Taking This Too Far., Alexandra Wolf [best young adult book series txt] 📗

furnished.

“Is your sister going to be okay with me being here?”

Nate shrugged and took a seat on the couch “Yeah, why wouldn’t she? It doesn’t matter she’s probably asleep or puking her guts out.”

Vincent frowned. He felt bad for Juliana. He hated feeling sick. It was so bad for him, he didn’t even wish it to his worst enemy. “Shouldn’t we go to the hospital-” Nate cut him off.

“Nah, she’s good. Trust me. I personally think it was her spaghetti from last night. She’s not exactly a great cook. Thank God, I didn’t eat any. I settled for cereal. Take a seat.”

Vincent took a seat on the couch opposite Nathan. Nathan had been playing video games before Vincent arrived. “Do you play?” asked Nate.

“Sure, what are we playing?”

“You choose.” Nate shoved a box full of games next to Vincent.

Vincent decided on HALO 3. Vincent was a little rusty at the beginning but got the hang of it fast. Vincent would occasionally curse when Nate would kill him. Nate seemed to enjoy Vincent’s anger. After forty minutes of video games, Nate called it quits.

“You want to stop now? After I was finally kicking your ass?” Vincent exclaimed.

Nate laughed at him. “Dude, I was just letting you beat me.” Nate shrugged. “Sorry, dude. You suck.”

Vincent frowned. “You let me win?” Nate just nodded and grinned.

“Come on.” said Nate. “Let me show you my Gibson guitar. It’s amazing.”

********************************************************************************

Juliana wanted to die. She hated being sick. Nathan had warned her not to eat her spaghetti but she didn’t listen. She had to stuff her face. Juliana started feeling sick at school today. She ran into the girl’s bathroom and didn’t come out for what seemed forever.

Now here she was in bed, feeling atrocious and looking hideous. Sophie had offered to take care of her but Juliana refused to have anyone near her. She’d been puking ever since she got home. Nate had gave her Pepto-Bismol for her upset stomach. He also kept water bottles near her bed so she wouldn’t get dehydrated since there was nothing in her stomach. Her mother had left town for a couple days and wouldn’t be back till Monday. Nate was left in charge of the household.

Juliana was in and out of sleep when she heard music. Loud music to be exact. She kept hearing drums and a guitar. She took a breath and carefully tried to get out of bed. She didn’t want the nausea to come back again. Juliana walked cautiously to the door.

She heard laughter coming from Nathan’s bedroom right down the hall from her.

“Nate?” she called out. Her voice sounded weak. His door was slightly opened. She slowly opened the rest of it. “Nate, what’s going on?”

Juliana almost fainted. “Vincent!? What are you doing here?” Damn, her voice sounded hoarse.

Vincent was sitting and playing on Nate’s drum set while Nate played the guitar. Juliana was dressed in black cotton shorts and an oversized tee and from the look of it, she looked one hundred percent sick.

“I was coming-” before he could finish his sentence. He saw Juliana was making a face. Oh crap. She wasn’t trying to be funny; she was going to be sick. Juliana ran out of the room and into the bathroom.

“Well at least she didn’t puke on my carpet.” grinned Nate. Vincent simply shook his head at him.


Chapter 14

Juliana wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Here she was laying on her bathroom floor, exhausted, tired, and deeply embarrassed. She had walked into her brother’s room to find Vincent there and of course her nausea happened to hit her. What the hell was he doing in her house? He shouldn’t be here…

“Aw crap.” Juliana groaned. She had completely forgotten her and Vincent had made plans to go out to celebrate her acceptance into Columbia. Now she felt even worse. She didn’t want to leave the bathroom. She felt as if she had puked her lungs out. If luck was on her side, Vincent would leave before she came out of the bathroom.

There was a soft knock on the door. “Juliana, it’s Vince. Can you open the door?” Yup, luck definitely wasn’t on her side. She wasn’t going to answer him. Maybe if she ignored him, he would get the hint and leave her to die in peace…

“Juliana, if you do not open this door right now, I swear to all that is holy I will break it down.” Vincent hadn’t shout, but his tone was enough to make her reach out a little and unlock the door. She closed her eyes and he opened the door.

He found her laying on the floor. She was rolled up into a ball. Her hair covered some of her face. He knelt next to her and gently moved her hair away from her eyes. She had some perspiration on her forehead. Since her eyes were closed he couldn’t help but look at her face. She seemed flawless to him. She had long dark lashes which he never noticed because her green emerald eyes would keep him occupied. Now those green eyes were looking straight back at him.

Without a word, he picked her up. She didn’t resist. He carried her to her bedroom and gently set on her bed. He turned on the lamp on her night stand. She looked at him thanking him silently. He smiled at her and touched her flushed cheek. Juliana rested her head on her pillow and watched Vincent take a seat on her bed. He looked beautiful while she looked like a beast. He smelled so good…

“How do you feel?” he asked softly.

