Free Free Me (Caged Hearts Book 1) by Heather West Page A

in her apartment were drawn, sealing out the sun. The room hadn’t seen daylight for several days. Kait wanted to enshroud herself with darkness to match her mood. When she managed to sleep, she dreamt only of him. Despite washing her sheets his scent continued to cling to her bed. It was as if she couldn’t be truly rid of him no matter how hard she tried.
     
    Her phone beeped, but Kait ignored it. She knew full well it wouldn’t be Jasper texting her. He had all the time in the world to Tweet his followers and communicate with them. But for Kait, he had quickly become a ghost. She wondered if he’d even thought about her since their encounter at the gym.
     
    Her phone beeped again, and Kait rolled her eyes and turned up the volume on the television. The film had reached one of her favourite scenes where the lead characters first kiss. As she watched their on screen romance blossom, she wondered why real life couldn’t be that easy. The way she’d met Jasper had felt like a fairy tale. He’d appeared at her darkest hour like a knight in shining armour. He’d been valiant and brave. He’d even bled for her. Then there had been the flowers and the date.
     
    Kait’s tears intensified so that she was sobbing. Her shoulders shook as she tried to focus on the movie, but instead all she could think about was Jasper, how he’d be wonderful to her one moment and brutal the next. Why would she even want to be in a relationship with someone like that?
     
    “Because of caramel kisses,” Kait mumbled forlornly to herself. She’d decided after their second night together that Jasper’s kisses were like caramel because they were ridiculously sweet and no matter how many you had you always wanted more.
     
    She swallowed down another spoonful of ice cream when her phone began to softly chirp. Groaning Kait picked it up and answered the incoming call which she could see was from Anna.
     
    “Hey,” Kait mumbled in greeting.
     
    “Hey, you! Are you feeling better?”
     
    Kait looked down at her lap where she was cradling the tub of ice cream.
     
    “Not really, no.”
     
    “So you don’t feel up to coming out tonight?”
     
    “Absolutely not.” The last thing Kait needed that night was alcohol. She needed to just go to bed and hide beneath the covers and not think about Jasper and his precious big fight. A fight that was more important to him than she was.
     
    “Things didn’t work out with that guy, did they?” Anna inquired knowingly.
     
    “What makes you say that?” Kait wondered suspiciously, glancing around her apartment as if her friend had someone bugged the place without her knowing.
     
    “Just a hunch,” Anna declared brightly. “Am I wrong?”
     
    “Umm…”
     
    “Are you currently sat in those gross red flannel pyjamas eating chocolate ice cream?”
     
    Kait stiffened on the sofa.
     
    “Are you watching me?”
     
    On the other end of the line, Anna started laughing.
     
    “I don’t need to watch you to know what you’re doing. You’re my best friend, Kaitie Kins, I know your post break up routine better than my own.”
     
    Kait dropped her spoon in to the bowl of ice cream. This was her post break up routine. She hadn’t even realized she was doing it.
     
    “So the guy is history, so what? Let’s move on!” Anna urged.
     
    “Not yet.” Kait wasn’t ready to face the world. She wanted to remain locked up in her apartment with her old movies for company.
     
    “Take off those nasty old pyjamas and come out with me.”
     
    “Another time.” Kait picked her spoon up again. The stress of the conversation was making her need more ice cream.
     
    “You’re coming out tonight, I insist,” Anna told her.
     
    “Anna - ”
     
    Knock knock . The second after Anna had said the words, two brisk knocks landed on Kait’s apartment door. She raised the remote and paused the DVD she was watching.
     
    “Anna, are you here?” She asked slowly.
     
    “You bet your ass I