Between Black and Sunshine by Haven Francis Read Free Book Online Page A

large hands carefully cradling his phone. The sun shines on his chiseled face. He has cut his black hair; it’s shorter now, I can see the back of his neck. It still manages to look messy though, like he has been raking his fingers through it all morning. I hold tighter to my suitcase.
    “Are you okay?” Callie whispers. She’s seen him too; his intimidating beauty.
    “No,” I whisper.

Chapter Eight - Luca
     
    I stare at the picture of Jude as I wait for her. Young Jude with two long braids in her hair and a big smile on her face. Happy Jude . Jude before me.
    Yesterday was a setback for me. Jude wasn’t there- she wasn’t answering my calls. I was sure something was wrong, that something had happened to her. By the time morning rolled around and I still hadn’t heard from her I was throwing up; unable to hold down the worry that I was sure was warranted. Something had happened to her.
    Then she called. All cold and happy and distant and it hit me for the first time. Maybe she just didn’t want to talk to me. Maybe she was finally fed up with my bullshit but was stuck in this plan to come to me.
    I’ve been sitting on this cold, hard step for almost two hours, watching the excited fresh-faced kids trot around me and up the stairs with their doting parents. Bags and boxes and totes full of shit to put in their rooms. Bathroom caddies, stuffed animals, IKEA boxes, grocery bags full of food. I can’t see Jude here. I can’t see her fitting in here, being happy here. I know for damn sure she won’t have parents or IKEA boxes with her.
    The crowds have dwindled now. There are more people exiting then entering. I hear someone coming down the walk and I glace up. I briefly look at the blonde girl. Just another dorm girl, prettier than the rest of them, but not my girl. Eyes that radiate like hers… I look up again, then to the girl next to her and realize its Callie. What the fuck? I look back at the blonde girl, at her eyes, at her lips, at her body. She’s smiling at me. What the hell?
    I stand, going to her now, thinking it has to be Jude. Not my Jude, but Jude all the same. I move faster, as my body starts pulsing. The dress and the blonde hair fall away and all I see is Jude.
    She moves faster too, towards me. I need her in my arms, I want my hands on my girl. I reach out and pull her to me, I pick her up and hold her close. I feel like I’m breathing for the first time since I left her. She’s here in my arms, and she’s not leaving and I know that shouldn’t make me happy, but it does. It fucking does. “Jude,” I say into her hair.
    In that moment I realize it was all futile. Everything I did to try to prepare for this moment was pointless. Nothing could have wiped away even a fraction of the way I love her. The way I’ve missed her. The way I need her.
    “Oh my god, I missed you so much.” She pulls her arms tighter around my neck.
    I move my hands to the backside of her legs. I’m not ready to put her down yet. “You’re here,” I say, pulling back so I can look into her eyes. She looks so different, she has been acting so different, but her eyes; they’re still the same. Still cautions, still sad.
    My heart pounds against my chest. Her legs are fastened around me now so I move a hand up her back and to her neck. She stiffens in my hold, but in the same motion, she brings her lips to mine, resting her open mouth against my open mouth.
    She kisses me and I lightly suck on her bottom lip, careful not to lose sight of her eyes. Her body relaxes and her eyelids drop. I take her upper lip in mine and kiss it… feel it… taste it. She breaths into me and I suck her in. I want to pull her into my mouth and lose myself but I don’t. I have to be careful with her. Always.
    “I love you,” I whisper, before setting her back on the ground but not releasing her from my arms.
    She stares up at me with wide eyes. “I love you too,” she whispers.
    “I can’t believe I’m holding