Without care (22 page)

He reaches out
and brushes a loose strand of hair away from my forehead. His dark
eyes softly looking down at me. “Say something…” As always I just
nod, he has some strong hold over me which makes it impossible to
speak. “See some things don’t change” he laughs.

“How… how did
you get in here?” It’s the only thing I can think of asking. My
mind has gone blank.

“Ted” he
quickly replies. He pulls out Ted’s keys and with his free hand
grabs one of mine. Instantly my body reacts as if an electric
current has just flown through my body. My stomach flips over as if
it’s doing cartwheels and my heart thuds against my chest. I have
missed this; I have missed having this reaction towards another
person.

He places the
keys in the palm of my hand. “He said it was okay to wait for you.”
He takes a step back and walks over to my bedroom window. I watch
as he rests his head against the window and just stares out.

Finally my
brain syncs into gear and question flow through my head. That anger
kicks in and I want to know why he broke the promise.

“Why are you
back?” I say forcefully, making him look at me and then back out of
the window.

“Ayden, I want
to know

“You already
know the answer to that question.”

“Me?”

“Of
course.”

Something
explodes inside me and my hands turn to fists. “I don’t want you
back” I yell, he finally turns to look at me. His dark eyes narrow
and his mouth is in a tight line. For the first time ever in his
presence I am not intimidated, that hold he had over me has
gone.

He lied to me,
he promised he wouldn’t leave and he did. He thinks he can just
show up and everything will be as before. No way. I’ve changed. I
have a life and once I graduate I am leaving Summerton to have a
whole new life. I have a future and I don’t see him in it.

That’s a
lie
.

I begin to
think of how I would cry myself to sleep reliving what happened in
Seattle. Where was he? Where was he when I really needed him? Poor
Chase, I treat him like dirt and he is the one who helped me. He
has got me back on track and deserves so much more. Still, all I
want is Ayden. From the very first moment we met, my dreams have
been filled with
him.

I confessed
that I loved him and he just walked off without care for me.
He’s back and he’s here
, says the voice in my head. No! I
won’t listen. Everything is perfect, okay not exactly perfect but
it will do. He doesn’t have the right to be here and I don’t want
him here. I feel as if I am splitting apart.

“Why did you
leave me?” The words leave my mouth without a thought.

“I didn’t want
too” he calmly says as he approaches me. He reaches out to touch me
again and this time I let him. I’ve never had the energy to fight
him off before. I like being touched by him. He is and will
probably always be what I want.

“You have to
believe me” he softly says. “Your mother thought it would be in
your best interest if I walked away from you. I know I should have
fought harder, but Tucker had just…” His voice breaks and looks
down at the floor.

Tucker, I
haven’t thought about him in weeks. His body lying on that cold
floor. His face the exact moment he died. And why did he die?
Because of my foolish self. I wanted to play the superhero and it
backed fire. I’ve only been in Ayden’s presence for a few moments
already I feel as if I have been dragged back there. I should hate
my mother for sending Ayden away, but truthfully she did the best
thing.

I pull out of
Ayden’s embrace and step back. “You should leave….”

He stands
straight pulling his shoulders back. His dark eyes ice over and his
mouth tightens. “I will be leaving soon” he hisses, his expression
not giving anything away. “But not without you!” and I know he
means it.

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Jen

I think he must
have got the hint as I haven’t seen him anywhere. I haven’t told
anyone I have seen him, they might think I have actually lost my
mind. Even now it doesn’t feel real, did I see him or was it my
imagination. Who knows? I am not allowing him to spoil my most
important event of my life- Prom. I have everything planned to
perfection. Becks has some how gotten a date which means Chase is
all mine.

She won’t say
who it is, but I am guessing it the mysterious person who has kept
her busy the last couple of days. I don’t understand why she is
being so candid about it all. She won’t even tell us what dress she
is wearing.

I finish
applying my lip gloss and take a look in the mirror. My first
thought is…
‘I wish Ayden was here’.
What a stupid thought.
I don’t need Ayden, he’s in the past. Chase has kept all his
promises and I know he cares for me. That should be enough, right.
Why do I still feel as that hole in my chest is still there?

I shake my head
to get rid of my absurd thoughts and pretend I never had them. I
look at my reflection and give the biggest grin ever. I look good
in my off the shoulder long black dress. It oozes confidence and I
look pretty hot. I want to make Chase hungry for me. Tonight is the
night I am going to suggest we go steady.

