Rio

"Eu não posso acreditar que você está me deixando."

Maria disse enquanto deslizava seus livros em seu armário.

"Eu sei... mas não posso mais ficar aqui. Pelo menos eu

ter meu irmão se não fosse por ele... bem quem

River

"I can't believe you're leaving me."

Maria said as she slid her books into her locker.

"I know... but, I can't stay here anymore. At least I

have my brother if it weren't for him... well who

knows.

didn't even want to consider what would happen

if it wasn't for Jackson.

"Who am Isupposed to complain about everyone

else to now? I can't very well complain about all

the idiots with said idiots can 1?"

Maria was the only soul at this school that I would

dare to spend time with. She was the only girl here

other than me who realized that we were here for

school and not to... well not to do whatever it was

all these other girls did all day. I wished I could just

take her with me. This place didn't deserve her.

"Nope, you can't. But I'll call you every day and

you can vent to me all you'd like."

"Deal."

She said before she slammed her locker.

Two days later, I stepped out of an airport and into

another life as I looked around for my brother.

Where the heck was he? Just as that thought

crossed my mind my cell phone buzzed in my back

pocket.

"Where are you at?"

Hello was Overrated.

"I had something to take care of at work... My

buddy is there waiting, he's in the white Bronco."

I looked around at all the cars waiting for their

passengers to arrive until my eyes landed on the

Bronco and its driver.. I'd spent countless hours

with my nose stuck in my Greek mythology book

but 'd spent even more time listening to my

teacher Mrs. Macrom obsess over the Greek God,

Apollo. He was believed to be the most handsome

of all the Gods so I suppose in modern times that

would make him smoking hot. A tan, golden-

haired creature opened the door to the Bronco

with a scowl on his face and all could think was

that he must be as close to a Greek God that a

human could possibly be. My brother was still talking but l didn't have the slightest clue what he was saying. I was too busy studying the stranger's

perfect face. His brows were drawn together and I

could already tell how excited he was that he was

picking me up. I pulled my suitcase behind me and

walked toward him.

He's here. See you later, Jackson."

slid my phone into my pocket before opening my

mouth to speak to the stranger but he beat me to

It.

"Are you River?"

"Yep. Jackson didn't tell me your name, just that

you' re here to pick me up

He took my suitcase and lifted it into his back seat

before grabbing the bag off of my shoulder.

"'m Beau and your brother is an idiot. He forgot to

request off work today."

"Well,I can't argue about that."

I laughed.

he reached out to open his passenger side door for

me.

look at that, chivalry wasn't dead after all.

he walked around and climbed in the driver's side

and wasted no time whipping his vehicle onto the

road.

"thanks for picking me up. i could've called a taxi."

"a taxi? no, that's too dangerous."

looked over at him to see him staring at me,

scowling again. geez, he was easy to annoy.

lopened my mouth to respond but again, he beat

me to it.

"besides its over eighty miles, that's one expensive

cab ride."

wait, did he say eighty miles?

"oh my gosh, you're right. my brother is an idiot.

i'm so sorry you had to drive all the way here to

pick me up."

holy distance, i felt terrible

He reached out to open his passenger side door for

me.

Look at that, chivalry wasn't dead after all.

He walked around and climbed in the driver's side

and wasted no time whipping his vehicle onto the

road.

"Thanks for picking me up. I could've called a taxi.

"A taxi? No, that's too dangerous."

I looked over at him to see him staring at me,

scowling again. Geez, he was easy to annoy.

opened my mouth to respond but again, he beat

me to it.

"Besides its over eighty miles, that's one expensive

cabr ride."

Wait, did he say eighty miles?

"Oh my gosh, you're right. My brother is an idiot.

I'm so sorry you had to drive all the way here to

pick me up."

Holy distance, I felt terrible.

"Are you hungry? Let me buy you dinner or

something. It's the leastI can do."

I had saved most of the money I made from my

tutoring gig, I could spare some to buy him food.

peeked over at him to see that the scowl had

returned. It should really just be a permanent

fixture on his face at this point. What did I say now?

He didn't say anything else, he just leaned over

and turned the radio up and I took that as my cue

to just sit back and be quiet. He had already gone

out of his way to come all the way here to pick me

up, taking a hint was the best I could give him at

this point. After a few minutes, the song changed

and Beau leaned over and switched the station,

settling into some classic rock station.

