Read Online Hope Falls: Hearts Afire (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Julie Prestsater - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Julie Prestsater
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abort the pregnancy, but my dad begged her not to. He thought she would change her mind when she had me, but she never did.”
Anger stirred inside Casey until he felt her touch. Katie had curled her hand around his forearm, and instantly the pain was gone.
“I’m sorry, Case.” She pulled her hand back and he wished that she didn’t.
“Yeah, well from then on, I kind of had mommy issues. I craved attention from girls. I had guy friends, but I mostly hung out with girls.”
“Let me guess,” Katie said. “I’m about to hear about reason number two.”
“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner,” he chanted.
They finally arrived at one of the many picnic areas along the river. Casey pointed to the table closest to the water where they got comfortable sitting across from each other. He was grateful for the weather, for once, since they had the place to themselves. If it were warmer out, the trails and the viewpoints would be filled with people.
“So, Nicole was my best friend. We’d been friends since kindergarten. She was there for me when my mom left. Even at such a young age, she knew I was hurting and would always try to get my mind off things. As we grew older, she became my best friend. She was everything to me. She was the first and last girl I ever loved.”
Even though it was cold as balls out, Casey could feel the heat creeping up his spine and the back of his neck getting sweaty. The grip around his throat wasn’t feeling too great either. He felt like something was lodged in there, and he was finding it hard to breathe. He couldn’t distinguish between sadness, pain, and embarrassment. The fact that he was actually telling someone about Nicole, telling the story aloud was equally horrifying and amazing at the same time.
“In high school we were inseparable. We both dated other people, but for me, no one could make me feel what Nicole did. One night, our senior year, she asked me to have sex with her. She said she wanted our first times to be together. She wanted her first time to be with someone who loved her. It was what I waited my whole life to hear.”
Finally, Casey looked up and into Katie’s eyes. She had tears puddled there, but they didn’t spill over. She knew the story didn’t end well, and he could feel her feeling sorry for him. That’s not why he was telling her. He was just answering her question.
“Don’t get emotional, Kay. I’m over it.” She raised a brow at him. “Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?”
“Only if you want to tell it,” she said. God, she was amazing. She was going to let him off the hook, give him a way out. But he had to tell her, he’d already come this far.
“That night, I made love to her. It was nice, for what it was. Neither of us knew what the hell we were doing, but it was cool. I woke up the next day thinking I had a new girlfriend, the girl I would have given anything for. She woke up the next day with a new boyfriend. The only problem was, it wasn’t me. She wanted her first time to be with someone who loved her, but she didn’t love me back. Not the way I loved her, anyway. She used me. And it’s not something I’ve been able to forget.”
Katie slammed her hand on the table, startling him. “What in the fucking fuck? Tell me who the dumb broad is and I’ll cut a bitch.” She seemed genuinely angry. He had no doubts that if he gave Katie Nicole’s address, he’d have to bail her out of jail.
He was going to miss Katie when she left Hope Falls.
After what he just confessed to her, Casey realized he was letting his guard down and he shouldn’t be. Sure, they were friends, but they weren’t supposed to get so close. He’d done that before and look where it had gotten him. Close to twenty years of repressed sadness and anger. He wasn’t going down that road again. He was not going to get too close to Katie. She was going to leave. He had to remember that.
CHAPTER SEVEN
KATIE
“Hey,
Anger stirred inside Casey until he felt her touch. Katie had curled her hand around his forearm, and instantly the pain was gone.
“I’m sorry, Case.” She pulled her hand back and he wished that she didn’t.
“Yeah, well from then on, I kind of had mommy issues. I craved attention from girls. I had guy friends, but I mostly hung out with girls.”
“Let me guess,” Katie said. “I’m about to hear about reason number two.”
“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner,” he chanted.
They finally arrived at one of the many picnic areas along the river. Casey pointed to the table closest to the water where they got comfortable sitting across from each other. He was grateful for the weather, for once, since they had the place to themselves. If it were warmer out, the trails and the viewpoints would be filled with people.
“So, Nicole was my best friend. We’d been friends since kindergarten. She was there for me when my mom left. Even at such a young age, she knew I was hurting and would always try to get my mind off things. As we grew older, she became my best friend. She was everything to me. She was the first and last girl I ever loved.”
Even though it was cold as balls out, Casey could feel the heat creeping up his spine and the back of his neck getting sweaty. The grip around his throat wasn’t feeling too great either. He felt like something was lodged in there, and he was finding it hard to breathe. He couldn’t distinguish between sadness, pain, and embarrassment. The fact that he was actually telling someone about Nicole, telling the story aloud was equally horrifying and amazing at the same time.
“In high school we were inseparable. We both dated other people, but for me, no one could make me feel what Nicole did. One night, our senior year, she asked me to have sex with her. She said she wanted our first times to be together. She wanted her first time to be with someone who loved her. It was what I waited my whole life to hear.”
Finally, Casey looked up and into Katie’s eyes. She had tears puddled there, but they didn’t spill over. She knew the story didn’t end well, and he could feel her feeling sorry for him. That’s not why he was telling her. He was just answering her question.
“Don’t get emotional, Kay. I’m over it.” She raised a brow at him. “Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?”
“Only if you want to tell it,” she said. God, she was amazing. She was going to let him off the hook, give him a way out. But he had to tell her, he’d already come this far.
“That night, I made love to her. It was nice, for what it was. Neither of us knew what the hell we were doing, but it was cool. I woke up the next day thinking I had a new girlfriend, the girl I would have given anything for. She woke up the next day with a new boyfriend. The only problem was, it wasn’t me. She wanted her first time to be with someone who loved her, but she didn’t love me back. Not the way I loved her, anyway. She used me. And it’s not something I’ve been able to forget.”
Katie slammed her hand on the table, startling him. “What in the fucking fuck? Tell me who the dumb broad is and I’ll cut a bitch.” She seemed genuinely angry. He had no doubts that if he gave Katie Nicole’s address, he’d have to bail her out of jail.
He was going to miss Katie when she left Hope Falls.
After what he just confessed to her, Casey realized he was letting his guard down and he shouldn’t be. Sure, they were friends, but they weren’t supposed to get so close. He’d done that before and look where it had gotten him. Close to twenty years of repressed sadness and anger. He wasn’t going down that road again. He was not going to get too close to Katie. She was going to leave. He had to remember that.
CHAPTER SEVEN
KATIE
“Hey,
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