30 Days

by Grace Owens

  “If you look past the sweat that’s running all over my body right now, I’m peachy,” she said.

  “You sure know how to charm a guy’s pants off, don’t you?”

  “Oh, goodie. Thanks for letting me know! It’s been my goal ever since I was five.” She smirked.

  “You’re so full of it.” I laughed, actually finding her funny instead of annoying for once.

  “I might be,” she said and started walking with her big bag on her shoulder. I followed her. “So, Collin Jacobs, what did you think of the soccer practice?”

  I was shocked.

  She actually tried to make conversation with me. Maybe this wasn’t going to be that hard after all.

  “It was cool,” I answered nonchalantly. No point in telling her that all I understood was when they made a goal. “So, you’re still not going to the party tonight?”

  “Nope,” she answered, popping the ‘p,’ just as we reached the door to the locker rooms.

  “And you won’t even consider a date with me?” I asked hopefully.

  She laughed before she said, “You seriously never give up, do you? How many times does it take for me to say no before you get it? Maybe you should lay off the cigarettes for a while. It seems like it’s affecting your brain capacity.”

  Scratch that, this is going to be hard!

  DAY 4

  BELLA

  SATURDAY.

  I hated Saturdays because there was never anything to do except some lame party at someone’s place. Those parties were almost as bad as prom so I never went.

  Yesterday, it had been at James’ place so his parents were most likely gone all weekend. Therefore, he would probably have another on tonight.

  I hated James.

  Hate was a powerful word so I never used it unless I really meant it, and with James, I meant it.

  “Bells, did you just hear a word I said?” my dad asked, in an amused voice.

  Bells. After his favorite song Hells Bells by AC/DC. And yes, sometimes when he was frustrated with me, he even called me Hells Bells.

  We were sitting in front of the TV, watching football. I hated football, but I loved soccer. I just sat there with him because I knew he liked that. He was rarely home since he worked nights at a warehouse, so I enjoyed even the little moments with him.

  Even if that meant watching football.

  “I must have spaced out,” I said apologetically.

  “I was just asking if you still wanted to eat at the diner tomorrow.”

  “Oh. Well, yeah. It’s Sunday tomorrow.”

  We always ate at the diner every Sunday. That was the day of the week that was always hard on him. Ever since my mom died eighteen years ago, he had gone to the diner to eat every Sunday. I didn’t know why he was asking because I always went with him.

  Later that afternoon when Dad had left for work once again, Amanda and Jackson were back. They had been out on a date or something. Sometimes their cuteness made me want to vomit.

  Right now, they were sitting in the couch making out like a couple of horny teenagers. Well, they were horny teenagers, but it still made me want to vomit.

  “Please, didn’t you get enough last night,” I groaned, covering me eyes. “I’m trying to watch the damn movie!”

  They always went for it when my dad wasn’t home. So last night, right before his shift ended, Jackson and Amanda decided to go on like rabbits in the room next to me, one… two… even three times.

  “You need to get laid,” Amanda stated.

  I uncovered my eyes, hoping they had taken a break from sucking faces for a few seconds.

  I was lucky.

  “Amanda!” Jackson whined, making a disgusted face.

  “What? I’m just stating the facts. If she was getting laid, she wouldn’t complain about you and me getting laid.”

  Hmm…

  “Whatever. I’m not going to listen to you two discuss my sister fucking. That’s just… wrong,” he said just as the phone started ringing. “I’ll get that.”

  “Why? I get to listen to you guys actually fucking,” I shot back.

  Jackson just shook his head and walked over to the phone.

  “He’s just sensitive,” Amanda said in excuse, waving it off with her hand.

  “Belly, it’s for you,” Jackson said, handing me the phone.

  “Don’t call me that!” I hissed. I hated that name, but he never seemed to listen. I grabbed the phone from him and said, “Hello?”

  “Belly? Seriously?” Collin laughed into the phone.

  Oh, what a surprise, I thought sarcastically.

  “Whatever, Collie-kins.”

  “Okay, okay. I give in. I won’t call you that.”

  “Well, I think I’m going to start calling you Collie-kins anyway. I kinda like it.”

  I heard a fait growl and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing. I was going to call him that from now on just so I could annoy him like he annoyed me with his stalking.

  “How did you get this number anyway?” I asked.

  “It’s not very hard to find phone numbers in this small-ass town. Besides, who still owns a landline anyway?”

  “Whatever. What do you want today, Collin? A date? Because the answer is still no.”

  “Nah, I was just checking in to see what you were doing,” he answered casually.

  “Well, I was just about to listen to my best friend tell me how I’m supposed to get laid. You know, so I won’t be so grossed out about her and my brother. Actually, I need to go because she was just about to give me some tips. Bye, Collin.”

  With that, I hung up and couldn’t help but to snicker at the phone. Collin was a fun object to tease.

  An annoying object to tease.

  He didn’t even leave me alone on the weekends. Either that was very endearing and adorable, or it was annoying and suspicious.

  Why the hell does he even want to go out with me?

  Knowing the ways of Collin Jacobs, also known as the Aberdeen High ladies’ man, I would go for the latter – it was suspicious.

