The Heart Series: Complete Boxed Set Read Online Free

breathing, waiting for his sweet, soft lips to finally touch mine.
    For a few moments, he hesitated.
    Then a huge wave of rejection slammed against my body when his lips brushed against my forehead. My eyes fluttered open in surprise. I tried desperately not to express the look of bitter disappointment I knew was about to cross my face.
    “See that wasn’t so bad, was it? I think you may have even enjoyed it,” he said grinning, his eyes filled with amusement.
    His words were like cold water against my skin. They quickly extinguished the strong, intense flames I was feeling only moments before.
    “Go to hell,” I snapped, no longer wanting to be part of his cruel game. I tried my hardest to appear unaffected even though I wanted to scream until my throat bled.  He chuckled, slowly pushing himself off me. I closed my eyes, breathing deep, to try to gain some kind of composure.
    When the door creaked, my eyes wrenched open and he shot me a cheeky wink before closing the door. I screamed with frustration, despising myself for the hold he had over me. I heard his laughter all the way back to Mike’s room, rubbing more salt into the gaping wound that was my heart.
    But this was nothing new, the years of constant teasing and ridicule had taken their toll. I had to change, to grow a thicker skin. It was no fun living with these two idiots. I kept out their way most of the time, it was the simplest solution to escape the torment. I never let my guard down or expressed my feelings, especially the ones I had for Joel. I kept those locked away. What started out as a silly first crush had developed into something deeper. It consumed me, but as it was not reciprocated, I guarded that secret with my life, knowing it was one I’d never tell. 
    As predicted, Joel had become a huge hit with the ladies, attracting attention wherever he went. No matter his reputation, the girls made it their mission to get with him. It became unbearable to watch and as it happened on a regular basis, it became my own personal hell.
    I’d go crazy hearing all the stories, the detailed conversations about I guy I would never have. The tears and the all too familiar tight pain in my chest became my routine. I had my own coping mechanism, never giving into it until I was safe in the confines of my room. Only then, I’d allow myself to grieve before locking it away again. It was how I dealt with it. I had to turn my feelings off before it swallowed me whole; dragging me into a world of darkness I would never escape from.
    After finishing school, Joel began working in a pub called The Cock and Bull. Which was ever so ironic considering he was so full of bullshit himself. It was the perfect pulling ground for him to practice his technique, packed with eagerly willing gorgeous girls all after a slice of Joel. He never failed to go home empty handed. Mike was just the same. He had the looks and the body that enabled him to attract his fair share of attention from the ladies.
    Joel would spend the majority of his time at our house, almost from the time he and Mike met. He looked on it as more of a home than his own, but that wasn’t hard considering his circumstances.
    We lived in a four-bedroom house in Camden, London. My mother, Helen, had gotten divorced from my dad, Geoff, when I was ten. He had the typical cliché affair with the secretary in his office, which had totally devastated my mother, and so they separated.
    Shortly after, my dad took a position in Sydney, Australia. His firm was expanding at the time, so he was given the role to manage the company there. I was never the same with my dad after the affair. I saw the irreparable damage it did to my mother. Despite several attempts at contact we drifted apart, the devastation was too much to bear. Once he moved to Australia, it was like we didn’t exist anymore. We’d receive birthday and Christmas cards with a cheque inside, but his life had changed and we no longer factored into it.
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