Jesse's Girl (COMPLETE)

Chapter 26

* Catherine *

'Stupid fucking boys' I mumbled under my breath as I took a long, deep drag of my smoke.

I don't usually smoke. It generally only happens when I'm extremely wasted or I'm incredibly frustrated.

And right now I was frustrated.

I was frustrated with Beau and his constant flirting. Why couldn't he just take the hint? I wasn't interested. He could have any girl at school, so why the hell did he have to focus incessantly on me?

I was frustrated with Jesse. With his stupid chiselled body and his stupid perfect face and don't even get me started on his stupid moody attitude. That one minute he was all over me and the next he could barely even look at me.

I was frustrated that I had let myself almost sleep with a guy I barely knew, that I had let myself drop my guard for even the briefest of moments.

But most of all I was frustrated that the whole time I was with Jesse I hadn't thought of Joe.

My Joe.

Not even once.

*** Flashback ***

It had been almost a month since Joe finished his first round of treatment and as much as I tried to deny it, it was plain as day that he wasn't improving.

As each day went by I watched as my beautiful Joe continued to fade away in front of my very eyes. The ripped muscles he was once so proud of had long since withered, his broad and muscular frame was nothing more than just skin and bones. His normally sun kissed skin had faded to a sickly white and his sandy blonde hair that I loved to run my fingers through had fallen out from the chemo and had not started to grow back.

You wouldn't have known the boy sitting beside me was the same boy I went surfing with every weekend, that used to throw me over his shoulder like I was a rag doll as he playfully slapped my ass before dragging me into his bedroom where he would worship my body for hours, bringing me wave upon wave of indescribable pleasure. 

But looks can be deceiving.

Joe may not look like he once did but his heart was still as pure and selfless as it had always been. In fact it felt like since he had gotten sick the love he had for both Maddox and I only seemed to grow. It was the only thing about him that got stronger as the days passed by.

Joe and I were sitting at our spot, a little rock wall that jutted out from the sands edge into the brilliant blue ocean. It was a warm spring night, the gentle sea breeze nipped at my skin and as I dangled my feet into the waters edge the calming waves lapped at my ankles. As I gazed up at the millions of stars twinkling above us giving the illusion of infinity, I felt Joe's intense gaze on my cheek.

Tearing my eyes away from the night sky I turned to face the boy I loved and was taken by surprise at the way he was looking at me. Joe sat there just studying me intently, drinking in every little detail of my face as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on.

'Joe... are you... what's wrong? I asked quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever deep thoughts were obviously swirling through his mind but needing to know how he was feeling.