21. Jasper Ridge

21

Jasper Ridge

“ Y ou have to stop staring at them, Cap. It’s getting borderline creepy,” Jakson chuckled, taking a swing of his beer.

I drew my eyes away from the direction of the kitchen and back towards that asshole. Picking up the pillow from behind my back, I whacked it at him, almost spilling the drink down his chest.

“ You —”

I glared at him, raising my eyebrows.

Go on Asshole, finish that sentence with Lia’s siblings present.

Wisely, he shut his lips, frowning at me. “—are so mean. After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? Shame on you, Jasper Ridge.”

I chuckled, shaking my head slightly. My eyes naturally gravitated back towards where Lia and Poppy were in the kitchen. The commentator’s voice echoed throughout the room, but it was just background noise echoing in the back of my mind. All I could seem to focus on was the fact that Poppy Wells was in that kitchen baking something delicious with my little sister.

I was waiting for the rage to build up inside me—for it to spew out and attach to Poppy like a leech. All the other times she had been around people I cared about, I’d lost my shit. My family was the most important thing to me, and I wouldn’t do anything to endanger them.

However, this time…I didn’t feel it. There was something coursing through my body that was everything but rage. I had no idea what it was. The thought terrified me. Being angry was easy to feel, a defensive shield for whenever I felt too far out of my depth. With everyone else, if they threatened the people I cared about, that was it—all I would see was a deep, burning red.

But with Poppy ? I saw an explosion of colors; the sunset that settled above the water each night and the sunrise that broke free from the darkness each morning. I saw life and love and loss—everything and nothing, all at once.

It was always different with her, and that scared me.

“Oh shi —” Jakson gasped at the TV, where the two teammates of Heath Fischer and the sports first female driver, Eleanore Hart, collided at the parabolica at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit. Their silver arrow Mercury Racing cars in pieces as the camera spun around to show the broken fragments of one of the driver’s front wings and a lone tire that was rolling across the track as the marshals raced to the scene.

“The livery on that Corsonito looks absolutely badass,” Jakson stated, sipping his beer.

I nodded in agreement.

Monza, Italy, was the teams home race, and they brought out a limited-edition Italian livery for the weekend. The usual red and black livery had an Italian flag painted across the side, with a tribute to everyone on the team in small messages painted across the flag.

Both drivers, Samuel ‘ Sam’ Bridger and Rafael ‘Rafa’ Collettò, had special edition helmets for the occasion—Sam losing his neon purple and black streaks for a red, white, and green helmet with ‘ Grazie a tutti ’ painted across the back. Rafa also swapped his signature red and gold for a white helmet with red and green stripes across it; the same message was also plastered across the back of his helmet too.

“Are they…dead?” Logan asked quietly, watching the screen intently, where an air ambulance landed. I didn’t get a chance to see which driver was being flown off as the screen cut to black.

“Oops,” Belle gasped, remote clutched in hand.

Jakson groaned, throwing his head back, as I held back a laugh. Though, I didn’t miss the way Logan watched him. How each of Jakson’s harsh movements made him flinch, lips trembling ever so slightly.

“How do you make this thing work?” Belle grumbled, frantically pushing and fiddling with all the buttons.

I chuckled, motioning for her to come over. She padded over and handed me the remote. As I turned the TV back on, I made sure to show her what to do step by step so that next time she wouldn’t have to ask. Moments later, the opening credits of Princess and the Frog rolled on screen just as Lia and Poppy appeared with a lemon drizzle cake in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other.

“No way,” Poppy stilled, a small smile playing on her lips as her eyes lit up with golden rays of nostalgia. “I loved this movie when I was a kid. I remember…” Her voice quietened as she looked directly at me.

I held her gaze with everything in me.

“Tiana was my favorite princess,” She concluded, setting the cake down on the coffee table in front of us. Choosing not to relive that memory. That one night when we became something other than rivals. A mistake. That was what she called it the next day. We were a mistake. Neither of us made an attempt to be anything more after that night. There was no point. We knew where each other stood. The uncrossable line drawn in the sand between us. The riptide that pulled us further and further apart.