  DAY 5

  COLLIN

  I DOUBTED THERE was any more boring day than Sundays. There was absolutely nothing to do. No school, no parties and no Seattle since it was school tomorrow. No wonder I was bored out of my fucking mind.

  That was why I had eagerly agreed on seeing Duncan at the diner today. He had said that he had found some scoop on Bella. I fucking hated gossip, but I needed all the help I could get on this one.

  Duncan had been spending the weekend with Rose, which wasn’t that strange. They were always joined by the hip.

  I was met with a surprise as I made my way through the door to the diner – Bella was sitting in a booth with her father. Or rather, she was sitting while her father got ready to leave, her expression displaying disappointment.

  I watched as her father left the table and said a quick hello to him as he passed me. He and my dad worked together, or rather, my dad was his supervisor.

  ”Hello, Bella.” I smiled, sitting down opposite of her.

  ”Oh, what a surprise,” she said sarcastically.

  That was the moment I realized what a creep I had been. I had been stalking this girl for four days. Today didn’t count because I had honestly not followed her here. I did need to change my tactics, though, because I didn’t want to be a fucking creep.

  “I wasn’t following you,” I told her honestly. “I‘m just here to meet up with my brother.”

  “Okay,” Bella said simply.

  “So, what have you been up to today?” I asked casually.

  “Not much,” she answered with a shrug. “I just ate dinner with my dad. He had to go, though.”

  “Yeah, I met him by the door. So, how did it go yesterday with Amanda and your talk?”

  She had honestly taken me by fucking surprise yesterday on the phone. She had also caused my dick to stir from images of her getting laid… with me.

  “Why? Are you inte
rested?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

  Was I? I knew I needed to date her, or at least befriend her so the rest of the school would notice her and vote for her as prom queen.

  Fuck buddies rarely hung out.

  Oh, hell. Who am I kidding? Of course I would never pass the chance to fuck her!

  “I might,” I finally answered, trying to keep my cool.

  “And I might take you up on that offer, Collie-kins, but your brother just walked in,” she said, pointing to the door.

  I fucking hated being called Collie, and Collie-kins was ten times worse. By the look on her face, she knew how much I hated it.

  “Sounds good, Belly. I’ll see you in school tomorrow?”

  She scowled at me, but if she was keeping that game up, then so would I.

  “Knowing you, I don’t doubt it.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I chuckled, standing up.

  I walked over to the booth Duncan had chosen and looked over my shoulder to see Bella leaving the diner. She still looked a little sad and I wondered what the hell that was about. Bella wasn’t the type that I saw as a sad person. No, she was strong. But maybe even the strong ones got sad sometimes.

  “So, what did our dear Bella have to say today?” Duncan asked after we had given our orders to the waitress.

  “Not much. You kind of walked in just as I had sat down with her.”

  “Bummer.” He smirked.

  “What’s the big scoop you got?”

  “Okay, so listen to this,” he said excitedly, looking around the diner before he continued. “She used to date James Hunter like… three years ago or something.”

  “So…” I motioned for him to continue.

  “Well, rumor has it that it ended pretty badly. Like, fucking badly.”

  I hadn’t known she had been dating him. All I remember was that she used to hang with his crowd a while back, but then just stopped. Maybe James was the reason to that.

  “And I need to know this… why?” I asked. I mean, sure, she had dated the quarterback when she was fifteen. I didn’t see how that mattered now.

  “Maybe you should ask her to a party that isn’t at his place next time and she might actually go with you,” Duncan said in a smug voice.

  Hmm…

  DAY 6

  BELLA

  ”FUCKING ASS… MOTHERFUCKER… shit… dammit!” Collin cursed, standing by his car, looking like he wanted to hit the poor thing.

  School had just let out for the day and we were almost alone on the parking lot. I’d had to talk to the coach about some new move he wanted to try during the game this weekend. What Collin had been doing, I had no idea. Maybe stalking me.

  Who knew?

  ”Um, do you want a ride or something?” I asked hesitantly, since it was apparent that he had lost his keys by the way he was frantically searching all his pockets.

  Honestly I didn’t want to hang out with him in such a small space as my car, but the poor bastard looked so lost, that I had to at least offer.

  Please say no. Please say no.

  “Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks,” he answered, sounding surprised.

  Great.

  “It’s this way,” I told him, pointing towards my car.

  I led him to my car and unlocked it so he could get in the passenger’s seat. He looked so… big in it, his long legs barely fitting in the small space. It made me smile, but I tried to hide it. He looked funny, though.

  “It’s a nice car you got,” he complimented. Then he turned to me with a smirk and added, “For an old one.”

  “Hey, age is just a number, Collie-kins. And she’s a beauty.”

  “Whatever, Belly!”

  Gah, I hate that fucking name!

  “So, where are your keys?” I asked casually, at least trying to be nice to him.

  “With my stupid ass brother. He asked for the keys because he had left something in my car, but he never gave them back.”

  “Aww, poor little Collie-kins.” I pouted. “For once, something in your life didn’t go as planned.”

