Chasing Charli Read Free

the front door and take a step back outside. I could faintly hear them have a brief conversation, Jax wishing him a safe drive back and a good luck in return.
    Once Jax finishes talking to the driver he comes back in as I’m having a quick look around.
    “Are you going to be okay now?” he asks as he crosses his arms in front of him and supports himself against the doorframe. My eyes drop down to his arms, watching the small movement of his muscles.
    “Yeah, I think I might still go tomorrow. You can sleep the whole day if you want, you look beat.”
    “Nah I’m fine” he tries to say through a yawn which just makes me laugh.
    “I’ll message you before I leave and when I get there okay?”
    He looks as though he’s going to argue but then simply nods and makes his way to the front door.
    He steps through but sticks his head back in and taps the locks on the inside with his finger, “Lock up behind me” he grins.
    “Good night Jackson” I say rolling my eyes as he steps back out and closes the door behind him. It’s pretty stupid that we have separate apartments, waste of money if you ask me but I guess my mum doesn’t trust us to live in the same apartment; maybe because of that one time I fell asleep against Jax while we watched a movie. He played with my hair gently and didn’t even move me off him when his leg went dead.
    I think that was the moment I fell for him that first tiny bit.
    Sometimes I wonder whether my mums too naïve to think that if we really wanted to I could easily just march on up to Jax’s apartment right now and do whatever I wanted; she lived in her own little world most of the time.
    I wasn’t really tired after my quick nap in the car so I pull all the paperwork out from the envelope and look around at the apartment. It was fairly big for one person, a nice modern apartment, fully furnished thanks to my mum.
    I look out the window in the living room and see the fire escape stairs which lead either up to the roof or down to the street; not very secure if you ask me. I pull the window open and climb out into the fresh night air, still holding all the paperwork. I quietly climb up the stairs towards the roof, past Jackson’s apartment and a few others above his. I hop off the ledge and onto the roof which actually has a pretty decent view.
    The area looks like it’s used frequently by the building occupants, with a couch against the wall of the entrance door and some fairy lights hanging around the edges of the roof ledge and the wall by the door.
    There was also what looked like a garden against one side with a wooden frame around it, also covered in fairy lights. It was quite pretty actually and peacefully quiet compared to the hustle and bustle of New York City.
    I make myself comfortable on the couch and take a deep breath knowing I had a lot to read through, which meant a lot to remember.
    I sigh and start to read, making 2 piles on either side of me of paperwork. One pile I had to destroy once I remembered the details and another pile of stuff that was harmless, like my class schedules and a map of how to get there.
    I was now officially Charli Valentine, a college transfer from the city. My parents travelled a lot which is why I lived in the apartment alone – Which I wasn’t allowed to bring people to anyway. I roll my eyes - how fun. At least I had Jax around to keep me sane.
    I had to try and stay under the radar. No pictures of me were to be posted online and I wasn’t allowed to use any social media like Facebook as my old self because they could easily track me; no loss there.
    Once I read through all the documents, I pick up the pile that needs to be destroyed and put them in the metal bin that’s next to the couch, and then pull out my lighter.
    I don’t know why I had a lighter to be honest, it’s not like I smoked. This one belonged to my dad so I guess I kept it on me as a reminder of him since I never saw him, or maybe just because it was a cool lighter I