If I could’ve changed fate, if i could’ve gone back in time to that night and changed the outcome…I shook my mind free of that thought trail.

I couldn’t rewrite the past or manipulate time. I wasn’t Stephen Strange.

Belle and Logan eyed the food hungrily, and I swear each time I blinked, they got closer and closer to the food. Lucas, however, was disinterested in it, remaining sat down on the floor with a little red firetruck and yellow Lego figures .

“Oh yeah, Wellsy?” I smirked, pulling her down so she could sit down next to me.

“Yeah,” Poppy smiled softly, turning her gaze away from mine as our thighs brushed. I could feel the heat of her neck radiating against my skin and I readjusted myself on the couch next to her, Jakson eyeing me with a stupid grin on his lips. “She inspires me to never give up. That no matter how unattainable my dreams may seem to others, all I have to do is keep trying because someday, I’ll get there.”

I smile, a genuine smile. “That’s beautiful, Wellsy.”

“I think my favorite princess is definitely Elsa,” the asshole in question grinned, throwing his arms out like she does in the movie. Lia chuckled, sitting down next to him, and that right there made any humiliation from that comment worth it for him. As long as she was happy, as long as she was the one laughing, it would always be worth it to him.

Belle was now standing so close to the table her knees were touching it. I glanced at Lia, and when she nodded, I picked up the plate of cookies. “The price for one cookie,” I mused, comically, “is one hug for your favorite uncle.”

Jakson grinned, accepting the silent challenge I just laid before us.

You’re on, his eyes seemed to glisten.

Belle, of course, threw herself at me almost immediately, nearly knocking all the cookies to the floor. Thankfully, Poppy took the plate from my arms before any of them could spill.

I placed a quick, soft kiss to her hair and she high fived me. “That’s my Farfallina ,” I whispered, and she beamed up at me, her lips tugged into a wide grin.

My little butterfly . She couldn’t see the colors of her wings, but I could, and they were beautiful. I just hoped that one day, she would see that too.

Logan came next and tried to jump up onto Jakson like Belle did for me, but he ended up running straight into the couch because he was so small. Jakson chuckled and lifted him up, tickling him as Logan giggled.

I dramatically pushed my hand against my heart and gaped at the two of them. “This betrayal, Cattivello …I’m shocked.”

Jakson, like the idiot he was, winked at me but his smug look washed away when Lia elbowed him in the ribs and told him to stop being a pig-headed egotistical asshole. I chuckled at the remark, but as soon as I did, I regretted it because now I was on the receiving end of two deathly cold glares from both Lia and Poppy. Jakson didn’t reveal anything, but I could see the smugness gleaming in his eyes. Asshole.

“Lucs, do you want a cookie?” Lia asked, shaking her head at us.

Logan jumped over her and sat down eagerly next to Poppy, holding his hands out as she handed him a cookie. He started talking to her over gobbled mouthfuls and she smiled down at him, answering every question he threw her way. The sight made my own lips curve into a grin. He’d only just met her but the way he was looking up at her could’ve fooled me that they were anything but strangers.

“I’m not hungry,” Lucas said, not looking up from his toys. Lia’s eyes, laced in worry, landed on Jakson—the two of them seemed to be able to communicate without saying a word. It was intriguing yet weird to watch. He seemed to ease her worries as she lent into his touch. His arm wrapped around her side, huddling her to his chest, as his hand drew small circles on the top of her thigh.

“Okay, well if you get hungry buddy, the cookies are just on the table.” Jakson finished for her as she sent him a grateful look.

“How is your favorite princess not Moana?” Belle frowned.

Poppy laughed lightly. “Can you keep a secret?” Belle’s eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly. “Well…” She whispered, “I have two favorites, and Moana is my other one.”

Belle giggled and whispered not-so-quietly back. “I have two favorites too! Tiana and Moana, just like you!”

“No way!” Poppy gasped as Belle nodded proudly.

It was so fucking cute to watch.

“Hey, monkey, I thought your favorite was Belle?” Jakson asked.

