one\long long long before
Julie had the coldest hands.
They were like sculpted ice, so cold and yet almost just translucent. But she always said that her cold hands only meant that she had a warm heart. That must have been true, I thought, because looking at Julie—warm, loving Julie—there must have been one candle lit inside her for every temperature drop.
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Coan didn't laugh.
He chuckled, he snickered, and sometimes he maybe giggled, but he never laughed. Not those real laughs at least. He didn't let out happiness in the form of laughter, the kind that escaped from the very core and was released simply because it couldn't be contained.
It seemed that for him there was no happiness from deep within, no bellowing, echoing, joy.
That was why I first noticed Coan.
During freshman year, amidst the buzz and excitement of college orientation, he stood there silently, hazel eyes taking everything in. There was no air of nervousness or anticipation on him, not even the tiniest speck. He was like the eye of a furious tornado.
For a fraction of a second, his eyes caught mine.
Then his figure was lost from my vision as a person walked by and blocked us.
I don't believe in love at first sight. I had too many ex-boyfriends, too much reality in me to accept that perhaps I loved Coan the moment I set eyes on him. But I will always think back to that first day I saw him, and for an ephemeral moment I will remember how entranced I was by his empty hazel eyes.
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Jay Noel was my good friend from home.
We met when we were eight. I was the new girl that moved from New Jersey to this house next to his in Brooklyn. He was the annoying brat who insisted on making my life hell in the park and I was the girly girl he insisted had cooties because of all my disgusting pink dresses. I for one, loved my pink dresses and insisted he like them too. I remember forcing one on him during one of our mandatory get-to-know-our-neighbors dinners. He cried and our parents took pictures.
After that it was smooth sailing and Jay Noel was my permanent slave.
We had grown up together, going to the same middle school down the block, the same high school a couple of train rides away, and then the same college. On the second day in orientation, Jay came to my room, carelessly resting himself on my newly made cream bed sheets.
"You aren't going to follow me my whole life are you?" I asked sarcastically, while unloading clothes from my suitcase.
Jay cocked an eyebrow and his chocolate brown eyes glanced up at me from behind his phone. There was a cocky snort.
"I should be the one saying that. After you moved next door we've been stuck like glue." He frowned. "When are you going to un-stick yourself from me?"
"Oh shut up, my presence has been the best gift in your life and you know it."
"Whatever, think that if you want." The clicking of buttons continued and Jay went back to texting.
"Right, so have you met your roommate yet?"
"Hmm? yeah."
"What's he like? Mine still hasn't shown yet." I said, frowning at the empty bed on the other side of my room.
"He's alright." He looked up briefly. "Not my type, but maybe yours." He said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes. "You don't have eyes for anything without huge boobs."
"And you will sleep with any hot guy you meet."
"I am not a slut." I said firmly hands on my hips.
"And I am not a manwhore." Jay said sitting up. "But then we both know that's not true."
So maybe I was a bit frivolous when it came to sexual relationships. But it wasn't like I slept with any good looking guy.
"Just make sure to use protection. We're in a bigger playing field now with a lot more walking diseases." I said, tossing him a blanket. "Now help me clean this fucking room like you're supposed to!"
He dropped the blankets like dirty laundry and furrowed his brows in distaste.
"Sorry, I'm gonna run. An upperclassman just told me about a party going down later." Jay said, running to the door.
"But you promised you'd help me!" I growled, yelling at him before he made his narrow escape.
"Sorry, the upperclassman's a babe" he said with an unapologetic smile before high tailing away.
I growled, making a mental note to make sure he suffered the next time I saw him. Then I noticed the faded jean jacket he had left behind on my chair. Muttering I grabbed it and made way to his place, three rooms down and around the corner from mine. Funny thing about fate was that even in college with all the random room and dorm assignments, we still lived in close proximity to one another.
It was like a curse—I thought as I knocked on the door.
An unfamiliar mellow voice called out from behind it.
"Hold on a second!" The person I assumed to be Jay's roommate said.
The door opened with a bang and I stared into familiar hazel eyes. A tall fit male with light cream skin and chestnut brown hair looked down at me. Our eyes locked and he looked questioningly into mine.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
I smiled—Or maybe it was a blessing.
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Author's note
Hi! So this is my second story and I'm still super new to wattpad so I'm still working on formating and stuff. Anyway, I hope you've given this a chance and have enjoyed what you've read so far. This story came suddenly to me and it really just pops right onto the page so updates should be pretty consistent. Expect maybe somwhere between 10-20 chapters in total.
anyway if you enjoyed it leave me a comment and let me know. I know it's a bit slow right now but it definetely picks up around chapter 3. I want to develop my characters slowly and show you guys as much as them as possible.
let me know what you guys thought!
-Jean
YOU ARE READING
taping eggshells
Short Story- - - > He was like poison, slowly seeping into my skin, drowning all of me in something numbing, something frightening. He peered at me with his half empty hazel eyes and I wondered what he saw as he leaned forward and locked his lips to mine...
