Kapitel 5: Chapter 5: Meet Wes
Friday!
First week of senior year is almost done. I’ve been rushing through the hallways to get to my locker, keeping my head down and walking with determination.
Jasper is waiting for me in the courtyard to have lunch. He claims that we’re having a buffet of food today, which is surprising considering our cafeteria is the worst.
I turned the corner and spotted the boy who hasn’t escaped my mind. Walking carefully, he had his nose buried in a book, being mindful not to walk into anyone or into a wall. My breath caught in my throat when his fingers gently tugged the corner of a page. He didn’t turn the page, but instead, he slipped a piece of paper into the binding of the book. My heart melted when he didn’t fold the corner of the page. That’s my biggest pet peeve with books. I hate when people fold the page at the top corner.
Feeling my forest green eyes, the magnetic pull in the hallway drew his head from his book. His eyes connected with mine and I couldn’t breathe. This is the first moment all week where I’ve seen his full face. A smile tugged on his lips as I pivoted on my heel and turned away.
His towering stature asserted dominance in the hallway. My mind floated back to his broad shoulders slightly hunched over his book. The way pieces of his hair fell in front of his forehead as he looked down at his book. Everything about him seems intoxicating.
I wonder what his voice sounds like.
“Did someone slap you?” Jasper asked as I sat down across from him at a picnic table. “Why’s your face all red?”
I felt the heat in my cheeks, but I couldn’t admit out loud that Wesley was the reason for the redness.
“What can I say, you make me blush,” I smiled.
Jasper rolled his eyes. “My little Lucy. I feared this would happen one day. You’d wake up and realize that my handsome face is all you can think about.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at my best friend. He’s everything to me. Jasper Hale is the only person on the planet that is willing to help me raise five kids without complaining that I’m taking over his life.
“You’re a dork,” I laughed.
“On to other news, the new kid is great. We’ve been hanging out after I drop off Derek and Oliver,” Jasper explained. “Funny story, he thought you were my girlfriend, and I nearly crashed my car from laughing.”
“You make me sound like an ogre,” I deadpanned.
“Wes doesn’t think you’re an ogre,” Jasper smirked, and I rolled my eyes. “He moved here from California and he’s a surfer. He showed me videos of him in a surfing contest and it looked awesome!”
I rolled my eyes, taking my bookmark out of my current page. I've been using an index card as a bookmark for the longest time. I raised an eyebrow at Jasper and asked, “Are you in love with him or something?”
“He’d be so lucky to have me love him,” Jasper laughed. “You’re my best friend and I love you, but it’s kinda cool having a guy friend.”
“What else did you learn about him?” I asked.
I couldn’t help myself from asking the question. I wanted to know everything about Wesley. My mind thought about what he likes to do in his spare time? What he does with his hands when he’s nervous? What kind of books does he read?
“Only child. Last name is Reynolds. He’s here because his dad was raised in Fairview,” Jasper explained. The two of us dug into the buffet of fast food that Jasper had to offer. The word food is used loosely because most of these taste worse than cafeteria food.
“Did you guys become best friends?” I asked, smiling. “If you did, you better not tell that to Oliver. You’ll make the poor kid jealous.”
“Oliver will forever be the little brother I didn’t get. I used to tell my parents they needed to procreate more to give me siblings. You know what they did?” Jasper rhetorically asked, knowing I know the answer. “They got divorced.”
I burst out laughing, trying to be sympathetic to my friend. He always makes jokes about his familial struggles because it doesn’t bother him. He also doesn’t want to insult me by talking positively about his parents, since mine decided to leave me. Twice.
My birth mother left me behind with my birth father when she decided to run off. To where? I have no idea. I grew up with my birth father until I was seven. He left me at a daycare service with a backpack full of clothes and personal belongings. I assumed he’d be back later, but he never came back. So, now here we are, with the family was I always meant to have.
“You should meet Wes. I think you guys would get along fine.”
“You know better than anyone why I can’t,” I whispered, keeping my head in my latest book.
Romance novels.
My favorite genre to read. Imaginative writing about a love that I’ve never felt before and will probably never feel.
Romance novels allow me to escape into a world where my knight in shining armor can sweep me off my feet and take away all my fears and problems.
There’s a reason why they call it fiction. It’s not real. The only person who I can ever count on in my life is me, and I don’t have the privilege of finding my King Arthur in a sea of Sir Lancelot’s. I’m not Guinevere. I’m not destined to find a King who loves me enough that his heartbreak ultimately destroys Camelot. No one will love me the way Penelope loved Odysseus.
I can’t complain about my lack of love because I keep people as far away from me as possible. I don’t have the time to wear my heart on my sleeve when my kids and I live in fear of being separated. The only love I have and the only love I need is for my kids.
Jasper gripped both my shoulders and shook me back to life. “Are you even listening to me? I’ve been sitting here rambling about guitar practice for the past ten minutes,” Jasper gasped when he noticed I wasn’t listening.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?” I asked.
“Ollie and I are going to work on his guitar playing tonight. He has been looking upset on the drive home, so I told him we’d have some guy time in his treehouse,” Jasper explained.
“He’s upset?” I questioned.
Seeing Jasper nod his head to my question broke my heart into pieces. Oliver is the most sensitive of the kids, so I always show him as much love as I can. The fact that I didn’t see that Oliver was upset is tearing me up inside. Being distracted with keeping an orderly house and on my schoolwork is making me neglect the feelings of my kids.
It didn’t take long for Jasper to wrap his arms around me and keep me from sliding over the edge. My best friend. He’s incredible.
“You’re doing everything you can. Don’t let it go to your head,” Jasper whispered.
“I’m going to pick up all the kids today. I want to spend some time with them,” I told Jasper.
***
I went through the rest of the day thinking about Oliver. In fact, I couldn’t stop thinking about all my kids. If one of them is upset, then it’s entirely possible for all of them to be upset. Except for Ariel. That little girl is a ball of sunshine. She’s my little bundle of happiness.
Rummaging through my locker to make sure I had everything I needed was making me anxious. Seth and Serena were going to be waiting by the freshman exit. We needed to pick up Derek and Oliver from elementary school and Ariel from preschool.
Stealing glances at Wesley Reynolds down the hall isn’t in my best interest. He’s in a trance at his locker. For someone who’s being called a delinquent, he’s adamant in making sure that he has all the textbooks that he needs to bring home.
I should look away.
To an outsider, I’d look like a stalker. Oops.
I shut my locker, harder than necessary, before pivoting on my heel and bolting for the exit.
“Hey!” I heard behind me. The greeting wasn’t meant for me unless it was from Jasper. I know Jasper’s voice. It’s full of excitement and happiness. “Hey! Lucy, wait up!”
My feet stopped at the sound of my name. “Me?”
“You’re Lucy, aren’t you?” Wesley Reynolds stood before me, looking surer of his question than he wanted me to believe. The welcoming smile on his face almost had me dropping to my knees. “I’m Wes. I met your friend Jasper earlier this week.”
“That’s nice.” My eyes refused to meet his. I need to get out of here and pick up the kids. “I need to go.”
I scurried away from Wesley like an insect being startled by a human coming to kill it. I couldn’t spare another glance at Wesley Reynolds, otherwise, I’d be forced to dissect all the stunning features that made him seem otherworldly like his stunning russet brown eyes. His dark eyes contrast his dark hair in the perfect way. Up close his height is menacing, but he looks like he couldn't hurt a fly.
“Nice to meet you,” he called after me. I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t stop the smile on my face.
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein