All Chapters of Mesmerize Me: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The days following the weekend at the lake felt strange, as if my life had suddenly stepped onto unstable ground. Everything looked the same—the classrooms, the homework, even dinners with my dad—but inside, nothing was where it belonged. Jacob had vanished into routine with a disconcerting ease. He still came over some nights to have dinner with us, just like always, but there were no stolen glances, no half-finished sentences. He had returned to his most formal version: short phrases, a proper tone, the same polite smile as ever. As if that kiss in the woods—added to the one when we got home—had been nothing more than a mirage I had imagined on my own. I forced myself to act normal, to laugh at my dad’s jokes during dinner or talk with Kate about anything at all to distract myself. But every time I heard Jacob’s voice, every time I felt him nearby, something in me tensed, waiting for a gesture, a word—anything that would tell me he remembered too. I

“How much?” Those words came out before I could stop them. Clear. Sharp. “What?” Jacob frowned. “Camila…?” my dad whispered, stunned. But I wasn’t looking at either of them. I was looking at Paul. “How much do you want?” Paul raised his eyebrows slowly, deliberately. “I don’t understand what you mean, sweetheart.” That word. «Sweetheart.» Spoken like a dirty hand laid on something that didn’t belong to him. “You know exactly what I mean. And don’t call me sweetheart.” I took a deep breath. “How much money do you want to leave me alone?” Paul opened his hands theatrically, like a mediocre actor. “Cams—” Jacob murmured, but I ignored him. He doesn’t call me like that, and I know he’s trying to soften things. “My mom didn’t talk much about you,” I co

Jacob held a bouquet of flowers and a panda-shaped balloon that read ‘Happy Birthday’. My dad, with that conspiratorial grin, looked as excited as I felt. “What are you two plotting?” I asked, eyeing them suspiciously. “You’ll find out soon enough,” Dad replied, and I just shook my head. I walked toward them, my heart jumping in my chest. “Happy birthday, Camila,” Jacob said, wrapping an arm around me. He pulled me into a tight hu

The landing was so gentle that I barely felt it. The basket brushed against the grass before settling into the meadow with an almost unreal softness, as though the air itself was reluctant to let us go. When the balloon finally came to rest among the open fields, a knot tightened in my throat. I didn’t want that suspended moment to end. I wasn’t ready to come all the way back down to earth. Jacob helped me climb out of the basket, and when his hands brushed mine, the world seemed to pause for a heartbeat. Neither of us said anything. We didn’t need to. The silence between us still carried something new and fragile, as though we were both afraid that the wrong word might break it. The sky above us was impossibly clear, a shade of blue so pure it almost hurt to look at. For a moment, I found myself thinking that it belonged to the same secret language as Jacob’s eyes. Neither of

By late afternoon, the house had grown quiet again. One by one, everyone said their goodbyes, leaving behind warm wishes for this new trip around the sun and for the stage of life I was supposedly entering—a stage where I was no longer considered a teenager and was expected to begin my journey into adulthood. The truth was, I had no idea when that transition actually happened. I wasn’t sure anyone did. Maybe discovering it was simply part of growing up. Before leaving, Kate wrapped me in one of her trademark bone-crushing hugs and handed me her gift: a spa day for the two of us. We laughed and exchanged promises about scheduling our girls’ day soon, speakin