The Story of Us (14 page)

Nash

“Annabelle, can I
ask you something?” I grabbed her arm so she would stop walking. She turned to me and I stared into her beautiful eyes.

“Yeah. What do you need?” Gosh, even her voice was perfect.

“I—I need you.” Why did I always stutter when I got nervous?

“What?” She giggled and grabbed my hand.

“Annabelle, will you be my girlfriend?” There, I dropped the question. That wasn't so hard, now, was it?

“Nash, I would love to be your girlfriend,” I heard her say.

A huge smile formed on my face and I had to look down at my feet because I was blushing. She lifted my head up and slammed her lips onto mine.

I guess a kiss is a kiss. I wanted to kiss her, but I felt no sparks. Something was wrong. We didn't quite move in sync and she was taking control of everything. I tried to act like I was enjoying it, but it was not how I thought it would be. It felt wrong.

She pulled away, gasping for air. “Caught you off guard, I can tell.” She giggled and grabbed my hand as we headed to the restaurant.

I smiled as we walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand. She was obviously happy, so why wasn't I? She said yes, I should be thrilled. Maybe this was just how relationships were now.

Violet

I didn't tell
any of my old friends that I was moving back. I hadn't talked to any of them since I moved here. Well, that's a lie. I talked to Steph every now and then but she'd made new friends. I didn't expect her to be a loner and wait for me to return.

I wanted to surprise her but I had to tell somebody. I didn't want to start my first day alone. I was already signed up to start back up on Monday and I was not ready to see everybody.

Violet-Boo:
hey girl! I haven't talked to my best friend in a while.

Was that too much? I mean calling her my best friend already. Well, it was already sent, so there was no turning back now.

Stephie:
omg violet! Haven't heard from you in forever! I'm good! How are you? P.S. I miss youuu!!!

Violet-Boo:
I'm good. Haha I miss you too! I actually have some news to tell you.

Stephie:
oh honey I already know about Nash. I'm so sorry I can't imagine how much pain you must be feeling. Everyone has been talking about it here.

Violet-Boo:
oh. Well that wasn't actually what I was going to tell you. It's been hard but I'm managing. Life goes on.

Stephie:
oh! well then what is it sweetie?

Violet-Boo:
well you know how my parents were constantly fighting? Well it escalated and they got a divorce.

Stephie:
omg! I'm so sorry!! That probably is the worst thing that could've happened to you right now.

Violet-Boo:
well that's not it. My mom is forcing Hayden and me to move with her and . . . We are coming back!

Stephie:
omg!!! I'm so happy! I mean what's happening is terrible but I missed you so much. Everyone here misses you too. Man you are going to be so popular now that you are famous!

Violet-Boo:
I gtg but I'll text you later. Love youu Stephersss.

Stephie:
Lol! Can't wait to see you.

I was sleeping on the couch that night since my bed was gone. Hayden was sleeping in one of the guest rooms while my mom slept in my parents' bed. My dad didn't come home from work until early morning, so they never saw each other.

Walking into the kitchen to get a drink, I saw headlights coming down the street. The truck pulled in to the Griers' driveway. It must've been Nash. The clock on the stove said 11:00 p.m. and he had left around 4:30. He and Annabelle must've been busy. I rolled my eyes and plopped onto the couch, pulling the covers up over my head.

Nash

Don't get me
wrong, I had a great time with Annabelle. Something just didn't feel right, though. I didn't feel any sparks between us when we kissed. She always took control and tried to turn every kiss into a make-out session. She wasn't even that good of a kisser! Oh, well, we were dating and that was all I cared about.

“Hey, Hayes,” I said to my brother, who was sitting at the kitchen table on his phone.

“So it's official,” he announced. I looked at him with my eyebrows scrunched together. “I saw Annabelle's announcement on Twitter.”

“Ohh . . . yeah, we are dating,” I said, pretty proudly.

“Whatever.” He pushed his chair out and walked out of the room.

“You know, you have to be nice to her, because I like her,” I said as I caught up with him on the steps.

“Like hell I will,” he said sarcastically.

I don't know why he was so hooked on Violet. If he loved her so much, then why didn't he just date her?

I pulled up Twitter on my phone since I hadn't checked it in a while. There were a lot of tweets to me, asking if I was any better and when I was coming back. I hadn't been able to post a Vine or tweet or anything since I came back from the hospital.

@NashGrier:

Had the best time tonight with my lucky girl :)

It immediately uploaded and I got bombarded with a bunch of questions about whether Violet and I were dating again.

@NashGrier:

We are not back together guys. I found somebody new, somebody wonderful.

There. That should clear up some of the mess.

Violet

“Violet, wake up,”
I heard Hayden say as he shook me.

“What?” I pulled the covers over my head, wondering why he was waking me up so early.

“We are leaving soon. C'mon or Mom will get mad.” After he said that I jolted upward.

“Oh my God. I totally forgot.” I turned to him and could tell he was still half-asleep. I looked at my phone; it was four in the morning. “Hayden . . .” My voice cracked, trying to hold back tears. “I don't want to go back.” He pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back while I lay my head on his shoulders.

“Violet, everyone is going to love you. And I'll be right there with you the whole entire time. I won't ever leave your side.”

