I sit on the side of my bed, sulking as I wait for Ryker to pick up his phone. Jayden and Christopher had decided to pull their trusted contacts and see the ends they can bring this to.

With Jayden refusing to acknowledge me at all.

And it hurt, so so bad.

But I can't even blame the damn guy, after all, I was no better.

"Hello," my friend's deep voice answers. I clear my throat before giving back a greeting as cheerful as I can. Hearing it, Ryker lets out a low chuckle.

"Really Ash? No need to be so fake girl."

Hearing it, I let down my guard, letting a small smile come on my face. "How are things there?"

"As they were before you guys went away. It's the boys' day to trail after Abby, I will trail after her with Ace tomorrow. What about you? How are things here?"

I huff, "As they can be. Nothing good seems to come out from this visit."

And that's where that topic ends. We talk for a few more minutes before we say our good bye-s. After that I lay on my bed, thinking and just staring at my ceiling.

My door opening stirs me awake.

I had no idea when I fell asleep, but I stretch, sitting up to see Jayden coming towards me. I look at him through my lashes, watching as he comes up to me. The tray he has, he passes it up to me.

"You missed lunch." He whispers, almost as if afraid to say anything louder in fear of breaking the serenity.

I hum, taking the tray from his hands almost expecting him to leave immediately, but he makes himself comfortable next to me.

I stare at him for few minutes before he motions me to eat.

I nod at him before doing so.

It stays like this for a while before I speak, unable to handle not knowing what he is thinking about. "So what are you guys planning to do now?"

He thinks about it for a second before answering, "Well we can't go straight out on him and kill him. That will be a declaration of war, something that is unnecessary as well as not something that anyone of us want to get involved in right now."

I nod, making him continue.

"And going over as will also pose a threat. If we take him out from the town, that will be useless too, considering they will send in someone else. At least, with James we know how he looks, who he is and where he stays."

"That means we can't do something?"

"Not really," he shakes his head, "It's just, we can't do anything directly against him."

I sigh heavily, keenly aware of his eyes on me.

I place the tray on the floor on my side before turning to face him. Not sure what I am trying to say, I start speaking, "Jay... I know I hurt you. And not just from my disappearance but even with the way I treated you since we have met again... I can't apologize enough about it."

I see him try to stop me, but I can already feel myself go hysteric, "I mean, I could've trusted you... I should've known you won't do something like that. But it was... I couldn't control my emotions okay?"

My eyes leave his face, looking around the room as I feel frustration start to build up in me.

"For me, being there and watching you live this dangerous life. It wasn't easy. It hurt each time you left, it hurt each time people flinched away from you. I don't know what came over me... I can't explain it an-"

I feel him grab my hand and pull me towards himself, cutting me off in an instant as I fall on his chest. I inhale sharply, his cologne making my heart clench in excitement.

His arms wrap themselves around my waist, tightening enough to keep me pressed against himself.

"Jay?"

I ask tentatively, my heart beating so loudly that I am afraid he can hear it. I gulp, seeing his eyes go from my eyes to my lips, before travelling up again.

"I can't say I understand Lynnie. It's hard to accept it. And painful." His voice is low, a rumbling whisper, laced with emotions. "The times have changed, the two years... They have turned into a gap between us. If there is still an us, that is."

I am about to interrupt, when he shakes his head lightly, squeezing my waist lightly before speaking again, "In these years, you have changed... I have changed. The things have changed. And then there is the point that if it was so easy for you to believe it, there must have been some doubt lurking at the back of your mind somehow."
My heart stills as it comes to my mind that maybe, it is the time he is parting ways instead of being here to talk about it.

Had it been a few weeks ago, I would have gladly accepted it. Letting his words stroke my ego and temper as I turn away from him.

But the way it hurts, I can't even bear to hear him say the words I know he is about to say.

So I lean forward.

I let my lips touch his for a second, before moving back to look at him, seeing him looking at me intensely gives me the courage I need.

Firmly this time, I press my lips to his, feeling his slightly chapped ones before slowly, I suck on his lower lip.

His hands move back to grip my waist as he pulls me up and helping me straddle him, mine going up to grip his collar to bring him closer to myself.

Excitement and lust runs through my veins.

I press forward, not wanting any space separating us. He licks my lips, asking for entrance which I deny, while I slowly let one of my hands go down and wander on his chest.

He growls lowly in his throat, before he twists us in a way that leave me on my back, lying on the bed as he leaves my lips to continue placing kisses down my neck.

My hands go up as they run across his chest before going his lush hair.

He bites on my neck playfully, before soothing the sting by his tongue and sucking on it and making me moan. Not wanting to let him have all the fun, I tug lightly on his hair to bring him up.

The moment he comes up, I arch to kiss him, but he playfully evades, giving me a smirk.

I glare at him, making him lean down to kiss me, this time getting the entrance I first denied.

I lay on top of him, hearing his heart beat strongly in his chest. He is running his fingers through my hair, and I am lazily tracing patterns on his hard chest.

"Are you sure about this, Princess?" He asks.

I sigh before getting up and sitting, still straddling over him when I answer him.

"Yes, Jay. I have spent the last two years away from you. Convinced you really wanted me... well, I don't want to do that anymore. I have been stupid and I don't want you to immediately forgive me. But I would rather be with you, no matter what the consequences."

He gives my hips a squeeze before giving me half a smile, "Maybe. But we have both been stupid. Let's just keep the past where it belongs okay?"

I nod, before speaking.

"Don't you have questions to ask me, from these past years?"

He shrugs, "Well, you can tell me what you want... Though actually, yes. Do tell me what's the deal with the Dallas guy and you?"

Confused, I raise my eyebrow at him, making him pull me closer so that he is hugging me of sorts. I sigh, speaking again, knowing he is not about to clarify on what he means until I ask him clearly.

"What about Ryker and me?"

"Is he interested in you in any form?"

As much as I want to laugh at his crazy assumption, I know this is not what he would like, at least not so early. So I answer him softly, "No Jayden. He is not interested in me, and neither am I interested in him."

"You sure? Because he seemed pretty protective of you."

I take a few minutes to answer him, wording it the best so as to not let out a lot of information about Ryker, and yet somehow manage to explain him. "Ryker... He has had a shitty life growing up. It has messed up a lot in him. For him, I am like his sister. So his being protective of me is logical."

I pull away from Jayden to give him a look as I continue, "Plus, Abby has had a huge crush on him for years now. They were in the same high school and now that they have been friends for over a year, I am pretty sure something is about to bloom inside of him."

Jayden's blue eyes look at me with mirth swirling in them.

"How do you know this?"

I shrug as I give him a sheepish smile. "I may have made Abby drink a little more than she can handle and asked her why was she always so nervous around him is."

A deep chuckle from him makes my lips stretch in a smile.

"I really hope it was not in front of Ryder, it will be heart breaking for her."

I shake my head and swat him, "It's Ryker Jay. Stop messing with his name."

He just rolls his eyes at me.

And as we continue talking, going from one topic of talks to the other, a sense of calmness settles in me. It been so long since I have had this level of comfort, and now that I have finally accepted the truth that I have always known, but choose not to acknowledge, everything seems much easier.

And it seems that this problem in front of me, is not as much of it as it seems.