This Beautiful Thing (Young Love Series) (15 page)

“Fine I knew you were going to bug me about it.” She sets the kindle to the side and sits up tucking her wild hair behind her ears. “I’m not going to go into detail with you because it’s none of your business. Grace isn’t playing Jaden she actually wants things to work out between the two of them. Caden is making it hard because he won’t let her go. I’ve talked to him she’s talked to him, hell even Jaden has talked to him. He is kind of looking like a stalker at this point. Maybe you should talk to him.” She taps her index finger on to her dainty chin in a serious thinking face.

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin to talk to him about it. I’ve had like one conversation with the guy and I think we both grunted through it.” She starts to look worried so I comfort her with my next words. “But for you I will do anything so I’ll go find him and have a chat okay?”

“Thank you. You’re like the best boyfriend ever!” she laughs and jumps into my arms placing kisses all over my face.

Chapter 17

Teagan

Grace has gotten herself into a pickle. And no before you even ask I’m not telling you what kind of pickle either. That’s her business and I’m sure you’ll find out later. Anyways on to other things. My lovely brother Forest decided that we needed to go out since we haven’t spent much time together in ages. I for one I’m looking forward to it. Declan isn’t all the happy but only for the fact that he won’t get to see me all day. It will give him time to talk to Caden. I hope he can get through to my knuckle headed brother.

“You ready to go baby girl?” Forest asks me from the front door of the house. I guess I went off into la la land on the couch. Happens sometimes.

“Yeah I’m ready to go.” I’ll tell you right now Forest and daddy will be the only two people on this planet who will get away with calling me baby girl.

“Good our movie is in like twenty minute I don’t want to be late.” He waves his arm in a hurry up motion. I chuckle and head out the door to his shiny new mustang. Forest’s wife, Holly left him a couple of months ago leaving him with Hailey on his own. Sarah and daddy watch her all the time for him but it gets kind of hard with them being an hour away. Holly was a total bitch I don’t know why he married her to begin with. She decided that she wanted to be a model up in New York City and he hasn’t heard from her since. Good riddance I say.

The car ride is silent and I know he’s going to say something about Declan. Seems everyone knows but the twins but those two have always been about number one, themselves.

“So this Declan guy he treats you good right?” and here comes the interrogation.

“Yes Forest he treats me very good. He takes me on actual dates to actual places. He opens my car door for me and pulls my chair out for me when we eat at a restaurant. He lets me pick what we watch on TV and what movie we get to see. Though don’t beat him at anything because he is a sore loser. Oh and he doesn’t get scared off by my temper. I get mad at him quite a bit and he lets me yell out my anger without even getting pissed off.” I smile like a big goof ball knowing I sound totally ridiculous.

“Wow he is like the perfect guy or what?” Forest rolls his eyes. “Hell by the sound of him I would want to date him myself.”

“He’s not perfect by a long shot but he is perfect towards me and that is all any of you could ask. I don’t understand why every single one of you feels the need to be overbearing. Well maybe not Jess and MayMay but still it gets really annoying. I’m nineteen years old I don’t need any of you to raise me anymore. If he wasn’t a good guy I wouldn’t be with him.”

“Well it’s called the youngest sister syndrome. Plus you’re extra special because you aren’t laid back like the rest of us. You are out there in the world’s face telling it not to piss you off. I don’t have to worry about Marie because she wouldn’t date or marry anybody who she couldn’t control. Jessica is a ball buster but still she likes them agreeable. You? No you are the one who would bring home a bad boy covered in tats and piercings giving dad a heart attack. You and me? Yeah we go after the ones we can’t hold on too. Now I’m not saying you can’t hold on to Declan by any shot I’m just saying that we shoot for more than we can handle. But he seems to be pretty laid back and really into you. The twins are idiots because I don’t see how they can’t tell y’all have something going on. They are in your circle of friends for crying out loud.” He huffs knocking his knuckles into the steering wheel.

“They have their hands full with Grace at the moment. I personal hope they keep out of the loop. I don’t want Jaden to lose his best friend because he can’t put his hurt behind him. And he will be hurt that we didn’t tell him from the bat. We have our reasons but still that doesn’t make it right and at this point I don’t know whether we should tell him or not.”

“What do you mean they have their hands full with grace?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. They both want her and most of the time she can’t decide who she wants. I would drop both of them on their asses because they are both self-centered and stupid. I keep telling her this too but she won’t listen.”

“Well who do you think she will end up with?”

“Jaden. Definitely Jaden because he is the one to cause her less drama. She’s got a hurtful past and all she can see with Caden is hurt in her future. Besides I don’t think she likes him all that much anyway.”

“I bet that is rubbing him raw. He can’t stand to not be at the center of the world. It will be good for him I think. Both of them. Cade needs some rejection in his like and Jaden actually needs a girl in his. Someone needs to soften that poor guy out.”

That’s what I love about Forest. His personal life might suck right now but he still notices everything around him. Nothing escapes his notice and if he can fix a problem he does. Before long we arrive at the movie theater and of course he picks out the new zombie thriller. The next two hours are going to be so much fun. Not.

Declan

I find Caden in a room buried deep in the back of the house. Its facing the back of the property and the view is breath taking. When the sunsets it comes through the windows adding a beautiful glow making the whole thing peaceful. The tree line gives way to a lake out in the back with the most pretty blue water I have ever seen. There’s a flower garden right outside the windows. I bet during the summer there are flowers of ever color out there. Right now everything is dead but the gazebo out there makes up for it. Painted candy apple red with white trim it fits right in with the stone walkway and matching stone benches.