Belle rolled her eyes at him. “I’m over her now. I share the same favorites as Poppy. You’re just jealous that you don’t.”

“Damn,” Jakson frowned, “Is it that obvious?”

Belle nodded straightly, “Yes, it’s sad.”

I couldn’t stop myself as I laughed so fucking hard my chest hurt and the sound turned into wheezes. Poppy chuckled along with me and Belle beamed, her face lighting up as she watched us all laugh at her comment.

“ Ha , very funny.” Jakson rolled his eyes, despite the small grin tugging on his lips. If we weren’t careful, Belle would turn into a comical mini Jakson. The thought made me laugh even more.

Jakson lent forward and grabbed a slice of the lemon drizzle cake, almost moaning in delight as he ate it. “Oh my God, girls that is so fucking good.”

Lia’s eyes bulged at his crude language, but you could barely tell apart the words as they came out mumbled thanks to all the crumbs in his mouth. I picked up a slice of my own and fucking hell—it was the best thing I had ever tasted. “He’s fucking right, Lils. That is heaven. ”

Poppy elbowed me in the ribs, but I couldn’t care less with this literal slice of heaven in my mouth. It tasted like a daydream.

Lia eyed us both, but the smile on her lips from our praise was there.

Just then, the baby monitor rang, letting us all know Hudson was awake from his nap. Lia’s shoulders seemed to drop in exhaustion purely from the sound of it. As she was about to get up, Jakson kissed her forehead and whispered something to her. She smiled, barely, and nodded, squeezing his hand in gratitude.

“Excuse me ladies,” Jakson winked as he got up, “duty calls.”

Lia followed him with her eyes as he left to go upstairs and check on Hudson. I turned to Poppy, all the cookies on the plate gone except for one.

Before I could say anything, she noticed my gaping mouth and shocked eyes, and rushed to say, “I’m sorry, but they’re just too cute to say no to.”

I smiled, completely understanding where she was coming from—the powerful, cute smiles of the Davis siblings were impossible to resist. I’m pretty sure they had a survival rate of less than one percent.

“So, Poppy, are you going to the surf comp on the weekend?” Lia asked.

Poppy stiffened against me but you wouldn’t have be able to tell by looking at her—she had thrown on another mask to hide behind.

I could see straight through them. I would always see the real her .

I had since we were little—she showed me the real her each time she hid my board behind the outdoor showers, each time she smirked as my points got announced by the commentators and they happened to be one point less than hers. Whether she realized it or not, she had always been real with me. I didn’t know why, but I always found myself being the realist version of myself whenever I was with her too.

She brought out the best of me. The worst of me. Every hidden part of me.

I saw her and she saw me .

“I am for him,” she motioned to me, “and to cheer on Jakson too, but I won’t be competing this time.”

What?

“You’re not competing?” I asked as she avoided my gaze.

Dammit, Poppy, look at me.

As if my thoughts compelled her too, she turned, eyes meeting mine. A cold glaze settled over them, but I could almost see the glimmer of worry, the hint of uncertainty, hidden in them.

“What about the bet?” I questioned. My thoughts trailed back to the beach when she just stood at the waves, not going in…was she stuck on a mental block? Fuck. And I asked her to compete in the bet against me.

Fucking idiot, Jasper.

If she was, why didn’t she tell me? I wouldn’t have asked her to do that if she was struggling—I’d never force her to do anything.

“What bet?” Lia frowned, looking between us.

My gaze remained glued to Poppy, searching for the words in her eyes like I knew they would be too painful for her to say aloud. Her gaze softened, realizing what I was doing, and she squeezed my hand.

Later, was what that movement was telling me. She shied away from my gaze, sinking back into the couch almost embarrassed. Fuck. She was embarrassed about this?

I wrapped my arm around her, gently squeezing her side, letting her know I was here and that she didn’t have to be embarrassed around me. When she started picking at her fingers a moment later, like she did when she was anxious, I clasped her hands in mine and rubbed them lightly .

“Someone say something about a bet?” Jakson’s voice trailed through the hallway as he entered the lounge, Hudson placed on his hip. “I’m always up for a good time.” Hudson cooed and Jakson grinned down at him. “See, even the little man agrees.”

