Ch-35 ★Farewell (part one)

             [Aura]

Some people never learn from their mistakes.

            I happen to be some people.

This happens to be the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.

            I could hear my insides screaming, begging me to not go with him. They were far more right than my heart ever was. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined these unfinished kisses, broken sobs, and nights of warmth would lead to this.

            You have to give me this much. I’m not that smart. Yes, I’ve schemed to buy him, plotted revenge against my sister yet I’m not smart because if I were would have stayed away from him the very start. But I didn’t.

Because from the first chapter of our story, I knew that this was going to be a tragedy and I was fine with that as long as it meant I would get to love him.

✩★✩★✩

            My heart sped faster than it ever had. The air conditioning in the car chilled my toes till the point I couldn’t feel them anymore. Goosebumps trailed my arms, not from the cold but from the distant look on Jay’s face. Veins in his necks were visible as his jaw was held in a tense position. I noted with worry that his hold on the steering wheel was slipping with every turn he took on the highway.

          Beatrice’s gentle snore could be heard from the back seat. It was the only sound that stretched on in suffocating silence between us.

         He took in a shaky breath of air, pressing his lips together till they turned ghastly white. It was starting to rain, gentle drops slid down the windows smearing the tropical, sunny sky of Galveston. He shifted in the seat as his eyes snapped in my direction, as if sensing my stare. He smiled though the smile never reached his eyes. It got lost along the midnight darkness lurking behind his eyelids.

            “Where are we going?” I whispered.

        He leaned back into the seat, swirling his head back to stare at the road ahead of him. “Somewhere far,”

            “Where?” I pressed on.

“I don’t know,” he replied nonchalantly, his eyes briefly flickering to meet my heated gaze.

            “What!” I frantically looked out the window to see we were outside the city. Fields of maize surrounded our car which happened to be the only car on the road. The road was bumpy -the uneven gravel jolted the car slightly.

            Rusted barbed wires separated the road from the flowing greenery. No man or animal seemed to be in view for far off.

            “Jay,” I rubbed my hands across my face, wiping the anxious sweat from it. “Are you fucking crazy?”

            “No,” he laughed. “I’m just doing what you do,”

I gave him an incredulous look. “And that is?”

            “Running away from your problems,” Even though his tone was light and humorous, I knew he was being dead serious. “But I think we’ve had enough,”

            He stretched his hand in my direction, gripping the steering with the other. His finger traced a stray strand of hair from my cheek and tucked it behind my ear.

            “It’s time we stop running and faced our fears,” His hand left me and gripped the clutch. The car swerved to the empty patch of brown land where an abandoned store lay. Panels of wood closed off the entrance of the small building.

            The car came to a stop causing the belt to dig deeper into my waist. Jay didn’t turn off the engine. He left the air conditioning running before swiftly getting out of the car. He half jogged and half ran towards my side. Rain soaked his t-shirt. He pulled my door open, a blinding smile gracing his lips.

            Droplets of rain slid down his raven black hair and landed on his pale forehead.

He held out his hand for me to take. “Come on, Aura”

            I bit down my lips to stop them from trembling. I was terrified of what lay on the door's other side. As much as I wanted to know what Jay meant earlier, I was also afraid on what it might be.

“I’m scared,” This was the first time I had confessed that.

            “Don’t be,” without an ounce of hesitation, he took hold of my hand, entwining our finger till no space separated them. “I should be the one who should be scared,”

            The gentle tug of his hand brought me out the car. I stepped out with him leading me, warmth encased my numb hands.

            Rain soaked me head to toe, it cascaded down my spine like a river. We were walking towards the building. It was broken miserably, shattering window panes, black charred soot covered it, almost like it had been burned by a raging fire.

            Jay stopped underneath the tin shed jutting out the side of the building. Lightning danced across the sky followed by its partner, thunder.

“Why?” I whispered as I watched him lean against the wall. He closed his eyes. Breaths left him in a slow drag.

            “Why what?”  He didn’t open his eyes and stood there lifelessly, calmer than I’ve ever seen him. Long lashes were curled around his cheek while his skin glistened from the rain water.

            “Why are you scared?”

“Because I’m about to tell you something…” He trailed off, smiling almost painfully.

            “And?” I urged him to continue.

“I’ve haven’t told anyone about it.”  He opened his eyes and watched me with more than warmth anyone could ever muster. For moment or two, I forgot to breathe. I found myself smiling as these insane sensations erupted in my stomach. It was a whole new world filled with fireworks and blinding explosions.

            “I should be mad at you,” I tried to pull that smile off my face but I couldn’t. “I should be mad at you for not looking for me, for hurting me, for lying to me. I should hate you for wanting my money. But-“

“But you’re not,” He interrupted me. “You know it all along that I loved you. Then why did you leave? Why?” I’ve never seen him look so broken. Sorrow streaked his sharp counters. It made my mood turn upside down.

“I can’t help it. I always run away from things I’m scared to face,”

“I know.” He gripped my hand tightly.  “We’re more alike than you realize,”

            I was about to open my mouth to tell him how sorry I was but he stopped me.

“Before I tell you this, Can ask you for something?” There was a pleading expression on his face.

            “Anything,” Maybe I should have thought twice before saying that. It wasn’t in my nature to think repeatedly over things. I lived on the impulse and that same impulse had drove me this far.

“Can I kiss you?”

          My heart fluttered wildly in my chest. Color rose to my cheeks. Jay edged towards me- his steps didn’t flatter for a second. I kept backing away until my back hit the wall. Palms collided with the cemented wall- coldness seeped slowly into my skin.

       Jay watched me, studying my expression. Noting my flustered response, an amused smirk lighted his lips. He titled his head to one side before lowering his head to meet my lips. All the breaths in my lungs hitched, they stirred an uncontrollable storm inside me. 

            You’d think after being kissed by him so many times the magic might have fazed but it hadn’t. Somehow the past year that we had spent apart came crashing upon us like mighty avalanche with no boundaries.

            It was easy to get lost when Jay Walters kissed you. Except this time, I felt this unbearable pain in his kiss. His lips no longer held that warmth. Tears rolled down his cheeks and landed on my face. A strange urgency entered my heart. This wasn’t a greeting, it was a farewell kiss.

           I instantly pulled away. “Jay,” I cupped his cheeks in my hands. He wasn’t even looking at me- he stared at the rain, not daring to meet my gaze. “For God’s sake, tell me what’s going on?”

“Do you want to hear a story?” He replied, turning his attention towards me. Eyes brimming with tears stared hard at me.

“Damn it!” I muttered, irritated. “This isn’t the time for that,”

He gripped my arms, tightly, to stop me from panicking. “It’s the story of my life,”

            “I don’t wan-want tt-to lose you,” I couldn’t even speak properly. My tongue was too heavy to even move while my throat was chocked by this boulder.  “A-again,”

            He didn’t reply to my jumbled mess of words. It was like we were stuck on two different pages of the same book, unable to understand one another.

            “Once a upon a time a boy loved a girl so much that he couldn't bear to live a life without her. He always believe that the girl felt the same way. He was stupid enough to believe that she did,”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Note: I felt like I need to add something because it’s been a month. It’s not an excuse for the late update but I’ve just moved into another country (again) so yah. Anyways I’ll try getting the next update to you real soon. The plotline has gotten really complex and I want to make sure everything is correct (tbh I’ve forgotten half of the details about the secret Haha *cue in nervous laughter*..just kidding)

            Hope it’s worth the wait. Please do comment and vote. I’d love to hear what you have to say about this chapter.