Unwritten Lines

Chapter 6: Caden - Game on, Lia

Caden

I can’t stop thinking about her. The way she looked when I dragged her into the closet, eyes wide and shocked. Her breath caught when I pressed my weight against her. What I can’t f*****g wrap my head around is her kissing me back. It’s screwing with me, bad.

She didn't just let it happen, she f*****g leaned into it... into me.

That’s the part I keep replaying, and it’s driving me insane. I’m finding Misty annoying as f**k lately. I don’t want anything to do with her, but she can’t take a hint. Her high-pitched squawking and overly potent perfume make me want to punch a hole in the wall. Her rubbing all over me at school or here at my house makes it worse. I let her, though, and pretend I’m not repulsed.

Lia f*****g Preston. She’s in my head and I hate it.

~ * ~ * ~ After School ~ * ~ * ~

I skip practice, because literally, f**k that. I text Josh and Lucas, lie and say I have a headache. I need peace and quiet, away from all the noise. I storm out of the school, blowing past all the slowpokes, and head straight to my car.

I don’t hesitate as I hit the unlock button on my key fob. The door swings open and I slide in, letting the door slam shut. My head drops back against the headrest, fingers tightening around the steering wheel. Her voice won’t stop playing in my head.

Why do you hate me?

Every damn time I hear it, I want to f*****g scream. Lia never even said that. Hell, she didn’t say anything to me that day.

I start the car, throw it into drive, and peel out of the parking lot. The bass hits hard, shaking the windows as I scream the lyrics to Just Pretend by Bad Omens. I crank the volume higher until it drowns out everything else. I drive. I don’t know how long it’s been, but I take a left turn, and a right. Somehow, I end up in Lia’s neighborhood. I park a street over, just close enough to see her house.

I’m staring at her porch, my eyes scanning the windows along the front of the house as my fingers curl tighter around the wheel.

Why the f**k did I kiss her?

This was never supposed to happen. She’s just a girl. The school’s favorite target, the one everyone laughs at... including me.

I’m not laughing now.

I grab my phone out of the middle console and swipe open to t****k. Lia’s profile pops up under my recent searches. I’ve looked at it so many times, I’m surprised it doesn’t just open to it automatically. I tap her name and wait as the page loads. A few videos show up with soft filters and low lighting, but it’s just enough to f**k with my head. She barely posts any videos, but the few she does show a carefree side I’ve never seen before. One video is her lip syncing to some weird-ass song. In another, she’s spinning around her room, laughing with Jenna and Sutton. This other one though…

Fuck.

She’s laughing, the wind in her hair, her smile completely genuine.

I’ve never seen her smile like this.

I toss my phone onto the passenger seat and press my fists to my face. I'm so f*****g irritated, and it’s not guilt. I don’t know why, and I don’t understand. I run my tongue along the inside of my cheek and exhale hard.

I want to break her, remake her, and keep her for myself.

I want her to look at me the way she did right after I kissed her. Her eyes were wide, her breath caught in her throat, and for a second, I saw something raw. She'd never f*****g admit it, but I know she wanted more, I could feel it. I run my hand through my hair, shaking my head. She'll never look at me like that again, not after what I did.

My thoughts won’t shut up, and it’s pissing me off. I need to get out, even if it’s just for a drive or a run. I grab my hoodie, pull it over my head, and head to my car. I hop in, throw it into drive, and take the back roads, trying to clear my head. I don’t even realize where I’m going until I’m parked a few houses down from hers. The street is quiet. Most of the neighbors are in for the night.

I pull my hoodie tighter and wait.

I know her mom works nights sometimes, and I know Lia leaves her window cracked, just a hair.

I know… I know too much about her.

I kill the lights and shut off the engine as I climb out. I walk up to her bedroom window and crouch beside the bushes lining the house. The window’s cracked, just like always. Her room is dark, but I can hear the soft hum of her fan and catch the faint flicker of her laptop screen.

I wait five, maybe ten minutes, my breath fogging against the window. I feel like a predator, watching and waiting for the right moment. I scan the area one more time, make sure no one’s looking, and quietly open the window. I hoist myself up, climb through, and land without a sound.

I'm hit in the face with the scent of vanilla and coconut. I notice a Glade plugin next to her dresser, my eyes narrowing on it. Lia doesn't strike me as the type of person to have those, what the f**k do I know? My eyes flick to her bed. The blanket is tossed across it as if she left in a hurry.

Her hoodie is thrown over her desk chair and one Converse sneaker is tipped over by the dresser. This is her space, untouched, and private. I should feel guilty for being in here uninvited, but honestly, I don't give a s**t.

I feel high walking into her space, knowing that no one else will ever have access to it. I have told myself a hundred f*****g times I won't touch her again, after what happened in the closet. Honestly though, I don't know who the f**k I'm trying to kid. I take a few more steps forward, stopping just at the foot of her bed.

I sit down and drag my fingers across her comforter, slowly. It’s soft and warm in places, as if she was just here. I know I shouldn’t be doing this, because if she walked in right now, she’d probably scream.

Part of me wants her to. I want her to see me. I want her to see how f*****g crazy she’s making me.

The door creaks open and Lia steps inside, her eyes widening in horror. She does a double take, as if she can’t believe what she’s seeing. She freezes, lips parting, hands clutching a water bottle and her phone as if she doesn’t know which one to drop first. She doesn’t speak or blink. She just stands there as if she’s caught in a nightmare. I can’t move either. I don’t even think I’m f*****g breathing.

“Caden?” She gasps.

I turn toward her, careful not to scare her more than I already have. The room is dead quiet. I close the distance in two long strides and back her against the door, slamming it shut behind her with a click. It’s a good thing her mom’s not home. The sound echoes, loud enough to shake the walls.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

My hands cage her in, one on either side of her head. She’s trembling, and I can feel every shudder.

“I meant what I said before,” I whisper, my eyes locked on hers. “Back in the closet.”

She doesn’t move or blink.

I lean down, my lips crashing into hers, and it’s not soft. It’s brutal. The kiss feels more like a punishment or an obsession, as if I’m losing my mind. She gasps into my mouth as her fingers grip my hoodie, holding on as if she doesn’t know if she wants to shove me away or pull me closer. She’s confused. I don’t want to stop.

I can’t.

She kissed me back once. I’m going to make her do it again.