Take The Chance (A Limitless Novel) [Book 1]

Twenty-Six

I woke up the next morning to complete silence in the house, proving that I was home alone. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, feeling way more conflicted than I'd ever thought I would be. There was a civil war going on inside my head and I'd never wanted anything more than for it to stop. I'd thought deciding that I was leaving would stop the battle inside of me, but it just made everything so much more confusing.

I didn't want to leave but I knew I had to, I couldn't live off the band for the rest of my life. I needed a real job.

I sighed and pushed the covers back, repeating my mantra to myself. I have to leave, I have to leave. I said the words so many times that, after my shower, they started to loose all meaning. I was sitting beside my suitcase and trying to figure out what I wanted to wear for the flight, when the front door closed loudly. I jumped at the sound, I hadn't expected Caleb or Dean home any time soon at all.

I stilled beside my suitcase, listening to the soft sound of footsteps out in the hallway. I kept my eyes on the door, feeling my way across the bed and towards the lamp that was sitting on the bedside table. I ripped the cable out from the wall and readied myself for a fight, not that I was dressed in the appropriate attire to fight. I just prayed that it wasn't an intruder and one of the bands management people, that way I wasn't found naked by a burglar. Given, I did have a towel around me, but I may as well have been naked.

The door handle jiggled and I felt my heart rate speed up. I was shaking with adrenaline, ready to knock the intruder out. A lamp wasn't really my choice of weapon but it was going to have to do. I was just glad the lamp had a square steel base that looked like it could do a little bit of damage.

My breathing caught in my throat when the door swung open and I swung the lamp at the guy that was standing in the doorway. It wasn't until the lamp was about to connect with his face that I realised who it was.

Everything seemed to move slowly, the lamp connecting with his right cheek and his look of surprise at the blow. Everything turned back to normal speed after he let out a loud cry on pain.

"Oh my god!" I breathed, letting the lamp fall from my hands and moving to Jake's side. He cupped his cheek, bent over as he cursed about the pain.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, grabbing hold of his face and forcing him to look at me. His had dropped away from his cheek and I studied it, pressing my fingers against the red mark on the side of his face. He let out a small grunt when I touched the spot the lamp had connected with his face.

"Well its not broken," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and looking up into his flat blue eyes. Forever looking as void of emotion as he always did. "You're just going to have a bruise," I admitted, feeling slightly guilty that I'd just whacked him with a lamp.

"Thanks for that," he grumbled, touching his cheek again and wincing from the pain.

"What are you doing here Jake?" I asked again, wondering how he had pulled up after his massive night last night. He looked like crap, he was freshly showered and smelt good but he looked insanely tired in the face. It was as though he hadn't slept in a couple of days. I was glad that tiredness was one thing he couldn't hide from me, he could put up as many walls as he wanted but I would always be able to tell if he was tired or not. Which definitely wasn't an achievement the more and more I thought about it.

"I came over because Caleb and Dean are bringing Tom over," Jake explained, flexing his jaw and wincing once again. I'd really clocked him well with the lamp.

"Oh," I said, feeling a small pat of me sink at his words. I'd thought he was here to talk to me, stupid foolish me. Of course he was here to see his band mate, not the silly fan who had a crush on him.