ASHTONTwo weeks and I haven't stopped thinking about what Apollo told me. Every time I consider it, I dismiss the idea; I can't have something serious, especially not with Paige. Yet, I keep thinking about it.This has been the weekend with her, I haven't seen Owen for five days, and since I see him more often, I'm feeling better. It's good for me to see him more days a week."And... are we going out tonight?"Her sharp nails stroke the snake tattooed on my neck, managing to scratch me and hurt me, so I push her away."No.""Why?" she grumbles. "Is it because of that bitch? I've seen you two talking a lot these months."‘A lot’ must be once a week, twice at most, and only to talk about Owen. She'd be three times as angry if she knew we've met outside the campus a couple more times because apparently now we share friends, and she'd cut my balls off if she knew I think about Paige's tits when I'm fucking her.""You don't care what I do."Faye snorts and follows my gaze. Paige is talkin

PAIGE"But what happened to him?!" Jo screams in the morning.I slept terribly because I stayed all night curled up in the chair in his room, watching over him. Today he woke up sad, and I feel sorry for him. I can't stop hugging and cuddling him, not even during breakfast."He started climbing or opening drawers at Ashton's house and fell on one. It was weird," I explain.Jo shrugs and starts preparing the coffee."It's the first time he's fallen like this, it's normal," she reassures me."No, it's Ashton. It was... very strange to see him like that," I admit."What do you mean?" Jo asks."I mean...," I pause to think. "He seems like a confident guy, as if nothing scares him or as if he has everything under control. Last night was the opposite.""And?" Jo prompts.That I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I saw the most human side of Ashton, and I liked it too much because he wasn't the stone-cold type that everyone sees; he let himself be touched like those needy animals.

PAIGEExams have started, and now I'm stressed out with no free time at all. Owen's check-up is scheduled for this Friday, and I take the liberty of calling Ashton to see if he wants to join us, so he can stop blaming himself for what happened."Why are you calling me?" he asks."Hmm?" I hesitate. "Because I want to tell you something?""And if you lift your head?"I do it immediately, and I don't plan on smiling when I see him next to my car. It's not something I can control; I feel like a fool. I tuck my phone into my coat pocket and sink into my clothes, closing my notebook with a snap."What are you doing here?" I ask him.He licks his lips and runs his fingers through his wind-tousled hair. He should cut it a little, although this length suits him quite well."Don't you want to talk?" he says."Yes, but I don't think you knew I wanted to talk to you before I called you. Is everything okay?"Ashton doesn't seem like the type of guy who waits for you in your car. I don't know what

PAIGEI wake up early, and Samuel is still asleep, so I take a shower and when I'm ready, I have to wake him up to take me to the mall to work. Today I only have a couple of hours off between my morning and afternoon shifts, so I go out to eat at a nearby store; while nibbling on a slice of pizza, I send a message to Ashton:How was the doctor's appointment?Today Owen has a check-up, and I can't wait for them to remove the bandage because I can't stand seeing him like this. In less than five minutes, I receive a photo. It's Owen, still with his arm bandaged, but he's happily playing with something on the floor.One more week.I don't want him to spend Christmas uncomfortable and unable to run. It breaks my heart. We're entering December, and there are a lot of things I want to show him, like the snow. But it seems like he doesn't mind wearing the arm so stretched out anymore because when I finally see him on Monday, he's running around with his friends again, still using only one arm

PAIGETo say that I'm scared is too much, but to say that I don't care is too little. It unsettles me. It's been a week since my exams ended, so I've finished this semester, and now I don't see him anymore and I've deleted contact with him, but today he decided to stroll around the mall knowing it's almost an hour from campus, and it's obvious he's just coming to be a nuisance.Now that I only have my afternoons occupied, I've used these days to do things with Owen until I start work, and Ashton has come over to the apartment more often, not just to see him, because we ended up naked in the bathtub and maybe accidentally in Jo's room.I'm about to leave, and Ashton better have left Owen sleeping at home. Maybe he's even gone, and I think about calling him to see if he can come because the situation scares me a bit. Although maybe... "No! He's crazy!" I hesitate, but I leave accompanied by Laura. Together, we pick up dinner from a nearby restaurant and walk together to the car with som