by Sienna Grant
He nods reluctantly but doesn’t look happy.
“This is bullshit.” Jax growls, “She can’t control you forever Shelb.”
Cupping his face in my hands, I make him look at me.
“I know, and I promise once my exams are over, I’ll tell her. I just don’t need any more stress on top of it, this is the easiest way. I promise you, Jax, I just need you to do this for me…” I plead. “After the exams, there’ll be no stopping us.”
A sweet smile pulls at his lips, “I love you, Shelby.” Lifting his hand, he caresses my cheek, “If it stops that dragon from upsetting you, then fine.”
A huge smile fixes itself to my face causing my cheeks to ache. “I love you too Jax.”
“I’ll see you Monday.” Jax pulls me back towards him. After another kiss, I get out of the car and run back to the house and back up to my room before mum gets back.
Jaxon
Taking a cigarette from the box, I place one between my lips and light it up while I wait for Shelby. Leaning my back against the gates, I take in a long draw and watch the students as they walk past me. Some are in groups, others on their own. Being tall has an advantage. I stand up straight and look through the crowd, that’s when I see her dark hair. I take one last drag on my cigarette and flick it away. Taking a stick of chewing gum from my pocket, I pop it into my mouth letting the minty taste hide the smell of tobacco.
As soon as she notices me, she pushes through the crowd and runs towards me, dropping her bag as she gets nearer, she leaps forwards. Using my shoulders, I let her lean on me, taking her weight as she jumps up and wraps her legs around me, flinging her arms around my neck, her lips mould to mine. Dropping my hands down, I link my fingers at her bum and hold her up, holding her as close as I can while I kiss her. Once she’s had her fill, she untangles her ankles and drops her feet to the ground, takes a few steps back and picks her bag up from where she dropped it. I take it from her and place it on my shoulder. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pull her into my side and we start the walk back.
“I’ve missed you…” I tell Shelby unashamedly. Smiling as she looks up, she pushes up to her tiptoes and kisses my cheek.
“I’ve missed you too.”
“So what’s the dragon saying now? Are you still grounded until you’re thirty?” My eyes roll with the stupidity of it all.
“What will you do if I say I am, come and rescue me on your faithful steed?”
“What the hell’s a steed?”
“Do you not know? Oh my god. Fairy stories you know…?”
I shrug having absolutely no idea what she’s talking about.
“Okay, so maybe you don’t know princess stories… but you have to know Shrek? Please tell me you’ve seen Shrek?” She looks up at me wide-eyed.
“I don’t think so…” I shake my head not caring.
“I don’t think we can be together anymore…” she screeches and removes my arm from her, stepping away.
“Are you serious?” I ask feeling the deep-set scowl as it embeds into my forehead.
“Everyone has seen Shrek, Jax,” Shelby replies with a sigh.
She walks off in front.
“Shelby,” I shout. Spinning around she bobs out her tongue and runs. I soon catch up with her, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder.
“Put me down before you drop me.”
“No way. You won’t run from me.”
“That sounded creepy.” She laughs. Putting her down, her hand covers her stomach, and her eyes close.
“Everything okay?” I ask concerned as she steadies herself with her hand on me.
“Yeah, I went dizzy then.” She grabs the lapels of my jacket pulling me to her. “Okay how about we go to mine, mum’s not back until six’ish, we can watch it in my room.”
I like the sound of being in Shelby’s room alone with her.
“And if she comes back, I can hide you better.” She winks at me seductively.
The little minx.
Pulling back the sleeve of my leather jacket, I look at my watch and see it’s three forty-five now.
“We better get a move on then…” I pull her along with her hand in mine quickening the pace, so we can get some time together.
Shelby lets us in, and as soon as the front door is shut, I bend her at the waist, throwing her over my shoulder again, totally forgetting that it made her dizzy not long ago, and run up the stairs with her.
“Jax put me down...” she squeals.
She directs me to her room, and I drop her on the bed. She sits up suddenly with her hand covering her mouth and runs from the room. Standing at the door, I watch her run into the bathroom dropping to her knees with her head over the toilet bowl. I follow her in and squat down behind her and rub her back.
“You alright babe?”
She nods. I get up and pull some tissue from the roll on the wall, passing it to her once she’s emptied the contents of her stomach, she wipes her mouth.
“I’m sorry babe. I should have remembered not to do that.”
She flushes the toilet once she’s on her feet and brushes her teeth, washes her mouth out with the mouthwash and stands in front of me her forehead resting against my chest.
“It’s okay, don’t worry.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. As soon as you tipped me up my stomach rolled.”
Stroking my hand down the back of her hair, I kiss the top of her head.
“Come on let’s go lie you down.”
She looks up smiling, “Okay.”
Walking into the bedroom, she shuts the door turning the lock and puts the Shrek DVD into the player then lies on the bed.
“Come on then…” She pats the bed in the empty space next to her, and I lie down holding out my arm. Shelby snuggles into my side then presses play on the remote control. Tilting my head, I rest my cheek against the softness of her hair, and the last thing I remember is seeing a talking donkey…
‘Knock, knock…’
Her hair tickles my neck as she moves making me hold her a little tighter.
