West gave his signature smirk and butterflies fluttered in my belly. “I painted a bird–a crow, in honor of my favorite movie. My annoying neighbor used to make me watchThe Crowwith her on her birthday every year, which happens to be October 30th.”
My heartstopped.
“Anyway, the movie is special to me, as were the times I was forced to watch it. Of course, I always pretended to hate it because I’m an asshole.”
I stared at the bird in amazement. Not because it was good–it wasn’t–but because that movie held deep meaning for me, which was part of the reason why I watched it once a year, always on my birthday–October 30th. There were a few years I watched it over at the Moretti’s house. Bronx always fell asleep, but West stayed up with me, pretending not to like it.
My eyes welled with tears.Shit.
“So, you chose to glorify a movie where a man and his fiancée are brutally murdered on Devil’s Night? Where a young girl runs the streets alone because her mother is a heroin-addicted whore who doesn’t care about her? And the murdered man’sghostcomes back and starts killing his attackers? Is that what you’re saying, West?” Mr. Reynolds asked with a straight face.
I gasped at his response to West’s presentation, and West smiled at Mr. Reynolds, not indicating that he was thrown off by what he said. “It wasn’t themovie, teach. It was who I watched it with and what it meant to her. Which is Ashtyn, by the way. I thought I made that part clear.”
Mr. Reynolds stared at the crow painting and bit the inside of his cheek. A smile tugged at his lips but he didn’t say anything before writing in his notebook again.
I clenched my fists tightly as I stewed on what he said about my favorite movie. The movie that had imprinted on my heart at a young age. I used to dream about being the little girl in the movie, having my own Eric Draven come back from the dead to help me take care of those who’ve wronged me–namely my drunken mother. In my dreams, he would heal her of her sickness and make her care about me again, the way she did when I was a baby.
Shaking my head of the thoughts, the dismissal bell went off and everyone scurried from the class as quickly as possible.
“Make sure to leave your paintings so I can look them over again!” Mr. Reynolds shouted from behind us as we left the classroom.
West, Cade, and I walked from the art room to the parking lot with Axel falling in step next to us.
“That was so weird!” Cade said. “Reynolds has fuckinglost it. Do you think he saw you giving it to princess in the middle of class?”
“You did what now?” Asked Axel.
West smiled at his friends and put his arm around my shoulder, blanketing me with warmth and comfort.
“Can we please pretend that didn’t happen?” I cringed as I put my face into West’s side.
“He saw it. He was about to nut right there in class.”
“So was I,” muttered Cade.
“Wait, he saw us? Why did you keep going?!”
He kissed the side of my head and pulled me in closer to him. “He needed to be taught a lesson. Don’t fuck with what’s mine.”
“West…”
“If he thinks we’re together, he’s not going to mess with you. You should’ve seen his face when I licked you off my fingers. Wish I had that shit on film.”
“Remind me again why I didn’t take that class with y’all? Sounds entertaining as hell,” Axel laughed as we reached the parking lot. Cade took off for football practice and Axel leaned up against West’s Challenger.
“I can’t make it to the gym tonight. Got some work stuff to deal with,” Axel said with his usual tone of mystery.
West turned to me with a hopeful look on his face. “You’re coming today, right? Oh, bad choice of words,” he smiled. “You’re coming toBrass Knucklestoday, right?”
Shit, I forgot that I agreed to work out with West. I’d been a different person back then–a whole three days ago. “Uhhhmm…” I stalled, not wanting to disappoint him but not wanting to work out.
“You need to, princess. Your stalker’s still out there, and we don’t know that your brother’s handled his issues. It’s important,” West pleaded.
“Fine, but I’m only staying for an hour or so. I need to catch up on my reading.”
“Still reading that smut you used to read way back?” West asked as he opened the car door for me.Again.
“It’sromance,” I laughed, knowing damn well it was smut.