The books on my floor were scattered so I tried to put them in piles to make the room seem half presentable. It offered a good distraction from the sound of crashing and stumbling from the other side of the door.

I had learnt the hard way not to try and stop my father when he wanted to trash the place.

After I changed into my pyjamas, I cosied into my bed with a Jane Austen book.

It was incredible how books allowed an escape from reality so easily. One day I could be a pirate or a young eligible maid. I could live romance through books, and I could cry with the characters.

I could pretend I was somebody else.

As my eyes started to feel heavy, I fetched my phone from my nightstand and read the text from my lovestruck friend.

Lana's long paragraph detailed how excited she was to meet with Brennan again. She also listed everything that could go wrong with the meeting as her text turned into a panicked rant.

Texting back a quick few word, it dawned upon me that our duo could possibly come to an end if Brennan chose to hang around with us.

I would have to become the third wheel.

What also crossed my mind was if Brennan hung around us then the big unfriendly leather jacket-wearing giant would be in the picture too.

I would see him again.

The thought of that brought on a feeling in my lower stomach. It almost felt like anticipation. I had never felt anything like it before. I convinced myself that it was eagerness to only insult him further.

He had insulted my hair, so I cursed him in my mind again and wished his pillow grew spikes during the night.

Chapter Three

The weekend had passed quickly. Too quickly. The two days had passed in a blur of reading and having three-hour-long calls with Lana gossiping about her new love interest. I also spent the two days in my room and hiding from my father.

I studied the depressing looking apartment building as I leant against the cool metal my car.

To some extent, I was glad school was starting again. I needed a distraction. I needed something to occupy my mind.

Lana appeared at the top of the hill on my street. She was skipping down the sidewalk with a happy and content smile on her face. Her face was beaming, and her cheeks were flushed.

At least one of us was in a good mood being forced to wake up this early in the morning.

"What time do you call this?" I asked her as she neared "It is never like you to be late. That is my job."

She never needed to answer. The answer to my question was visible as I looked down at what she was wearing. Lana was always well dressed but never as extreme as she was currently. She looked like she had rolled out a magazine.