Extraits

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll be your friend.”

She claps, giggling. “Yes!”

I take one chocolate ball and offer her the rest. “We can share.”

Her teeth sink in her bottom lip. “Are you sure? I gave them to you. I don’t want to be rude and take them back.”

“Friends share everything.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

She snatches the bag of Maltesers and stuffs her mouth with two balls of chocolate. “Hey, Grey Eyes.”

“Hmm?” I watch her twinkling eyes as she chews. Some of the chocolate sticks to her upper lip.

“When I grow up, I’m gonna buy you a bucket of Maltesers.”

“Why?”

“Because Dad says you have to buy gifts for the one you marry.”

“Marry?” I whisper.

“Yup!” She grins. “When I grow up, I’m going to marry you.”

“You can’t marry me.”

Her face contorts. “Why not?”

“Mum says you have to love someone to marry them.”

“Then you can just love me.” She throws her hand in the air. “What’s so hard about that?”

I remain silent. This girl is crazy.

“Hey, Grey Eyes.” She scoots closer. “When I give you the bucket of Maltesers, are you going to share it with me?”

I laugh and she laughs with me. Her laughter is like the sunshine after a rainy day. It’s the sun peeking through the cloudy sky.

As I watch her, I realise I want to see her laugh all the time.

Maybe she’s right. Maybe after we grow up, she needs to stay close so I can see her laugh this way every day.

She has the most beautiful laughter I’ve ever seen.

“Promise you’ll marry me.” She holds out her pinkie.

I curl mine around hers. “I promise.”

Ronan doesn’t pay her attention and continues in his overly dramatic speech. “Bah alors, Ellie. You can’t get hurt when we’re going to get married.”

“Do you want to meet your maker, Astor?” Aiden’s sombre tone shoots towards us like sharp knives.

I groan. “How the hell do you know me so well?”

“I stalk you on Instagram.” He winks.

“I’m glad I met you back then,” she says after a while. “You were my light in the darkness.”

Being with Aiden is like going through a roller coaster ride in a dark tunnel. There are ups and downs. There’s black and danger. But most of all, there’s excitement and the euphoric feeling of being alive.

I’m alive.

With Aiden, I never stopped feeling alive.

“I don’t remember my dreams,” I tell the boy with grey eyes.

He pinches my cheek. “I’ll dream for the both of us.”

“And who is this?” Ronan drawls in Teal’s direction.

“Teal.” I motion at her. “This is Ronan, Cole, and Xander from school.”

She nods, barely sparing them any attention before she returns to her phone.

“Bonsoir, ma belle.” Ronan devours her with his eyes, openly, with no shame. “This means we’ll be seeing a lot of you.”

“Not really,” she says, still not looking at them.

“Yeah. We live in Birmingham,” I say.

“No,” Ronan clutches his heart dramatically, closing in on her. “I might die if I don’t see you again.”

“Then die.” Teal turns around and heads in Knox’s direction without a glance back.

“Hashtag, burn.” Xander clutches Ronan by the shoulder.

Aiden

Present

This is the worst fucking scenario that could've happened. The disaster part is, I didnt see it coming - and I always see things coming.

The most catastrophic mistake any general can make is to feel comfortable and ignore the outside world.

Today I was blinded by Elsa and her closeness, I was over my head with irrational feelings and thoughts and I didn't try to control them.

Elsa has that effect on me; she has the power to fuck up the best-laid plans ever set