Cal Jackson's new life as a rockstar fails to account for one thing: the existence of the girl he loves.
*****
"What are you thinking about?" she asks.
"A song," I say. "A new song."
I stare at the ocean as I sing the song that I wrote, something th...
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Although the sight of Jasmine close to tears can break anyone's heart, Cal still doesn't waver one bit. He won't give her another option besides going home.
"Cal!" the lead guitarist's loud voice booms in the air as he suddenly shouts from the bottom of the stairs.
I swallow. His menacing glare is directed at Cal and his sister.
How could a person be so cruel? Even though I don't even know him, I know that he's the kind of person I need to stay away from.
Cal is still facing Jasmine. He doesn't even bother to turn around to see his friend, but I don't miss it when he mutters a curse to himself, "Fuck."
When the guitarist heads back to the second floor, Cal walks away to follow him, and my mouth drops open. Is he just going to leave her like that?
More sadness crosses Jasmine's expression as she stares at her brother's back before he's completely out of sight. Her lips tremble as anger fills her eyes once more.
"I won't go home," she mutters to herself. "I won't." She's definitely a fiery one, so persistent. She hops onto the stool and buries her face in the bar counter, while the bartender just shakes her head in disbelief and continues her job, serving a new customer.
I stare at the poor kid as she lifts her head from the counter, biting her lip. She's trying her best to hold her cry, but I can still see the unshed tears in her eyes.
Carefully, I sit on the stool next to her, wondering how I should comfort her. My determination to leave has been thrown out of the window. I can't leave. Not when she's here alone and still doesn't want to go home as her brother told her to.
Before I can start a conversation, she turns to me. "Are you Cal's friend?" Her voice is hoarse as her eyes glint with curiosity.
I don't know how to answer her. Am I Cal's friend? I don't even know. We might not be total strangers to each other, but I don't think that we're friends yet.
So I just give her a soft smile. "How long are you going to wait for him?" I raise my eyebrows.
She shakes her head, looking away. A sigh of desperation escapes from her lips. "I don't know."
Even though I can't be sure, my gut tells me that Cal wouldn't just leave his sister like that. I have a feeling that he'll come downstairs soon, probably within the next five minutes, after he speaks to the guitarist, who seems to be the leader of the band.
Maybe I'm just being hopeful, but I want to take that chance. Otherwise, this girl here will be more disappointed than she already is.
"May I know why you wanted to be here so badly?" I ask softly.
Jasmine shifts her attention back to me. "I'm just worried about him." Sadness once again skates all over her face. "And I'm so fed up with him telling me that he doesn't want me around when he works."
