If You Dare

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I didn’t go to school the next day.

Or the day after that.

The only thing I could do was lie in bed and cry and then sleep because crying so hard had made me tired.

Josh and Cynthia had visited me once and then Cyn had come back to talk to me alone. Over the past couple of days we’d grown pretty close and I couldn’t help but love her. She was so awesome.

I was standing underneath the water pouring down in the shower and sighed. I couldn’t stand the normality of the warm water so I shut off the hot tap completely and let my body shiver as the water suddenly turned ice cold. It was the night of Jesse and Ashton’s birthday.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Ash was doing right now.

He was probably making out with Cleo.

I shook my head and turned off the water completely.

I didn’t need irrational thoughts about that while I was trying to calm down enough to psyche myself up for the party. I didn’t really want to go anymore. I didn’t like Jesse and I didn’t want to see Ash. The only point in going was because I’d been an awesome girlfriend and organised it for him.

*Ashton*

What a miserable birthday.

I hadn’t seen Zarah since those few minutes in the courtyard. She hadn’t been at school and she hadn’t been over to my house to see Josh. She hadn’t called me and I hadn’t called her. The only time I got to see her was for those few seconds in the morning when I stared up at her bedroom window with my binoculars as she stared out the window.

She’d done it when we were together. She’d look down to my house with her binoculars while I stared up at her with mine and she’d smile happily.

But now when she looked out the window she looked awful.

I’d been looking forward to spending my birthday by her side smiling and laughing and having fun all day. But now I was going to spend it thinking about her and feeling sorry for her.

I wondered if she’d tried to speak to Cleo.

Maybe she’d made up lies about the two of them and that was the reason she wasn’t willing to talk to him. I grabbed the phone from the table beside my bed and dialled Cleo’s number.

She answered on the second ring and I had to calm myself at the sound of her voice. She made me want to punch a hole in my wall in anger.

“We need to have a chat Cleo.” I spat into the phone. “Get over here now. I’ll meet you out the front.”

Then I slammed the phone shut and chucked it on the floor.

I didn’t bother to check and see if it was okay because I knew it wasn’t.

I met her out the front and pushed my sleeves up so that it exposed my very strong arms that were willing to use contact if she tried anything. I knew that if we started yelling at each other Zarah would hear it and that were either a good thing or a very bad thing.

I took a deep breath and stormed over to her. “You know what Cleo you should start a new business. It could be called I’ll ruin your life for you!”

She bit her lip and took a step forward. “Oh please! You were totally into it!”

I shook my head and grit my teeth together. “Everything was so awesome before you forced yourself onto me! Are you satisfied now? You’ve ruined my life, thanks a lot. I thought you liked Jesse? Why’d you come onto me if you love him so much?”