The Jock Neighbor

Chapter 20

Luke's POV

It's been a couple weeks since the incident happened and everyone has been very supportive, which is good because I didn't want to get in trouble for having to make sure people behaved. Briar calmed down a lot once everyone was on her side instead of whatever she imagined they would do.

That night, when we were alone, she told me what happened with her mother.

FLASHBACK

She looks down at the bed she's sitting on, her fingers twiddling as she thinks over what she's going to say.

I grab her hands making her stop her fidgeting and causing her to look up at me. "Princess, I'm not going anywhere, what's going on?"

Briar lets out a shaky exhale before going to speak. "My mom was really sick for the last few years of her life, but no one other than me and my dad knew. So obviously with that meant she was always inside, never going out to do anything. This caused speculation among the people in our neighborhood, people coming up with rumors that she was so severely depressed that she couldn't get herself to leave the house. One day, she went to surgery for her illness," Briar's lip quivers and she starts to shake. I move towards her and wrap her in my arms. "She died in surgery. No one knew that she was trying to get treated so naturally they didn't know she was in the hospital. Once she died, and we had her funeral, people said she killed herself because of the rumor that she was depressed. People trashed her grave and practically drove us out of town." Tears fall down her cheeks as she presses her face into my chest.

"I'm so sorry your family went through that Briar, none of you deserved to have happen what happened. You're so strong for being able to tell your story. I love you and I'm not going anywhere." I whisper before kissing the top of her head.

"I love you." She whispers back.

END FLASHBACK

It broke my heart to see her cry and hear her story, but then the support she got from me, our friends, and the people at school helped her bounce back pretty fast. It made my heart happy to see her healing from one of the most traumatic moments in her life.

We sit around in my room, each of us finishing up the last of her homework. Graduation is in a week which means we will be free of high school forever and onto the next chapter of our lives. Briar and I had talked more about where we plan to go after high school and agreed on a college that works for both of our degree interests so we can stay together.

I finish the last problem before stretching and throwing my homework on the ground. I let out a sigh of relief, stretching out across my side of the bed while Briar finishes up the remnants of her homework.

I close my eyes and let them rest as I wait for her to be done. I feel myself start to slip into a sleepy state, Briar clearing off her homework from the bed as well. The bed shifts as she moves towards me causing me to stir. Before I have a single chance to react, my eyes shoot open when Briar tickles my sides.

I bolt up from the bed and switch our positions. I pin Briar's wrists in my hands and I stare down at her darkly. "What... do you think you're doing?" My voice grinds out menacingly.

She shrugs her shoulders trying to look unaffected, but I can see the way her cheeks are flushed, her eyes twinkling in anticipation, her breaths coming out in uneven pants. Her breaths draw my attention down from her mouth, over her throat and to her v-neck clothed chest where her cleavage rises and falls with each intake and exhale. I notice two pebbles sticking up under her thin top and clench my jaw before I bring my eyes back up to her. "I was just touching you." Her words come out innocent, but the innuendo makes my dick twitch.