by K E Osborn
All of Me?
THE TRUST ME? TRILOGY
K E OSBORN
All of Me?
Book III of The Trust Me? Trilogy
By K E Osborn
Copyright 2014 K E Osborn
License Notes: This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. All songs, song titles and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective song writers and copyright holders.
ISBN: 978-0-9923338-2-9
Book design by Swish Grafix & Web Design
Cover design by Swish Grafix & Web Design
Cover image Copyright 2014 Swish Grafix & Web Design
Dedicated to
The bloggers who promote me without hesitation time and time again.
To my new friends, who I now call family in my Trust Me? Trilogy Street Team, I love you all and appreciate everything you do for me.
And finally to my fans.
Thank you!
To each and every one of you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost I have to thank my mother, Kaylene Osborn, without your help and support I’d never have finished this trilogy nor have been able to release it, so thank you; you don’t know how much it means to me.
To my friends who tirelessly read and re-read Trust me?, Love Me?, and All of Me? as they were coming to life. Without your guidance and help, it wouldn’t be as fulfilling as it is.
To Liz, my fellow book lover and my dear friend. Thank you so much for all your help, support, guidance, and not being scared to give me a kick in the bum when I needed it. Without you this book may not have reached its full potential. I am so grateful for your honesty and your commitment to the fictional world, but most of all I thank you for your unwavering gift of friendship. You are one of the first people I talk to when I get up each day and the last one I talk to before I go to bed. You are a true friend even if we live hundreds of kilometers apart; I will make you a cup of tea anytime you want to pop in.
To my BETA readers—I thank you sincerely for your efforts and constructive criticism throughout this series. I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I have.
To the Blogs—Special thanks go to Liz, Nicola, and Jade because without your help, none of this would have been possible. To the blogs Magic Within the Pages (Liz), Endless Reading (Nicola), Fictional Boyfriends & My Book Affair (Jade), Book Friends Forever (Dzintra), Babycakes Book Blog (Charlotte), Verna Loves Books (Verna), Francessca’s Romance Reviews (Francessca), Tracey’s Vampy and Racey Book Blog (Tracey), Keepin’ it Real Book Blog (Taylor), Book Junky Girls (Maria), The Scribe’s Library (Sharon), This Mommy Loves to Read (Ebony), and Stephanie’s Book Review (Stephanie), thank you. I honestly could not have gotten this far without you. I have so many more bloggers that have helped me time and time again, and I thank you so much for everything. Their names and links are listed on my website www.keosbornauthor.com.
To my family (blood or not)—Mum, Nan, Pop, Wendy, David, Craig, and my adopted family Lucy, Chris, Kim, Marni—you crazy bunch of people, I love you all and I thank you for just being you. You have all supported me through this wonderfully crazy journey and not one of you thought that I was incapable of pulling this off. Your humor and dedication to making me live, laugh, and love is what keeps me going. I love you all!
Last of all I want to thank YOU, the reader. Aiden and Jeni’s journey has come to an end and I hope you enjoyed the story of two people who I have fallen in love with. Two people who overcome all the odds thrown at them and still find their way to each other in the end.
Stay tuned because my next standalone novel Just Friends?
Thank you,
Much love
K E Osborn
xoxo
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
EPILOGUE
CONNECT WITH ME ONLINE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JUST FRIENDS?
All—adj.
1. The greatest possible (used in referring to individuals or particulars.)
2. Any whatever (beyond all doubt.)
3. The whole of (used in referring to quantity or the utmost, extent.)
4. The whole of (take all of it.)
Pocket Oxford Dictionary Fourth Edition / www.dictionary.com
CHAPTER 1
Booming thunder wakes me. My head is aching and feels foggy from all the crying I have succumbed to. I’ve been holed up in this room for the past week, lying in bed with no motivation to do anything other than cry. I sit up and slowly get out of bed. When I reach my bedroom door, I roll my eyes at the sound of Sarah and Chris giggling in the other room. If I didn’t need to go to the bathroom, I wouldn’t leave my bed. I don’t want to deal with them or anyone else. As soon as I open my door, silence falls on both of them. Not bothering to look in their direction, I stumble to the bathroom. I take a moment to splash cold water on my face to help soothe my red, swollen eyes. I look in the mirror and the face looking back at me is still slightly bruised, her eyes are vacant and dull, and her hair is a tangled, oily mess. I look terrible, but I don’t care. I don’t care about anything. Not since Jason, my ex-boyfriend, beat the living shit out of me.
