Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Maybe some people might call it spying, but is it really spying if he lives next door and all you have to do is part your curtains and glance across the lawn? I mean, what would you have done? Just lain in bed and not checked out the super-hot guy living next door if given a chance?
So that’s what I did.
I kept telling myself I’d go and talk to him, but I had no idea what to say. Jameson was three years older than me and he was loved by all the popular girls at school. The last girl he was supposedly linked to was Addie Hyde, one of the best cheerleaders who all the boys had a thing for.
And who was I? A nobody from a poor family who all the boys just looked past in the hallway when they walked by. I hadn’t even fully developed yet.
But then last year, everything changed. My life didn’t just turn upside down; it flipped ten times like one of those Olympian gymnasts doing a floor routine. Only instead of landing nicely on its feet, it came crashing down on its neck.
My mom caught my dad cheating on her with Cassandra, a bartender down at High Tide Pub. She confronted him about it, and the next day, he was gone. Literally just gone. Vanished like he’d never even existed.
I’d always been close with my dad. We’d play sports together, go on hikes, or he’d help me with my school work. He was always there to talk to if I needed him, and I always felt like if I ever needed his support on a real problem, he’d be there.
And then he was gone.
“Iris, I’m sorry.”
That was all he said. I still don’t know why he said he was sorry, and I don’t buy it either. Maybe he added it to try and make himself feel better, because it sure didn’t do anything for me.
My mom cried all night, and then the next day lost herself in her first bottle. I’d never seen her drunk before. Now I can’t remember the last time I saw her sober.
Slowly but surely, I watched my mom slip away into alcoholism. To put it simply, she just wasn’t there anymore.
I couldn’t go to her for anything anymore. I got used to forging her signature for things and basically being the adult in the house when I really had to, and I guess somehow Jameson noticed.
Maybe a little bit of spying from his end too?
At least that’s what I like to think.
One day I was lying on my bed trying not to cry, and I heard what sounded like someone revving their motorcycle obnoxiously right outside my window. I tried to ignore it, but it just didn’t go away, so I looked outside and saw him out there, sitting on his bike, smiling at me. He motioned to me to come out, and boy I did not think twice.
I grabbed my shorts, slid into my shoes, ran out the front door, and hopped on the back of his bike like he was the last ride out of a city overridden with zombies. I held on to his waist as we cruised all over Boxhurst before he finally parked at the overlook where which looks out over the entire town.
He told me he knew everything. The rumors about what was going on with my family had spread through school like wildfire—my dad leaving, my mom and her drinking. The perks of living in a small town is that everyone, and I mean everyone, ends up knowing your business.
He told me if I ever needed to get out of the house that he was there for me. All I had to do was come by and ask.
And boy did I end up taking him up on his offer.
Jameson gave me refuge from the constant pressure that was my life, and for the past year, my crush for him has been building and building, like a steadily growing wildfire.
“Do you think…he’ll ever come back, Jameson?”
My question causes him to pause whatever it is he’s up to. He sets his wrench aside on his bench and starts wiping his greasy hands on a rag. He turns, and I can already see the answer in his eyes. It was a dumb question in the first place. I don’t even know why I asked it.
“In my experience, it’s best not to–”
“Okay, okay,” I interrupt, waving my hands in an attempt to stop him. “I shouldn’t have asked. So did you fix your motorcycle issue?”
“I’ve done all I can do for today.” Jameson smiles. “Sun’s going down anyway. Gonna get chilly and dark. Come in for some grub? Mom said she was making spaghetti, I think.”
“Well, my mom said she was making…oh wait, my mom never cooks dinner!” I laugh. “So yeah. I’ll take you up on that offer!”