Deciding Love (Bloomfield #3)

by Janelle Stalder

  Deciding Love

  a novel

  Janelle Stalder

  DECIDING LOVE

  Copyright 2016 Janelle Stalder

  Published 2016

  Black Quill Publishing

  Amazon Edition

  Cover Design by Black Quill Publishing

  Ebook Formatting by White Hot Formatting

  Amazon License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please don’t participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Other Titles

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  About the Author

  ALSO BY JANELLE STALDER

  EDEN SERIES

  EDEN

  (BOOK ONE)

  EDEN-WEST

  (BOOK TWO)

  EDEN-SOUTH

  (BOOK THREE)

  EDEN-EAST

  (BOOK FOUR)

  NEW WORLD SERIES

  SWITCH

  (BOOK ONE)

  MASKED

  (BOOK TWO)

  TESTED

  (BOOK THREE)

  BLOOMFIELD SERIES

  BRUSH STROKES

  SIMPLE BEGINNINGS

  1

  Chloe

  I could do this.

  First day. Senior year. New school.

  I got this.

  Staring at my reflection, I did a quick check. Hair looked okay, make up was subtle but nice, and outfit was as good as it was going to get. Sighing, I gave myself a good mental shake. First day of school was hard enough, but today was different. Today, I’d be attending Bloomfield High, a new school for my last year of High School.

  Dad had moved us to Bloomfield this year after his work opened up a new office close by. The whole transition had taken a couple of years, so I’d had some time to get used to the idea of moving. But that didn’t make it any easier now that I was here. Bloomfield also happened to be where his son lived, the half-brother I hadn’t even known about until recently. It was true, my family wasn’t as drama free as I had always assumed, but I had come to terms with it.

  To be honest, finding out I had a sibling was actually kind of cool. And my brother, Colt, was a really nice guy. We’d gotten to know each other over emails and phone calls before the move, and since we’d settled in, we had already hung out a few times. He seemed just as interested in developing a relationship with me as I was with him.

  I was still having trouble understanding how my father, the guy who had always been kind and doting to me, could have walked out on his family to start another one with my mom. It wasn’t something he was proud of, so I tried not to judge him, but that didn’t mean I understood his decision.

  “Chloe! Let’s go.” Speak of the devil. Dad’s voice boomed up the stairs.

  “Coming,” I yelled back.

  Looking around my new room, the pale yellow walls and lace curtains offering me a sense of comfort I needed just then, I was tempted to stay there and avoid the day ahead. At my last school things hadn’t been the easiest for me. Of course, it had been a small one where everyone there had grown up together, and therefore tended to be meaner to those who didn’t quite fit in.

  I didn’t quite fit in.

  Not because I was weird or anything, but because I didn’t like to do the things the “cool kids” did. I didn’t party or drink, or sleep around with the sports teams. And that made me uncool to the girls at my last school.

  They also made fun of me, calling me a freak, because of my eyes. I looked at them now, wondering if the people at my new school would think the same. One hazel and one blue, my eyes tended to get people’s attention. Mom had always said they were what made me special, and that the girls at school were just jealous. As a kid though, it was hard to accept that was why they picked on me. It wasn’t as if I could change.

  I needlessly smoothed down my brown hair, my nerves getting the better of me the longer I stood there.

  “Chloe,” dad called again.

  Okay. I could do this. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my bag and left the sanctity of my room, heading downstairs.

  The house was an old century home in the heritage part of Bloomfield. In my opinion, it was one of the perks of us moving. I loved the old place, all the rich character and squeaking floors. It was bigger than our last place, and had a more homey feeling.

  As I rounded the corner, I headed to the kitchen where Mom and Dad waited.

  “There she is,” Mom said, wrapping me in a hug. “My big senior.”

  I rolled my eyes at Dad, smiling over her shoulder. This was typical Mom - overly emotional for every milestone in my life. I loved her though, so I put up with it.

  “Don’t suffocate her, hon,” Dad said.

  “Sorry,” she replied, releasing me and straightening my clothes. “I’m just so nervous.”

  I laughed. “Relax, Mom. You’re not even the one that has to go. Unless you want to?” I said with brows raised.

  “I’ll pass,” she chuckled. “I’ve done my time in high school.”

  A horn honked outside and we all jumped.

  “That’ll be Colt,” Dad said. “Better hurry up.”

  I had been surprised when Colt called last night offering to drive me to school. And honestly, relieved. If Mom was like this here, I could only imagine what she’d be like at school. Kissing them each, I headed outside, sensing them follow me.

