Filed To Story: The Perfect Spiral Book PDF Free by Ashley Constantine
I place my hand on top of his to get his attention, but he doesn’t respond. He hasn’t said a word to me since the whole sex song incident. I poke his cheek to get his attention, but he still doesn’t look at me.
He’s ignoring me, I know he is. But why? I didn’t do anything. I ruffle his hair, only for him to fix it and keep his gaze fixed out the window. His jaw is still clenched, and his eyes are focused on anything but me.
He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through it, still not saying a word to me. He’s on Instagram, then Twitter, and then moves on to ESPN.
I pivot away from him, crossing my legs and causing his hand to slip from my thigh. I gaze out the window, avoiding his gaze. His hand finds its way back to my thigh, but I lift it and place it back on his lap, still not looking at him. I sit in the cab, my foot tapping impatiently against the seat in front of me, waiting for the ride to end so I can escape to the comfort of my bed.
A moment later, I feel his arm rest on the back of my seat, his hand gently stroking my shoulder. I glance at him, his eyes focused straight ahead, his jawline sharp and pronounced. I return my gaze to the window, leaning my head against the cool glass, finding solace in its chill.
His hand trails down my back, coming to rest at my waist. His thumb draws circles on my dress, a reminder of our earlier moment on the deck. As the car slows to a stop, I see we’ve arrived at the house. We pay the cab driver, and the car is soon a flurry of activity as everyone stirs awake and spills out onto the street.
Knox exits first, waiting for me to follow. He extends his hand to help me, but I ignore it, gripping the door for support as I step out. I walk past him, heading towards the house without uttering a word.
Behind me, I hear the car door slam shut with a force that suggests annoyance. Why is he so mad? I wonder, continuing my walk, the ground seeming to shift beneath my feet.
Sam opens the door and we all file in silently. I remove my shoes and place them high on the stairs, out of Boomer’s reach. I’m greeted by my furry friend and we dash into the pantry for a treat. I toss him a small morsel, mindful not to overfeed him. I don’t want to be blamed for his weight gain.
In the pantry, I grab a Twinkie for myself, tossing the wrapper in the bin. I return to the kitchen where everyone is gathered around the counter. I toss a Twinkie to Sam, her face lighting up with joy. After finishing my treat, I bid everyone goodnight and head upstairs, aware of the footsteps trailing behind me.
I turn to see him, phone in hand, following me. I let out a loud sigh and continue my ascent. He follows me to my room, but I push him out, shutting the door in his face and locking it. That’ll show him. I hear a loud sigh and the retreating footsteps. The door slams shut with a loud bang. Good. Not my problem.
It feels like a replay of our first kiss. First, he ignores me, then he throws unnecessary digs my way, picks on me, and is rude. nie stans migms, making me feel useless. I wont let nim make me feel that way again. I won’t let anyone make me feel that way again. I change into my jersey and lie down on my bed.
I hear Hannah leave, Ben accompanying her home. He’s such a gentleman. I smile at the thought of them together.
A few minutes later, I hear his footsteps approaching. I open my door to see him standing there. “Hey,” he says softly.
“Hey, can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t want to be alone right now,” I ask, giving him a tired smile. He nods, stepping into my room. He wraps me in a tight hug, planting a small kiss on my temple.
He strips down to his boxers and heads to the bed while I lock the door. “It’s so people don’t walk in and think something they shouldn’t. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you… yet,” I tease, smirking at him.
“Why would they think we did something? It’s not like I’m only in my boxers and you’re in just a top and your underwear?” he retorts, a smirk of his own playing on his lips.
I laugh and walk around to the other side of the bed, slipping under the covers. We lie there, staring at the ceiling, until I feel him shift onto his side, propping himself up on his arm.
“So, are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to bring out my girly side to get the gossip out of you, sweet cheeks?” he teases, raising an eyebrow. I giggle at his antics and start recounting the night’s events.
“I still can’t believe you got hit on by a girl! And I missed it!” he exclaims, his eyes wide with amazement.
“Really? Out of everything I just told you, that’s all you picked up on?” I ask, throwing my hands up in exasperation.
“You’re right, I’m sorry! But was she hot at least?” he teases.
“Ben! Not cool!” I playfully scold him, slapping his chest.
