Read Online Breathe Again by Joelle Charming - Free Book Online Page B

the smart one, my sister
Samantha the caring one, and Emma the funny one. I’m the pretty one. Nothing
more and nothing less.”
    We stayed quiet for a while, just letting it all sink in. I
was the first to break the silence.
    “I’ve been told that I’m beautiful a lot in my life, but
nobody’s ever made me feel the way you do when you say it. I just wish
sometimes I were more than just beautiful.”
    He didn’t speak at first, just watched me with those blue
eyes that saw straight through me.
    “I think you’re beautiful, Mellie,” he said finally. “More
beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen. But you’re more than that. You’re much,
much more than that, to me.”

CHAPTER 9
    Jackson wanted to go for a walk after
dinner, so I let him take my hand and we walked along the beach. I’d never been
to Venice, and I couldn’t help but find the characters amusing. He indulged me,
stopping whenever I wanted to watch a performer, coming with me when I wanted
to look in one of the eccentric stores along Muscle Beach.
    I knew it probably wasn’t the best idea, but Jackson put on a
baseball cap and those same dark aviator sunglasses he wore the day he found me
outside the café, and for a while it didn’t seem like anyone would notice.
Maybe it was just Los Angeles and they were used to it by now, but I actually
thought we would get away with it. I knew there were at least three bodyguards
following us, though they didn’t make it obvious.
    We ended up walking all the way down to the pier, and we were
so engrossed in our conversation that I didn’t notice the fingers starting to
point in our direction. He held my hand tightly, and was looking down at where
we were walking so he could hear me better (yes, I’m that much shorter than
him), so he didn’t noticed them either. Not until the first shriek came,
anyway, followed by the screams of over a dozen people, adults and children
alike. I didn’t know what to do, just clutched Jackson’s hand in horror as they
surrounded us.
    He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me in close
before motioning to the bodyguards that had been following us inconspicuously
all night. They tried to dissipate the crowd, and Jackson refused to let go of
my waist, but there were too many people. I started getting dizzy as they
screamed, and I tried to pull my hands away from Jackson so I could cover my
ears.
    A few of them had cameras, and I looked down, hoping they
wouldn’t catch my face. I knew it was pointless, that it was going to happen
eventually, but we hadn’t really had a chance to talk about it. We were too
busy getting to know each other, who we really were. Jackson had seemed like
such a normal guy, but now I didn’t doubt that this was most definitely a part
of his life.
    I felt an elbow jam into my ribs, hard. It knocked the wind
out of me, and I doubled over, clutching my stomach. I was afraid I was going
to lose my dinner all over the streets of Santa Monica, but they didn’t let up.
I even felt someone tug on my sweater, popping the buttons off of it. I turned
into Jackson’s chest, and he wrapped an arm around me.
    “Shhhh, baby, I got you,” he whispered, holding out his other
arm to keep everyone away from us. They just kept yelling his name, and I
squeezed my eyes shut, knowing that I was dangerously close to crying.
Thankfully, most of them only had iPhones or small cameras, but I did notice
the flash of some more-professional cameras in the crowd.
    As quickly as it started, it seemed to end. His bodyguards
surrounded us, though the screeching and yelling were still there. Jackson
started dragging me toward the street, and I noticed a black Escalade parked at
the curb. He threw open the door, then picked me up as if I weighed nothing and
put me in the backseat. I had no idea where the car came from, but I was beyond
relieved to be hidden away behind the tinted windows.
    I was close to hyperventilating, so I lowered my head between
my knees, hoping