Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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I DON'T WANT TO SEE PEPPER. The moment I lay eyes on her, she's bound to shatter my heart into fragments of itself. If I see her beautiful yet guilt-ridden face, she'll wrap me around her fingers once again.
I simply can't risk loving her right now.
When I turn eighteen, my parents can't force me to marry. The only threat looming over my head will be them forcing me to move, but if I can just get them to stop shoving girl after girl down my throat, I can focus on making them see the error in their beliefs and accept Pepper. That's just not an option while I'm under their control. So I'm left to wield the options on a double-edged sword.
Ignore Pepper for two months or lose her forever?
The choice is more than obvious.
Yet this breakup has awakened something in her that I've always been afraid of; her and Lucas' feelings for each other. Those feelings are something she needs to deal with before I can place my love in her hands again.
So when I arrive at the local theatre where we're supposed to meet, I lock up my heart and hold it prisoner beneath my ribcage. This is not a date. This is goodbye. It has to be or we'll never see the end. Part of me is dying to tell Pepper the truth. She's already come within a hair's width of it, but I fear the chaos that will ensue if I confirm her suspicions.
Not only will our families become enemies, not only will it destroy Pepper, but what if she gives up on us because she sees no hope in my family? There would be constant hostility sitting between our parents. We would grow distant and eventually fall apart. I can see all of it now and it's terrifying.
I can't lose her. I just can't.
Pepper arrives just moments after me and there's not enough time to steady the oxygen pulling in and out of my lungs. There's a moment of hesitation as she steps into the lobby before she approaches with her curls tied in two knots atop her head while the rest flows like a river down her back. Her face is flush, no doubt from the cold, and she's tucked in her favorite fury pink coat. She closes the gap between us, bringing her tropical essence to surround me. My heart thuds at her sudden nearness. My pulse rages inside me and my stomach twists. Her steps are slow but she manages to reach me so fast.
I know she's going to deny her feelings for Lucas. She obviously can't see them in herself.
"H-hi." She clears her raspy throat and tries again. "Hi."
"Hey." I shove my hands into my jacket pockets to avoid being vulnerable to any contact with her.
Still, Pepper steps forward and slips her arms around me, surrounding me in my favorite scent of hers. It hurts. Being touched by her hurts. Smelling her hurts. Loving her this much is excruciating.
Suddenly, I hate my parents. I hate them so much for threatening me. For snatching such an amazing thing away from me. For allowing Pepper to awaken something I was always afraid of. I hate them.
