33. Jace
thirty-three
Jace
Another line here would make this pop…
My pencil glides across my sketchbook effortlessly, tracing and outlining a small piece that’s always plagued my mind but has never been finished.
Before Sienna and I reconnected, I hadn’t picked up my sketchbook in almost seven months, but now that we have, I’m sketching more than I have in my almost twenty years of life.
“And another one here—” I’m about to add some more detailing when a girl pops into my line of view, pausing me momentarily in my craft.
She smiles at me and I reciprocate the action skeptically as she plants a seat next to me, pulling a sketchbook identical to my own out of her canvas bag. My nose scrunches as the pungent scent of her perfume intoxicates the air, reeking of an old cotton candy smell.
“Is this seat taken?” the blonde questions, turning to face me as I erase a minor mistake on my page.
Mumbling, “All yours…” my mind flashes with thoughts of Sienna and her upcoming birthday. She turns twenty-one on New Years Eve, and though her birthday is two months after mine, I’d rather plan her birthday first seeing as I have a good idea on what to do for my twentieth already.
“Wow! Your line work is gorgeous,” the woman next to me gasps, leaning in to get a better look at my sketchbook. I tense as her breasts rub against my arm and her pervasive smell suffocates me .
“Oh…Thanks.” I awkwardly rub the back of my neck, looking down at the unfinished dancer that I always sketch just as she turns to look up at me, her face mere inches from mine.
My nose itches.
I scrunch it, my eyes watering as I try to place where I know this girl from, but I can’t.
“Oh! I’m so sorry…I’m so nosey.” The woman giggles shyly, pulling back abruptly as I try to shake away my sneeze.
Rubbing my nose discreetly, I wave her off. “You’re fine…”
“I’m Amber, by the way.” She smiles hard, holding out her hand for me to shake before turning back to my sketchbook and previous thoughts.
My heart aches as my mind wanders back to how excited Sienna had been after her mom told her she’d be coming home for her birthday.
The hope in her eyes, the pure happiness that radiated off of her…I fucking hate her parents for putting that look on her face, because in the end, I don’t trust them.
They weren’t there at that recital all those years ago.
They didn’t see that angel lose her wings for the very first time or how hard I worked over the years to put them back in their rightful spot.
They didn’t see how dim the light in her eyes were at the beginning of every summer and winter fucking break.
I did.
For years, I was the one watching over her even when I had no idea what I was doing.
I was the one who held her when she cried on the porch.
I was the one always there for Sienna because at that age, I knew that when you love someone, you fight for them.
And when you love someone, you show up for them.
They didn’t, but I damn sure did.
Heaving a sigh, I shake off the little tiffs of anger settling in my bones as Amber leans in to say something only to be interrupted by our professor.
“Again everyone, there isn’t any homework due for this week. I need you all to be rested and focused for the upcoming midterm.”
Thank God .
This course has been a walk in the park so far with my professor assigning little to no work and only discussion boards. I’m gathering my things and walking out, thoughts of Sienna’s birthday still raging through my head, as someone grabs a hold of my bicep.
“Do you think we’ll have homework?” the girl from earlier asks.
Was she not paying—
My phone vibrates Sienna’s custom alert. Giving the girl a tightlipped smile, I open our text thread.
Angel
Meet in lot C
My brows dip as I read the text. Is she still trying to hide us? Lot C is the furthest lot from the Arts section of the quad where the majority of both of our classes are located.
Sending a thumbs up emoji, I look back down at Artemis—or whatever her name was...
She grins up at me cheerfully.
“Bye.”
I don’t give her time to respond back before I’m making my way to parking lot C and the woman desperate to hide me.
“Well color me gray and tie me to a tree stump, you look mighty fine, Mr. Cupid,” Sienna coos in a horrible southern accent, tilting the cowboy hat on my head.
Catching her wrist, I smirk down at her. “Wear the hat, ride the cowboy, darlin’,” I drawl, smiling as she rolls her eyes before playfully swatting at my chest .
Sienna walks over to a full body mirror a few paces from where I’m standing and turns, analyzing her butt in her reflection.
“Oh hush…Now what do you think we should wear? I’m thinking the denim set and glasses, what do you think?”
I feel relaxed as I watch her through the mirror, slipping my arm around her waist. “Whatever you like…”
Sienna doesn’t give me the time to be dreamy, instead she abruptly turns in my arms and smiles up at me like a mad man.
