Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“You’re reaching, Camila.”
“You called me Camila, not Mary Poppins. Hashtag progress.”
I shook my head. “You really need to stop watching Mean Girls.”
“I’m not a regular nanny.” She smirked, winking. “I’m a cool nanny.”
Rolling my eyes, I hid back a smile. Enjoying the fact, we were establishing some sort of middle ground.
“Better watch out, cool nanny, who knows what I’m going to do to you now that you live here.”
She stopped smirking. “Wait, what?”
I deviously grinned before shutting and locking the door.
“Jackson!” She banged on it. “This is BS! You can’t keep pranking me!”
No answer, I pretended as if I couldn’t hear her. Already planning in my head what was in store for her. It was a nice distraction from the bullshit all around me.
“I know you can hear me! This works both ways, you demon spawn! I will get you back and really poison your food, so that you’re shitting for weeks!”
“Good to see you guys are back to normal,” Jagger interrupted, while I listened to him through the wood barrier.
“Oh my God, Jagger! How do you just keep showing up out of nowhere? How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to know you’re moving in.”
“It’s not like—”
“I know what it’s like. It’s you that doesn’t.”
What did he mean by that?
“You’re like a fortune cookie, care to elaborate?”
“Nah, it’s more entertaining watching you figure it out for yourself.”
“Watching me figure what out?”
“You’ll see.”
“Jagger, I know you’re a guy of very few words, but with the words you do use, can they please make sense?”
“They will, eventually.”
“Again, with the cryptic messages.”
Skyler interrupted them, and I moved away from the door. Climbing out my window instead.
I sat on the roof for the rest of day, contemplating what was going to happen next.
Between my father and Harley, I had a lot on my mind, remembering the words I’d said to both of them the night prior.
I don’t know what I hated more...
That I’d hurt them.
Or, that it hurt me doing so.
Chapter 27
<>Jackson<>
Then: Sixteen years old
The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
Over the last two and a half years, my life drastically took a turn mostly for the better but some things for the worse.
“Jackson! Are you weady? Wook at me! I wook so prewty!” Journey exclaimed, clumsily twirling for me in her white flower girl dress.
“You look just like a princess.”
She beamed with her precious smile. “Dis what I wanted!”
“You nailed it, baby sister.”
“I ain’t a baby no more. I treee and a haff.” She held up three fingers. “Dis many.”
I nodded. “Such a big girl.”
“See... I prewty and know everyting.”
“Just like me.”
She giggled, agreeing with me. “Will you dance wif me?”
“Of course.”
“Like dis?” She put her hands on her knees and got down low, just like Camila had taught her.
It was their thing, booty dancing together all around the house. Driving my father crazy because she was teaching Journey her Latina ways.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. She was cute as fuck.
“I dance wif Cash too. He my boyfrwend.”
“Is that right?”
She giggled again and took off running toward Camila’s bridal suite. “Ma! Ma! Ma!” she shouted, as loud as could be barreling down the hall.
I sighed, shaking my head.
Ever since we watched the movie Coco together, she was obsessed with the guitar playing hero. A few days later, we went to the MC barbeque on Sunday and Cash just happened to be playing. Cue instant crush.
The motherfucker knew it too.
Her eyes literally lit up, and he spent the next hour showing her how to strum a couple chords. Everyone thought it was adorable, except for me. Thank fuck they were twelve years apart, or I’d really have to kill the son of a bitch.
We hated each other more now than ever before.
Fuckin’ Gremlin and her Scooby Doo gang were tighter than ever as well. Even pussy boy had his own following. His talentless band started making a name for themselves in Oak Island, playing at all our school events and town functions. It was beyond pathetic to watch girls throw themselves at them.
The girl I still hated the most, Harley Jameson, was still his number one fan.
Our relationship, or should I say our hatred for one another, hadn’t changed. In fact, it had only got worse the older we got. Noah and Skyler’s anniversary party may have brought my father home, but it caused Harley to run further away from me.
She was right.
I did fuck it up.
It was just easier that way.
I hid my anger the only way I knew how, terrorizing the shit out of her and Mary Poppins. However, now... I really did bring a different girl home every week. Being the most popular guy at our high school, I had a reputation to uphold. I took it very fuckin’ serious.
I was the star quarterback, a fuckin’ God among mortals.