I want to
commit to him, I know he will make the perfect boyfriend and this
time I want him for keeps. I am going to move on and start living.
My bedroom door opens and Lacey appears all dressed for bed.

“Wow” she
grins. “You look like a Princess. MOMMY!” She yells. My mother now
appears at the door. Lacey grabs hold of her hand and drags her
into my room. “Look at Jen. She’s so pretty, mommy.”

“She does look
beautiful” my mother cries, racing towards me and wrapping her arms
around me. She pulls away and wipes a tear from her cheek. Wow, she
really is dramatic. “I am so proud of you, baby.” She smiles fondly
at me. I almost feel like crying with her. “You have the best
time.”

“Chase is here”
Ted yells from the stairs.

I take in a
deep breath. This is it, I am going to my senior prom and I’m going
to make Chase mine. I give my mother another hug before making my
grand entrance. My eyes lock at Chase waiting for me. He’s dressed
in a black tux, his blonde hair yelled back. This moment reminds of
Titanic; the moment Jack waits for Rose at the bottom of the grand
staircase.

I take my
finally step to meet him and he gives that boyish smile. “You look
amazing…”

The school gym
is all ready packed when we arrive. Everyone looks amazing and I
can’t stop smiling as Chase leads me through the crowd on to the
dance floor. I quickly scan the floor and see Ali dancing with
Travis. I give her a quick wave, but tonight I am going to keep all
my attention on Chase. He’s important to me now, he’s what I
want.

I do look for
Becks, but there is no sign of her. Maybe she was bluffing about
having a date. I feel bad for her now- she’s missing her senior
prom. I look back at Chase who is stunning and wrap my arms around
his neck. We begin to sway to the music and I rest my head on his
shoulder.

“Do you know
how happy I am right now” he whispers in my ear.

“Me too” I
smile up at him. “That’s why…”

I’m cut off,
when I notice people whispering and pointing to the entrance. A
crowd is forming, god no! Not again. Anxiety begins to fill me and
I freeze on the spot. My eyes firmly lock on that entrance waiting
for them to reappear.

The crowd
slowly separates and two people casually walk in arm in arm. My
first reaction is to run over there and smack him in the face. The
second is to run over and claim what is actually mine.

Chase looks at
me and then at Ayden, linked arm in arm with Becks. He looks like a
film star, a beautiful, elegant and my heart breaks. No wondered
she wouldn’t tell us who she had as a date.

“Did you know
he was back?” Chase says to me making me look back at him. I give a
little nod. “That son of a bitch!” His fist clenches and he storms
over to them. I scream for him to stop, but it’s too late. His fist
smashes into Ayden’s face taking him by surprise. A few of Chase’s
friend race over and pull him back.

“How dare you
come back” Chase yells, the music has now halted and everyone is
watching the show. “Do you know what you did to her…? And you just
show up thinking you could take here away from me again.”

Ayden wipes his
mouth with the back of his hand, blood drenching his white shirt.
His face is like stone and I know he wants to hit Chase back. He
lunges forward with his fist high in the air.

“Don’t do it” I
call out making him halt mid-motion. His eyes finally fall upon and
he stares at me intensely. Once again I feel small under his gaze.
That feeling swirls around my body and feel gravitated to him. I
want his arms around me and I want to be with him. Maybe I am
crazy!

I slowly begin
to walk towards. “You’re get in big trouble if you hit him.”

He drops his
arm and begins to walk towards me, meeting me half way. “You’re
beautiful” he smiles as he’s eyes rake over my body. His hands grip
my waist and I don’t bother to move. This is what I want. This is
what I’ve dreamed about. “Jen,” he whispers my name and pulls me
into him. His head rests in the crook of my neck and I feel giddy.
“I’ve missed you so much. I’m sorry, so sorry.”

I pull away and
tilt my head up. His lips are only inches away from mine. “Ayden,”
I croak. I can feel the tears building up in my eyes. Its intense,
it always has been with him.

“Shh” he
breathes. “Don’t say anything…” With that he silences me with a
kiss so heavenly that every muscle in my body bursts into flames.
He’s back… The man I love most in the world is back and he’s mine.
There is no way I am giving him up again… From now on I’m living my
life without a care for no body else but him. My dark and dangerous
stranger.

The end