Damaged [ON HOLD]

Chapter 8

Rosie

At the beginning, we traveled in one big group, everybody on the team and whoever they brought along here, but from time to time we started to go our own separate ways. Noah and Lexi were long gone, so I'm left with Jake. For almost an hour, he and I have been moving around one booth to another, trying all sorts of food.

"For a girl, you eat a lot." He pointed out. I laughed, "I wasted lots of energy cheering for you." I said and continued on eating my cotton candy.

"Nice to see that you're a big fan of mine."

"Don't get too arrogant."

He chuckled and we continued to walk around the carnival. It was nice to have a little change of scenery. The carnival was packed with people of all ages. There were music in the background, lights glimmering against the night sky, sounds of laughter, and all sorts of games and food.

"So Jake, where did you learn to play like that?" I asked as I finished the last bite of my cotton candy.

"My dad used to play with me when I was a kid."

"Is he a football player?"

"No," he paused as if he's contemplating wether to say whatever words he's about to let out. But eventually he did, "he's a marine."

Marine. Well, I didn't see that one coming. I expected him to say that his father is a business man not a personnel in the US army. But I guess that explains a lot about Jake's tall and intimidating look.

"Where is he stationed now?"

He shrugged, "Somewhere in Afghanistan." By the way his jaw clenched, he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I nodded and gave him a smile, "I hope he gets home safe."

He lips turned up into a small but sincere smile, "Thanks."

We walked in silence for a few minutes before he speaks. "What about your dad?"

For a moment hesitation crept into me, but then I remembered that the whole school already knows and I thought that it's better for him to hear it from me, since everyone tends to exaggerate the actual story.

"He passed away, car accident."

I can feel his eyes drilling holes at the side of my head, but I kept mine fixed on my shoes and away from his.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," I cut him short, "it was a long time anyway." Three years and six months wasn't really that long but I like to think that it is.

I stared at the ground as we continued walking. At this point, I lost the ability to make a decent conversation. It was like flicking a light switch and now I'm on the 'shut the whole world off' mode. Which also means Jake picked the wrong person to stay with.

Suddenly, I felt someone grabbed my hand. The next thing I knew, Jake was dragging me to a game booth with 'Knock the Milk Bottles' painted in red paint as a sign.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you on getting your burden out." He said with an easy smile on his lips. I stared at him, not knowing what to say.