Lia frowned, nose scrunching. “No, these two have some secret bet going on between them and they won’t tell me what it’s about.”

Jakson looked between us; I couldn’t decipher the words hidden in his gaze as he glanced at her, but when he turned to me, they were full of warning. The glance of a protector. I knew that gaze all too well—the same one clouded his vision when someone dared trash talked Lia in front of him. And let me tell you now, the guys on the football team learned to shut their mouths about her, not only around him, but also behind his back. Little Jakson Calloway may have been young and reckless, but nothing would ever stop him from protecting that girl.

Those guys may have been older, outranking him in every way, but to him none of that mattered. By the first week, everybody knew to leave Lia alone than to brave his wrath. I didn’t even know if she knew why everyone stopped picking on her, probably thinking it was a miracle from the heavens when it was really just her best friend looking out for her in every way he could.

Jakson Calloway was Lia Davis’s protector, but most importantly, her friend . They coexisted in this universe together where no one could even reach them. They were two stars who orbited each other, and when one of them dimmed, losing sight of the light, so did the other—because no timeline existed where those two did not give everything for each other.

“He definitely bet her to go out with him, Blue,” Jakson chuckled just as Lia glared at him. Sonny winked at me as he walked over and sat down next to her. She reached over to take Hudson from his hands, but Jakson lightly kissed her hair before whispering something in her ear. A small, relieved smile tugged on her lips as she relaxed into his side, her head rested just below his chin, pressed against his chest.

The rest of the movie passed in a haze. End credits to Princess and the Frog rolled onto the screen but no one but Poppy and Belle were paying attention. I didn’t know when, but Belle had sneaked closer to Poppy, now huddled into her side; the two of them whispered throughout the second half of the movie, singing along to the songs, sharing secrets…something was breaking inside my chest, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe when I looked at them together.

My family .

“Can I have the last cookie, pleaseeee,” Logan pleaded, eyeing the lonesome cookie on the plate in Poppy’s lap. She looked to Lia, unsure, but she was half asleep on Jakson’s chest.

My gaze slid from the two of them towards the girl who had begun haunting my dreams. This morning when I found her—the memory of it had plagued my every waking thought since. Especially the look in her eyes when she confessed that she thought she was broken .

I knew I needed to stop trying to fix other people, but how could I just turn a blind eye to what she’d said? She wasn’t broken, not to me. She was everything but that. Beautiful. Courageous. Resilient. Fuck . She deserved to be shown she was loved. More than fruitless words and unfilled promises. I’d show her just how loved she really was, even if she killed me in the process. After all, she hated me and I hated her.

At least, that was what I’d spent the last few days reminding myself.

With the plates all cleared, Jakson playfully badgering Lia with Hudson drifting to sleep on his chest, and Lucas still on the floor with his twin playing firefighters, I followed Poppy into the hall. With everyone distracted, nobody seemed to notice us both slip out of the room.

Poppy reached for the door handle just as a heavy weight felt like it was thrust through my chest like a knife.

Don’t go.

“What?”

I looked at her, brows crossed.

“You said something?”

“I—” Fuck. How was I now getting tongue-tied around her? “Why didn’t you tell me you had a mental block when we made that bet?”

“I didn’t think it was relevant,” she shrugged, turning to go.

I reached out to her, grasping her first between my fingers. Just as my skin brushed her own, she flinched. “Like hell it isn’t relevant, Poppy.”

“Look, I don’t need you, okay? At all, actually. I don’t even know why I agreed to this stupid bet in the first place. Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

For a moment, we both stood there in the silence until the glassy look disappeared from her eyes and the door was already half open.

“It’s not a mental block, you know.” I called out to her as she walked down the driveway. Screw everything, she needed to hear this regardless of how painful it was. “You can’t surf anymore because of the person you see when you’re out there, right? It’s not a mental block, Poppy. It’s PTSD and it’s serious . You can’t throw a bandage on it and expect it to heal!”

I blinked and suddenly the house was empty again.

Poppy was gone and she didn’t even say goodbye.