There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate

There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate (36)

"Are you sure you can walk?" Jesse asked me, as if I was five-years-old or something.

"I can walk just fine," I snapped, biting my tongue ever so slightly at the pain I felt on the back of my legs. It wasn't near as bad as when I had tried to stand up in the hospital. "I'm not a baby, you know."

"You sure walk like it."

I smacked him on the side of the head with my bag lightly as I shot him a flat look, but that only caused him to grin at me as he helped me into the passenger seat of his car.

"I can't wait to finally be back," I sighed, tilting my head back as Jesse started the car. "The hospital was so boring. It felt like I'd never be able to leave."

"I thought your brother was going to bite my head off when he came to visit," Jesse informed me truthfully, and I couldn't help but agree with him a little. It was very obvious that Austin didn't like the fact that Jesse and I were going out, even though he didn't say it out loud.

"He was grilling you with questions like there was no tomorrow," I sighed, a smile tugging on my lips only a little. "It was kind of funny."

"Not when he asked me what my intentions with you were," he announced, his grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly. "It was like he expected me to just tell him that I'm with you just to screw you or something. I'm pretty sure that that was what he thought."

"Austin's like that sometimes," I informed him with a shrug as I cupped my right elbow in my left hand. "He's not super overprotective or anything. He wouldn't have been asking you questions like that if you hadn't acted like such a jerk when we were younger."

"What was I supposed to do? We didn't exactly meet in the best way. What was I supposed to say? I was nervous so all I could do was laugh and tease you," Jesse defended, taking a right turn at an intersection. "I'm not exactly the smoothest guy in front of you."

"What were you thinking?" I asked, my arms still crossed over my chest. "You could have said what you were thinking. If you had apologized or something, I wouldn't have been angry and I probably wouldn't have hated you for three and a half years."

"I couldn't say what I was thinking," Jesse mumbled, averting his eyes from me and back to the road.

"What were you thinking?" I repeated, curious now. "Tell me, I want to know. It should be okay now, since we're together and everything."

"I was thinking that even though I hadn't even known you for a few seconds, I already thought you were the most amazing and beautiful girl that I had ever seen in my entire life," he answered me shyly, making sure not to meet my gaze as he continued to look to the road.

"Aw," I couldn't help but smile, which only caused Jesse to blush even more. "That's so cute. I didn't know you were so sweet, Jesse."

"Okay, no mushy crap please," Alex begged suddenly from the back seat, causing me to jump in surprise. I forgot that he was there for a second. "You two just got out of the biggest fight you've ever had. And now you're back to being all gross."

"You're just jealous," I teased, looking back at him over my shoulder and sticking my tongue out at him. "You and Lexi don't have the same kind of relationship as Jesse and I do."

Alex stared at me flatly now. "That's a good thing. If we had the same relationship, not only would that be creepy, but it would also mean that she'd know about the gang."

I clamped my mouth shut, knowing he was right. If Lexi had the same relationship with Alex as I did with Jesse, that meant that she would know about Hunter, and I didn't want her to ever have to know about him. I didn't want any of my friends to ever know about him.