Are You In The House Alone? (plus: Love Me) (7 page)

CHAPTER 37

During first period I get a text
from Garrett,
“Brandy, I didn’t know about the website.”

I read it and want to chuck my
phone across the room. And chuck my desk along with it.
“Yeah, right. Whatever. He’s one
of your best friends. And I hear you were in thousands of episodes.”

“Brandy, I swear I didn’t know.”

“Never talk to me again.”

CHAPTER 38

When I got home from school I took
a super long bubble bath, trying to chill.

But it was hard. Like impossible.

I felt so betrayed.

By everyone.

Everyone sucks.

CHAPTER 39

As I’m getting ready for bed, I get
a text from April.
“Turn on the local news—Blake is making a statement.”

I quickly click on the
television—and whoa! There’s Blake. He says into the camera, “I wanted to
make a statement here, on television—so a certain girl can hear it. There
has been speculation that my friend knew about the website, or even helped with
it. He didn’t. He didn’t know a thing about it. I’m only confessing this
because he’s my best friend. And he loves a girl—
really
loves her. I betrayed him, my bro. But I’m trying to make it
right. Okay, I betrayed other people too—innocent girls. I’m sorry. No
one knew about the sight. Only me. It was all me—well, me and innocent
people. I’m sorry.”

Then he adds, “But Brandy, I’ve
never seen Garrett like this about a girl before. Ever. He loves you. Please
forgive him. It’s all my fault. The dude loves you. Like—really, really
loves you.”

CHAPTER 40

Phoenix texts me,
“Did
you see Blake on the news?”

I quickly text back,
“Yeah.”

Phoenix:
“I believe him. About
both—that Garrett didn’t know about the website, and that he loves you.”

When I just stare at his words but
don’t text back, because my eyes are welling with tears, he types,
“Brandy,
he fought you off. You took off your clothes and begged him for sex, but he was
all gentle with you and made you get into the bed—and he stayed in a
chair. All night. He had you all covered up and he was like, guarding you. So
no one could come in and take advantage of you.”

After a long moment he types,
“Brandy,
the guy loves you.”

CHAPTER 41

Right after Phoenix’s heart
wrenching text, I get another.

When I see it, my heart pounds and
my breath catches.

“Are you in the house alone?”

I stare at it a long time before I
finally answer.

Sucking in my breath I type:
“Yes.”

“Can I come over to talk to you?
”

I squeeze my eyes shut, then type,
“Yes.”

“I’m right outside.”

My heart explodes.

“Do you want me to come in?”

I swallow, then type:
“Yes.”

I meet him downstairs and we sit on
the couch. “My mom’s at work.”

“I know,” he says.

Yeah, of course. He used to live
here. He knows our schedule. Knows everything about us. (My mom is a nurse. She
works nights.)

He glances guardedly into my eyes.
“Did you see Blake on the news?”

I nod, unable to speak.

He glances around the house, trying
to deflate some of the tension in the air. “It’s weird to be here again,” he
says. “I used to watch you at that table with your boyfriend.” He grins
sheepishly, “Seeing you with your boyfriend—it made me want to
be
your boyfriend.”

I whisper, “Maybe you can.”

His eyes light up. “Really?”

I shrug, playfully playing chill. “Maybe.”

His hands come on either side of my
face. He makes me stare up into his gleaming eyes. (Holy smokes!! He has dreamy
eyes! I practically swoon just looking into them.) He draws out a ragged
breath, “What do I have to do, Brandy?”

“For starters, kiss me.”

A slow grin spreads on his lips. “I
could do that.”

I nod. “I know. Maybe you
should—right now.”

His mouth crashes on mine and he
kisses me like there’s no tomorrow. He murmurs in my mouth, “How am I doing?”

“Keep going,” I tell him
breathlessly.

I feel him smile against my lips.

We kiss and kiss, his talented
mouth making fireworks explode through my body. When we finally pull away,
flushed and out of breath, he rests his forehead against mine. “So, do I get
the job?”

“I don’t know. That was
pretty
good.”

He breathes out a soft laugh and
ruffles my hair. “I can do more if you want.” He gently smirks. “I’m The Giver,
remember?”

My cheeks ignite. “Yeah,” I mumble,
my whole body suddenly on fire. “I remember.”

He murmurs in my ear, “I’m sorry I
have a reputation.”

I swallow, my throat going tight
with emotion.

He gently tucks
an errant curl behind my ear.
“Brandy,
I’m so sorry about so many things. If you give me a chance, I’ll make it up to
you, I swear.”