"Didn't like that song?"

I asked.

"No, it's not appropriate."

Not appropriate?

"What?"

He looked over at me and sighed.

You shouldn't be listening to that."

What the hell?

"Look, dude... I've been left to my own devices

Since Jackson moved out. Music isn't going to hurt

me.

A noise came over from his direction and it took

me a few seconds to realize that he was laughing.

wasn't sure he was capable of it but my gosh it

wasn't an obnoxious noise like l'd hoped.

"Why are you laughing"

"I didn't anticipate you being so... Spirited."

I crossed my arms and returned his scowl to him

which only made him laugh harder. What was up

with this guy?

"Well prepare you rselt, you haven't seen anything

yet."

"Noted.

He put his blinker on and merged onto the

interstate.

I wanted to be quiet, to make him suffer in silence

but that would mean Il'd be doing the same.

"Do you like cookies?"

just couldn't shut my mouth.

He cleared his throat.

"Yes."

"Tm making cookies when we get there. T know

Jackson already has all the ingredients because

he's been bugging me about making them.

Consider that your payment."

"What kind of cookies?"

"Peanut butter oatmeal."

"T love peanut butter"

He grinned at me.

Jesus, why did he have to do that?

"How much longer?"

asked, trying to ignore how beautiful he was.

"About forty-five minutes."

After forty-five minutes of silence, we pulled up to

Jackson's house.

"He won't be back for an hour or so but l'll stay

with you until then."

He assured me as he took my luggage out of the

back seat.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that. I'l be fine."

| wanted to tell him that I was used to being alone,

that I had been that way for a while but based on

the way he was looking at me, that would have

only made him more annoyed.

"T'm sure you'd be fine alone, butI'm still staying."

He put my bag over his shoulder and pulled my

suitcase behind him as he stalked toward the front

door. He unlocked the door and gestured for me to

go in first. I was shocked at how pristine the living

room was. This was not the Jackson Igrew up with

You could very rarely see the floor in his room

because it was just too messy but this place is

spotless.

"TUjust leave your things here, l'm not sure which

room he's set up for you."

"Okay.

I said but I was too busy looking around to

concentrate. I found my way to the kitchen and

start opening cabinets.

Jackson hada crockpot?

What did he need a crockpot for?

It looked as if it had never been used. I continued

my exploration and found way more kitchen

gadgets than l ever expected Jackson to own.

walked to his pantry and gather all the ingredients

'd need for the cookies into my arms and shut the

door with my foot only to almost jump right out

my skin when I saw Beau's large body standing on

the other side.

"Need help with those?"

My God, he needed a bell or something.

I didn't respond so he took it upon himself to take

items out of my hands and placed them on the

counter.

"He has a mixer somewhere.

Beau said as he searched through the cabinets.

Why was he still here? Didn't he have somewhere

else to be?

"You don't have to help."

I looked at him. Really looked at him for the first

time. He looked tired like he could use a nap. But

his eyes... They looked almost hypnotic and I had

to force my gaze away from the deep blue.

"T know, I want to.

But why? I wanted to ask so badly. But instead, I

passed him the measuring cups and the peanut

butter.

An hour later we were sitting across from each

other at my brother's kitchen table, staring at the

cookies, waiting for them to cool off enough to

shove them in our mouths.

He parted his lips to say something and I straighten

up in my seat, giving him my full attention when the front door swung open and my big brother

came barrelling through making a beeline right fo

me.

"Riv! You already made cookies?"

He pulled me off the chair and into his arms.

"Yes... Jackson, I can't breathe, you're squeezing

me too hard"

squeaked out.

"Oh, sorry."

He placed me back on the ground but didn't let go

of me.

"Shit! What is that? It smells so good in here."

Another guy walked through the front door and

Suddenly had the feeling that it was a common

OCCurrence.

"Watch your mouth.

Both my brother and Beau snapped at the same

time.

The new guy cocked his head to the side, looking

at them like they had both lost their minds.

Beau raised his eyebrows andI could tell he was

hoping this guy would question him but Jackson

saved him the trouble.

"My baby sister is here"

He said while pulling me closer to his side.

Yep, I was there whether | liked it or not.

