Star Gazers [BXB] [COMPLETED]

Pictures

"Ouch!"

"If you held still it wouldn't hurt as much."

Jason was kneeling in front of me while I sat on the bed. He lifted my shirt again to inspect my bruised ribs. Some kids at school had cornered me again and it wasn't pretty.

He gently placed his palm on my skin, and since his hands were currently colder than my torso, I did feel a little relief from the throbbing, fiery pain.

"It doesn't feel broken," he said after a moment of gentle prodding, letting the shirt fall back down. His vibrant blue eyes lifted back to my face and he gave me a weak half smile. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," I said, lifting my fingers to gently trace his jawline. His skin was soft, and a light dusting of barely visible freckles danced across his nose. After a moment of silence stretched between us, I dropped my hand and said, "I've been thinking."

"What about?" he inquired.

"My mom," I said, bringing my knees up to my chest and hugging them. My ribs weren't too happy about that, but I ignored their protests.

Jason got up from the floor so he could sit next to me on the bed. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his eyes trained on his clasped hands.

"We used to have a lot of family pictures up around the house, but when she died, my dad threw them off of the walls and shattered the frames. I managed to salvage a few pictures of her before he could completely destroy them or throw them away. I hid them in one of my dressers so he wouldn't find them."

"And you didn't grab them when you left," Jason guessed solemnly.

I nodded, inhaling shakily. "They're still there."

"You can't go back there," he said. "It's too dangerous."

"I don't want to, but..." I fell silent for a moment. "I don't want to forget her."

"I'm not letting you go anywhere near that monster."

"I don't think it's really your choice."

"Cole, you're asking me to let you walk right back into the lion's den. Don't you understand how bad of an idea that is? He could hurt you again!"

"I know," I breathed out, trying not to get too worked up about it. He was standing now, and I didn't want to escalate an argument with him because he was right. The thought of going back to that place terrified me. But the thought of losing the only piece of my mother that I still had terrified me even more. "That's why I'm asking you to come with me."

Jason pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes as he thought, slowly dragging them down his face until his blue eyes popped open and met my dull grey ones.

"Fine," he said. "We'll go when you get out of school tomorrow."

×××

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

I completely ignored the boy in question, but he seemed relentless as he followed me down the hallway. He was like a shadow and I couldn't seem to get rid of him.

"Cole, please."

"Fuck off, Ben!" I snapped, making him briefly stop in his tracks. I didn't waste a second as I picked up my pace and made my way to Art History. Luckily it was one of the few classes that I didn't share with Ben, so I wouldn't have to endure his harassment for the next hour at least.

"Cole, I really need to talk to you about something," he tried again, catching up.

"You've said enough," I hissed. "Leave me the fuck alone."

That seemed to do the trick. He ran his hands through his hair in exasperation and spun around to head to his own class on the other end of the school. Shaking my head in disbelief of his audacity, I closed the remaining distance to my classroom and stepped inside.

He'd been acting so weird lately. This was the third time he had approached me like this in the last week. Alone. Without his new cronies. He was almost acting like the old Ben would've.

But he wasn't the old Ben. That Ben was dead.

I couldn't help but wonder what he wanted. Was he trying to apologize or give me false hope so he could crush me again? Or maybe he just wanted to try to fuck me again. At this point I wouldn't put it past him.

I was in a foul mood for the rest of the day. My shoulders were tense, my jaw clenched, and every time I had to write something down, I snapped the lead on my pencil. By the time my last class ended, I was sore all over despite the fact that I hadn't been beaten up that day. Fortunately, that all changed when I spotted my angel on the other side of the street from the school waiting to walk me home.

He was wearing his leather jacket, a dark, navy blue t-shirt, ripped jeans, and his combat boots while he leaned against a lamp post. He also had a cigarette perched between his lips. I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed the street.

"Why are you smoking?" I folded my arms over my chest with a stern expression on my face.

"My cravings got too bad and you weren't around to distract me from them," he shrugged, pushing himself up so he wasn't leaning against the street light anymore. "Plus I'm stressed."

At the mention of it, I felt my stress returning. We were going to pick up the pictures of my mother now and there was no avoiding it.

"It'll be fine," he said, as if sensing my distress. He slung his arm over my shoulder and leaned down to whisper something in my ear. "By the way, do you have a stalker?"

"Huh?" I looked up at him, confused.

"That kid has been staring at us since you walked over here."

I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see Ben look away from where he was waiting by the front entrance of the school. Probably for that dickhead Derrick and the others.

"It's nothing I can't handle," I assured him with a fake smile, plucking his cigarette out of his mouth and tossing it to the ground so I could put it out with my shoe. Jason started to protest, but before he could get more than a word out, I pressed my lips firmly to his.

I didn't care that I was in front of the school or that Ben was probably looking again. Let those assholes watch me be happy despite the shit they put me through.

×××
A/N

What's up guys?

It's Christmas Break for me right now, so I finally had a spare moment to write an update!

Anyway, I have an announcement. I will be doing #MoreWithMora Q+As with you guys on all of my social media accounts. If you have any questions you want me to answer, comment them here, or tag me on any of the social media platforms I'm on with your question and the hashtag #MoreWithMora. Ask me anything! It could be about my personal life, my future books, or my writing journey. I'll even give writing advice! Make sure to follow me on as many platforms as you can so you don't miss out on any #MoreWithMora updates. They could appear anywhere at anytime!

The link at the end of my bio will lead you to all of my social media accounts. I will also post it in the comment section attached to this paragraph →

Can't wait to hear from you guys!

Thanks!
-Mora Montgomery