“Shitty.” Since she had smiled when she told him, he thought it was okay to laugh.

“Do you need anything?” said Vincent.

“I’m sorry.” said Juliana at the very same time.

Vincent raised an eyebrow. “Why are you sorry?”

Juliana tried to swallow but her mouth was dry. She hoped her voice wouldn’t sound so hoarse. “You know…for tonight. We were supposed to go out.”

“Juliana,” he began. “you don’t have to be sorry. It’s not your fault you are a crappy cook.” He was laughing by the time he finished his sentence. He would stop and continue.

“Are you done?” she asked.

He nodded but it seemed like he still wanted to laugh. Juliana simply shook her head, grabbed her covers and covered herself from head to toe. Before she knew it, he had pulled her covers back. “Don’t hide from me.”

“I’m not.” she lied. “I’m just tired.”

He nodded. “Okay. Night.” He reached to turn off her lamp and was about to get up from her bed but she grabbed a hold of his hand. She was glad her room was dark enough that he didn’t see her burning cheeks.

“I’m sorry.” she told him again.

“Don’t worry about it. Just rest.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and released it.

“Thank you.” she closed her eyes and waited for him to leave. What happened next she definitely didn’t expect. Vincent kissed her cheek. Her eyes opened, he was smiling down on her.

“Feel better.” Vincent got up from her bed and made his way to the door. “ Julie, you seem to blush a lot.” He was laughing by the time the door closed behind him.

Juliana blushed even more. She touched her cheek. He had kissed her. Juliana fell asleep with a smile on her face.


Chapter 15

On Saturday morning, Juliana felt a little better especially since she woke up to a beautiful bouquet of lilies. She sat up in her bed and reached for the little note tucked inside the flowers. They were from Vincent.

“Happy late Valentine’s Day.” she read. “I hope these flowers make you feel better.” Juliana smiled. How could he have possibly known that lilies were favorite. She reached for the flowers; they were gorgeous. Not one lily was the same color; It was very rainbow like.

There was a knock at the door.

“Hey, it’s Nate. Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

Nate cautiously walked in. He stood with his back to the door. He wanted to stay at least ten feet away from her. He didn’t want to catch anything. Juliana noticed that and tried to placate him.

“I feel way better than yesterday. Can you stop making faces? My room doesn’t stink.” Juliana changed the subject. “Hey, when did Vincent bring me these flowers?”

Nate grinned. “This morning after he brought me breakfast. I like him, Jules. He’s cool.” Nathan and Vincent had definitely clicked. Nathan went on about how cool Vincent was. He kept calling him Vinny. Juliana just nodded her head and smiled through all his admiration for Vincent or should she say Vinny.

“Nate, you’ve only spent a couple hours with him. How could you possibly know how he is?”

“We spent the whole night talking and played video games. He basically spent the night.” Juliana choked on that water she was drinking. Vincent spent the night in her home? Oh God.

“Nathan, he spent the night here?”

He nodded. “Yeah, we fell asleep on the couch. We woke up around seven. I got hungry so he brought me McDonalds and bought those flowers for you. He went home to shower.”

Juliana eyed him. “Okay. Next time please warn me when people are going to sleep in our house.” Juliana smiled so he wouldn’t think she was upset. He smiled at her and nodded.

“Vinny said he was coming later just so you know. You may want to shower.” Juliana frowned. Did she smell?

Nate chuckled. Juliana guessed he was teasing her. “Alright, get out of my room.”

Nathan left her room laughing.

Juliana reluctantly got out of bed and jumped in the shower. She really did feel better. She was glad the nausea was gone. She couldn’t stand it. The hot shower helped her sore muscles and took her time in there. After what seemed an hour she stepped out. She wrapped a towel around her body and looked in the mirror. Once again there was color in her face, she wasn’t the pale sick color she was yesterday. She brushed her teeth and dressed in denim shorts and a red v-neck. She took the time to blow dry her hair and added some make-up to her face. She had no one to impress but she wanted to go out today; she didn’t want to be stuck at home on a Saturday.

She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Vincent was sitting on a stool near her kitchen island looking handsome as always. He was sitting across Nathan who was texting away on his cell phone. She walked casually to the refrigerator. “Hey Vince.” she said as she poured herself a glass of apple juice.

“Hey yourself. You look way better than yesterday.” Vincent smiled at her.

Juliana smiled back. “I feel way better than yesterday.” she said. “Thanks for the flowers. They are beautiful.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “You’re welcome. Glad you like ‘em. The lady at the store said you’d love them.”

“I do.” she told him. He went back to talking to Nate about something. Since Vincent wasn't looking at her she thought it would be okay to stare at him. He really was very attractive. He had high cheeks bones with a