Rio

"Eu não posso acreditar que você está me deixando."

Maria disse enquanto deslizava seus livros em seu armário.

"Eu sei... mas não posso mais ficar aqui. Pelo menos eu

ter meu irmão se não fosse por ele... bem quem

River

"I can't believe you're leaving me."

Maria said as she slid her books into her locker.

"I know... but, I can't stay here anymore. At least I

have my brother if it weren't for him... well who

knows.

didn't even want to consider what would happen

if it wasn't for Jackson.

"Who am Isupposed to complain about everyone

else to now? I can't very well complain about all

the idiots with said idiots can 1?"

Maria was the only soul at this school that I would

dare to spend time with. She was the only girl here

other than me who realized that we were here for

school and not to... well not to do whatever it was

all these other girls did all day. I wished I could just

take her with me. This place didn't deserve her.

"Nope, you can't. But I'll call you every day and

you can vent to me all you'd like."

"Deal."

She said before she slammed her locker.

Two days later, I stepped out of an airport and into

another life as I looked around for my brother.

Where the heck was he? Just as that thought

crossed my mind my cell phone buzzed in my back

pocket.

"Where are you at?"

Hello was Overrated.

"I had something to take care of at work... My

buddy is there waiting, he's in the white Bronco."

I looked around at all the cars waiting for their

passengers to arrive until my eyes landed on the

Bronco and its driver.. I'd spent countless hours

with my nose stuck in my Greek mythology book

but 'd spent even more time listening to my

teacher Mrs. Macrom obsess over the Greek God,

Apollo. He was believed to be the most handsome

of all the Gods so I suppose in modern times that

would make him smoking hot. A tan, golden-

haired creature opened the door to the Bronco

with a scowl on his face and all could think was

that he must be as close to a Greek God that a

human could possibly be. My brother was still talking but l didn't have the slightest clue what he was saying. I was too busy studying the stranger's

perfect face. His brows were drawn together and I

could already tell how excited he was that he was

picking me up. I pulled my suitcase behind me and

walked toward him.

He's here. See you later, Jackson."

slid my phone into my pocket before opening my

mouth to speak to the stranger but he beat me to

It.

"Are you River?"

"Yep. Jackson didn't tell me your name, just that

you' re here to pick me up

He took my suitcase and lifted it into his back seat

before grabbing the bag off of my shoulder.

"'m Beau and your brother is an idiot. He forgot to

request off work today."

"Well,I can't argue about that."

I laughed.

he reached out to open his passenger side door for

me.

look at that, chivalry wasn't dead after all.

he walked around and climbed in the driver's side

and wasted no time whipping his vehicle onto the

road.

"thanks for picking me up. i could've called a taxi."

"a taxi? no, that's too dangerous."

looked over at him to see him staring at me,

scowling again. geez, he was easy to annoy.

lopened my mouth to respond but again, he beat

me to it.

"besides its over eighty miles, that's one expensive

cab ride."

wait, did he say eighty miles?

"oh my gosh, you're right. my brother is an idiot.

i'm so sorry you had to drive all the way here to

pick me up."

holy distance, i felt terrible

He reached out to open his passenger side door for

me.

Look at that, chivalry wasn't dead after all.

He walked around and climbed in the driver's side

and wasted no time whipping his vehicle onto the

road.

"Thanks for picking me up. I could've called a taxi.

"A taxi? No, that's too dangerous."

I looked over at him to see him staring at me,

scowling again. Geez, he was easy to annoy.

opened my mouth to respond but again, he beat

me to it.

"Besides its over eighty miles, that's one expensive

cabr ride."

Wait, did he say eighty miles?

"Oh my gosh, you're right. My brother is an idiot.

I'm so sorry you had to drive all the way here to

pick me up."

Holy distance, I felt terrible.

"Are you hungry? Let me buy you dinner or

something. It's the leastI can do."

I had saved most of the money I made from my

tutoring gig, I could spare some to buy him food.

peeked over at him to see that the scowl had

returned. It should really just be a permanent

fixture on his face at this point. What did I say now?

He didn't say anything else, he just leaned over

and turned the radio up and I took that as my cue

to just sit back and be quiet. He had already gone

out of his way to come all the way here to pick me

up, taking a hint was the best I could give him at

this point. After a few minutes, the song changed

and Beau leaned over and switched the station,

settling into some classic rock station.