He starts to laugh, trying to keep the noise down. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist, sweet cheeks. But… give him time. He’ll come around and tell you why he’s acting this way. I mean, I can kind of see where he’s coming from… but I don’t get why he won’t just talk to you about it?”
His attempt to explain doesn’t make things any clearer. I still don’t understand why he’s acting so strange, giving me the cold shoulder. Some days, he’s as easy to read as a book, other days, he’s a complete mystery.
I sigh, and he suggests we sleep it off. We get comfortable on our own sides of the bed, wish each other goodnight, and drift off to sleep.
I awaken to the relentless throb of a headache and the sound of someone crunching cereal beside me. The mere thought of food makes me cringe.
With a groan, I lift my hands to my temples, rubbing them in soothing circles to ease the pulsating pain. Blinking my eyes open, I find Hannah, Andy, and Ben perched on my bed, munching away.
The sight of food sends me bolting for the bathroom. At first, I’m just dry heaving, but soon I’m emptying the contents of my stomach.
A gentle hand rubs my back, and a glass of water is placed beside me with a soft clink against the tiles. I rinse my mouth out a few times, the cool water a welcome relief.
Turning around, I find Ben sitting on the bathroom floor with me, while Andy lingers in the doorway. Hannah, who can’t stomach the sight or sound of someone being sick, is conspicuously absent.
Ben continues to rub my back as I empty my stomach. Once I’m done, I rinse my mouth out again, then brush my teeth twice to rid myself of the lingering taste.
I hate the way my stomach clenches, the odd cracking of my bones as they aid in the dreadful task. My throat burns from the stomach acid that traveled up along with my partially digested food.
Emerging from the bathroom, I sit on the bed and nibble on some bread, hoping it will settle my stomach.
“Have you seen Knox’s new Instagram post? We’re trying to figure out who it is, along with the rest of the nation. It’s major news right now, it’s all over the TV,” Hannah says, her eyes glued to her phone.
I raise an eyebrow at her, focusing on keeping my food down with deep, calming breaths. “It might be that girl, the one he thinks is complicated to ask out?” I suggest, shredding the bread and popping it into my mouth.
A small sting in my heart and a sinking feeling in my stomach accompany my words. An Instagram picture making the news? I’m slowly losing faith in humanity.
“Here, this one,” Hannah hands me her phone, and my eyes widen at the picture.
It’s the one where I was sitting on his lap, straddling him. The one where you can’t see my face, and he’s holding onto my waist, his thumb stroking my skin. It was uploaded yesterday at six o’clock when we were getting ready. The image is in black and white, so my bikini color isn’t visible. Andy turns on my TV to show me that it is, in fact, on the news.
People are way too invested in his life. I continue to cat, trying to feel better, while the four of us stare at the flashing lights across the screen.
…..This picture was uploaded yesterday, but we don’t know for sure when it was taken. We have a few pictures to show that he was holding his camera around his body yesterday down at the beach in
Savannah while sitting next to Alex Thompson. But there are a few sources saying it’s Lauren and others are saying it’s Alex. We have yet to find out! He hasn’t posted a picture so cryptic before, because it’s captionless with no hashtags it adds to the mystery of who this girl is? It clearly shows that she’s sitting comfortably on his lap, he’s wearing black or navy shorts but we can’t be sure because it’s black and white. You can see from these pictures that he’s pretty cozy with Alex on the beach? What are your thoughts guys? Tweet us!”
I zone out, looking back down at the picture. I bite the inside of my cheek, almost drawing blood. I have to admit it is a good picture, the way he’s holding my waist gives me butterflies in my stomach.
There are lots of comments, tagging me and Lauren in them. Then again, it could just be that he liked the photo composition and decided to post it because it’s artistic.
“Is it you?” Andy asks softly. I tear my gaze away from Hannah’s phone and hand it back to her. She continues scrolling through the comments, deciphering people’s opinions.
“It’s quickly becoming the most liked picture on Instagram, he has over eight million likes already and counting,” Hannah informs us, her eyes never leaving the lit screen in her hands.
I feel Ben’s hand rest on my thigh, silently asking me to tell him if it is me. He sends me a reassuring smile, letting me know that I can tell them and it’s alright if it is.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.