“I love you so much, you know that, right?” I asked him.

“Of course I do. I love you more, though.” He squeezed me real tight and started shaking me like I was his teddy bear.

“Hayden. Can't. Breathe.” I gasped for breath as he hugged me tighter.

“If you couldn't breathe, then you couldn't talk,” he responded. He finally let me go and helped me off the floor.

He walked into the kitchen and tossed me a Granny Smith apple. He honestly knew me better than I knew myself. I gave him a not-so-pretty but funny face and ran up the steps.

Examining myself in the mirror, I decided to take a quick shower and wash my hair. After, I washed my face and brushed my teeth and all that fun stuff. I already had leggings and a sweatshirt picked out to wear with my UGGs. I threw my wet hair up in a bun, covered some red marks on my face with concealer, fixed my eyebrows, and put on mascara. There, no need to get fancy for a car ride.

I managed to pull my small suitcase down the steps without making a huge scene. My dad came home literally seconds after I got down to the last step.

“Daddy!” I yelled, and jumped into his arms.

“Hey, baby girl.” He hugged me back before I let go.

“I'm going to miss you so much,” I told him.

“Not as much as I'm going to miss you, sweetheart. Remember, you and Hayden can spend the summer with me. Also, anytime you are on a break and want a change of scenery, I'm only one car ride away,” he said.

“I'm probably going to convince Mom to let me come out for winter break.”

“Let's hope. Good luck at school,” he said.

“Thanks. It shouldn't be too bad, though.”

“Violet! C'mon, we have to go!” I heard Hayden yell from the car.

“Coming!” I yelled back at him.

“I love you, Dad.” I gave him another hug and he squeezed me tight.

“Love you too, sweetheart. See you soon,” he responded. I finally let go and pulled my suitcase across the sidewalk to put in Hayden's car. I waved to my dad again before getting in. I then turned around and looked at the Griers' house one more time before shutting the door. It was time to leave all these memories behind. Good-bye, Grier family.

Nash

I woke up
around four forty-five to someone yelling outside. I looked out my window to see Violet pulling a suitcase across the sidewalk before tossing it into someone's car. She waved to a man standing on her front porch, then turned around to look at my house. I was worried she might see me, so I quickly moved away from the window and waited a few seconds before looking back out. I heard a car door close and watched the car drive down the street. Good-bye, Violet. Good luck.

Violet

After an extremely
long and boring car ride with my brother, we finally made it to my old house.

It looked the same. It was definitely a lot smaller than the one back in North Carolina. We lived in a private neighborhood with only about ten more houses. Our yard definitely needed some professional maintenance and the house could use some touch-ups.

Across the street, some kids I used to go to school with were out playing basketball. I think they were one year older than me, so they were juniors.

I stepped out of the car and the cold air hit me. Damn, it was a lot colder here than in North Carolina.

I suddenly felt like I was being watched, so I turned around and caught the guys staring at me. All of their jaws had dropped, which made me smirk. I gave them a small wave before Hayden stepped out.

“Yo! Is that Hayden?” one of them yelled.

“Hey! What's up, man?” he yelled at them before walking over. My mom wasn't here yet, so I felt obligated to go with him.

When Hayden and I got to them, they did that bro hug and patted each other on the back. “What are you doing back here?” one of them asked.

“My parents got a divorce, so my mom decided to drag us back here,” Hayden explained to them. I was staying silent because honestly, I didn't want to speak.

“Oh, man, I'm sorry. The team will be looking forward to having you back this spring. Your replacement sucks!” one of them said.

“Well, I'm happy I don't have to fight for my spot, then,” Hayden said.

They all nodded and then they focused on me. “Well, you changed,” one of them told me. They were all staring at me and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

“Surprised you even remember me.” I pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head. “I don't seem to remember talking to you guys.”

“Everyone in this school knows who you are, honey. You're little miss famous pants.” They all laughed but stopped when my brother gave them his ever-so-famous death glare.

“Look, I'm not famous, I'm a normal human being,” I snapped back at them.

“Please. You already have millions of followers on all your social media sites.”

“So you've been stalking me,” I said to them with a smirk on my face.

“If I said no, I would be lying,” he said. You know, he wasn't all that bad looking. He had blond hair and blue eyes, but they weren't as enchanting as Nash's eyes were. He was average height for someone his age and was very muscular. He had the perfect sculpted face and was naturally tan.

I chuckled a little bit before responding. “Well, that's nice to know. Anyway, Hayden, we should probably get going.” I grabbed his arm and put my sunglasses back on.

“Yeah. I'll see you guys around,” he said. They all said good-bye and we started walking up to our house.

“Wait, Violet!” I turned around and saw the blond boy running toward me. Hayden was already back in the house so I walked toward him. “Do you want to hang out sometime?” he asked.

“I would love to . . .” I still didn't even know his name.

“Chance,” he said.

“I would love to, Chance,” I said. “Here, give me your phone and I'll put my number in.”

He quickly fumbled to get his phone and readily handed it to me. I gave it back to him; he had an adorable smile on his face.

“See you around,” he said. I nodded and walked back into my house.

I wasn't completely over Nash, but he moved on, so why couldn't I? I could get used to hanging out with Chance, I thought.