"Didn't like that song?"

I asked.

"No, it's not appropriate."

Not appropriate?

"What?"

He looked over at me and sighed.

You shouldn't be listening to that."

What the hell?

"Look, dude... I've been left to my own devices

Since Jackson moved out. Music isn't going to hurt

me.

A noise came over from his direction and it took

me a few seconds to realize that he was laughing.

wasn't sure he was capable of it but my gosh it

wasn't an obnoxious noise like l'd hoped.

"Why are you laughing"

"I didn't anticipate you being so... Spirited."

I crossed my arms and returned his scowl to him

which only made him laugh harder. What was up

with this guy?

"Well prepare you rselt, you haven't seen anything

yet."

"Noted.

He put his blinker on and merged onto the

interstate.

I wanted to be quiet, to make him suffer in silence

but that would mean Il'd be doing the same.

"Do you like cookies?"

just couldn't shut my mouth.

He cleared his throat.

"Yes."

"Tm making cookies when we get there. T know

Jackson already has all the ingredients because

he's been bugging me about making them.

Consider that your payment."

"What kind of cookies?"

"Peanut butter oatmeal."

"T love peanut butter"

He grinned at me.

Jesus, why did he have to do that?

"How much longer?"

asked, trying to ignore how beautiful he was.

"About forty-five minutes."

After forty-five minutes of silence, we pulled up to

Jackson's house.

"He won't be back for an hour or so but l'll stay

with you until then."

He assured me as he took my luggage out of the

back seat.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that. I'l be fine."

| wanted to tell him that I was used to being alone,

that I had been that way for a while but based on

the way he was looking at me, that would have

only made him more annoyed.

"T'm sure you'd be fine alone, butI'm still staying."

He put my bag over his shoulder and pulled my

suitcase behind him as he stalked toward the front

door. He unlocked the door and gestured for me to

go in first. I was shocked at how pristine the living

room was. This was not the Jackson Igrew up with

You could very rarely see the floor in his room

because it was just too messy but this place is

spotless.

"TUjust leave your things here, l'm not sure which

room he's set up for you."

"Okay.

I said but I was too busy looking around to

concentrate. I found my way to the kitchen and

start opening cabinets.

Jackson hada crockpot?

What did he need a crockpot for?

It looked as if it had never been used. I continued

my exploration and found way more kitchen

gadgets than l ever expected Jackson to own.

walked to his pantry and gather all the ingredients

'd need for the cookies into my arms and shut the

door with my foot only to almost jump right out

my skin when I saw Beau's large body standing on

the other side.

"Need help with those?"

My God, he needed a bell or something.

I didn't respond so he took it upon himself to take

items out of my hands and placed them on the

counter.

"He has a mixer somewhere.

Beau said as he searched through the cabinets.

Why was he still here? Didn't he have somewhere

else to be?

"You don't have to help."

I looked at him. Really looked at him for the first

time. He looked tired like he could use a nap. But

his eyes... They looked almost hypnotic and I had

to force my gaze away from the deep blue.

"T know, I want to.

But why? I wanted to ask so badly. But instead, I

passed him the measuring cups and the peanut

butter.

An hour later we were sitting across from each

other at my brother's kitchen table, staring at the

cookies, waiting for them to cool off enough to

shove them in our mouths.

He parted his lips to say something and I straighten

up in my seat, giving him my full attention when the front door swung open and my big brother

came barrelling through making a beeline right fo

me.

"Riv! You already made cookies?"

He pulled me off the chair and into his arms.

"Yes... Jackson, I can't breathe, you're squeezing

me too hard"

squeaked out.

"Oh, sorry."

He placed me back on the ground but didn't let go

of me.

"Shit! What is that? It smells so good in here."

Another guy walked through the front door and

Suddenly had the feeling that it was a common

OCCurrence.

"Watch your mouth.

Both my brother and Beau snapped at the same

time.

The new guy cocked his head to the side, looking

at them like they had both lost their minds.

Beau raised his eyebrows andI could tell he was

hoping this guy would question him but Jackson

saved him the trouble.

"My baby sister is here"

He said while pulling me closer to his side.

Yep, I was there whether | liked it or not.