‘Knock, knock.’
Swiping at my chin, I brush the hair away from my face that’s waking me from my dream, it feels almost real - Shelby lies sleeping in my arms….
‘BANG, BANG.’
My eyelids spring open, and immediately my gaze drops down at the brown hair that’s bunched under my chin and the sleeping form clinging to my side…
‘BANG, BANG, BANG. Shelby. Open the door.’
Shit. With my hand on her shoulder, I try to rouse her awake, shaking her gently. Moving her hair with my fingers, I kiss her brow and whisper.
“Wake up Shelb…”
Lightly kissing her again, I shake her until she finally moves, and her mother bangs the door again.
“SHELBY.” She shouts, “You had better open this door, madam…”
She bolts up from the bed, “Shit, it’s my mother.”
Chapter Eight
Shelby
“You need to hide. She’ll go mad if she finds you here…”
Jaxon sweeps his arm down the side of the bed and whispers, “Can I get underneath?”
Nodding frantically at him, he rolls from the bed as she bangs again. As soon as he’s out of sight, I unlock the door and open it to an angry looking mum.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Why was the door locked?”
“Erm... I forgot I locked it, then fell asleep.”
I can see her inspecting the room behind me, and I mentally have to remember whether there’s anything of Jaxon’s around that could be on show. Hoping and praying there’s not, I smile at her.
“Why didn’t you answer me in the first place?”
“I was asleep… you woke me up.” I repeat to her.
Her eyes narrow before she gives up.
“I’m doing bangers and mash for dinner. It’ll be ready in about half an hour
.”
“Alright.” Before mum has even stepped away from the door, I’m trying to shut it.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” She questions with a frown.
“I’m fine. I’m just tired that’s all.”
She nods and steps away. I quickly shut the door and stand with my back against it until I hear her walking away.
Walking around the bed, I get down on my knees and look underneath.
“She’s gone,” I whisper.
He shuffles to the front, “Thank fuck for that.” He curls his hand around my neck and brings me down to him on the floor bringing my lips to his, kissing them.
“That was close.”
“It could’ve been worse…”
“How do you figure?”
“You could’ve forgotten to lock the door, and she would’ve found us asleep together.”
Gasping, my hand covers my mouth.
“Oh my god yeah…”
Laughing he kisses me again before shuffling out from under the bed.
“I better get going before the dragon comes back.”
“I’m going to have to sneak you out somehow. Let me get changed and I’ll figure a way.”
He stands from the floor and pulls me into him, his arm hooking around the middle of my back…
“You’re a bad girl, you know that?”
“Hmm, I try.” I giggle. I’m not really, but Jax seems to bring the bad out of me, not that I mind…
“Okay gimme five minutes.”
Pushing up to my toes, I kiss him and grab some leggings and a jumper, going into my adjoined bathroom and change out of my uniform.
“How about the window Shelb?” I hear Jax ask outside the bathroom door. I finish off getting dressed, pulling the waistband of my leggings up and open the door.
“You know you could have got those on in here, I wouldn’t have looked - honest…”
“Hmm, I’m sure you would’ve turned away.”
“Well, probably for a second yeah…” A cheeky grin followed by a wink makes me smile too. Clasping my chin between his thumb and finger, he gently kisses me, “Plus it wouldn’t be the first time…” he says against my lips.
I feel the blush take over my whole face as my teeth bite down on my lip.
“Behave yourself, my mum could come up here at any time, and unless you want to stay under my bed permanently, then you need to stop,” I whisper.
“I don’t see that as a problem…” Taking my fingers in his one hand, he cups my face in his other, “I can’t help it if you’re sexy.”
“I think we better see if we can get you out of that window.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
I make my way to the window, open it out and look down. Jax stands behind me looking over my shoulder.
“Do you think you can get out of there?” I ask looking over my shoulder.
“Easy.”
I frown questioning, “It’s a long way…”
“Nah, I’ll do it….
“Shelby,” Mum shouts up the stairs.
“Shit. You have to go before she comes back up here.”
“Coming Mum,” I shout out hoping she heard me. “Go.”
He smiles gripping my cheeks and plants a hard kiss on my lips.
“Call you later babe.”
My tummy does a flip every time he calls me that...
He sits on the windowsill and looks out before swinging his legs around and dropping his feet down to step onto the canopy. Looking back, he smiles and winks at me before standing and walking to the edge then jumping. I look down and see him getting up from the grass. Moving to the pavement, he blows a kiss up to me and walks away.
With a satisfied sigh I watch him walk further away before closing the window, then head downstairs to join my mum for dinner.
“Shelby, you need to get up, it’s time for school.”
Mum shaking my shoulder brings me from my deep sleep. My eyes slowly flicker open for a minute then I turn over and snuggle back down into my warm duvet. My eyes close almost instantly as I slip back into a dream.
“Shelby are you up? I’m going to work now. It’s seven-thirty.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumble. The next thing I hear is the door shut. Closing my eyes again, I fall back into sleep.
