Page 122 of Tattooed Love

“It’s Jax,” I snapped at her. I noticed her smirk had now gone. Well, I had a right to be angry. She’d replaced me within, what, days? Yeah, I meant heaps to her, didn’t I.

“You don’t have a right to be jealous.” She pursed her lips and gripped her textbooks tighter. “You broke up with me.”

“To protect you!” I scoffed. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter.” She could do whatever the heck she wanted. Why should I care? I’d never cared for a woman before, and this was why.

“You’re right. It doesn’t matter,” she said.

The school bell rang and she quickly turned her back to me, storming off. Why had I fallen for a moody one?

But it doesn’t matter now. She’d found a replacement. I gritted my teeth and stormed down the hall. It showed now, how much she really cares about me.

***

I glared into the back of Amber’s head. The whole day she had made it her mission to avoid me, but, now as we sat in, well whatever class it was, she was trapped. She sat as far away from me as possible, sitting down in the front of the class by herself.

How had she found a new guy over a weekend? A WEEKEND! I snapped a pencil. The boy next to me flinched. I gave the boy a look over. Who was he? I hadn’t seen him before.

“Can you believe her?” I said as I nodded my head in Amber’s direction. “She found a new guy.” I didn’t know the guy next to me, but he was the only one close enough to listen.

“Are you talking about Amber Shield?” The guy pushed his glasses up his nose, and looked closer at Amber, when I nodded my head. “He would have to be brave to date her,” the boy added.

“Brave?” I scoffed. “I doubt it.” I tapped my foot under the table, feeling irritated.

“I wonder if he likes orange too…” The nerdy guy had a bit of a snigger and looked at me with an amused grin. I gave him a look that wiped that look off his face. Like what the fuck was he on about?!

He quickly snapped his head down, and turned back to his work as I continued to glare at Amber. Who the heck had she met? I knew that I had a thing for her, but the jealousy that was ripping through me made me realize it wasn’t just a thing.

Bloody hell, I was in love with Amber.

***

I stabbed the piece of steak, cutting a large piece of it off and stuffing it in my mouth.

“I hate peas,” Tyler announced, flicking a pile of peas off his plate and onto the tablecloth. “Why the heck does the cook always put so many on?”

“Would you like to cook instead Tyler?” Mr Shield asked, from the head of the table.

The Shield boys were feared, and here they were sitting at the table having a good old family dinner together.

“There, there Tyler. Stop moaning about the fucking peas!” Cole grunted, with a mouthful of food.

“Language!” Mr Shield snapped at Cole, and that had everyone smirking.

Cole got told off by daddy.

“How was school, Jackson?” He looked at me. Jackson? What was I, ten?

“Fine,” I grunted back a reply; would have been rude to ignore him completely, considering I was still staying at his house.

“Where is Amber?” Troy asked, and I was grateful he had asked, because I had been wondering where she was. She didn’t come home after school. Maybe she was off with her new boyfriend. I clenched the knife in my hand.

“Here!” Amber announced as she walked into the room. I automatically looked up at her. Why was she looking so pretty lately?

“Amber! You hungry?” Mr Shield asked, and she nodded her head and took a seat next to Troy, even though there was one free next to me.

“So, where you been?” Adam asked her, and then pushed the bread basket across the table at her.

“Nowhere,” she replied. She took a piece of bread, beginning to nibble on it.

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