Page 3 of As You Wish | AllFreeNovel

“Too bad. You have a guest.”

I sat up straighter. “I do?”

“Yup. Jade. Who else would it be?”

He was right. While everyone in town knew me, no one knew me. Jade was the only exception.

I got dressed in my usual black clothes before coming downstairs, where she was already playing my PlayStation, chewing her lip while she looked at the screen.

“You beat my high score,” she said in lieu of a greeting.

“Someone has to challenge you.”

Jade looked down the hallway to see if Atticus was still around. As usual, he’d left us to our own devices. “When did you even find time after last night?”

“I spent all day yesterday on it.” I sat on the couch. “It was a challenge, but I did it.”

“How’s this for a challenge?” She flipped me off.

I laughed. “The real challenge is if you can do it while I distract you.”

“Don’t you dare.” Her voice was ice cold, and I was tempted to do it.

I settled for staring at her instead. Before we both realized our time was running out, I could look at her for hours and wonder how the fuck we were together.

It was heavier these days, weighed down by what was coming.

I knew what she wanted. She knew what I wanted.

Neither of us knew who would win.

I knew Jade more than anyone else in town, yet she was still a mystery to me sometimes. She kept her thoughts to herself so well that I wished I were a mind reader, just so she wouldn’t throw me for a loop.

She always did, though.

I didn’t know she’d thought of me as anything more until she took me by the collar of my shirt and kissed me. I didn’t know she was into crystals until she shoved one in my hand to wish me luck on my exams.

And her plans for her future were no different.