“Hmmm.”
My hand covers my yawn as I wake fully, opening my eyes and looking around until they focus correctly. Lifting my phone from the side of me on the table, I see a text from Jax. Smiling, I open it up.
Good morning, sexy.
He’s up early, he’s never up before ten.
Seeing the clock in the top corner of the screen, my eyes widen.
“SHIT.”
I jump out of bed when I see the time is ten-thirty, quickly texting Jax back…
Morning. I’m late for school, I’ll ring you on the way.
Love you. Xx
Jumping up from the bed, my tummy churns leaving a sick feeling behind. Standing up a little slower doesn’t help. As soon as I’m on my feet, the same feeling has me running to my bathroom with my hand covering my mouth until I reach the toilet. I empty the non-existent contents of my stomach since I’ve had nothing to eat yet.
Once I’m done, and I know nothing else is going to come up, I swill my mouth with water and wash up, brushing my teeth and getting my clean uniform on. Seeing my reflection in the mirror makes me cringe, I’m pale with dark rings around my eyes. I don't have time for makeup, so It’s going to have to do. I sweep my hair up into a ponytail and go downstairs. I grab my lunch from the side, and two bottles of water putting them into my backpack, then grab a breakfast bar. Hopefully, that will stop me from being sick any longer.
Making sure I’ve got my keys and my phone, I leave for school.
Jaxon
I feel the vibration of my phone ringing from under my pillow. Taking it out, I see Shelby’s name.
Grinning, I answer the call.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
“Hi. I’m so late Jax, and if Mum finds out, I’m dead.”
“Did you oversleep?” I ask her.
“Yeah, I don't even remember her waking me up, but she does every morning.”
“I called you last night?”
“I was asleep by nine-thirty.”
“That’s thirteen hours sleep, babe. Are you feeling okay?
“No. I’ve been ill again this morning.”
“Ill?”
“Yes, sick again.”
“Maybe you should go to the doctor…?”
“Yeah maybe. Okay, I’m nearly at school I have to go.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up.”
“Alright. Thanks”
"Love ya babe.”
She cuts off the phone, and I drop it down on the bed as a message comes through.
Sorry to cut you off. Love you too. xxx
Mum’s in her usual drunken state, giving out her orders and having a go at me. I’m refusing to go and buy anymore vodka for her, she can make do with what she’s got.
“Jaxson Cartwright, you’re a useless piece of shit just like your father was,” she slurs.
“Why, because I’ve cut off your vodka? You’re the useless one.”
Jesus, I need out of this house, and I need a job.
Picking up the post from the floor, I open all the letters in brown envelopes first, they look more important.
As I pull out the letter, all the writing is in red with the heading, ‘overdue payments’. I scan over it quickly. I leave it on the side and open another - that reads the same, and the next. If she doesn’t ring them and find a way of paying the bills - the water, electricity and gas will be cut off. Well, that’s just fantastic.
“Mum,” I shout angrily and pick up the letters. Running up the stairs, I throw them down on the bed. “Get your lazy, drunken arse out of bed, you need to sort these out.”
This is just
another problem to add to the stack of ones I already have.
“Why can’t you be a proper mum, why do you have to be like this?” She doesn’t answer, she has the sheet over her head refusing to listen to me like a child would. Shaking my head, I run back down the stairs and hide all the alcohol. I’ve had enough of this shit.
I grab her car keys and leave the house, hastily pulling away to start looking for work.
It’s Benefits Day today. Heading to the bank, I take out some money and find the nearest florist. I buy a nice bunch of flowers and place them on the back seat before heading off to the school. I still have to pinch myself that Shelby would even want to be with me. I know she’ll probably think I’m a bit of a sap, but I know she isn’t well, this might cheer her up a little bit.
Pulling up at the school, I sit at the kerb and wait until it’s time for them to come out. I recline my seat and lay back thinking over my day… Everywhere I’ve gone to for work today has come up with a dead end. There’s no work around here and the only jobs there are, I’m not qualified for - even though I’m willing to learn. It’s bullshit that no-one will give a kid a chance these days just to prove themselves. How are you meant to get the experience they want if they don’t look twice at you?
The first few start trickling through the gate, but I don’t see Shelby yet. Getting out of the car, I lean against it and wait patiently. A familiar voice cuts through the racket, and I see Harry approaching.
“Hey, dude.”
“What’s going on?” I ask with a chin lift to my cousin.
We clasp hands in a handshake when he reaches me.
“Nothing mate, just waiting for Shelby.”
“Oh, she’s talking to a teacher, I’ve just walked past her.” Harry answers.
“Did she look alright to you?” I ask curiously.
“Ask Addy, she’s with her all day.”
A loud Addison comes up behind him jumping on his back.
“Hey, Jax.” She waves from behind Harry.
“Addison.” I nod politely, “How was Shelby today?”
“Like death warmed up. She was sick twice, but she wouldn’t go home, and she was late. I had to leave her behind, I felt so bad. We never walk to school separately.”