Rio

"Eu não posso acreditar que você está me deixando."

Maria disse enquanto deslizava seus livros em seu armário.

"Eu sei... mas não posso mais ficar aqui. Pelo menos eu

ter meu irmão se não fosse por ele... bem quem

River

"I can't believe you're leaving me."

Maria said as she slid her books into her locker.

"I know... but, I can't stay here anymore. At least I

have my brother if it weren't for him... well who

knows.

didn't even want to consider what would happen

if it wasn't for Jackson.

"Who am Isupposed to complain about everyone

else to now? I can't very well complain about all

the idiots with said idiots can 1?"

Maria was the only soul at this school that I would

dare to spend time with. She was the only girl here

other than me who realized that we were here for

school and not to... well not to do whatever it was

all these other girls did all day. I wished I could just

take her with me. This place didn't deserve her.

"Nope, you can't. But I'll call you every day and

you can vent to me all you'd like."

"Deal."

She said before she slammed her locker.

Two days later, I stepped out of an airport and into

another life as I looked around for my brother.

Where the heck was he? Just as that thought

crossed my mind my cell phone buzzed in my back

pocket.

"Where are you at?"

Hello was Overrated.

"I had something to take care of at work... My

buddy is there waiting, he's in the white Bronco."

I looked around at all the cars waiting for their

passengers to arrive until my eyes landed on the

Bronco and its driver.. I'd spent countless hours

with my nose stuck in my Greek mythology book

but 'd spent even more time listening to my

teacher Mrs. Macrom obsess over the Greek God,

Apollo. He was believed to be the most handsome

of all the Gods so I suppose in modern times that

would make him smoking hot. A tan, golden-

haired creature opened the door to the Bronco

with a scowl on his face and all could think was

that he must be as close to a Greek God that a

human could possibly be. My brother was still talking but l didn't have the slightest clue what he was saying. I was too busy studying the stranger's

perfect face. His brows were drawn together and I

could already tell how excited he was that he was

picking me up. I pulled my suitcase behind me and

walked toward him.

He's here. See you later, Jackson."

slid my phone into my pocket before opening my

mouth to speak to the stranger but he beat me to

It.

"Are you River?"

"Yep. Jackson didn't tell me your name, just that

you' re here to pick me up

He took my suitcase and lifted it into his back seat

before grabbing the bag off of my shoulder.

"'m Beau and your brother is an idiot. He forgot to

request off work today."

"Well,I can't argue about that."

I laughed.

he reached out to open his passenger side door for

me.

look at that, chivalry wasn't dead after all.

he walked around and climbed in the driver's side

and wasted no time whipping his vehicle onto the

road.

"thanks for picking me up. i could've called a taxi."

"a taxi? no, that's too dangerous."

looked over at him to see him staring at me,

scowling again. geez, he was easy to annoy.

lopened my mouth to respond but again, he beat

me to it.

"besides its over eighty miles, that's one expensive

cab ride."

wait, did he say eighty miles?

"oh my gosh, you're right. my brother is an idiot.

i'm so sorry you had to drive all the way here to

pick me up."

holy distance, i felt terrible

He reached out to open his passenger side door for

me.

Look at that, chivalry wasn't dead after all.

He walked around and climbed in the driver's side

and wasted no time whipping his vehicle onto the

road.

"Thanks for picking me up. I could've called a taxi.

"A taxi? No, that's too dangerous."

I looked over at him to see him staring at me,

scowling again. Geez, he was easy to annoy.

opened my mouth to respond but again, he beat

me to it.

"Besides its over eighty miles, that's one expensive

cabr ride."

Wait, did he say eighty miles?

"Oh my gosh, you're right. My brother is an idiot.

I'm so sorry you had to drive all the way here to

pick me up."

Holy distance, I felt terrible.

"Are you hungry? Let me buy you dinner or

something. It's the leastI can do."

I had saved most of the money I made from my

tutoring gig, I could spare some to buy him food.

peeked over at him to see that the scowl had

returned. It should really just be a permanent

fixture on his face at this point. What did I say now?

He didn't say anything else, he just leaned over

and turned the radio up and I took that as my cue

to just sit back and be quiet. He had already gone

out of his way to come all the way here to pick me

up, taking a hint was the best I could give him at

this point. After a few minutes, the song changed

and Beau leaned over and switched the station,

settling into some classic rock station.

