Page 8 of Mine

ROSIE:

Any better? Hope it’s got more interesting ;)

I follow Luke upstairs and into his room, deciding not to answer.

Chapter Four

GRETCHEN

All I wanted to do was sit in front of the television and gorge on Nutella on toast, but I had to get ready for school. I had a habit of over-analysing things, and technically; I hadn’t kissed Cal, so why did I feel so guilty?

Worst still, whenever I thought of Cal’s beautiful face, butterflies went wild in my stomach. My breath left my body whenever he allowed those intense eyes to meet mine.

Why did I think about him when I fell asleep and as soon as I woke up?

I’m awful.

My phone pinged, alerting me to a text.

LUKE:

Love you, baby.

I wanted to scream. How was I going to get through today? I texted back with a simple kiss and then stared at myself in the mirror. Maybe I would wear my hair down today, Cal preferred it that way.

Wait. What?

Pushing the thought aside, I ran some curl cream through the lengths of my hair and scrunch it up, making the curls wild and natural. I did my usual lip gloss and mascara, but decided I wanted to make more of an effort.

I pulled on my thick black tights and a honey-coloured jumper dress before heading out to walk to school.

I was halfway there when I saw Cal. My chest closed and my steps slowed as I checked him out. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, but he looked incredible.

He had a grey beanie on with his blond hair escaping out at the sides. A white Ramones t-shirt sat over ripped skinny jeans and trainers. His jacket hung over his shoulder as he moved, clearly talking to someone, but I couldn’t see who. I dawdled and moved to the right so I could see who it was. I saw a flash of a red skirt, and her trademark knee-high boots.

He was talking to Krystal.

My heart sank. I watched as she flirted with him; leaning forward and pulling him towards her using the thin material of his t shirt. She took the cigarette out of his mouth before pressing her lips to his, their heads moving against one another as they kissed.

I couldn’t bear to watch. His hands were all over her body, and I felt nausea wash over me. There was no other way to walk, so I crossed the street and strode as fast as I could past them. A car pulled up beside me and I was relieved to see Sienna and Ethan.

"Need a lift babe?" Sienna called with a grin.

I climbed into the back, grateful to be hiding away from the sight of Cal with Krystal. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did.

"Looks like Cal met Krystal," laughed Ethan, nodding behind us.

"So?" I snapped as his eyes widened in surprise.

"If you like that kind of thing," he said, as we sped away.

"Many boys do, because it is easy," I pointed out. Ethan held his hands up, nodding in agreement. Sienna remained strangely quiet, glancing at me in the rear-view mirror quizzically as we made the brief journey to school. When we pulled up, I jumped out swiftly so I could be away from Sienna's stares.

I didn’t see Krystal for the rest of the day, but I thought about her constantly.

How was it, kissing his mouth? God, his hands were beautiful.

I tried to concentrate in my Psychology class, but it was pointless.