JUNIPER

My body jolted awake, and I was disoriented. I didn't recognize the room I was in. It was dark, but light peeked through the cracks in the curtains. A familiar scent washed over me, so even though I had no idea where I was, I felt safe. an emptiness in my body instead.

I was no longer in my Homecoming dress. Instead, I was in a soft, white button-up shirt and a pair of leggings. I didn't remember how I got into the new outfit, but I also didn't remember much after Asher walked away. The pain from that moment was gone, leaving

I pulled the blanket off my lap and crawled out of bed. There was a small bathroom attached to the room, and I slid in there. The mirror reflected a disheveled girl, and her eyes were as hollow as I felt. There was a bruise on her nose that spread under her right eye. It was mostly healed by now, but it was still there as a stark reminder of what happened.

Asher didn't mean to elbow me in the face, but he did mean to attack Axel. He also chose to walk away from me.

I felt numb thinking about the words he said. I understood why he was upset. It was a lot to hear about the connection Axel and I had. Part of me wondered if I had messed up by not telling him sooner. I thought I was protecting him, but it just blew up in my face, and he still walked away.

If I had told him sooner, he still may have walked away, but at least it wouldn't have hurt so much.

I found a brush on the bathroom counter and quickly ran it through my hair to make myself look somewhat presentable before I left the room to figure out where I was exactly.

When I opened the bedroom door, the smell of bacon and eggs filled the air. I stepped lightly on the hardwood floor leading out into a wide area that served as the kitchen and the living room.

In the kitchen, Ethan stood in front of the stove, whistling to himself as he shifted the pan back and forth over the flames. He was wearing a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. His hair was down and messy, and he was barefoot. I almost didn't believe it was Ethan with how casual he looked, but his scent was everywhere, and there were pictures of him and his brothers all over the place.

I stood there watching him cook, unable to say anything. His arms bulged with muscles that were normally hidden beneath his long sleeve shirts. He looked like a completely different person as he cooked-so carefree and almost... happy.

I leaned against the wall to continue watching him, but I bumped into a picture and nearly knocked it off the wall.

He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "You're awake."

I bit my lip and gave up on leaning against the wall, since I'd been caught already. "You're cooking breakfast."

"I figured you'd be hungry after last night." He took out two plates and placed eggs evenly onto each plate and then added a few pieces of bacon to them. He nodded towards the table. "Sit."

I followed his orders, feeling like I had walked into an alternate universe. I was wearing Ethan's clothes as he cooked me breakfast. It was bizarre to see the man who normally wore such a serious face look so calm.

It also felt completely normal.

"Do you like tea?" Ethan asked.

"Only with honey and lemon."

"Coming right up."

Ethan moved around the kitchen with ease, making tea for me and himself. He placed the plate of food and the tea in front of me before grabbing his own. He sat on the edge of the table, making our knees brush together. His scent was strong from here. I stared at him, wondering if this was some sort of dream still, because I couldn't think of a rational explanation as to why I was in Ethan's apartment.

"Your food is going to get cold." Ethan watched me, waiting for me to eat before taking a single bite.

"What happened last night?" I asked.

"I was going to ask you that, but I didn't want to dive into the topic if you didn't bring it up first." Ethan's eyes softened, and then he added, "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."

I picked up my fork and studied the eggs on the plate in front of me. I should've been hungry. Asher and I were going to go out to dinner after the dance, so I hadn't eaten for a while. However, the idea of food made my stomach roil. My body was working too hard to not feel the pain that threatened my very being.

I squeezed the fork, knowing there was no point in delaying the conversation. "Asher doesn't trust me. He thinks that Axel and I were doing things behind his back. I tried to explain that no matter how I felt about Axel, he was the one I chose to be with, but he said it wasn't enough."

I wanted to slam the fork into the table as anger broke free from the numbness holding me captive. I was scared to fall for Asher, because I was afraid of being hurt. He told me he wouldn't hurt me, but he didn't even have the courtesy to talk to me like an adult. He just started attacking Axel and throwing accusations out there.

"Are you still together?" Ethan asked softly.

I shook my head. "I don't know. He said he needed time to think about things."

"Do you want to be with him still?"

I opened my mouth to tell him, "Of course," but nothing came out of my mouth. After last night, I felt like everything was my fault, and I had messed up the relationship. I thought the only choice I had was to wait for Asher to decide if I was worth the effort. I didn't even think about having a choice to leave him. I still cared about him, but after his accusations, it was clear he didn't trust me. After the way he walked away, I didn't know if I trusted him anymore. A relationship without trust wasn't a real relationship. "I don't know." I wanted to talk to Asher before I decided. He wasn't acting like himself last night, and I didn't want to end our relationship because of one outburst, but serious damage had been done. I wasn't sure a conversation with him would be enough to fix things. "Did he hurt you?"

My eyes widened, and I stared at him in disbelief. Even after everything that happened, Asher never made me feel in danger around him.

"No. He wouldn't. Why would you think that?"

Ethan looked into my eyes as if he was searching for some answer. "I normally wouldn't accuse Asher of something like that, but when Axel and I found you, you were complaining of pain and were sobbing. Seeing you like that was..." His voice dropped off. "Was what?" I leaned onto the edge of my seat, desperate to know what he was about to say.

Ethan leaned forward and took a piece of my hair and twirled the strand between his fingers. "All I want to do is protect you, Juniper. I know I should keep my distance from you. I'm your TA and having a personal relationship with you would be harmful for both of us. In fact, if anyone saw you in this apartment right now, it would only fuel those rumors.

"But when I saw you in pain, I couldn't leave you there. I would've jumped in front of a moving car for you at that moment. I still would."

My heart raced hearing those words. "I'm glad you found me," I whispered. The moment felt too intimate, and I didn't know if I wanted to lean forward or back off.

I licked my lips, and Ethan's eyes immediately went to them. "When we found you like that, I decided to take you back to my apartment, so we could make sure you were okay."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Memories of the splitting headache came flying back. "I don't know what happened. When Asher walked away, it broke my heart. But then I got this strange feeling that I had felt that kind of pain before, only worse. Then my head felt like it was about to explode."

Ethan froze as I explained the pain. He pulled back, and his face hardened again. "Juniper, there's something I need to tell you."

This shift in his voice put me on edge. I twisted in my chair, unsure if I was ready to hear what he was about to say. "What is it?"

Ethan tapped his fingers on the table, staring at his hand with the intensity of someone about to pull a trigger on a gun. "You asked me once why I wanted to protect you. I told you it was because you deserved it, but that wasn't the full truth. I've known you since you were a child. In fact, you knew all of us as a child. We used to play together and run around. I cared about you then, and I never stopped caring about you."

Images of my dreams flashed into my head. I instantly recognized the boys as the Burrell brothers, but I thought it was just because when dreaming you knew who people were, even if they looked nothing like themselves.

"What are you talking about? I don't remember you," I said, searching my brain for the memories Ethan claimed I had.

"There was an accident, and you lost your memory. Your parents took you away after that, and we haven't seen you again since we ran into you at this school," Ethan explained. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but it's complicated. If you can just lend me a little trust, I'll tell you everything as soon as I can."

I stared at Ethan as if I had just been slapped in the face. Part of me wanted to ask him what kind of game he was playing, but as I stared into his eyes, I knew he was telling me the truth.

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