I bite my lip. “You can start by
another kiss.”

He raises his eyebrows. “I’ll kiss
you for the rest of my life.”

“Okay, then,” I smile.
“—sold! You get the job.”

He smiles. “I’m so going to rock
it,” he promises.

I actually have no doubt he will.
And I have just the thing to get him started.

I grin at him mischievously, “I
have this coupon.” I run my fingers through his hair, then whisper in his ear,
“I want to cash it in—right now.”

He smiles huge, his eyes lighting
up.

Then I get the greatest back
massage of my life.

Given to me by “The Giver.”

Aka: My boyfriend.

Lucky me!

And what I really mean is: Lucky,
lucky,
LUCKY
me!!!!!!!!!!

Life rocks! (Even without a
blindfold.)

********

Note: There is another story after
the following book info (on the next page). So keep reading!!

UPDATE: Melanie Marks’ newest book
is:
EVEN WHEN I SLEEP.

Summary of
Even When I Sleep:

I stood fixated, watching her play
the drums—the drums I taught her to play.

I stepped back, feeling like I was
falling. Falling right back in love with her, like I never left. I didn’t want that.
I needed to keep my distance from her. I had to.

But I didn’t want to. ***Darius

CAMMY: my best friend, Darius,
stopped talking to me four years ago. No explanation. No goodbye. He just
changed schools and never talked to me again. But suddenly the beautiful boy is
back in my life. Can I trust him with my heart? Four years ago he broke it. Now
I have the perfect boyfriend, and I’ve heard all the rumors about Darius’s
many, MANY girlfriends. Only secretly I’ve always loved Darius. Even now. Even
in my sleep.

**The book is available now.

Note from the author, Melanie Marks:

I
hope you enjoyed the story.

There
is another after the following book info. It’s called, “Love Me.”

If
you would like to contact me, or receive email notifications of my newest books,
email me at:

[email protected]

My
website is:

http://www.byMelanieMarks.com

Check
often for updates as I’m always writing new books

***

Below
is the first chapter of Melanie Marks’ newest book:

EVEN
WHEN I SLEEP

The
book is only a dollar right now

(Or
you can read it for free if you have Kindle Unlimited)

After
the peek there is another story

EVEN WHEN I SLEEP

By Melanie Marks

CHAPTER 1

“Hockey players,” my best friend
whispers, sounding in awe. Her eyes actually glaze over as she stares at the
long row of them at the table near the entrance.

With a grin, I roll my eyes.

We’re at the mall, by the way. And
we
so
didn’t come here shopping for
guys
, though I can tell I’m going to
have to remind awe-struck Nina of this fact.

Just to be clear: I have a
boyfriend. A football player—
not
a hockey dude.

(Just sayin.’)

Still, there they are: eye-candy
(er, I mean hockey players) in all their yummy athletic glory, sitting at a
long table—for charity.

However, the charity is not
actually getting to ogle the hot guys though. They are actually doing
something—signing pucks for a charity event or something. However, my
best friend is ogling the tasty team so intensely she should probably pay for
the meal. I mean, it’s for charity. And she’s obviously getting a delicious
feast for her hungrily devouring eyes.

However the scrumptious team isn’t
from our school, so it’s not like we could, you know—be
normal
and get a puck signed. It would
not
go over well if someone—
any
one—from our school saw us
(well, saw
me
) get a rival
team’s autograph.

I mean, my little brother is
totally into hockey, big time, but no way can I give him a rival team’s puck.
No way. That would be sacrilegious. (Well, at
my
school.) Though my little brother doesn’t go to my school
yet—or
any
school yet. (He’s
four.)

Still, my school would throw eggs
(well, anyway—a
fit
) if they
caught one of our school’s cheerleaders getting an autograph from a rival
school.

So, I try pulling enraptured Nina
along. “Can’t go there,” I tell her.

“No. Wait!”

She totally stands her ground, as
though she’s rooted in the spot. She’s absolutely not letting me drag her away,
though I’m giving it my best shot. I really can’t afford this—getting
caught near the enemy. It’s bad enough my boyfriend’s football teammates razz
my boyfriend that his girlfriend is now head cheerleader for the
hockey
team. He’ll never hear the end of
it if some “helpful” (aka: skanky) girl from our school snaps a picture of me
in the enemy’s camp—and plasters it all over our school’s social media
(which, unfortunately, I can’t put past most of the “helpful” girls at our
school—that want my boyfriend. Big time.)

“Wait, wait, WAIT!” Nina insists.
“I have to get this one guy’s autograph—I
have
to.”

