If Only

Chapter Twenty: Casual Mornings

JADE

I awoke to the persistent buzz of my phone on the nightstand. Opening my eyes, I instantly regretted it as I was greeted by the glaring brightness. Who on earth had the audacity to pull the curtains open at this ungodly hour? I fumbled around the nightstand, blindly searching for my phone, and cautiously cracked open one eye to check the screen. It read 8:00 in the morning, and to my relief, it was a Saturday.

I turned my head to the side, searching for Jared, but he was conspicuously absent from the other side of the bed. Glancing back at my phone, a small envelope icon on the screen signaled a new message from Jared himself. I couldn't help but smile as his face flashed through my mind, along with the memories of the previous night, particularly around 3 in the morning.

Who could have foreseen it? Alison Jade Jorgensen, Gerard Jorgensen's daughter, losing her virginity in the first week of school, precisely on the second day of her sophomore year in high school...

No one could have predicted that she would venture out of her room during the summer, but she did, and she relished it. For if she hadn't stepped out that day, she would never have discovered Jared's existence, breaking the city's rules by clandestinely adorning the walls of her family's property with graffiti. Yet, that was just the beginning of the extraordinary life that lay ahead.

I swiped the screen and read Jared's message.

'Get your ass out of bed and come downstairs ;)'

Reading the message alone indicated that he hadn't left yet for the day. It was clear that he had been the one to pull the curtains. Plus, my mom hadn't returned home either. It seemed like it was going to be an interesting weekend.

I took a moment to stretch my arms and legs, only to realize that I was still naked underneath the thick blankets. My room was in complete disarray, and I couldn't muster the energy to search for the pair of underwear I had lost earlier at 3 in the morning when Jared had removed them.

As I pushed myself up, a sudden realization struck me: I needed to change my bed sheets before my parents noticed something was amiss.

I was about to get up when I spotted a folded set of pink Minnie Mouse pajamas sitting on top of my nightstand. What?

Jared must have rummaged through my closet just to find something to tease me with. That infuriating... well, jerk. I recalled the last time I had worn this particular pair of pajamas; it felt like eons ago.

I mean, seriously? Who even wears pajamas covered in Minnie Mouse prints these days? Maybe thirteen-year-olds, but certainly not me.

"Oh, no," I sighed, feeling a mix of exhaustion and amusement. It was more to myself than anyone else, but I couldn't help but smile, realizing that Jared had gone through my closet just to find me a pair of old pajamas. Even though he hadn't confessed to it yet, I instantly knew it was him.

I grabbed the pajamas and quickly dressed myself.

*****

As I made my way downstairs, the sounds of ruffling and clattering echoed from the kitchen, leaving me with no doubt about Jared's whereabouts.

Approaching the kitchen, the noises grew louder. Carefully, so as not to give myself away, I peeked around the door frame. There was Jared, shirtless, his back to me as he rummaged through the cupboards in search of something.

I was almost certain I heard him mutter, "Ah ha!" to himself before grabbing a plate and a chopping board from different spots.

He retrieved eggs from a drawer and onions from drawers I didn't even know held them. His knowledge of our kitchen layout was starting to unnerve me. Did we even keep eggs in there?