I leave the bathroom, sit down and become the most talkative person there is. I see a light in my mother’s eyes as I’m describing how great school is and that I have actually met Aiden and he seems like a very nice person. We go through all the questions and answers and Tim seems to be having a great time. I look over at my mother and she mouths, “Thank you,” and I just smile at her. This may work out to my advantage. We’ll have to see how this plays out.
***
AIDEN
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…
I wake up groggy to that damn alarm clock. It is so annoying but it gets the job done. That’s why I haven’t changed it. I sit up in bed and my eyes feel like pins have been sticking them all night. I haven’t gotten much sleep because my mind keeps wandering to that beautiful girl Serena I met in chemistry class. The minute I saw her when I walked into class, I was drawn. She had the prettiest chestnut brown hair with soft curls that really brought out the beauty in her. I knew I was in trouble the moment I looked into her eyes. Her eyes were mesmerizing. Those violet blue irises captured me right away. I didn’t exactly make a great impression but I think I’ll win her over sooner or later. I rise out of bed and begin putting on my morning gear. Every morning since my mother died I have been waking up at 6 A.M. to go for a morning run around the neighborhood. This helps me stay in shape and also lets me stray from my miserable thoughts of waking up without having my amazing mother there to greet me. I admit, it’s been extremely hard since the accident but I try to find any way to escape the pain that sits in my chest because my heart is broken. Nothing will ever fill that void but I do the best I can to get through the day.
I’m dressed and walk down the stairs, grab my water bottle and head out to run from my reality. I throw my headphones on and turn Pandora on. The first song that plays is Wonderwall by Oasis. The purpose of this run is to forget about the things that troubles me. How convenient, a song that reminds me of my parents love for each other. In fact, I think they may have danced to this song at their wedding. I instantly feel sorrow as my mind recalls all the great times. I smile but I smile through sadness because even though they are the most amazing memories of all the great times we had, I still feel the sting in my heart because she’s no longer here to enjoy future memories. My mother won’t be there the day I graduate high school, the day I get married or on the day I become a father. That’s always something I looked forward to.
My feet are hitting the pavement fast and hard as I’m reliving pieces of my childhood. It’s come to the point I can’t take it anymore. I switch songs before I have a breakdown on this street and embarrass myself. I switch tracks and Tim Mcgraw’s I Need You comes on. Seriously, is my Pandora fucking with me? I’m done! I can’t run this morning. My day is shot. The only thing I have to look forward to is first period chemistry where I see my beautiful Violet. I have chosen that nickname for Serena because I like to be a little more personal than calling her by her birth name and since she spazzed out on me when I called her Rena, I call her Violet in my head. She doesn’t know that’s her nickname yet but that’s the only thing I can come up with that belongs to her. Her piercing eyes gave me that name for her. I will do what it takes for her to be mine.
I walk the rest of the way home and shower before venturing to school. I couldn’t get ready fast enough. I need to see my Violet.
***
I enter chemistry class and take my seat. I look around the class and I don’t see Serena. I really hope she shows. I have had a bad morning and I know just by seeing her smile, she will lighten my heart. A minute later she enters and my heart immediately flutters. She is so beautiful, she doesn’t even know it. She doesn’t even wear makeup and she really doesn’t need to. Her beauty shines. She walks up to me and I’m a little shocked because of her recent hostility towards me.
“Hey Aiden. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being a bitch yesterday. You seem like a cool guy and I would like to be friends. We should be friends anyways since our parents are dating and all.”
What did she just say? I knew my dad went out somewhere last night but he didn’t tell me where. That just crushed my dreams. She must have seen the frown on my face because she put her hand on mine.
“Hey it’s cool, really. Listen, me and Larissa are going out for some pizza later. Wanna join?”
Did she just ask me to hang out with her? Wow. This is a complete turnaround. Does she seriously think I will turn her down when I asked her out in the first place? I know we have to just be friends but what if it doesn’t work out with our parents? What the hell am I thinking? I am being completely selfish and not caring about my dad. What if he has feelings for her mom? I can’t get in the way of that. I am just going to have to be the best friend she can have, all while having my hopes of being with her crushed. I think I took too long to answer because she looks like she just got scolded.
“You know what, never mind. I thought it might be nice to be friends since we may be seeing more of each other. I should have known that’s not what you wanted.”
She turned to walk away and I grabbed her hand and she turned. I can’t get past her beauty and how I just want to kiss those lips. Being just friends is going to kill me, I have to but it’s driving me insane.
“Pizza would be great. I think it’s a good idea too. I would love to be friends. I’m sorry for the delay but you caught me overthinking. I haven’t had a great day. Please forgive me.”
She looked at me and smiled and I just can’t help thinking how I want to see that smile every day.