I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
“Which guy?” I scrunch up my brow. “You know a guy from that snooty
prep-school—Madison Heights?”

The la-dee-da private school just
barely sank to our school district’s level and started to participate in our
sports programs. I didn’t know a soul from the school—and I had assumed
Nina didn’t either.

But she nods, confirming I’m not
quite up on my boy-crazy friend.

I blink. “You know a hockey player
from Madison Heights?”

She nods again. “I do. Well,
anyway, I
want
to. He’s absolutely
dreamy. I met him at his school’s charity carnival. I took my little cousin
there, and the hot dreamy hockey player was working in a booth.” She smiles
sheepishly, “—a
kissing
booth.”

With a loud laugh, I groan. “Are
you kidding me?”

“No.” She puts her hands on her
hips, trying to sound offended and haughtily dignified (though she’s just
playing), “It was for charity!”

I laugh again. “How much did you
spend for the charity?”

“A
lot
,” she says.

Yeah, I’m kind of getting that
impression from the way she has turned all love-struck and breathless ever
since she laid eyes on that hockey table.

The guy must have been some kisser.

I sigh. “Nina, we can’t get in line
for a rival school’s autograph. I’ll be burned at the stake.”

“Okay, well, I’m not going to get ‘
their’
autograph—only Darius’s.”

I freeze at the name.

All the air whooshes out of me and
prickles race down my spine.

When I can finally manage to form
words, I choke out, “Darius?”

“Yeah, the dreamy guy I kissed, a
thousand
times—Darius Michaels.”

I swallow, trying to get control of
my racing heart before I dare look over at the guy. Because I know it can’t be
him—
my
Darius. It can’t …
right?

I mean, my Darius is named Darius
Night
. And he lives somewhere far, far
away. I mean, he has to. Or he would have come to see me—often.

Plus, well, it’s
not
the same last name. So, face it:
it’s insane to get so worked up over a name. I mean, sure, my Darius was a
super-star on the ice … but come on—it’s
not
the same last name.

It’s just the name,
Darius—any time I hear it I go a little crazy.

And that’s what I’m doing
now—going a little crazy.

So I swallow down my insane
anticipation, and brace myself for disappointment as I finally dare peek over
at the table.

But then—oh my gosh!!!

My heart slams against my ribcage.

I grab the counter for support.
Because it’s him—it’s
my
Darius!

My heart thumping wild, I watch him
in astonished awe as he signs a puck for a little boy, his dark hair falling
over his gorgeous dark eyes as he hunches over the table, listening to the
boy’s excited chatter as he signs the boy’s puck, his tiny smile amused as the
boy gushes on and on enthusiastically to his rugged hero.

I stare at grown-up Darius in a
trance, unable to breathe.

Of course when Nina had said the
name Darius—of course my first thought was him. But I didn’t truly
believe it was possible. Because it
wasn’t
possible. It couldn’t be him. It couldn’t.

… yet here he is right in front of
me, smiling his beautiful smile as his little groupie rambles on and on to him energetically
about hockey.

Without a word, I abruptly grab a
puck from the bin.

Nina gushes out a laugh. “I take it
you like?”

She waves a hand in front of my
face as I continue to stare at Darius.

“Hello!”
she gushes with a huge dose of wonder in her amused voice. She laughs, “You
have a boyfriend, remember? You worship the guy.” Then she adds, “Though you
seem to be worshipping Darius with your eyes at the moment.”

I ignore her, as it’s now my turn.
Well, I might have cut a little in the line—not sure, since I was in a
fixed trance and not at all aware what was going on in my surroundings. For me
time stopped.

Darius went to take the puck from
me to sign without actually
looking
at me. The line was long, it apparently took a bit of doing for him to notice
one person from the next. Well, I needed him to notice me. I held on firmly to
the puck as he tried to take it from me.

We had a bit of a tug-of-war.

It made him glance up at me,
curiously. It was a very distracted glance.

But instantly he does a
double-take.

He swallows, staring into my eyes.
His lips part slightly and he goes completely still. A tiny noise comes from
him as he stares.

“You’re a fan?” he asks at last.

As though he needs to ask.

I close my eyes. Is this moment
real? This is really Darius? He goes to
Madison
Heights
now? (
Madison Heights!!!
)

The thought is like a stab in my
heart. Yet getting to see him again, actually be this close to him, it’s like a
dream come true.

… only Madison Heights—the
school isn’t across the country. It’s just across town—and full of
filthy-rich kids. Two things that make me sick—Darius with snobby rich
people, and Darius snubbing me.

