Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

PART 3 - CHAPTER 143 JESS

When I stepped outside, the morning air was cool against my skin. The whole neighborhood was still asleep, and that was exactly how I preferred it: no people. I glanced over my shoulder at my neighbor's house, a pitch-back Jeep outside.

There was something comforting about the silence, the solitude. As I started off at a slow jog, my body quickly fell into the rhythm, like was the easiest thing in the world. Running is my sanctuary. My escape.

With each step, I felt the familiar tingle in my muscles and the steady thrum of my heart as I picked up the pace. I wasn't chasing anything-

I was just trying to find that space where everything else faded away, where I didn't have to think about the missing memories or the questions that haunted me.

But as much as I tried to lose myself in the run, Luke's face kept surfacing. His voice, his smell. The way I wanted to smooth the frown from his brow.

Why him? Why was it always him? Every time I close my eyes his face pops up. Haunting me.

By the time I reached the top of the hill overlooking the valley, my legs were burning, my breath coming in sharp bursts, but I didn't care. The view was breathtaking, the early morning sun casting a soft glow over everything. For a moment, I stood 22043

PART 3-CHAPTER 143

there, hands on my hips, trying to catch my breath.

"Jess."

my chest. I turned, half-expecting to see Luke

1. me.

sound of my alarm cutting through the peaceful remnants of my dream. My heart pounded in my chest, not from running but from this insane dream. Was it even a dream? Maybe

ask Luke. He hasn't made

were and where my memory loss left us - but I had assumed he left me,

permanently.

Jessica anymore. I had no

now.

silencing the blaring alarm. As the room settled back into quiet, I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, the edges

the concern etched in his features and hear the way his voice made something in me tighten and relax at the same time. That dream-was it just that, a dream? Or a memory?

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together, but everything still felt... off. I hadn't seen Luke since that day. I woke up in the hospital without my memories. Aiden, on the other hand, was hovering. Always there to walk me to class, trying to convince me to come run. Even if I wanted to, the doctors said no running for 6 months. No wonder I was running

blanket off and sitting up. The routine of being back at college had been helping, I guessed. Avoiding the questions I didn't have answers to. But dreams like that-

out

Sofie asked. She knew better