Tangled Love

CHAPTER 27

Ivory glances between me and Jake before grabbing an aspirin box off the counter and clutching her head. I can tell the girl has a serious hangover.

"I'll leave you two to it." Ivory says, saluting at me half heartedly. I give her a small smile and she leaves the kitchen, shutting the door softly behind her. My attentions diverts back to Jake and I stand watching him for a few seconds. He's still wearing last nights clothes, his dark hair ruffled messily across his head. I begin to feel extremely self conscious standing there so decide to start a conversation —

"Last night was . . . Interesting." I say quietly, mentally slapping myself for bringing it up. I've decided my brain turns into an unreliable pile of mush when Jake Melvin is around.

"I guess so, sit down Emily." Jake says quietly, signalling at the table. He doesn't make eye contact with me and I nibble on my bottom lip, silently taking a seat at the table. I feel my hands begin to grow clammy with nerves so I decide to try to make conversation again.

"You cook pancakes?" I ask him, amusement lining my voice. This time he finally turns around, a sheepish grin on his face. He holds the spatula in the air, shrugging a little.

"You got me," Jake winks, a sparkle in his eye. A flutter grows inside my stomach and I smile, dropping my eyes to the floor.

"Can I have one? I'm starving." I admit, holding my stomach. Jake nods and plates two up before dropping them down in front of me. He holds up a bottle of syrup, the muscles in his arms tensing. I try not to stare but it's so hard when he looks so. . . Good.

"You like syrup?"

"Of course I like syrup, what kind of question is that?" I tease him, rolling my eyes. Jake shakes his head, biting back a smile before squeezing the syrup all over the pancakes.

I take the fork he's offering me and try a small bite, moaning with pleasure from finally eating. It doesn't help that Jake's pancakes are incredibly delicious. I can't remember the last time I had pancakes. When I'm on my third bite, I glance up at Jake, ready to applaud him on his pancake making skills but he's watching me, head tilted to the side. A smirk plays on his lips — "You moan when you eat Muffin?"

I choke on the piece of pancake in my mouth, dropping the fork onto the table. My eyes glare at Jake who begins to splutter with laughter. The blue in his eyes sparkle and despite being mad at him a second ago, I'm not anymore. I laugh alongside him before defending myself.

"You make amazing pancakes and I haven't eaten properly for days. This is like heaven to me."

Jake's laughter dies down, the carefree expression on his face disappearing. He pushes the plate towards me silently and I stir in my seat uncomfortably.

"Eat as many as you want." He finally says, breaking the silence between us. He stands up and turns his back to me, running a hand through his wild hair. His shoulders are squared up, full of tension and I know he's thinking about last night.

"Emily, can we talk about—"

I stop Jake short by shaking my head.

"No, not now. Let me enjoy some food before you grill me over last night." I explain to him, giving him a small smile. He returns the smile, nodding his head in agreement.

I end up spilling every secret to Jake Melvin.

Why was it that suddenly things become so real once you say them out loud?

I've only known Jake for a few weeks but I feel like we share an indescribable connection. Jake always listens to me patiently but the thing I value the most about his friendship is that he never judges me. . . For anything.

I've always been terrified of anyone knowing my secret but when I tell Jake, it's a relief. It feels good for someone else to know the stuff that happens behind my closed door.

We're both in Ivory's living room. I'm on the couch with a blanket draped over me and Jake is laid on the other side, his head propped up on one of the cushions.

"Why did you decide to tell me?" Jake asks me quietly, blue eyes staring straight at me.

"I can't take it anymore, there's a constant war inside my head. Do I tell people or do I not? If I do, Trevor will kill me but if I don't, it never stops. All I want is for it to stop." I reply honestly, looking up at the ceiling to stop the tears from falling. I blink them back, not wanting to cry in front of him.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?”