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I once read somewhere that we mature with damage, not with age.
feeling like I would promise all the fucking promises in the world just to make this girl feel better.
Thank fuck for that, because you’re ruining all of me right now, I thought to myself.
Should I leave her? Should I stay? Walking away didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
and while we’re on the subject, don’t talk to her,” I added, on a roll now, my commands this time for entirely selfish reasons I didn’t dare think too much about. “Don’t get any notions about her. In fact, don’t look at her at all.”
I could prevent anything like this from happening again. It wouldn’t happen again. Not on my goddamn watch.
Also, I wasn’t attached to him. I simply enjoyed admiring him. From a safe distance. When he wasn’t looking. Yeah, that wasn’t unhealthy at all.
I wasn’t a PDA kind of guy and she knew this.
That bothered me for a whole host of different reasons. I didn’t like him knowing things about her that I didn’t.
“Keep looking out for her, Cap,” he said, squeezing my shoulder. “God knows someone needs to.”
Today was Friday. Friday was a safe day.
“I’m here for you,” was all Claire replied in a sad tone of voice. “Forever.”
I truly love her so much as the friend she’s being the Shannon
She was in my space. Which meant both my attention and my thoughts were fixated solely on her.
She had this sweet something about her, and I liked how it felt when I was around her.
My gaze found its way back to Johnny, who was standing at the edge of the table with a thunderous expression etched on his face. “Bye, Johnny,” I told him in a small voice. His features softened instantly as he looked down at me and smiled. “Bye, Shannon.”
I hated humans. They were such a disappointment. And to think God switched dinosaurs for man. He must be raging.
“Not from me, it doesn’t,” he pointed out, tone a little thicker now, eyes locked on mine. “Never from me.”
“You’re a reader,” he finally said. It wasn’t a question. It sounded more like he was banking that piece of information away in his mind.
“My survival skills are terrible.” Johnny’s voice was a little deeper when he said, “I don’t know about that.”
She had her back to me and she was dressed in one of those pantsuits she wore for work. Her blond hair was pulled back from her face with a fancy-looking clip, and she looked like home. At the sight of her, I felt a weight shift off my shoulders.
We love a momma’s boy
“Shannon,” Mam whispered, pausing mid-dial. “You don’t have to feel scared to come home.” “Don’t I?” I brushed my hair off my face and pointed to the scar on my temple.
“You are so concerned with fighting the bullies at school, Mam,” I sobbed, tears streaming down my cheeks, “when the biggest bully of them all lives under this roof.”
For once in my life, I wanted a safe place to run to instead of from.
“What happened?” he demanded, glaring down at me. “Who the fuck made you cry?” “What?” I breathed, shaking my head. “I’m not crying.” “Your eyes are red and swollen,” he deadpanned. “You’ve been crying.” His eyes moved to my cheek. “The fuck happened to your face?”
“Give me a name,” Johnny growled, dropping his hands to his hips. “And I’ll take care of it.” “What—no! I’m grand,” I quickly replied. “I have allergies.” “Me too. To assholes and bullshit,” Johnny snarled. “Now, tell me who made you cry and I’ll fix it.”
“But I understand fear, which makes it easier for me to understand why you would feel the need to play through the pain.”
Two, she didn’t deserve to be put at ease. Why should she, when I spent my entire life in state of constant unease?
Shannon had been brushing me off like I was invisible for over a week now. Nine days to be precise.
Oh bro is keeping TABS
I didn’t need to look up to know who I had bumped into, though. I would recognize his voice anywhere.
“Come on,”
“I’ll take care of you.”
“Well, I’m not like most girls,” I replied with a grimace and gestured to myself. “As you can see.” “No,” Johnny confirmed quietly, eyes following my hand movements. “No, you’re not.”
Every cell in my brain was projecting nothing but rage and vengeance, demanding I take back what they took from Shannon. Take their pride like they took hers. Scare them like they scared her. Inflict pain on them like they tortured her.
“Now,” I sneered, glaring down at their faces. “Who wants to call my girlfriend a whore to my face?”
“You sure as shit did something to her,” I snarled. “And when you fuck with her, you fuck with me.”
Still, I had a feeling that the memory of his hand on my back would be scored on my soul for eternity.
“Yeah, Shan.” Offering me a small smile, he reached for his bottle of water and took a swig. “You’re good for me.”
Without meaning to or even trying, Shannon soaked up every sliver of my attention. It wasn’t a healthy feeling, but it was an addictive one.
You could love this girl your whole life, the crazy thought persisted inside my brain over and over, if you just let yourself.
“Fine.” I threw my hands up. “Keep your girlfriend away from mine and we’ll be rosy.” “You don’t have a girlfriend,” he replied slowly, expression laced with confusion. “Me,” I corrected, flustered at the word spill. “Keep her away from me and we won’t have a problem.”
Man is in DEEP
“So, bear in mind that every single time your Bella decides to make a threat, spread a nasty rumor, or fuck with my Shannon, I’ll return the favor on your face. Every single goddamn time.”
MY SHANNON
Because of her. Because he was important to her. Because if I hit him, I would hurt her. And hurting her was bad. Hurting her made me want to hurt something harder.
“I love how you don’t even deny she’s yours anymore, lad.”
His house reeked of money and luxury. Mine reeked of whiskey and pain.
This hurts my heart
“Don’t forget about me when you’re a rich and famous rugby player.” “You never know,” he said with a smirk. “I might take you with me so you can cheer me on in the stands.”
In this moment, being here with him was as easy as breathing.
allowing myself to drift off to sleep without an ounce of fear in my heart because it couldn’t exist inside of me, not when this boy had his arm around me.
but there was a voice inside my head screaming at me to protect her. I wanted to. I just didn’t know what I needed to protect her from. Or who.
“But you won’t have a jacket,” I blurted out. “But you will,” he shot back. “Now, are you going to put your arms in the sleeves, or am I going to have to do it for you?”
“You think I’d let anyone hurt you?” Johnny finally asked, his eyes dark and intense and focused solely on my face. “You think I’d let anything bad happen to you, Shannon like the river?”
