[|]Jackie's POVThe moment Lucas had shifted, I was confused because I had been expecting him to fall at the impact of the bullet but I saw someone else; Axel.When I had seen Lucas at first, I felt my heart stop beating, I had felt like I lost it all. I thought I had lost him, I thought I had lost the man I loved but when I saw Axel, I didn't feel any different. Axel was my best friend, a brother I never had. I never had a sibling but it felt like I was losing one when I saw Axel taking the bullet for us. I didn't know if I could have screamed or passed out at the sight of Axel. I had not expected Axel to take the bullet. When I saw Lucas broken at the sight of his brother, I prayed that Axel was alright.The moment I saw Maddy run off, I knew I had to go after her before she escaped. I didn't even think twice and ran after her, picking up the gun she had dropped in the process.When I saw that Maddy had run out through a door in a corner. I pushed the door and looked on each side
[|] The loudness of the gun was ringing in my ears and I could barely hear my heartbeat. I was frozen on top of Maddy as I felt fear move through me. I gulped and wondered why I couldn't feel anything, I was numb. I rolled away from Maddy and looked down at my stomach. There was blood on my shirt but I couldn't feel any wound. It was when I looked at Maddy, that I realized the blood belonged to her and not me. She had a bullet hole in her chest while the gun was slack in her hands. Her eyes were wide as her chest moved up and down quickly. I rose to my feet, holding my stomach out of fear and protecting the baby in me. "Jackie?!" I looked up at the sound of a new voice. I saw Lucas staring at me with fear in his eyes. He ran up to me and cupped my cheeks"Jackie, you're shot," he said. I snapped out of my shocked state and shook my head. "No... Not me," I replied and looked down at Maddy who was laying on the ground, still breathing. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows and slowly fol
[|]"Hey."I flinched at the sound of Lucas' voice. I turned away from the floor-length window in the hallway of the hospital and faced him. He was looking stressed out with bags under his eyes, scattered hair, and pale skin. I wouldn't be surprised if I was matching his look."How are you?" I asked, walking up to him. I opened my arms for a hug and he came into it and I wrapped my arms around him. He lowered his height and rested his head on my shoulder."I'm so tired and I'm sure you are too," he said and hugged me back."I'm better now that I know Axel is fine," I said and pulled away from him.Axel had gone into surgery the moment we arrived at the hospital and it's been hours since we arrived. Barry had not left the door of the operating room. I could see how much they loved Axel. "You need to sleep. You are stressed from everything," Lucas said and cupped my face."I'm kinda hungry though," I said with a smile. "I need a nap but I won't do all these until I'm sure that Axel is
[|] The next day, we were back to the hotel we had been in before Maddy captured me. When I woke up, I felt an odd feeling at the thought of Maddy being dead. Even though she ended up betraying me, she had been part of my life and it made me a little sad that she had to end the way she did. I pushed away the feeling and sat up on the bed. I looked at the other side of the bed and smiled at a sleeping Lucas. He was facing the other way, bare-chested. I leaned forward and ran my hand over his smooth chest. He moved his body a little but didn't wake up. I rested my chin on my palm and stared at him. His jawline was covered with very light beards and I pictured him with a full beard. He would look handsome with it and more mature as I imagined him with a trimmed beard. It made me smile as I focused on his hair which was a bit longer. I began to imagine our life together with a child running around the house. I smiled wider at the imagination. "All I want is happiness from here on ou
[|]A loud bang on my room door forced me awake. I grabbed my pillow and brought it to my chest, silently hoping that he would go away. I shut my eyes when the banging continued then after two minutes, it stopped. I sighed and got out of bed, feeling too afraid to go back to sleep. I went to where my phone was charging and picked it up. I unlocked the device and stared at the cracked screen before shifting my attention to the time— 3:07 am."What am I going to do now? Mom isn't even back yet," I said and sat down on the floor, eyes fixed on the door.And like always, I stayed awake throughout the night and later got up to prepare for school, with tired eyes and body. I dragged my feet to my wardrobe and picked out a black knee-length dress and a thick button-up sweater. I took my hygiene bag and robe and then hesitantly walked to the door with my heart beating so fast.All I needed to do was run straight to the bathroom, brush my teeth, take a quick shower, rush back to my room then l
[|]I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I was invisible at this point because I could not face whoever that was. I opened my eyes when I heard footsteps behind me so I turned around and looked for a place I could hide— There was none. The only thing on each side of the walls were red lockers. I don't think there was space for me to hide in any of the lockers and even if there was, whoever it was would find me by following the sounds I made.So, I stood with my back pressed against the door. My dress was wet from my fall, my hair was out of the unevened ponytail it was in and my body was full of nervous sweat. I counted to six until whoever revealed themselves.A covered my mouth with my hands when I saw a half naked basketball player, wiping his head. His bare and strong back was facing me and his white towel was hanging low around his waist. His muscular arms bunched as he wiped his head with the white towel that covered his face. I silently hoped he did not turn or spot me but I knew h
[|]I ticked the last answer on the test sheet and rose from my seat, happy at my answers, knowing I would ace the test. I smiled at Mr. Rowland who nodded at me before taking my test sheet. He skimmed through then motioned for me to leave which I did, head high as other students stared at me.There was this satisfaction and pride I felt at finishing tests or exams first and leaving that class. It was like me telling them they were too slow or didn't study hard enough, especially when it's something pretty easy to do.I left the class and walked through the quiet hallways until I reached my locker in another wing. As I opened my locker, I tapped the pocket on my dress, only to freeze when I didn't feel my phone. I touched the other pocket and still didn't find anything. I looked through my locker and even my backpack but saw nothing."Oh, God!" I panicked. Where had I dropped or left my phone when I remember putting it in my pocket this morning? I closed my locker and stared at the fl
[|]I held the smooth body of the phone tighter at the voice on the other end. My mouth went dry at the fact that Lucas Hamilton had answered my call directly made to my phone. I shook my head in disbelief then hissed."What are you doing with my phone?" I asked, angry that he had it all this while but didn't bother to find me and give it to me. He was such an annoying prick."How are you?" He asked.I hissed at the cockiness in his tone and rolled my eyes. I was not in the mood for his games. All I needed was my phone."Can I have my phone, please?"Lucas chuckled. "You call this thing a phone?"I felt embarrassed at his words. My phone was not like the perfect and trending devices students at our school used. I was stuck with a cracked screen phone that had a weak battery and faded parts. I hated that someone like him was with it."How did you get my phone?" I asked."If I tell you, will you let me talk to you once again? Maybe, we could spend some time together. Who knows?"I could