  “Yeah, well, Duncan’s dead once I get my hands on him. If you hadn’t offered, I would have been forced to walk home,” he muttered.

  “Hey, don’t talk like that about your brother,” I murmured. “You never know if those words come true one day.”

  He stayed quiet after an apology.

  Everyone in town knew where the Jacobs lived – they owned the biggest house in our little small town, his mom being some famous crime novelist. So I didn’t need any directions and it wasn’t long before we were parked outside the big three-story white house.

  “I could give you a ride back to school if you want. I’m heading to the grocery store anyway.”

  I was feeling nice today and since he had yet to stalk me today, I had no problem being around him.

  “You would do that for me? Or are you just trying to get laid?” he asked smugly.

  I had actually considered Amanda’s words, but I wasn’t going to get laid tonight. I had dinner to make.

  “Or I could just go and leave you here. Maybe your ass of a brother could give you a ride,” I told him, raising my eyebrows.

  “Fine. Whatever. I’ll just go grab the spare keys and I’ll be right back,” he said, climbing out of the car before he turned back around to face me, smirking. “But you know you want to.”

  I didn’t deny it, nor did I confirm it.

  “So, how come you don’t like James?” Collin asked in a casual tone as we were on our way back to school, but I could see right through him – he was being nosy.

  “Oh, no! We’re not that close!” I chuckled darkly, waving a finger at him.

  “I know you two dated a few years back.” Oh, did he now? “I also know you used to hang with his crowd.” That was no secret. “So, what happened?”

  “I’m not telling you, but they’re as far from nice anyone can get. Now the only people I do trust in school are Amanda and Jackson.”

  I had already shared too much information with a guy I didn’t trust or know, but something about him made me talk without really thinking about it. Some things would stay hidden, though.

  “What? You have no other friends in school?”

  “No, I’ve never had actually. James’ crowd just acted like friends, but when it all came crashing down, they were anything but,” I said as I parked my car beside his. “I have friends outside of school and that’s enough for me.”

  “You should try and change that, Belly. You seem like a nice girl,” he said, climbing out of the car once again. “Thank you for the ride.”

  Wow, Collin Jacobs had actually been nice!

  DAY 7

  COLLIN

  “AND WHERE DO you think you’re going?” I asked smugly as I watched Bella walk towards the exit, even though we had Bio in two minutes.

  “Pee,” she answered, turning around to face me.

  Pee? Seriously?

  “I’m kidding, Collie-kins. And I don’t see why it is any of your business.”

  “It’s not, I’m just a curious fucker,” I said, smiling my crooked smile, hoping I was able to get her to melt.

  “Oh, trust me, I know,” she said, rolling her eyes as she opened the door and stepped out.

  I knew I had promised myself not to turn into a fucking creep and a stalker, but this girl had me so insanely curious that I couldn’t help myself as I followed her. I didn’t give a shit about Bio.

  “Is the good girl skipping class?” I asked as I caught up with her.

  “Please don’t call me that,” she snapped, continuing to walk toward the trees on the outskirts of the school grounds.

  Okay then.

  Did I even dare to follow? She might just pull out an axe and chop my head off as soon as we were out of sight if I did.

  I followed anyway.

  As we entered the forest, her phone fell out of her pocket.

  “You dropped your phone,” I told her, picking it up from the gr
ound.

  “Oh,” she answered in a surprised tone, turning around. “Thank you.”

  I had honestly not intended to pry, but as I was about to give it back to her, I accidentally pressed a button and a picture of her and Jackson appeared. They looked happy. Bella was kissing him on his cheek as he made a funny face into the camera. It was nice to see her happy for a change. I had never really seen her like that.

  “Nice pic,” I complimented.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled, taking the phone before she sat down on a nearby rock.

  I grabbed my pack of cigs from my pocket and pulled one out.

  “Want one?” I asked, holding out the pack of cigs.

  “No,” she scoffed. “I would like to keep my lungs, thank you very much.”

  “Yeah, but once you’re in, it’s hard to get out,” I muttered, lightening my cig and sat down on a rock opposite of hers. “So, how come you’re skipping Bio?”

  “Mr. Pearson was going to have us test our blood type today which means needles and my own blood,” she answered, pulling a sketchpad out of her bag.

  “How did you know that?”

  “Oh, I have me sneaking ways.” She smirked at me before she narrowed her eyes at me. At first I thought she was mad at me, but then she started sketching while glancing up at me from time to time. It took me a while before I realized she was sketching me.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I asked.

  “Well, since you’re back to stalking me again, you might get yourself useful. It’s a nice change to draw a stranger’s face.”

  “Can I see?”

  “No! My work is private, so just sit there and look pretty.”

  Pretty? I’m not fucking pretty!

  “Fine, one condition, though. You’ll answer my questions.”

  “I didn’t know there were conditions, but you’re free to leave any time you want,” she said, looking up with a challenging look.

  “If I answer yours then?”

  I wanted to add a please, but I didn’t think it would matter to her.

  “Why do you think I even have questions?” She smirked.

  “Oh, everyone has questions. Okay, I’ll go first… hmm, what happened between you and James?”