Caden is sitting in the middle of the room on a stool in front of a canvas featuring a beautiful blonde woman. The room itself is plain. With hardwood floors and white walls. You can tell he has been painting in here for years. There are a couple of tables here and there with paint supplies laying around on them. The floor is covered in dried paint speckles giving it a homely feel.

“What the hell do you want Sage?” Caden startles me out of my appraisal of the room.

“Umm your sister asked me to talk to you, so here I am. I’m not really sure what to say so I’m kind of hoping you could help me out there.” I raise my brows in a hopeful expression.

“Come sit down then. I need to talk to you about some shit anyway.” He points at an empty stool next to a blank canvas. After I’m seated it doesn’t take him long to get to the point. “So you’re fucking my little sister and she wants you to talk to me about Grace.”

I stare at him in shock because I seriously didn’t believe that he knew. “Umm…” I trail off speechless.

“Don’t worry I’m not going to kill you are anything. She thinks I didn’t see her sneak into your room last night. I personally can’t change things that have already happened but if you hurt her I will mess you up. That much I can say on it.”

“Yeah I don’t plan on hurting her at all. I know what it’s like to be hurt by someone you’re dating and I don’t want to wish that on anyone.”

“Good now what are you going to say to me about Grace that is supposed to make me back off?”

“All I’m going to say is that Jaden is my best friend and if you keep it up with Grace you’re going to hurt him and I might have to hurt you.”

“You think you can take me?”

“Yeah if you wanted to get at me over Teagan I wouldn’t fight back so you could hurt me that way. But doing something to hurt Jaden when you knew it was going to hurt him then yeah I would hurt you.”

“Wow I didn’t realizes my brother had such a good friend in you. I kind of thought you were only friends with him because of Teagan.”

“No I’ve known him longer than Teagan. He is like a brother to me and I don’t want him to get hurt over some shit that doesn’t even need to be happening. Why can’t you just grow up and let them be together?”

“Because she won’t get out of my head dammit. She is always there fucking with me. Making me feel things I have no business feeling. She walks into the room and all I can do is fucking stare at her and watch as she pretends that she doesn’t feel the same way as I do. Jaden asked me to leave her alone when I first met her and I did but then he invited me to that thing at the bowling alley. When I showed up and he had his hands all over her I got so fucking mad I wanted to punch him in the face. I haven’t wanted to punch him in the face since the seventh grade when he wrecked my bike. We both promised that we would leave her alone because we both liked her. He totally broke the bro code.” He starts chewing on the end of his paint brush and I see teeth marks on the other ones. I guess it’s a nervous habit.

My eyes widen in surprise. I didn’t think Jaden had it in him. “So you both agreed together to stay away from her and he went against that? What an asshole. You can’t break the bro code like that. Not that you and her sneaking around behind his back is okay it’s actually worse. He shouldn’t have told you he would leave her alone and then go after her full force.”

“He’s a dick like that man. I don’t even know why he likes her. She doesn’t even like football. I mean I know she’s a cheerleader and everything but she only did that so she could get a scholarship to here. Football is his whole life and I don’t think he could make it with someone who doesn’t even like it.” He huffs.

“No because he would get tired of having nothing to talk about to her. I don’t know though they have been dating for a whole month going on strong. She’s a pretty chatty girl and a southern bell if there ever was one. She could probably pull a conversation out of her Prada bag.”

“Dude why do you even know what Prada is?”

“I dated a bitch from hell that was into the whole fashion thing. Your sister is a nice change. She doesn’t have to try to be beautiful she just is.” I can feel the big goofy grin on my face. Yeah I’m a total dork.

“Gross dude, if we are going to be friends no gooey shit about my sister.” He makes a disgusted face and starts putting up his art supplies.

“We are going to be friends are we?” I ask with one eyebrow raised.

“Yes asshole we are going to be friends. For one thing because I have to keep an eye on you and my sister and another you’re pretty cool for a football player.” He says that like I’m supposed to know what he means.

“Yeah your pretty cool for a dude who paints I guess.” I laugh at him when he scowls. I guess we are going to be friends since it seems easier to goof off with him then Jaden.

“I just meant that I have met some pretty stuck up jocks who wouldn’t give us lowly people the time of day and here you are having an honest open conversation with me. Plus you talk about my sister like she a goddess or something.” He smirks and goes to wash his hands in the sink in the far corner.

“She is a goddess and I wouldn’t ever treat her as anything other. But you’re the one who needs to stop treating Grace like a hooker and quit sneaking around behind your brothers back.”

“Your one to talk man. Jaden has no clue about you and Teagan. So I would keep your mouth shut if you want me to keep mine. He won’t be so easy going about you two being together as I am.”

I start to say something else but Jaden decided right then to walk into the room. “What the hell are you doing in here with this jackass?” He growls right inside the door.

“I couldn’t find anyone else in this whole house to hang out with but Cade who wasn’t doing anything interesting to begin with.” I say winking at Jaden.

“Yes I was. Painting is the most interesting thing in the world.” He scoffs.

“Yeah whatever man lets go watch a stupid movie or something.” Jaden says to me.

“Sure. Caden you coming?” I ask to the shock of both of them.

“Yeah man I’ll be up in a minute.” He continues to wash his hands.

I walk out behind Jaden and think damn what the hell kind of mess did I got myself into now. Keeping two secrets from Jaden might kill me. It was hard enough to keep one. I don’t know what I’ll do because he needs to know about both of them. It’s not fair to the poor guy to learn your sister is dating your best friend or that your girlfriend might be sleeping with your twin brother.

Chapter 18

Teagan

“Huh?” I say to Declan who is sitting at the end of my bed. I’m laying down reading a really great book on my kindle.

“What’s with you this week? You’ve been kind of out of it.” He places his hand on my forehead as if to check for a fever.