“Good! You can wear the giant glasses!”
And that’s how I found myself standing inside of a mall's photo studio, taking “awkward couples photos” with the crazy girl.
Granted, this item was on her list…I'd thought she wanted us to take nice professional pictures that weren’t done inside of a mall.
Instead, we stand in a reverse dominant position, staring into a camera in our first outfit.
I don’t know what convinced my girl that we should wear stitched sweater vests, but she somehow managed to get me into one.
Sienna’s small frame is wrapped behind me like we’re taking prom photos, with her holding my waist.
“I need more seriousness from you, blondie!” the photographer shouts, snapping away at us as Sienna giggles. My lips quirk at the smile only dying down fully when the photographer groans.
We’ve been at this for an hour.
“Show your poker face, blondie, ” Sienna taunts, stepping in closer to my back side.
“I liked it better when you called me psycho…had a better ring to it, don’t ya think?”
She chuckles behind me, unraveling her hands from around my waist to poke my cheek.
The photographer snaps a few more photos in this odd outfit before we change into the fully denim one with glasses from earlier at the store. This outfit reminds me of a bad jeans ad with awful stitching and actors .
Sienna’s southern accent from before is back in full force as she orders me around, positioning me to her heart’s desire. She pokes and prods at everything and even musses my hair, claiming it adds more “ummph” to the pictures, or whatever that means.
All I know is that I’m here and doing whatever this woman wants me to for however long she’ll keep me around.
“I love you, Heart, but my goodness you’re stiff.” She frowns, yanking my arms back and forth as my heart swells. Hearing her say she loves me will never get old.
Grinning, I quip, “Not the only thing that’s stiff,” as she gags.
“Eugh! That was gross…I’m going to make a jar for all of your little douchebag comments,” she tuts, running a hand over her slicked back hair.
After a few minutes of pushing and pulling me every which way, Sienna positions us to where her back is to my chest. She makes me hold my head over my fingertips, and I feel like I’m a toddler at a dance competition.
The pose is awkward to say the least. As she mimics it under me, I place my chin on her head.
“Don’t move…This is perfecto!” the photographer exclaims, snapping away as Sienna snorts.
“You think this is funny?” I peer down at the pink haired woman as she looks up at me.
The world stops as soon as Sienna’s deep hazel eyes lock with mine.
The way she looks at me triples my heart rate.
The glow in her eyes, the soft yearn beneath her irises.
Sienna Jones could be the only girl in the universe, a million light years away, and I’d still be able to identify her just from her eyes alone.
“And we’re all set. Your pictures will be ready in two to four days. Please return back to pick them up.” The photographer's voice pulls us back to reality, and my heart slows back to its normal rhythm as we check out.
Sienna and I walk out of the photo studio hand in hand, on a mission to explore the mall just as my stomach grumbles. I let go of her hand momentarily, rubbing my stomach how Delilah does when she’s hungry.
“You hear that? Psycho needs food, angel…Feed me. ”
Sienna pretends to gag, sticking her finger in her mouth animatedly. “Gross! Don’t ever do that again…”
“Oh you love it…” I taunt, going to grab her hand again and putting it back where it rightfully belongs, when she suddenly flinches away.
What the hell …Furrowing my brows, I go to reach for her again when she takes a step back, shaking her head. She stares wide eyed in the distance, and when my eyes land on the group of SFU cheerleaders, my blood boils.
“Why are you still so hell bent on hiding us?” I huff, standing in her line of view.
Sienna looks taken aback as she looks up at me, confusion souring her face. “What?”
Heaving a deep breath, I sigh. “You’re hiding us.
We can’t be seen together on campus, I can’t stand too close to you because of what other people will think.
Hell—I can’t even hold your hand at a mall, thirty minutes away from campus because some bobblehead cheerleaders might see you interact with me!
You literally just told me that you love me not even an hour ago, but you’re embarrassed to be seen with me.
” My chest heaves as Sienna draws back, her jaw slightly dropped.
“I’m not embarrassed! I just don’t want anyone to see us,” she counters, and her words hit me like a knife.
It hits its intended target and I stagger back, wounded.
“Wow…”
“No, Jace…What I meant was—” she tries to say, but I don’t want to hear it.
“Sorry I’m not perfect enough for you, Sienna,” I spit, unflinching as she blinks back rapidly before turning on my heel and leaving her there in the mall.