Annalise Starke had known her mother was going to die eventually; she just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
At fifteen she had moved with her mother back to her home country of Australia with half a heart (metaphorically, of course) and her mo...
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I heard footsteps in the hallway, they grew louder until they stopped at my door. A knock. "You almost ready to go, teacup?" Jacks' voice was quiet.
"Yeah, almost," I replied as I pulled on the tee shirt and boxer shorts I had pulled from my drawer.
The door opened and I turned in shock to see Sylvie slipping inside. I brought my hand up to my heart and took a deep breath. "Syl, you scared the shit out of me! I thought you were—" I stopped myself, afraid to say too much, and yet not enough.
She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "I know." She then proceeded to run around the room, grabbing various items and shoving them into a canvas tote bag.
I cocked a brow. "What are you doing with all that?"
"Packing your bag," this was when I started to pay a bit more attention to what she was putting in there. It was already bulging a bit, but then she added the water bottle from my nightstand and zipped it closed.
She handed it over to me, and I immediately went for the zipper.
"Nope," she clicked her tongue. "Don't open it until you get to the destination." My chin jerked down as I gave her a look. This was getting surprisingly complex. Sylvie sighed before she said, "Just trust me."
I mirrored her when I, too, let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, fine." I took the bag from her and slung it over my shoulder. "I guess I'll see you when we get back," I said, no longer sugar coating it. Sylvie only giggled in response, and as the blush rose to my already burning cheeks, I made a mental note to ask her about Ryan when I got back.
I left my room to find Jacks leaning against the wall, looking down at something on his phone. He must've sensed my presence, because he looked up. "Ready?" I nodded in response, and he started for the stairs.
As we walked out the door, he kept at a fast pace. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I stared up at his back. I could see the muscles moving beneath his faded Noah Kahan t-shirt that looked at least a size too small. Though I wasn't complaining...
"It's a surprise," he shook his head. "All you need to know is that we're going on an adventure."
I held in the groan itching to come out. I hated surprises—probably because I'm impatient, not that I'd ever admit that outside of the safety of my mind—but I guess I could endure it, for Jacks. So, I just sighed and picked up my pace. "All right, let's hurry, then." I said as I approached the passenger side door of Jacks' Jeep.
He chuckled. "We won't be needing that, teacup."
I turned to face him, watching as he walked around the car, and just kept going. My brows furrowed as I raced to catch up. "We're walking?" he nodded. So it must be close. "Any hints?"
