Pastor's Girl by Bianca Gray (books to get back into reading txt) 📖

the assistant Middle School Youth pastor. Are you friends with him?” she inquired. I slowly shook my head.
“I just… I just used to know him…”
“Hey, you’re Cara Matthews, aren’t you?” she asked. I nodded my head.
“Yeah.”
“What are you doing here?” the girl asked.
“I was going to pick up my brother and sister, but I feel sick all of a sudden,” I said giving her a weary smile. It was true. I felt like I was going to throw up. I couldn’t have Jeffery see me. I’ve been in love with him since the end of 8th grade. God, he must think… I don’t know what he thinks! It’s been two years since I had seen him last, but I always went on his facebook page, almost everyday. I had been in love with him for almost five years. It was sick. Obsessive. It was disgusting. What the heck was wrong with me?
“I hope you feel better,” said the girl as she scrunched up her nose. I watched her as she walked into the Middle School Youth room.
I sat down in the hallway. It wasn’t as if I didn’t date other guys. I did. I had even dated Chris Evans… Which was just… Odd. Because he was so much older than I.
But, I never kissed them. Right when they would lean in to kiss me, I would panic. I couldn’t let them kiss me. I didn’t want to kiss them. Every time they would try, behind my eyelids I would see Jeffery’s laughing face, and I wouldn’t…couldn’t…kiss them. Then the relationship would end because I couldn’t explain to them that I couldn’t kiss them because I was in love with some other guy.

I played with my hands as I waited for Church to be out, so I could get my siblings and get out of here. Just then, the middle school youth room door opened and kids poured out. There were more girls than boys. That bothered me. Because we all knew they were coming because of Jeffery. I quietly prayed that the doors to the High School Youth room would open and that Jeffery wouldn’t see me.

Too late.

I felt someone staring at me as I looked in my hands. Then, out of curiosity I looked up. I wish I didn’t. I stared at a lanky figure with blue eyes and short caramel brown hair looking at me.

“Cara?”


CHAPTER 3

There was a moment of us staring at each other in shock. Then I laughed.
“You sound surprised,” I said acting as if it my heart WASN’T beating out of my chest. He laughed uneasily.
“Well, yeah. You haven’t been here for two years… I guess, you do have a good reason about that. Love that movie you were in recently… The one about the spy school and that guy…” he said crossing his arms across his chest as I walked over to him. He still didn’t hug me. He never hugged me. Yet, he hugged every one else. Including my little sister, which she used to always brag about to me.
“Yeah. It was a fun…movie…” I said nervously.
“So, why are you here?” he asked, his blue eyes looking at me curiously. I stared into his eyes longer than was necessary. I looked away when I realized it.
“Um, just here to pick up Aria and Ash. I’m here at home for the next few weeks…”
“Really?” he asked, not hiding his surprise.
“Yeah…”
“That’s great! You haven’t been home in a while… I don’t think. Your family probably missed you. Plus, your friends probably missed you too…” he said awkwardly, running a spare hand through his silky hair. I smiled.
“Yes, everyone seemed to miss me. SO much even, that I’m free for the whole time I’m here!” I exclaimed. He laughed.
“Wow, they really did miss you didn’t they?” he teased, a sparkle in his eyes.
“Oh yeah. Definitely,” I said sarcastically.
“Well, maybe we could do something,” he said gruffly as someone came behind me wrapped their arms around my waist. I turned around and saw bright green eyes staring into my amber brown ones.
“Lily!” I exclaimed turning around and hugging her back.
“Sorry, Jeffery, mind if I steal her away?” asked Lily.
“Well, I was right, Cara. Your friends did miss you. Sure, you can take her,” he said smiling. But there was something in his eyes…
“Sure, Jeffery! I’d love to get together with you. Maybe this week?” I asked flashing him a smile. He nodded and smiled back.
“I’ll text you,” he said. Then he went back to thanking people for coming.

