I pluck a strand of hair from Ben’s bushy brows. He winces. “Stay still,” I command. He stares up at me with a frown and I placate him with a kiss. The naughty boy puckers his lips for another kiss. “Almost done.”
His hand hanging over the couch reaches for the remote to unmute the TV and a play comes on. None of us pays attention to the show. He props his legs on the arm of the couch and I smile at how comfortable we both are. This isn’t such a bad arrangement. I kick the empty can of soda at my feet and his eyes flit to mine.
The parlour is a mini mess from our movie marathon. We are on a break and I am taking the opportunity to tackle his overgrown brows and hopefully get some information about Let. Noah runs in Ben’s clique.
“Does Noah have a brother?” I try to keep my voice flat and uninterested but Ben’s eyes remain on me. When he doesn’t stop staring, I let out a nervous laugh. “He&rs
Ben groans. He does that a lot when I ask a question about his family. My fingers run over his jaw, he nibbles on my fingertips and a shudder skitters down my spine. A moment or two later, he sighs again. “I need to be home with them.” With an eye roll, he says, “I don’t want to but I have to.” Ben is eighteen years and old enough to make decisions for himself but I guess his age doesn’t matter in the agreement with his mother. His head falls back on the couch. I trail a line on his chest. “Christmas is compulsory.” My hands slide under his shirt, I trace the space between his abs. “At least you get to see Asher.” “Yeah.” He looks down at me with a half-smile. “I guess so.” His voice lacks excitement, he tightens his hold on me and my cheek presses to his chest. I look out the window across us and pry Ben’s hands from my waist. The sky is fast turning grey. A gentle breeze rustles the curtain and Ben sits up. The clock on the wall above th
My bath lasts all of ten minutes. I hop to my room while humming a tone I am not sure where I heard it. Hayden is on my bed, snacking on the batch of cookies I made earlier this week. I was hoping to see Ben so I could give some to him and his brother. I have missed Asher’s sweet comments about my baking.Hayden scoops more ice-cream into his big mouth, I walk over to him and smack the back of his head.“Yo,” he says, turning his head to me with a deep scowl. His eyes rake over my wet body and he plugs his nose. Stupid. He’s the worse sometimes. I squeeze the water out of my hair and splash it on his face. “Was that necessary?” Batting my scanty lashes, I nod. “That’s not cute, Tessa.” Ben will gladly disagree.I flash my teeth, well aware he will beat the hell out of me if we were ever to engage in a real fight. He and Coach Greyson are the reason I can fight. “That’s my ice-cre
Ben and I are still holding hands as we walk down the stairs. A thin sheet of snow covers the pavement and the street. The height of the snow is nothing to worry about. As kids, we loved to play in the snow. My favourite part was smashing Hayden’s face into the snowman. I always cried when he did the same.We stroll to a car parked in front of our garage, Ben brings out a fob. A beep sounds, the front and back lights blink. Ben drags me to the passenger side and opens the door. I place a hand on the car’s hood.“What’s going on?” I ask, a note of doubt creeping into my voice. “Where’s your bike?”We are the only two out in the snow which is slowly nipping at my skin. Ben scratches the back of his head. “At home?” He pushes me gently into the car but I refuse to budge. “Gracie, go in. I’ll explain.”With that disapproving frown etched on my lips, I slide i
“Who was your first crush?” I ask Ben. We are nearly done with our meal. Well, I am. Ben has done nothing but watch me. The place is a bit more quiet. I nibble on my lips as his eyes grow intense. He smoothens the front of his tux with a wink. “Answer me,” I say with a smile. Why do I feel like it’s someone I know? Possibly Olivia. “You first,” he mutters. He starts on his meal before I get another word out, I shake my head. The lights in the restaurant grow dim, waiters move about the place silently and soft music plays in the background. I sneak a peek at my phone which lights up. We have been here for over an hour. I place the phone face down to avoid any distractions. It is a few hours until Christmas and our anniversary. Does he remember? Poking my cheeks with my fingers, I stick my tongue out. “My first crush was Brian.” Ben sets his fork down, then the knife. His brows furrow, he leans
I am wearing my boots. The combat boots my boyfriend gifted me on our anniversary. I catwalk to the front of my mirror and twirl. Hayden groans behind me. I spin in another circle to annoy him and he sends a pillow flying at me. I duck and the pillow hits the mirror. Picking it from the floor, I launch it at his head.“I swear to God if you smile at that shoe one more time I’ll stab myself in the eye with a fork.”My face contorts at the imagery his words provoke, he shoves a fistful of popcorn into his mouth. If he’s so pained, he shouldn’t be sprawled on the bed in my room, eating my snacks. Turning to the mirror with a bigger smile, I lower myself to my seat and inspect the boots on my legs. I can’t get over them.They are so soft and bloody expensive. The heels are perfect, a few inches to boost my height. I tried not to check the price but that didn’t end well. It cost a fortune. The best part is t
Daddy fucked up our reservation. Maybe he forgot or the restaurant made a mistake as he said. I am not sure which but the longer we wait in the car, the angrier Mum grows. She’s angrily typing on her phone, probably to one of those her rich friends who come to the house to drink our wine while they gossip.Hayden is busy with his tab. I peek over his shoulder to see the game he’s playing and a soft sigh leaves my lips. So many guns and shooting. My phone has been silent since we left the house. Ben must have gone for the dinner. He hasn’t texted me. I don’t want to ruin his not-so-family time but I miss him.We look up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Daddy. His boots create prints on the thin layer of snow covering the path. He jams his hands into the pockets of his jacket and expels a breath of white air.His facial expression spells bad news and his steps falter before he reaches us. I glance at Mum. Her arms are crossed on
BEN “No. Leave that,” I tell Asher, shaking my head at the boots he tries to sneak into the bag. Josef, Mum’s husband, got him nice leather boots for Christmas. He also bought me a pair. Thanks but no thanks, I did not accept it. He thinks he can bribe his way into my life with gifts, forced smiles and compliments, the way he did with Mum and Asher. It can’t be me, it will never be me. He already took Mum away from us and Asher likes him a little too much. I hope he doesn’t take Asher away from me. Asher dives into the bed face first, his legs dangle from the edge as he pushes himself up on his elbows. He watches me arrange our clothes into the duffel bag on the bed. The small pile soon disappears into the bag and Asher sits up. His back rests against the headboard, we share one glance and he looks away. He does it twice and I sigh. He wants something. Shoving the last item of clothing into the bag, I drop it at my feet and inch closer t
BENThe pain in Mum’s voice splits my heart into a million pieces. I ball my hands into fists. “For what?”She is the reason I have trouble sleeping alone. If Asher is not home, it’s harder to fall asleep. I might give him a speech about being strong anytime he sneaks into my bed after a nightmare but those are the best parts of my nights. Sleep comes easily when he is there. She won’t hurt me if I am not alone.Tears cloud my vision as the dark memories try to overpower me. She’s not here. She can’t hurt me. My fingernails dig into my palms until they draw blood. I focus on the pain. I think about the fights. About my Gracie. Her sheepish grins and our silly notes. Our kisses. And the anger slowly eases from my body.I raise my head to see Mum watching me and the pent up emotions come rushing down on me again. I needed her then. I still do. But I don’t know how to move past this mental blo