“Okay, let’s meet at Miles Pizza over on 15th and Carlton.”
She goes to write it on paper.
“Serena, can you write down your phone number in case I have trouble finding it?”
I really hope she gives me her number. I know it was kind of a slick way to get a number but there’s something about her that I just can’t let go of.
“Yeah sure,” she goes to write her number and all I can think is SCORE! Now I can start my friendship which hopefully blossoms into something else. She hands me the paper and sits at her seat. I literally daydream during chemistry. I can’t seem to focus or keep my head together around Serena. The teacher called on me to answer a question and I stuttered like a moron. Now I am embarrassed and feel like a complete idiot, especially around Serena. I’m counting down the minutes until pizza time.
***
Gym class really kicked my ass today. My head and body is drenched in sweat from all the laps we had to run. I enter the men’s shower and get ready to rid this filth from my body. I smell really bad and I don’t want to see Serena later and smell like an elephant, so I really need to do something about this odor. I am cleaning my body off when I hear a conversation going on. I normally don’t eavesdrop but this one caught my ear because I heard Serena’s name come up in conversation.
“Yo Jeremy. I heard you got it in good with Nicole last night. You hit it, didn’t you, you lucky son of a bitch?”
Some guy was talking to this Jeremy kid. I don’t know him. I just know that he is the quarterback for their football team.
“Yeah, but I’m bored with her. I’m gonna get Serena. She has to be just like her sister. If I can nab her sister, I’m sure I can get her too.”
“Dude, Serena don’t give no one the time of day. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I will have her, I promise you. She can’t stray too far from Cadence. It’s in her blood. She will give in to me and I will make sure of it,” he threatened.
Wow, this guy is a real tool. I better watch out for him. He won’t go near my Violet. My Violet! That has a nice ring to it. I slam my locker to let it be known that I am not too happy about what I just overheard. I will not get into a fight right now. It’s too close to the start of the school year in a brand new school. What kind of impression will people have of me? Not a good one. I will just keep my eye on this Jeremy guy. I don’t trust him and I don’t think Serena should either. I rush out of gym
and go to my next class.
***
The final bell rang and I couldn’t walk any faster to get to my destination. My girl is awaiting me and I will be there. I walk into the pizza place and immediately spot Serena and Larissa. I sit down next to Serena and engage in conversation. Larissa is going on about her biology teacher and I can’t help but feel like I just got trapped in a chick flick. I don’t know how much of this I can endure when Serena interrupts, “Lar, let’s talk about something else. I’m sure Aiden doesn’t want to hear about your sexcapades or lack there of.”
She is so cute when she is sarcastic and jokes around. I love getting to know her. The more I find out the more I am attracted to her. I know this isn’t healthy because of the situation were in but I can’t help it. I am drawn to her.
“Do you guys know a Jeremy?” I ask because I want to try to alert her without really telling her what happened in the locker room.
“There’s a lot of Jeremy’s. The quarterback?” Serena asked. She must know him since that’s the first person that popped in her head.
“Yeah that’s the one.”
“Yeah, he’s a jackass though. We don’t associate with him. He just likes to use girls to his advantage and toss them like last week’s leftovers.”
I sighed in relief. I don’t have to get into this then. She already knows that he’s an asshat. We finish our pizza and sodas and we all walk around the neighborhood. Larissa went home as soon as we passed her house and now it’s just me and Serena. As I walk her to her house I can’t help but notice she keeps staring up at the sky and smiling.
“What’s got you so happy?” I asked with a smile.
She looks at me and smiles, “When you were a kid, did you ever lie on the lawn and look at the sky and make out cloud shapes?”
Wow. I am really intrigued with her.
“Yes, as a matter of fact. My mom and I used to have picnics all the time and we would lie on the blanket and make out shapes.”
This is probably one of my happiest memories. Even though I’m saddened by these memories and the event this morning she somehow brought the light in my devastation and made me smile.. I don’t think anyone has ever done that.
“My sister and I used to do that in our backyard. We used to come up with some really crazy stuff. We used to laugh our heads off because some of the stuff was just too funny. I miss those days.”
I know something must have happened but I just became her friend. I won’t pry right now because I can see the look on her face. I don’t want any old hurts to resurface when I finally got to see Serena in a whole new light. It’s almost like her walls are tearing down and maybe she’ll let me in sooner or later.
I walk her to her house and right before she enters the house she turns to me.
“Thanks for walking me home. I guess you’re not as bad as I thought you were initially,” she smiles and comes up and hugs me. I swear if she wasn’t holding me I would have probably lost my balance and fell because that seriously just swept me away. Her hair smelled of lavender and I swear I can fall asleep contently just thinking of how sweet she smells. I know it sounds weird but I get lost in her. There’s no other way to describe it.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She walked in the door and closes it. I turn around and the only thought that came to my mind was my Violet!