Lily raised her eyebrows at me.
“What?” I asked. Lily was my best friend since the 8th grade, and she knew my feelings for Jeffery. One of the only people who knew. She shook her head.
“I haven’t seen you in forever… Well, no actually. I have seen you on the big screen a couple of times, but you haven’t seen me,” she said. I shrugged.
“I heard, you dated Chris Evans. Captain America Chris Evans??” she inquired. I shrugged again with a smirk on my face.
“Did you kiss him? Is he a good kisser?” she asked. The smirk was wiped off of my face. She looked at me with concern.
“We shouldn’t be talking about this in a church…” I said, making her think that was why my face paled.
“Okay,” she said.
“CARA!!” screamed a familiar voice. It was Aria. Ash followed lazily behind her. People were whispering and others were taking pictures and videos.
“Hey,” I said.
“When did you get here?” asked Aria.
“Yesterday,” I said. She frowned, and then brightened up.
“Oh. I was a friend’s house! Sorry, Cara. I guess I didn’t see you,” she said. I waved a hand, dismissing the subject.
“OH! I have to go say goodbye to Jeffery! It’s a tradition,” said Aria. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Jeffery standing there. She subconsciously ran a hand through her brown hair and walked over to him. Oh GOD. Don’t tell me she was in love with him! He was…what? 23 almost 24 now?? That was 8 years older than her!
She talked animatedly with him, and then he hugged her.
Why does he never hug me??
I realized a moment too late that I said that out loud. Lily laughed.
“Who knows,” she said shrugging.
“I’ll call you,” I said as my sister came walking back over to us, her cheeks flushed with excitement. Or, you know, a gorgeous man hugging her.
I grabbed the crook in her elbow and grumbled, “C’mon, let’s go.” Lily laughed again.
“You better call me. So then we can talk about the gorgeous Chris Evans,” said Lily pretending to swoon. I pushed her lightly and rolled my eyes. I was actually dreading this talk.
“See ya, Lils!” I said as I got into my dad’s car. Ash sat in the front seat and Aria sat in the back.
“Are you jealous, Care?” teased Aria as she plugged in headphones into the backseat radio.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You know. Jeffery and I hugging,” she said a gleam in her eyes. I rolled my eyes as I tried to pay attention to the road.
“Why would I be bothered about that?” I asked, nonchalantly.
“Oh, I don’t know. Because he’s worth more to you than any one of your celebrity boyfriends,” said Aria shrugging and staring out the window.
People thought I was a flirt, because I went through boys super fast. It was mostly because of the…kissing thing.
I ignored Aria, and tried to make conversation with Ash.
“Guess what, Ash!” I exclaimed.
“What?” he asked, turning his almost black eyes towards me.
“Guess who’s going to have an audition to be in the movie Spiderman!”
“Who?”
“ME!”
“Yay.”
“You could show a little more enthusiasm…” I said a little hurt.
“Why are you here?” he asked bluntly.
“What?”
“Why are you here, Cara?”
“Because…”
“Because mom and dad wanted you to be here, right?” he asked.
“Well, yeah.”
“What’s different from the other times?” he asked.
“Ash, I know I haven’t--”
“You haven’t been here for TWO years, Cara. You missed Aria and my sixteenth birthday. And fifteenth birthday. But, Aria really wanted you there for her birthday. You missed two Christmases. And you weren’t there when Aria and I both got roles in the theater production at YOUR old school. We haven’t seen you in two years, Cara. Why are you here? Why now? Mom and Dad wanted you home other times. For holidays and stuff. People at school are always like, ‘Oh COOL! Your sister’s Cara Matthews? You guys must go to TONS of Socialite parties and stuff. She’s probably SOOO caring.’ Well, you know what I tell them? I say, ‘Cara who?’ Because you haven’t been a sister these past two years. You dropped us as soon as you got something better,” Ash finished bitterly, looking out the window. I opened my mouth and then closed it, gaping like a fish.
“Ash, you and I used to be so close,” I whispered.
“Yeah. Well. Not anymore.”
That was understatement. Ash used to worship me. He did whatever I wanted to do. We used to hi-five at the dinner table whenever he made some horrible pun. We had a lot of laughs, usually at the expense of Aria… But, we were close. If I wanted a glass of water, he’d get it. If I were hungry, he would make me something. He was a good brother… But, these past couple of years, I was…a bad sister.
“I…called before that production…” I said slowly. He scoffed.
“I couldn’t make it. I had a big movie deal and it was a tough schedule. But I have a break now, so that’s why I’m home,” I said.
“You didn’t have a break in the last two years? I find that hard to believe, Cara,” he said.
“Well… I…”
“I hope you get this movie deal, Cara. So more people at school can tell me how ‘wonderful’ you are,” said Ash getting out of the car. I sighed. Aria shot me a sympathizing look.
“He’s… He’s had a hard time adjusting…” she whispered before getting out of the car. Yeah. Obviously.

CHAPTER 4