"I need you to stay away from Jude."
I stare at my father across his study desk and wonder whether I heard him right.
"What?" I ask. When he called me to his study, I didn't think my boyfriend was going to be the topic of discussion. Maybe my plans now that high school is behind me and I have several months before leaving for university, but not this.
Dad clasps his hands on top of his desk and leans toward me. "I'm his doctor, and I'm your father. I have both of your best interests at heart. He's like a son to me. And right now what's best for him is that he stays away from you."
I press a finger to my temple. "We are not doing anything wrong, if that's what you're worried about," I say, my gaze fleeting to the ceiling. "And I don't want to stay away from him, he's my boyfriend!"
He nods. "I know."
I look back at him. "I love him, I can't just stay away from him."
"Jude's not well--"
"He's fine! His wound healed
Thank you for reading Knowing Jude! There will be a sequel to Jo and Jude's story. Title: Loving Jude. But, I'll start working on it when I'm done with the book I'm currently writing. I also plan to write Nicki and Cole's story in the future. I'll be very grateful if you could wait for them patiently. Thank you. 🙂
"My name is Ava Hansen and I...""Yes...""Seventeen.""No, but...""Please, if..."The line goes dead on the other side and I slam my phone on the table."Where the fuck do they expect me to get experience if nobody will give me my first chance?" I complain out loud, fighting the urge to hurl something across the empty space and down the library balcony. Which would have to be my English textbook, my essay notebook or my copy of Hamlet, so no thanks, I would rather keep my anger in check.My shitty old phone is obviously out of the question. Shitty, old or not, it's the only one I've got."Beats me too," a voice comes from behind me, and I swivel in my seat.A tall blonde guy is standing behind my chair, carrying a backpack, holding its strap in one hand and a lollipop in
Later on at night, I'm in my room, done with my homework and texting my bestie, Jennifer."Jo?" I hear mum's voice shout from the kitchen. "Aren't you supposed to do the dishes tonight?"I put my phone away, cursing. "What? No, it's Maria's turn tonight," I scream right back.We are not lunatics, communicating across our expansive house just requires a little bit more effort."You didn't do them yesterday," Maria's voice joins the clatter.I leave my room, already guessing how this will end. I go down the hall and through the living room to the kitchen."Sam did it for me last night," I say when I get there."You didn't do it, that's what matters," Maria says, turning to face me with a self satisfied smirk. She tosses her long dyed hair back, as if challenging me to say something.
In the morning, I'm at my locker stealing glances at Jennifer's to see when she arrives when a lollipop in red wrapping is thrust into my face.I turn and there is Jude, leaning against the locker next to mine. Grinning. I blink. Once, twice, then take a step back.He waves the lolly in my face. "Here's my peace offering, for being a jerk yesterday.""You are not always a jerk?" I ask, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.His lips, that have already been reddened by candy this early in the day, pull up in a smirk. "And you are not always rude, are you?"I reach for the sweet, but he holds onto it. He arches a brow. "Off to a better restart?""Okay," I agree. I snatch it out of his hands and shove it into my jacket pocket.He doesn't leave. He reaches into his jeans pocket and retrieves another lollipop. He's wearing
That evening, I find myself in detention, a place I've never been before. Simon trudges in behind me, clearly not as put off as I am. Which doesn't surprise me, because he isn't new to this.That morning, after getting into English class, I settled in my seat peacefully, retrieving a novel that I was in the middle of so I could get a little reading before Mrs Rutherford started the lesson. Simon took the seat behind me, while Jen settled in the one beside me. Minutes later, Mrs Rutherford started the class. As soon as she instructed us to open a certain page on our textbooks, though, I noticed that she was in a foul mood. Given the snicker that came from behind me, so did Simon.Ford, as most of the students called her, was, mostly, an okay teacher. But, she dealt ruthlessly with students who crossed her. That fine morning, she gave us an exercise to do, then sat back at her desk, her sharp eye
"Mum? I'll have a friend over to study, maybe starting next week," I say in the evening during dinner. Which I immediately realise is a mistake, since everyone is now paying attention to me."What friend?" Maria asks, nose turned up."None of your business," I mutter and keep my eyes on mum. I should have asked her when nobody was around. "He was assigned to me by Ms. Fernandez, to tutor.""He?" Lilly sputters, covering her mouth that's full of food. She appeared at home earlier on in the evening, saying there's something she needed to talk to mum and dad about. She goes to a university some four hours away, in her second year.Maria tosses her blonde hair back and leans forward. Nobody in our family has blonde hair, - Dad has dark hair, and there's nothing like blonde hair in Mum's entire race. She dyed it on her fifteenth birthday, shortly after she got her first boyfriend. A fact
Simon leans towards me during lunch, awkwardly scratching his eyebrow. "Lilly's home?" he asks, keeping his voice low. I hold back a smile. I know he doesn't want anyone else at the table to hear him, because they would make fun of him. He has had the biggest crush ever on my elder sister for years. "Who told you that?" I ask, humoring him. "Trey told me she said hi," he replies, now touching his frames. "He lied." He actually looks crestfallen for a second, and I feel awful. I pinch his cheek lightly to show I'm joking. "Just kidding, buddy, yeah she said hi," I say, though I'm pretty certain Trey was lying to him. "Yeah, she came home yesterday. Want to see her?" He flushes and I chuckle. I lean in further towards him and sigh. "Come on
"Ugh, no, I don't like going to the mall," I object automatically. He arches his brow. "Why?" "It's full of people." "And?" I groan and smack my forehead. "Nothing. Never mind." "Okay, let's go," he says, sticking the lollipop between his lips and turning to leave. I hesitate for a second more, then sigh in defeat. I survived detention. I can certainly survive the mall. Here goes. Minutes later, we are seated in his posh car, having rushed through the rain. I touch my hair, hoping it doesn't get frizzy. I fasten my seatbelt and lean back into the passenger seat. The seats are fine leather, and in here it smells nice. "Loaded, are we?" I tease, running my hand along the smooth leather. I don't know much about cars, and I won't pretend to, but I know this is
The first thing I notice when I get to the hallway where my locker is situated early Friday morning is Jude, laughing at something Cole is saying and banging his hand on his locker.I narrow my eyes, my hand folded around my hankie, two other stuffed in my jeans pockets.I'm about to ruin somebody's jovial morning mood.I march over to the two. I've just gotten there when my nose tickles on the insides, and I feel it coming.I raise my handkerchief to my nostrils."Aaacho!"I sigh in relief as I wipe my nose. The two boys are no longer making noise, instead staring at me. I put my hand down and glare at Jude."Oh shit," he mumbles.Nice word choice."Nothing will happen, I promise," I taunt, imitating his voice from yesterday after he had handed me the swe