Chapter 2
Three Weeks Later
Serena
The past three weeks have been awesome. Aiden and I have become fast friends. He is nowhere near who I thought he was. My first impression of him was not so great, but in time he kind of grew on me. Larissa, Aiden and I have become inseparable. I learn something new about him every day. Our parent’s relationship was short lived. I came home last night after bowling with Aiden and Larissa to my mother eating a whole container of ice cream. I knew that instant something was up. She told me that there was a tragedy in his life that happened to his wife and he is still grieving over her. She said he laid it down nicely because he just isn’t ready to get into a relationship because he’s not ready to let her go yet. I think I can understand that, but yet I haven’t had a similar experience so it’s really hard to fully understand. I am glad that they had the chance together because it has made me open up to new friends and I just can’t imagine what it would have been like to not be friends with Aiden. I see now that I really know him what I would be missing if he wasn’t around. A blessing in disguise, I imagine. Aiden hasn’t told me anything about his mother. I don’t want to pry. I feel he will tell me on his own time, when he feels he’s ready. I can’t really get mad at him either because I haven’t confided in him about Cadence. I’m not at that point yet, no matter how many times we’ve hung out, he is still new to my territory. It takes more than a few weeks to really get into it.
Aiden has a habit of texting me in the morning. It is a nice gesture and always makes me smile in the morning. Maybe that’s his intention. Regardless, I love it. I haven’t had anyone text me every morning before. This is unfamiliar territory for me. He’s not trying to swoon me or anything like that. It’s just the simple texts that say good morning or a smiley face. I can’t help but smile back, it’s contagious.
“Serena Jayne, we are waiting for your answer.”
The teacher looked at me with a face full of scorn. This is the first time I have not answered the question the first time it was asked. My mind got the best of me.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Henderson, can you repeat the question?” I ask pleading with my eyes.
“I only ask questions once. If you weren’t playing around in your head, you have heard it the first time,” she snided at me.
Wow I can’t believe this. I have never felt so embarrassed in class and this is all due to my own stupidity. Why must I overthink and cloud my brain with useless things? I need to focus.
The bell rings and I leave and go to my English Lit class. This class is one of my favorite, although two of my favorite people aren’t there, it will have to do. On my way to English lit, I feel a hand smack my ass hard. My cheeks were stinging and possibly red. I yelped and turned around and I am face to face with Jeremy. He winked at me like this was acceptable.
“Don’t you ever touch me again or I will tell the head of the school that you are harassing me.” I threatened.
He probably laughed in his head that I’m some puny girl threatening a quarterback who has muscles.
“You know you liked that, Babygirl. You like it rough in bed don’t you? I guess I’ll find out soon. I’ll be seeing you later.”
He moved his hands up and down as if he was caressing and massaging my body. I felt sick to my stomach. Who the hell does this guy think he is? He must know that he has no chance especially when I feel my gag reflexes go off around him. I can feel the vomit rise just by looking at him.
Lunchtime comes around and this is my favorite time because I have Larissa and Aiden there and we can talk the whole time. I sit in between the two. I feel sandwiched between them.
“Rena, there’s this party going on Friday night. We should go. It sounds super cool. Nick Tago is throwing it at his parent’s beach house. They are out of town and he’s throwing this huge party,” Larissa said excitedly.
I am not a fan of parties. As long as I’m just hanging with Aiden and Lar, I’m perfectly content.
“Lar, you know I don’t really like the party scene.”
“C’mon, it’ll be fun. Don’t be a party pooper. I will drag you there if I have to.”
“Is Jeremy going to be there?” I asked and I knew I probably shouldn’t have asked because Aiden’s head shot up and I can see the jealousy displayed on his face. I can tell he is fuming.
“Why do you want to know if Jeremy is going to be there? Are you seeing him?”
I knew I hit a nerve with that question. I probably should have waited until me and Larissa were alone but I honestly didn’t think I would see him react like this. We aren’t even dating but maybe he’s just protectiv
e because we are friends.
“No, I don’t want to see him at all. I had an incident in the hallway today with him and he really creeped me out. It’s nothing really though.”
I didn’t want to get too far into it because I can see the reaction on his face and I don’t want him to act out impulsively on my behalf.
“I’ll come to the party, too, that way if he is there, maybe he’ll steer clear of you if he sees me.”
I like when he becomes a gentleman like that. He puts my needs and securities before his own.
“Okay, as long as both of you are there, I will go. I don’t really want to associate with anyone else.”
“I may be a little late though. I have to help my dad with something. But I promise you I will be there,” he said just as the bell rang.
Never say forever (Never series Book 1) Page 3