Arrow

Twenty Nine: Snake

"I was good at car racing" He revealed

"Car racing?" I repeated, stunned by his revelation. I could not imagine him horse riding, but I could definitely imagine him behind the wheel of a modified import that shot out flames

"I started out young, climbed my way up the rankings, by the time I was 15 I'd competed in over a hundred races, I placed in all of them"

My fingertips were fiddling with the mane in between my hands. I couldn't brush anymore. I was far too focused on what Jesse was saying.

"I was 18 when I got my first big sponsor, I was ready to compete nationally and then..." He looked down, breaking our gaze. His hands were on the horse, creating long strokes against his neck "a week before my first big race, I almost died in an accident"

My breathing halted. He lifted his gaze back up "I broke my leg in two different places, I had a fractured skull, internal bleeding, I was in an induced coma for 3 weeks"

"Wow" I mumbled, stunned

"It was in hospital that I met Tricia, she'd just had her appendix out" He scoffed "Just one mistake after the next I suppose" He sighed, half grumbling as his expression lightened again

I gave a snicker "We all make mistakes, some of us are just more prone to it than others"

Jesse's smile returned, the air settling around us again. He understood what a life of struggles was, no one really understood trauma unless they themselves had been through it. Jesse had experienced near death, perhaps that was why he was now so much more optimistic, to live life fully while you still had it. Maybe it was why he was always trying to persuade me into being more positive and hopeful.

Jesse released a long sigh

"Talon is determined to mend bridges with you, he tried to come and see you when Ronan returned"

"Tried?" My fingers returned to brushing out knots

"I talked him out of it"

"Thanks" I appreciated

"He isn't the only one fighting for your attention though"

My heart jumped in my chest, nervous of his words. I looked up at him, unsure as I narrowed my eyes, my fingers again pausing

"Ronan" He answered my stare
Unexpectedly I felt a little disappointed

I blew out a breath of air, calming myself as I looked back down, tending the the horse hair between my palms "Well they're not going to get it, my track record with men is fairly concerning, the last thing I need, or want right now is either of them being near me, or touching me like that.." I obviously shuttered, perhaps a little too dramatically

Jesse's eyebrows pulled together in the middle, as though he was confused

"What?"

He hesitated, and then continued with an unreadable expression "in the boiler room, in the library, those times with me, you didn't push me away, why?" He spoke, his eyes narrow as I dropped my head

Heat rushed to my face. I was having trouble understanding why myself. Matter of fact was that I had thought of the complete opposite when it came to Jesse. I didn't want to push him away, I wanted to pull him closer, there was a magnetism with him that I hadn't felt before. He wasn't like Ronan, or Talon, he felt safe, he felt so much more emotionally intelligent, he was someone who knew what boundaries were. I let my face fall as far down as possible, afraid he'd notice the colour change

I shrugged "Talon did a lot to me to earn the hate that I have for him, and Ronan, there was always something that felt off about him, knowing what I know now obviously my instincts were right, after everything with Talon I learnt to better listen to my instincts, know who was good, who was bad" I tried to explain