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He didn’t pay attention to me; he paid attention to everyone else.
“You have my cartel’s word,” the man says.
“And if I find out that any of you know Dante, I’ll burn this place down with everyone in it.” Sebastian shook hands with all the men at the table, daring them to say anything about his threat.
“We swear that your fiancée and stepdaughter will be safe and unharmed.” The same woman from before said.
I looked at her, and tears started to well up in my eyes. “I want to go home right now,” I said.
I was mad that these people looked happy and that my mom and I would just be passed on to another cartel.
“I’ll keep in touch.” Sebastian stood up and tried to grab my hand, but I ran away. I picked up the end of my dress and ran quickly without looking back.
I got outside and it was pouring. The rain soaked me all the way through. The stars were shining brightly in the dark sky above me. Sebastian finally caught up with me and pulled me back to face him. He looked mad.
“What’s wrong with you? I just made a deal to save your a*s.” He said that water droplets were sliding down the side of his face.
“Don’t you get it? If being safe means you dying, then forget it. I don’t want it,” I yelled.
I don’t even know why I’m so mad. I should be grateful that he made a deal to save my mom and me, but I’m not.
“Aria, I’m going to die one day, and I’d rather die knowing that your mom is safe.” The rain was getting heavier, and it was getting harder to talk. “I need to know that your mom is safe.”
“I’ve had enough of this game with you. When will you see that I’m more than just a body?” I yelled. — “I get it, you love my mom, so stop screwing with my head because I’m going crazy.” I tried to turn around, but he stopped me.
“Are you f*****g kidding me?” he yelled angrily. “All I care about is you. Every day I worry that you won’t make it through another. You are all I think about.” He shook my shoulders a little, and his face was full of something I couldn’t put my finger on. His hair and clothes were wet.
I said, “You’re making me into someone I don’t want to be.” “You care about my mom one minute and then you care about me the next. I really think you’re just messing with both of us.”
He shakes his head. “I care about you, I do, but I’ll always love your mom.” He let go of my shoulders, and his eyes were completely black and empty.
The water splashed off his mouth and onto my cheeks. His hair was now messy, unlike the way he always slicked it back. I was hurt, so I stepped back with tears in my eyes. My stomach hurt so much that it felt like it was doing cartwheels, and my throat felt tight. My heart was broken and my legs felt like they were floating.
“That’s the problem,” I finally said. He looked deeply into my eyes and watched me. “You love her,” I whispered, my voice sounding broken.
“Aria”
“Sebastian, take me back to the house.” I got in the car, and he stood there for a while before getting behind the wheel. I looked out the window and prayed that this was just a bad dream and that I would wake up soon. But it was real, my new reality.
“I should probably check out your forehead.” He drove into the driveway and parked the car.
“I feel fine,” I said.
He nodded and got out of the car. I stayed in the car and looked at myself in the mirror. My makeup was running down my cheeks, my wet hair was covering my neck, and the bloody cut on my forehead was now a big black bruise with a small cut in the middle. I took off my heels before getting out of the car and slowly walked to the front door of the house.
When I got to my room, I broke down. I slid down my door and cried, holding my stomach the whole time. He is playing with me, and I am just a dumb girl who wants someone to love her. I crawled over to my bed and cried some more into my sheets. I quietly screamed in pain, the pain of making a mistake and the pain of loving someone who doesn’t love me back.
My mum doesn’t deserve this; she should be happy and loved. I’m just like my dad, and my mind is just as messed up as his. I don’t hate my mom, so why did I do this to her? Sebastian will always love her, and she will always love him. Was it some kind of revenge against my dad?
The door to my room opened, but I didn’t look up to see who it was. I just lay on my bed with tears running down my face.
“Aria,” Caleb whispered.
I looked up at him, and he took my hand in his big one. He looked over my body and face before gently wiping my tears away with his finger. I held his hand tighter, and he looked down at our hands and kissed my knuckles lightly.
“I need you, Caleb.”
“I’m here, Aria.” He holds my face in his hand, and I feel his warmth.
“Why?” I said softly.
“Why did you leave me?” I asked, my voice shaking. His hand stayed on my cheek. I looked deeply into his eyes, hoping to find some truth, but all I saw was regret.
He looked down, and I could tell he was having trouble finding the right words, which made me even more anxious. I just need to know why, maybe that will help me understand why everyone else has left me.
He says, “I was a dumb teenager who took things for granted. I knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life when I left you.”
He came a little closer to me, but I stayed where I was. We were only a few inches apart, but I didn’t feel anything. “I never stopped loving you, Aria.”
He said my lips were his, but they weren’t. I really felt sick when his lips touched mine. They shouldn’t have been there, but I couldn’t pull away. I just wanted someone to comfort me and take away all the rejection, which is bad because he’s getting married. I know I’m a bad person.
I kissed his lips harder and ran my fingers through his hair. He picked me up and put us on the bed. I gently wrapped my legs around his waist. My hands moved up to his cheeks. We kissed one last time, then we both pulled away to catch our breath. We closed our eyes and put our foreheads together.
“God, you’re getting married.”
Caleb whispers in a soft, humble voice, “Let’s worry about it tomorrow.”
No way, jerk.
“Caleb…” I was trying to get him to see reason.
He said, “I love you, Aria,” and then he put his head between my neck and chest and breathed in my scent. I didn’t answer because I don’t love him the same way he loves me. Instead, I closed my eyes and let the guilt wash over me.
The next morning
The sun was shining through the blinds, and a strong, heavy arm was around my waist. Caleb was fast asleep, with me close to him. I slowly ran my finger from his forehead to his chin. He smiled and pulled me closer.
“Good morning, Aria,” he whispers with his eyes still closed. His hair was a mess, which made me think of the sleepovers we used to have when we were younger.
“Morning,” I said, and his eyes opened to meet mine.
The door opened just as I was about to say something.
“Caleb…”
There was a voice in the room that I didn’t know. When I looked at the door, he sat up right away. He knew the voice. His beautiful fiancée came in with a shocked look on her face, and tears started to flow down her painted cheeks.
“Nina,” he gasped. Her eyes met mine, then his, and then they went back to mine.
“You whore,” she said. Her voice was broken, and she wiped her tears and ran out of the room. I know that Caleb didn’t look at me; he ran after his fiancée instead.
I put my hand over my mouth, and guilt flooded my body again. Tears started to fill my eyes.
I ran with the sheets wrapped around me. My mascara had dried on my cheeks from last night, and my red lipstick had smeared on my lips. I was still wearing my dress from dinner. I ran in the direction I saw them leave, which was in the living room.