  Colt sat in his rumbling muscle car, his tattooed arm hanging out the window. He lifted it in a wave to Dad behind me, who returned one. Things were still uneasy between them, but I was hoping they would be able to work out their issues.

  I climbed in the car, waving at my mom again as she stood on the porch.

  “Is she...crying?” Colt said, sounding slightly horrified.

  “Probably,” I replied. Sure enough, I caught her wiping at her eyes. Yup, it was definitely a good thing she wasn’t driving me today.


  Bloomfield High was massive. My last school had a population of four hundred students. This school looked like it had at least a thousand, if not two. Suddenly my nerves started to increase, my palms sweating as Colt drove us up to the front, parking along the curb.

  “You ready for this?” He asked.

  “If I said no, would you help me skip?” I asked, turning to him with a hopeful look.

  He chuckled. “I don’t think Dad would appreciate that.”

  I slumped in my seat. “Probably not.”

  “Hey,” he said, nudging me with his elbow. “You have nothing to be scared of. Everyone knows you’re my sister, so no one will bother you.”

  Somehow I doubted that. There was a group of girls already giving me a dirty look as I sat in Colt’s car. I glanced over at him, figuring that was why.

  Colt and I were polar opposites if you looked at just our physical appearance. Where I looked like your typical girl-next-door type girl, clean cut, good student - Colt was definitely your bad-boy type. His dark hair was cut short around the sides, but messy on top, his grey eyes hard and intimidating as he watched the other students. That, paired with all his tattoos and lip ring, it didn’t surprise me that people would be scared of him. Maybe it would work in my favor.

  “Well,” I said, taking a deep breath, “I guess I should be going.”

  He nodded. “Have a good day.”

  As I got out, he called my name, leaning over the seats to look at me.

  “I won’t be able to pick you up today. I have a shift at the shop, and then I have to pick up Olivia. Do you think you can manage to get home okay?”

  “Of course,” I said. The last thing I wanted was to be a burden to him, or his girlfriend, Olivia, who had been nothing but nice to me since I got here. And I definitely didn’t want to make Colt feel as though he needed to babysit me.

  “I’ll drive you again tomorrow,” he said.

  “Are you sure?”

  He gave me a, don’t argue, look.

  “Okay,” I said instantly, “see you tomorrow.”

  When I turned to head toward the doorway, the same girls were still watching me, their noses lifted high in the air. Great, I thought, holding my bag tighter against me as I went inside. Five minutes into the year and I had already made enemies. Wasn’t that just my luck?

  This place was a maze. After finally finding the office and getting my schedule, it had taken me forever just to find my class. I hustled into first period, eyes down, as I made my way to the far end of the room, picking a seat near the front.

  Chatter surrounded me as people talked about their summers. No one approached me, which suited me fine. I didn’t know what these kids were going to be like, but if I could get through day one without anything bad happening, I’d consider it a success.

  Someone plopped down in the seat beside mine, making me look up in surprise. A girl with strawberry blonde hair, so straight I had to assume it wasn’t naturally that way, and eyes bright green, sat with a wide grin directed at me.

  “Hi,” she said.

  I looked around just to be sure she was speaking to me before returning her smile, somewhat tentatively. “Hi.”

  “You’re Colt’s sister, right? Chloe?”

  Surprised, I nodded.

  “Cool! My name’s Cat,” she said, holding out a hand.

  I took it. “Chloe,” I said with an easier smile. There was something about Cat that came off as genuine and friendly. I decided I liked her already.

  “Look how adorable you are,” she said with a giggle. “You have dimples when you smile! And these little freckles on your nose.” She shook her head. “Are you sure you’re related to Colt?”

  I laughed. “We’re pretty different, huh?”

  She nodded. “But that’s okay, I don’t think you’d look as good with a lip ring.”

  “Probably not. How do you know him?”

  “Colt? He and my brother are good friends. I’ve grown up with all those guys,” she said, scrunching up her nose.

  I chuckled. “Sounds fun.”

  “Not really.” She leaned over the aisle her eyes switching back and forth between mine. “Are your eyes different colors?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  She snapped back, her eyes wide. “That’s so awesome.”

  “Thanks?”

  “Let me see your schedule.”

  I passed it over.

  “Yay! We have lunch together. But no other classes,” she said with a pout. “At least we have lunch.”

  The teacher walked in at that moment. Everyone settled down as she wrote her name on the blackboard. Cat looked over at me with another grin.

  “This year is going to be awesome,” she whispered. “You and I? We’re going to be besties.”

