“Why are you?”
"I asked first?" he said, taking a drag.
I sighed. "It's Sarah, she made the twins cry again. They wanted to hang out with me, and I let her do the dirty work of saying no this time."
"Why do you care, Tiara?" He'd taken to calling me by the name my father did from time to time. I mentioned it to him once, and it stuck.
"I adore them, Jude, they're my sisters."
“Half,” he reminded me, looking into my eyes for the first time since he climbed up here. “One day, they're going to be just like their piece of shit father and bitch mother.”
The thing that I loved about Jude was his loyalty, he's always been on my side. He and Dev were my lifelines. Dev was more passive, but he would never stand for anyone disrespecting me.
“Jude!”
“You know I’m right. I just don't want to see you disappointed again.”
"Thank you," I reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly. He looked at my hand on his, and I instantly moved it away. He grabbed it, intertwining our fingers. He brought it to his lips and placed a kiss on it, causing my insides to do cartwheels. It was the first time he'd done something like that. He leaned in, not breaking eye contact.
"You're beautiful Tiara, beautiful. Nobody should ever treat you badly, ever, and I will make sure that nobody does."
He brought his lips to mine, and I swore that I would combust from the intensity of my feelings for him. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I was lost in the feel of his lips against mine, the headiness of his aftershave, so I just let myself be led. He gently parted my lips with his tongue, and I was a goner. Hypnotized, fallen under his spell.
I heard my door open, and the spell was broken. The last thing I wanted was to get caught here with him.
"I've got to go, but we have to talk about why you were up there," I said urgently, getting up to make my way back into my room. When I climbed back in, I met her cold gaze, and my mouth formed a thin line.
“What do you want?”
"To tell you that we'll be going to Marcus' parents this weekend, and I wanted to be sure you wouldn't do or say anything to embarrass me."
“Like what? Tell them you’re a lying bitch.”
She didn't seem fazed by my outburst. "Oh, Tara. You do know how to be dramatic, don't you?"
"Get out of my room, Sarah," I shouted at her. If I were near enough, I'd slap that smug, self-righteous look off her face.
She shook her head and left, closing the door behind her. I sank to the ground in a teary mess, only looking up when strong arms circled around me.
"Take me away, Jude. Away from this, away from her."
He kissed my forehead but didn't say a word. He just held me until my heart stopped aching.
Chapter 8
Jude
Present Day
The things I remembered most about Tara, or Tiara as I dared not call her, were her smile and the innocent way she used to view the world despite all the heartache she'd endured as a child. Treating her was different from treating others. Maybe it was because I knew her past, or at least what happened before my asshole father dragged us back to England. When they first told me we were moving I was angry and rebellious. I was seventeen after all, and I often got into trouble in the months prior to our move.
The first and only thing I'd thought about was Tara and whether she would be alright after I left. I promised to always, always be there for her, but this move was breaking that promise to the little girl that made me feel things I shouldn't.
She was my best friend, had been since the night I found her on the dock, her eyes filled with tears. She was also my other best friend’s step-sister.
The way I felt for her was wrong, and for a long time I regretted kissing her before I left, knowing leaving her was inevitable.
I wrote to her and Devlin for a while, but then life got in the way - college, new friends, girlfriends. I thought about her for a long time. Her lips, the way her body felt pressed against mine. But she was in my past, I used to remind myself, until Tara was no longer front and center of my every thought.
