Chapter 1
6 Months Ago
“Is this a joke?” asked a beautiful auburn-haired woman, her emerald green eyes glimmering with hidden brokenness, silent struggles, and unspoken hope. Still, despite her uncertainty, a bout of muffled laughter left her lips. The man across from her was none other than Jackson Balor, one of her best friend’s brothers. Just like her, he was mysterious and attractive. Almost every woman’s gaze followed Jackson as he entered; he was just the kind of person people noticed.
“No,” replied Jackson, sitting across the small living room from Annie, his tone light, even his seriousness was painted across his handsome, sun-kissed features. Sorrow briefly flashed behind his dark eyes; his heart ached to think Annie would think his confession of sorts a joke, that she’d think he’d be cruel enough to lead on and hurt her simply because he asked her on a date. The truth was he’d been a secret admirer of Annie for years. Almost since the day she walked into his life.
She was happy and bubbly back then; her smile could light up a room, and her upbeat outlook drew people to her. Back then, life’s cruelty hadn’t found her. She had a simple life, surrounded by her parents and siblings, and attended high school like any other teenager. Then the darkest part of her life occurred: her father had passed away after a brief illness, her sister moved away not long after, her mother started a relationship with a man who hated the idea of teenagers and kids in general, thus Annie and her brother had been sent to live with their grandparents, and finally, the bus crash had occurred. Leaving Annie with brain damage and severe mental health issues that prevented her from living a normal life.
“What about Echo?” asked Annie, a tremble to her voice, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears. Her emotions had been difficult to regulate for some time; perhaps it was the crash that did it, or something else that she suffered from and had yet to find answers to. “She’s my best friend, my girl. I can lose her over something like this,” trembled Annie, afraid to lose the only people she had left. Echo, Jena, Evie, Genevieve, Caroline, and occasionally Indi were all she had left now. They were the family she chose, the ones who stayed when she lost everything.
“Echo already knows,” reassured Jackson, his voice calm, smooth, even. “She figured it out years ago, just waited patiently for me to voice it,” he added with a small smile. He knew which question came next. The same question that always came when he dated the ordinary, beautiful woman rather than the egotistical supermodel ones. Every time someone wondered why he would date an ordinary woman when he could have anyone he wanted. The answer was always obvious, because ordinary was natural, beautiful, and down to earth.
“She did?” replied Annie, surprise in her voice but also acceptance. Echo was observant but also wouldn’t say anything until others were ready to speak about it. Enzo and Caroline were the best example. Almost everyone could see the pair pined for each other, tried to act “cool” around the other, even when they were blithering idiots instead. In the end, Echo encouraged Enzo, while Jena convinced Caroline to take the leap of faith. Now they were a happy couple, already planning a future together, so happy when they were together. They were an odd couple, but one that worked nonetheless. “Why me?”
“Honestly, I don’t know how to word an answer to that,” answered Jackson, running a hand through his wavy raven locks. “You’re beautiful, stunning actually. Whenever you enter a room, it immediately lights up when you smile. Your laugh is like birds singing on a spring morning, even if it’s odd times,” he started, a smile of his own pulling the corner of his lips. He’d never thought he’d say those words to anyone but his supportive siblings, yet here he was. “Even if you don’t see it, Annie, you’re strong, a warrior who’s been through hell and back several times over. You grabbed my attention way back when and never let go, even after everything you’ve been through.”
“Have you tried dating someone else?” asked Annie, her question meant as a shield. She didn’t want to hope. Jackson was a small fitness influencer; almost everyone in the local area knew who he was. Women all but threw themselves at him and clawed to get his attention; they’d swoon if he even looked in their direction. “A supermodel perhaps?”
“Not my type,” commented Jackson, his dark eyes following Annie as she paced back and forth, nodding her head slightly as she chewed her growing fingernails. She was nervous; he knew that, yet didn’t know how to comfort her. It was times like this that Jackson envied Gregor, the brother nicknamed Captain Flirts-A-Lot, and Enzo for their ability to just say what they were thinking without fear. “Can you really see me dating someone like Mackenzi or her lap dogs?”
“NO!” Annie fired back, a strange sense of jealousy gripping her. “They don’t deserve you,” she muttered to herself. Trying her hardest to hide her true feelings regarding Mackenzi Laurel and the three Turncoat sisters that followed her every step, Mayriah, Jorgie, and Paget. A sad smile pulled at Annie’s lips not long after. Silently, she questions what happened to Mackenzi. She was a kind soul once, approachable, your lovable girl next door. Something had changed after she started dating Jovi Westwood. At first, she assumed it was Jovi, but the more she got to know him, the more she realized it wasn’t him at all. Instead, the Mackenzi she knew was an act, a means to an end. The vicious one now was the real Mackenzi when she thought she had it all, thought she was invincible.
“I’ve tried dating others before,” admitted Jackson with a sigh of grief. He had tried dating before, to find someone else, but it never lasted long. The girls, although nice, weren’t who he wanted; they weren’t Annie. Instead, they were temporary place holders he had to let go to save them the inevitable hurt that would come if he strung them along. Plus, they could do better than him; they deserved better than him and what he could offer. “But they’re not you.”
“Slowly,” laughed Annie, her eyes lighting up with the bright smile that pulled at her lips. “I still think your too good for me,” she commented, “But if we take it slow and you don’t treat me like I’m a fragile glass figurine, I’m willing to give it ago,” she added, unsure of her words, unsure what she did to even gain Jackson’s attention, but still she wanted to be brave, wanted to believe it was more than a pity date the dark voices in her mind told her it was. “You can be my date to the wedding.”
“Mackenzi’s wedding?” questioned Jackson, a brow raised in suspicion. “You think she and Jovi will make it to the aisle?”
“No, silly,” replied Annie with a light giggle. “Josh and Aiden’s, at Seabreeze resort,” she added, reaching for the invitation on her pinboard. A small wedding, only fifty people in attendance. “Jovi’s gonna leave, only Mackenzi and her dodos are blind to it,” she added honestly. Still, a smile was present; she could remember Jovi working to know each of the girls, how friendly and encouraging he was. So much so, it was as if they’d known him for years rather than months. “You can see my handiwork with the flower arrangements.”
“Do I have to wear a tux?” asked Jackson, already knowing the answer but wanting to see Annie’s cute, are-you-serious expression she’d thrown at him a few times in the past.
“And tie,” she commented. “Got to look dapper,”
“On the beach.”
“Yup,” she added, “You can face your demons with the sand you hate so much.”
“Fine, but only because I know if I don’t, you’ll set my little sister on me,” replied Jackson, a smile of his own spreading across his lips, even more so upon noticing Annie was beginning to loosen up now. Her stiff, rigid shoulders had relaxed, and she stopped chewing her nails and pacing. Instead, she laughed loudly and freely, her emerald eyes sparkled with hope and confidence now, as if she was thinking of the future again for the first time since the bus crash years ago, rather than looking to the past no one could return to.
“Damn right I will,” she commented, “And I’ll film it for You’ve Been Framed if it still exists, if not Ridicolousness,” she added, her smile growing with the thoughtful expression to paint Jackson’s features. They were being playful, something Annie never thought would happen, let alone with her best friend’s brother, or one of them at least.
“You’d make me internet famous?” voiced Jackson.
“You’re already internet famous, doofus,” Annie replied mere seconds later, tossing a fluffy carrot cushion decorating her sofa at Jackson, laughing hysterically when it bounced off the top of his head. A quizical expression appeared across Jackson’s features, followed by confusion as he picked up the carrot-shaped cushion. Another unique trait that made her even more perfect to him.