The air is knocked out of me.
Darius never came to see me, ever … yet he totally could have. Any time he
wanted.

But he didn’t want to.

Apparently.

“No, I’m not a fan,” I tell him
abruptly. “My friend is. Apparently you’ve kissed her a couple of times.”

He runs a hand through his shaggy,
beautiful, messy hair. “Um, you’re going to have to give me more of a clue,” he
says with a playful (weak) smile—like he’s kissed a lot of girls. Which
no doubt he has. Another stab to my heart, though of course he can’t possibly
know that. I mean, it’s been years, and he’s obviously forgotten all about me.
He probably expects the same of me—no deep feeling, no bittersweet pain.

Sorry buck-o the pain runs deep.

He
never
came to see me. Not once
.

“Doesn’t matter,” I tell him,
trying to sound breezy. “She
paid
for
the kiss—it was charity too. Just like this. You can sign it to my
brother.”

He lifts a brow. “Your
brother?”

I nod.

“Ouch,” he says with another
playful (yet wan) smile. “I’ve been replaced.”

“Right,” I tell him, terse and
hurting—but trying to just sound bitter. “At least this one doesn’t try
to act like he doesn’t know me.”

Darius stills and his lips press
together. He pales, squeezing his eyes shut a moment.

“Cammy … ” he murmurs, his voice
husky and soft. So gentle, yet full of agony. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No, forget it. I don’t even care,”
I snap inanely, then dash away from him.

Having just told the biggest lie of
my life.

***

End
of peek

Hope
you liked it

Even When I Sleep
is available now

https://www.amazon.com/Even-When-Sleep-Melanie-Marks-ebook/dp/B01KLW5K1U

***

Note: below are the first few pages
of Melanie Marks’ book, His Kiss. Then there is another story. So keep reading.

His Kiss

By Melanie Marks

 
(Right now this book only costs a dollar)

http://www.amazon.com/His-Kiss-Young-Adult-Romance-ebook/dp/B00631JXEO

Summary:

Ally’s world was totally on track:
the right boyfriend, the right school activities, the right plans. But then she
is bribed into kissing the school “bad boy.” (Griffin Piper.) Now nothing is
right. Nothing! Because all she can think about is … His Kiss.

His Kiss

CHAPTER 1

Griffin shut his locker, then did a
double-take when he saw I was standing there, waiting for him. He tilted his
head with his usual smirk. Only, it wasn’t exactly his usual smirk. He looked
perplexed, but sort of happy too. It was like he was trying to figure it out,
mentally scratching his head:
Why would
shy little Ally Grange be standing at my locker?

He cocked his head further,
quirking an eyebrow. “You looking for me?”

I sucked in my breath and gave a
slight nod.

His lips twitched, obviously
entrained by my discomfort. “What’s up?”

I bit my lip.
Good question
.

Tugging at the hem of my sweater, I
took a deep breath, trying to summon up a little courage. I needed it. ‘Cause
Griffin wasn’t exactly considered a nice guy. In fact, he was considered a
terror on the hockey rink and not much different off it. And I wasn’t exactly
Miss Confident when it came to mean people. I shied away from
confrontation—
any
confrontation—and tormentors—at all cost, but here I was, seeking
out
Griff the Grief-Master
.

He smirked again, his eyes
twinkling with a strange combination of curiosity mixed with amusement. “Just
spit it out.”

“Aiden Hanks,” I blurted like a
cough. “He’s my …”

When I choked again Griffin
finished for me still looking curious. “Your boyfriend.”

I nodded, surprised. I didn’t know
Griffin knew that. I didn’t know he knew who I was.

Griffin grinned, light dawning. He
had definitely figured it out. “Oh, you’re here to beg me not to bash his face
in.” He tossed his history book from one hand to the other, looking amused.
“The twerp sent you?”

“No!” I rushed out my next words to
stop him from getting the wrong idea. “Aiden doesn’t know I’m talking to you.”

He grinned. “Then why
are
you talking to me?”

“Because—like you said, I
don’t want you to bash his face in.” I stared into Griffin’s twinkling eyes.
“Please don’t.”

I don’t know where that came
from—me being brave enough to stare into The Griff’s eyes. Maybe it was
because he kept smiling at me, acting like I was fun to talk to, or look at, or
something.

Griffin leaned against his locker
and wet his pink (gorgeous) lips. He gazed at me intently a moment, then up at
the ceiling. Finally he groaned, letting out a breath, and looked back into my
eyes.