  I couldn’t help but smile back at her. She said that as if it were that simple. And who knows? Maybe it was. Suddenly I thought she was right, this year didn’t look so bad at all.

  2

  Kyle

  “We’re over, Briggs.”

  Pulling the phone away from my ear, I looked at the name on the screen just to make sure I wasn’t imagining this conversation. Yep. It was real.

  With a sigh, I rubbed my hand down my face, checking the time and seeing I’d actually slept in for once in my life. I felt shittier than usual. That blowed. Must have been the sixer I’d downed with the guys the night before. Note to self, don’t drink so damn much.

  “Did you hear me? I said we’re done!”

  “Yeah,” I said, pulling my aching body up to sit on the edge of the bed. “I heard you, Jenn. I’m just trying to figure out exactly when we’d been going out in the first place.”

  She huffed on the other end. “Of course, typical Kyle Briggs bullshit. Why am I not surprised?”

  That was a good question. It could have saved me this conversation at nine in the morning if she’d figured this shit out on her own.

  “You know,” she kept on, her rising voice ringing in my head. “one day you’re going to meet a girl who knocks you off your feet, and you won’t know what you’re doing anymore. Suddenly your commitment phobias are going to come around to bite you in the ass!”

  “Spare me your psychoanalytical bullshit,” I said, standing up to walk into the bathroom. The scary reflection looking back at me had me cringing. I looked rough.

  Hair a complete mess, eyes bloodshot and bagged, chin covered in a dark shadow - yeah, I’d seen better days.

  “I’m serious,” Jenn said, pulling me back from my musings.

  Wedging the phone between my shoulder and cheek, I pulled down my pants to take a piss while she rattled on.

  “It’s always the same thing with you. Two weeks of fun and then this, nothing. You just end things as if you couldn’t care less.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t you the one to call me and end things? And again, we weren’t in a relationship.”

  She sniffed loudly. Shit. I hated when they cried. I wasn’t a complete asshole. While I certainly wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, I still didn’t like making girls cry over me. I wasn’t worth it. I used them to occupy my time for a brief period and then I moved on. What Jenn was saying was the truth. Unfortunately it was me, and I didn’t see myself changing for anyone anytime soon.

  “You were pretty much done with this days ago,” she said. Again, she was right. “I don’t know why I even put myself through this. Everyone warned me. And it’s not like I haven’t seen you do this with other girls before me. I guess I just hoped...”

  She was different? That she’d be the one to change me? They all did. That was their problem.

  “Look,” I said, fixing myself and washing my hands quickly, before going to search for clean clothes. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. You deserve better, Jenn, and I know you’ll find it with someone else.”

  She let out a sad laugh. “Yeah. Right.” She paused. “I guess I’ll see you around then.”

  Man I sucked at this. It was
probably wrong to say, “hey, let’s just be friends” wasn’t it?

  “Sure,” was my reply. I winced as soon as it came out. God, I could be an ass even when I didn’t mean to be.

  “Bye, Briggs.”

  She hung up without waiting for my reply, not that it would have been anything worth listening to. Throwing the phone on my bed, I scrubbed a hand over my face. That call had made me feel even worse than I already did. I probably deserved it, but that didn’t mean I liked it.

  Girls were constantly trying to lock me down, change me. It wasn’t as though I refused to do it because I liked being with a lot of girls. I mean, it was fun - obviously, but I wasn’t some man-whore.

  I just didn’t want the inevitable downfall that was sure to come with falling for someone. My dad thought my mom hung the moon and the stars. There were no other two people in this world that loved each other more than my parents. They were everything a couple should be - partners, lovers, best friends.

  And then Mom had been diagnosed with MS, and slowly her health took a downward spiral. She still had her good days, but I could see the toll it took on Dad when she had really bad days.

  It killed him to see the person he loved most in this world withering away before his eyes. As she slipped away, so did he. What would happen to her when she finally gave up and lost the fight? How would he ever go on without Mom?

  It was going to ruin him. And that was exactly why I didn’t want to find that kind of love. Because I could see how it hurt like hell, and my own self-preservation said we didn’t need that kind of pain. Having a bit of fun and staying unattached seemed like a lot smarter way of dealing with girls than losing my heart and soul to one.

  Seeing my parents was enough for me to appreciate true love and all its wonders, but deny it for myself.

  Finding a decent pair of jeans and t-shirt, I headed to the shower to get this day started. I didn’t have class today, but I had a shift at the shop later this afternoon for a few hours before I’d have to go pick up my sister from school.