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Chapter 11

Last night, Jonathan dropped Harmony and I off at a motel. He offered that we stay at his house until we got on our feet but I declined.

"We've put you in enough trouble already," I said. Harmony had just went inside the room to get comfortable and had left Jonathan and I outside alone.

"If you need anything, just call me," Jonathan said.

"With what phone?" I asked. He took my hand in his and placed an iPhone in it.

"With this," he said and just as I was going to interrupt, he put his finger on my lips "I know, I know I shouldn't have but it's yours now. It's in your name and there's no way I'm taking it back."

"But-" I started to say but he shushed me.

"No buts. It's yours," he took my head in his hands and kissed my forehead. "Call me."

******

I lay on a crappy bed in a crappy room with a crappy T.V. Harmony sits on her bed that's closer to the door changing the channels with a crappy remote. I took the picture and letter out of my pocket and put it underneath the mattress this morning when Harmony went to go brush her teeth. Now I'm staring at the broken ceiling thinking about Jonathan. I never thought I would have a boyfriend. Much less a hot one. When I was in middle school, I had the biggest crush on a boy named Alex. I would always try to see him in the halls or come up with dumb excuses just to talk to him. He had black hair that was always curled up from the bangs and he was really pale. If you looked close enough, you would see freckles scattered around his cheeks. He was the only crush I ever really had. The rest of the guys I knew never attracted me as he did. Turned out he was too "good" for me. He was one of those guys that if he even winked at you, you would faint. He was one of the bad boys that every girl wanted. He was known for all the things he did, but I can't quite remember what it was. But whatever it was, he was damn well known for it. Alex the badass. Ugh. I was never popular throughout elementary, middle, or high school. I was invisible to everyone. I've had a couple friends but none of them were trust worthy. Everyone thought I was weird or a slut for no explainable reason. I understand weird, but slut? I never had a boyfriend so I didn't understand that part. Junior year, a rumor went around saying I had slept with the whole football team. Really? I couldn't even get a nerd to take a glance at me. Cheerleaders would come up to me and try to pick a fight with me because I supposedly slept with their boyfriends. One of them thought she was tough enough to fight me. It was after school and I was walking home. She and her preppy friends gathered around me and Chris- I think that's what her name was-got in my face. She called me all sorts of names and I just nodded along as if agreeing with her. This had gotten her mad, so she took a swing at my face. I was able to catch her hand before it hit me, twisted it and had her on the floor in no time. I punched her face repeatedly and her friends were catching it on video instead of helping her. When I had finished, her face was covered in blood. Her lip was split open and both her eyes were swollen. I got up, dusted my hands off, and walked away. After that, almost everyone in school was scared of me. Some even looked up to me. I was so happy once I graduated. The day of my graduation, everyone came up to me and said they were sorry for being so cruel to me. Some even congratulated me for beating up Chris. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with all that drama anymore. Now I have to worry about Jonathan and hope things go right with us. I don't see what he likes about me. I'm not pretty but I'm not ugly either. I have black dull hair, my eyes are brown; almost black, I have a scar the size of a grain of rice next to my left eye, and I'm 5'2. I'm just a normal girl with a not so normal life. But Jonathan on the other hand. . . He is something. He's like ice cream. His hair is caramel coated with streaks of creamy light chocolate. Warm eyes full of melted hazel nut with green sprinkles. A dimple on the left side of his cheek the size of a berry appears when he smiles. The way he speaks when he tries to cheer me up is so sweet. Everything about him is just so delicious. The way he bites the corner of his lip when he's nervous. The way he stutters and acts like a child is so cute. The way he smiles, like he knows a secret. The way he makes me feel safe when I'm around him, like he's my guardian angle. And his voice. Dear Lord, his voice. It's the most sexiest and most attractive thing about him. It's so smooth yet raspy. Gosh, he's so perfect. His facial hair makes him look so much older than he really is. I didn't know I had a thing for beards. I chuckle to myself.

"What are you smiling about?" Asks Harmony.

"Oh nothing." I grin. "I'm going to go apply for a job somewhere. I'll be back with some food but in the mean time eat some cereal or something," I say to her as I walk to the bathroom and turn on the shower. Once I'm all clean I put on something decent, dry my hair, apply some makeup, put my new phone in my back pocket, kiss Harmony on the head, and leave. My phone reads 11:04 am and I call Jonathan. A couple rings pass and he answers.

"Hey cutie, what you up to?" He says cheerfully.

"I'm on my way to look for a job. Just thought I should call." I say as I pass by poor looking stores.

"That's good. Hey, I was thinking maybe you and I could do something tonight? If you're okay with that I mean, I don't want to push you or anything. Unless you want to stay home then I'm completely okay with that." I can hear the nervousness in his voice and can imagine him biting his lip waiting for my response.

"I'd love to." I giggle.

"Great! I'll pick you up at five. Bye!" He hangs up. I chuckle and find myself in front of a bakery. A sign reads "Employees needed".

This is it.