"Didn't like that song?"

I asked.

"No, it's not appropriate."

Not appropriate?

"What?"

He looked over at me and sighed.

You shouldn't be listening to that."

What the hell?

"Look, dude... I've been left to my own devices

Since Jackson moved out. Music isn't going to hurt

me.

A noise came over from his direction and it took

me a few seconds to realize that he was laughing.

wasn't sure he was capable of it but my gosh it

wasn't an obnoxious noise like l'd hoped.

"Why are you laughing"

"I didn't anticipate you being so... Spirited."

I crossed my arms and returned his scowl to him

which only made him laugh harder. What was up

with this guy?

"Well prepare you rselt, you haven't seen anything

yet."

"Noted.

He put his blinker on and merged onto the

interstate.

I wanted to be quiet, to make him suffer in silence

but that would mean Il'd be doing the same.

"Do you like cookies?"

just couldn't shut my mouth.

He cleared his throat.

"Yes."

"Tm making cookies when we get there. T know

Jackson already has all the ingredients because

he's been bugging me about making them.

Consider that your payment."

"What kind of cookies?"

"Peanut butter oatmeal."

"T love peanut butter"

He grinned at me.

Jesus, why did he have to do that?

"How much longer?"

asked, trying to ignore how beautiful he was.

"About forty-five minutes."

After forty-five minutes of silence, we pulled up to

Jackson's house.

"He won't be back for an hour or so but l'll stay

with you until then."

He assured me as he took my luggage out of the

back seat.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that. I'l be fine."

| wanted to tell him that I was used to being alone,

that I had been that way for a while but based on

the way he was looking at me, that would have

only made him more annoyed.

"T'm sure you'd be fine alone, butI'm still staying."

He put my bag over his shoulder and pulled my

suitcase behind him as he stalked toward the front

door. He unlocked the door and gestured for me to

go in first. I was shocked at how pristine the living

room was. This was not the Jackson Igrew up with

You could very rarely see the floor in his room

because it was just too messy but this place is

spotless.

"TUjust leave your things here, l'm not sure which

room he's set up for you."

"Okay.

I said but I was too busy looking around to

concentrate. I found my way to the kitchen and

start opening cabinets.

Jackson hada crockpot?

What did he need a crockpot for?

It looked as if it had never been used. I continued

my exploration and found way more kitchen

gadgets than l ever expected Jackson to own.

walked to his pantry and gather all the ingredients

'd need for the cookies into my arms and shut the

door with my foot only to almost jump right out

my skin when I saw Beau's large body standing on

the other side.

"Need help with those?"

My God, he needed a bell or something.

I didn't respond so he took it upon himself to take

items out of my hands and placed them on the

counter.

"He has a mixer somewhere.

Beau said as he searched through the cabinets.

Why was he still here? Didn't he have somewhere

else to be?

"You don't have to help."

I looked at him. Really looked at him for the first

time. He looked tired like he could use a nap. But

his eyes... They looked almost hypnotic and I had

to force my gaze away from the deep blue.

"T know, I want to.

But why? I wanted to ask so badly. But instead, I

passed him the measuring cups and the peanut

butter.

An hour later we were sitting across from each

other at my brother's kitchen table, staring at the

cookies, waiting for them to cool off enough to

shove them in our mouths.

He parted his lips to say something and I straighten

up in my seat, giving him my full attention when the front door swung open and my big brother

came barrelling through making a beeline right fo

me.

"Riv! You already made cookies?"

He pulled me off the chair and into his arms.

"Yes... Jackson, I can't breathe, you're squeezing

me too hard"

squeaked out.

"Oh, sorry."

He placed me back on the ground but didn't let go

of me.

"Shit! What is that? It smells so good in here."

Another guy walked through the front door and

Suddenly had the feeling that it was a common

OCCurrence.

"Watch your mouth.

Both my brother and Beau snapped at the same

time.

The new guy cocked his head to the side, looking

at them like they had both lost their minds.

Beau raised his eyebrows andI could tell he was

hoping this guy would question him but Jackson

saved him the trouble.

"My baby sister is here"

He said while pulling me closer to his side.

Yep, I was there whether | liked it or not.