Resisting Jared Taylor

02

BULLY

Chapter 2

"When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sandpaper; they may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless..."

-Unknown

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PRESENT DAY

"So how does it feel to finally be home? I sure did miss you," Emma asks from beside me, pausing to catch her breath. Me being home again can only mean one thing; conditioning time. The new soccer season starts in a few days and I might have been slacking a bit while in Europe. I mean, come on, it's pasta and touring the city. There's no time for exercising, let alone running.

Other people are damn lucky, like Emma for example. She can sit around and shove pizza in her mouth everyday and not gain a damn pound. I am the complete opposite. I grew up rather chubby and have worked my ass off at keeping my weight in check. Soccer has always helped.

I look over at Emma, ending my inner turmoil, smiling her way. I take a chug from my water bottle before speaking.

"It feels great. I missed you a lot. I'm just not prepared to be away from my dad for so long. It will be oddly quiet in the house." I give her a sad smile before starting to jog again, Emma following suit.

She nods."I can come stay with you if you'd like." She grins at me widely as my eyes get bigger.

"Hell yeah! Head home and grab your stuff and meet me back at mine in say, an hour?" I stop again and glance down at the watch on my wrist. Almost 8p already and the sun is starting to set.

Emma agrees before turning around and heading back in the direction of her house. I continue on to mine at a slowly, steady pace. Reaching my road, I can hear the distinct sound of music. When I reach my driveway, I see why. The house next door has their garage wide open with a beautiful, black Mustang sitting in the driveway with its hood up. A very sweaty looking Jared in under it, shirtless and smothered in grease. I see his group of friends corralling around him, joking and pushing each other around as Jared works. What else is new. At least it's not a party this time.

Rolling my eyes, I head in the front door, slamming it behind me. The house is eerily quiet, making me rush inside and into my room. I strip from my shirt and shorts, leaving me in my under clothes. I press play on my ipod on top of my dresser, finding myself getting lost in the music. Seether is my happy music and Jared knows it, so when I hear him start to play his music louder than mine, my anger sets in quickly.

I whip open my french doors and step out onto the balcony, not bothering to put on clothes. "Do you mind?" I scream out. He is staring up at me with a smirk, his muscled arms crossed over his bare chest. My eyes instantly trail down his abdomen, stopping when I see his new tattoo. I can't help but squint my eyes to try and see what it is, stopping when he calls my name.

"If you could stop staring at me, that'd be great." I roll my eyes, now leaning against the ledge, purposely pushing my boobs up to get his attention. I can't help but tease him. Watching him get heated is very enjoyable.

"I think you're the one staring." I lick my bottom lip and stand up straight, crossing my arms over my chest. He throws his rag down on the ground and moves closer to my house, now looking straight up at me with a squint.

"There's nothing to stare at sweetheart. You need a body for me to stare at to begin with, and you, well you're lacking." He grins, getting more confident as his idiots behind him whoop and holler like the immature idiots that they are.

I feel tears brim in my eyes, trying my hardest to not let them fall. I fail, flipping him off before spinning around and running into my room, slamming the doors behind me. I knew staying away from him was too good to be true. He's too hard to ignore. He's like a drug and I'm addicted.

....................................................

A bright light wakes me up suddenly, making me sit up in bed in a rush. I look over at my alarm to see that it's now 1am. Emma is fast asleep beside me, snoring away. She came over around 9, climbed in my bed, and passed out. Seems like I wore her out.

I run my fingers through my hair as I stand up and stretch, heading over to my balcony as I do so. The wind is whipping them hard against the doorframe. I pull them both open and step out, feeling a chill run over my arms. The sky is dark except for the random patches of lightning. The world is still for a second and I find myself smiling. This is the best weather.

The sound of glass breaking catches my attention, pulling my eyes over to Jared's balcony. His doors are closed, as are his blinds, but I catch sight of his shadow. He's pacing back and forth continuously. This goes on for a few more minutes so when the sound of Jared's balcony doors opening catches my ear, I look up in shock.

Having not noticed me yet, he leans back against the wall and stares up at the sky intently. I stay quiet, not wanting to speak a word. I see tears slowly come down his cheeks and I can't help but wonder why. He didn't wave or nod. Why would he? Absence wasn't going to make the heart grow fonder, he clearly proved that earlier. Dread and apprehension used to plague me when this guy was around, but now...I felt a strange mixture of nervousness and longing.

Without another look, I slowly backed up and secured the doors shut as quietly as possible. The last thing I wanted to do was trip and give away the emotions boiling under my calm exterior. During my time away, I'd thought about Jared, but I hadn't dwelled on him, figuring that time and distance would help him cool off.

Perhaps that prediction was too hopeful.