wants to catch up with me. I've been here over four months, and now she wants to take an interest in me. I still can't believe my parents thought sending me to her was a fantastic idea. I barely see her around campus; when we're home, she's either at conventions or on dates. The freedom to do whatever is terrific, but I could use some parental guidance.

I skim through the old antique bookshelf in the living room and pull out an old photo album. Flipping through the pages, I see baby pictures of Kiera, grandma with me and Renee, a family photo from my first visit to Australia. Going to the next page, I gasp. It was him. The little boy I fell in love with as a kid. We both are smiling, somehow we both are missing one of our front teeth. I rush to the kitchen to ask Kiera about it. Maybe she'll remember his name.

"Kiera, who is the boy in this photo?"

"Oh, I remember this, That's Lucas. I was surprised by how close you two were. The whole time you were here, you just wanted to see him. He felt the same. I remember him coming over after you left."

The boy was Lucas. I thought he didn't live in this neighborhood until he was eight.

"Wait, he wasn't your neighbor yet. How is it him?"

"His great grandfather lived there at the time. They were visiting for the summer. When he died, they moved in."

My memories start flooding back, looking at the photograph more.

I thought it was going to snow here. I wanted to build a snowman on Christmas like I always do. Back at home, it always snows around Christmas time. Mama said it's not going to snow here because it's summertime. I sit in the grass while tears run down my face.

"Why are you crying?" I jump and glance up. It was a boy that looked my age with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. "I can't build a snowman," I say.

"Well, I have something better than building a snowman," he said, wiping my tears.

"What?"

"A water fort." He giggled.

"What's that?" I asked, confused.