Fake Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,56

My body already revved up.

Not to mention I was still feeling the residual from the accident.

It was just too much at once and my body said I need a break, bitch.

I got out of bed and wandered downstairs.

My mother was nowhere to be found.

That was fine by me.

I stepped outside to the deck and saw Gia walking up the steps.

“Perfect timing,” I said. “I just woke up.”

“How are you feeling?”

“All better,” I said. “Everything just really got to me at once there. That was scary. I thought I was going to die…”

“Please don’t die, Winter,” Gia said.

“I’m good. I’m here. I’m not going to let up about you though. You were crying, Gia. You avoided me in the morning. You were home. And then you went for a run on the beach while crying.”

“What if I told you sometimes I cry when I run? As a way to let out my emotions?”

“That’s a great reason to run and/or cry… but I’d say you’re full of shit.”

Gia nodded. “That’s what makes you a good friend. Want to get a little high so I can tell you what’s going on?”

“Of course.”

Chapter 20

high n’ cry

I waved Gia off when she tried to pass me the smoke one more time.

I was good.

Really good.

Plenty, really good.

The ocean seemed calmer and more like a symphony than waves smacking the shore. When I looked up to the stars, they twinkled more. And I swore some were even dancing around the sky.

Gia and I looked at each other and laughed for no reason.

I’m talking full on belly laughing.

I fell back to the steps and started to wave my hands because I couldn’t breathe.

Gia hurried down the steps and got rid of the smoke, still laughing her ass off.

I basically slithered my way down the steps to join her, never standing, planting my ass to the sand.

I looked up at her and grabbed her hand and pulled her down to join me.

We sat next to each other and were arm in arm.

Her head on my shoulder.

Like we had been friends all our lives.

Fuck, I wished she had been my friend all my life. Maybe I would be a better person. Maybe I wouldn’t have become a target for Noah, Easton, and Xavier. Maybe Gia wouldn’t have had her anxiety issues.

So much could have been different and better for us.

“You were crying,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Gia…”

“I told you, it was just anxiety.”

“I told you that you’re lying to me. You can’t lie to me.”

“Why not?”

“Best friends…”

I didn’t finish the sentence.

What was I going to say?

Best friends don’t lie?

With the exception of me. To her. About everything.

“Best friends,” Gia said. She lifted her head and smiled. “Best friends. I like that.”

“You’re my only true friend around here,” I said.

“Except Noah, Easton, and Xavier. Oh, and that Troc you’re secretly fucking.”

“I’m not fucking a Troc!” I cried out.

Gia started to laugh again.

I laughed too.

I shook my head and tried so hard to chase away the giggles.

“You… need… to tell me… why you… were… crying…”

That was the best I could do with my sentence.

“Okay, fine,” Gia said. “Calm yourself over there, Winter. Jeez.”

She pushed at me.

I fell to the sand and laughed some more.

Getting high and trying to have a serious talk was a big mistake.

That’s probably what Gia wanted though.

She wanted me to be like this.

Bitch.

I sat back up and we faced each other.

“Now whatever I tell you, you can’t judge me,” she said.

“Why would I judge you?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of stupid.”

“Try me.”

“You won’t remember him,” Gia said. “Fletcher.”

“Fletcher?” I asked.

“Yeah. He was my first true love. I’ve loved him since eighth grade. I spent a year crushing on him. Hard. And then in ninth grade, he set his eyes on me. It was crazy. I couldn’t believe it was happening. Fletcher? Me? It was just wildfire…”

Gia smiled like I had never seen her before.

“Ah,” I said. “He was the one who…”

I made a pop sound with my mouth.

“Oh yeah,” Gia said. “But that’s a whole other story.”

“Okay…”

“He had been dating some whore cheerleader from somewhere else before me,” Gia said. “And while we were dating, he went and fooled around with her. He tried to lie to me. I believed him because I loved him. But it didn’t work out after that. We broke up.”

“Wow, that’s terrible, Gia.”

“It gets worse. I told you… this is kind of stupid.”

“You crying is not stupid.”

“Well, we just kind of were on and off for a while,” Gia said. “I knew