I haven’t spoken to Aiden since I gave him his ring back, since I left him crying on his knees at the apartment. I turned off my cell phone after the tenth call from him. I try not to think about him. I’m already depressed and thinking about him just makes me feel worse. I miss him. I miss him so much, but I can’t be around him. I’m not strong enough; I can’t face him or the apartment because the thought of having to feel at the moment scares me to death.
I dry my face and walk to the dining room, where Sarah and Chris are eating lunch. I notice them look at me and then quickly turn away. I don’t think they know what to say to me, so they say nothing. I pour myself a glass of water and shuffle to the living room. Wrapping myself in the brown fleece blanket draped over the recliner, I sink into the suede loveseat. I sip on my glass of water and stare blankly out the window. It’s dreary outside, the sky is dark with ominous black clouds rolling in the chilling wind, with rain heavily pouring down on the pavement—it’s perfectly fitting for how I’m feeling. Sarah’s hand on my leg pulls me out of my depressive thoughts.
“I didn’t think being without Aiden would hurt this much,” I mumble, catching her attention. Another roar of thunder cracks above the house.
She puts her arm around me. “Jeni, sweetie, if being without him hurts this much, then maybe, if you search d
eep down, you know it isn’t right?”
I shake my head. “I can’t be with him. I can’t, I just…” I sputter.
“Okay, okay. Jeni, it’s alright.” She strokes my hair.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“What for?”
“For being like this. I can’t seem to shake this overwhelming depression.”
She looks at me sympathetically. “Sweetie, take as much time as you need. You know Chris and I are here to support you, no matter what. We love you.” Sarah holds me while I cry on her shoulder.
Sarah has been such a great friend to me for the past week: staying with me the nights I cry myself to sleep, bringing me food, even though I hardly eat it, not to mention all the times she has spent just lying next to me on the bed as a comfort. Poor Chris is probably sick of me occupying all of her time, taking her away from him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hates me by now. I absolutely hate myself. The landline rings, which is very rare, making Sarah and I jump.
Chris answers it, “Hello?”
“Hey, dude, how are you?” His voice tenses up which makes me look toward him. “Yeah, guessed as much,” he says, running his hand through his hair. “She… um… she’s not that good.” He looks up at me guiltily, and I know it’s Aiden on the other line. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, not yet.” He pauses for a moment. “I know, man, she’s miserable too.” Still looking at me, his brows crease and a frown appears on his face. I swallow hard, knowing they’re talking about me. “To be honest, I don’t know. She’s pretty wrecked,” he says, turning his back to me and talking quietly. I’m assuming it’s so I can’t hear, but I can. “Yeah, I will. Take care of yourself. You have my cell number if you need to talk, anytime,” he says, sounding concerned. “Yeah, man, I’ll tell her,” he says, exhaling. “Alright, see ya,” Chris says then hangs up the phone.
Sarah gazes back at Chris, as I stare into nothingness feeling numb. I feel cheated knowing that Aiden was just a phone call away, yet I didn’t attempt to talk to him. I’m conflicted. I miss him so much, but I can’t bring myself to talk to him. I know if I do, I will likely fall straight back into his arms, and I can’t do that. I’m too angry. If only he had been there when Jason did… what he did, then this wouldn’t even be happening right now.
“Jeni,” Chris says cautiously. “That was Aiden. He said… he said to tell you that he loves and misses you.”
My stomach wrenches when Chris says the words. Tears well in my eyes again as images of Aiden on the floor clutching at my engagement ring flood my mind. I start to breathe heavily when I feel the panic set it. Sarah notices what’s happening. She pulls my face with her hands so I look directly at her. I flinch, because it hurts my fractured eye socket.
“Jeni, this is ridiculous! You love him. He loves you. What’s the issue?”
“Sarah!” Chris yells.
“No! She needs to wake up. This is craziness, Chris. Jeni, why are you avoiding him?”
I sigh and shake my head. “Because he wasn’t… he wasn’t there,” I say quietly.
“Wasn’t where, Jeni?”
“He left just before Jason did… well this.” I point to my face.
“So, how exactly was Aiden supposed to know that stupid, pathetic son of a bitch, Jason would do this to you? How’s this Aiden’s fault? Explain it to me, Jeni,” Sarah yells, frustrated with me.
I glare at her. “It just is!”
I get up and storm to my room. Quite fittingly, another clap of thunder sounds. I slump down on my bed, and curl up in a ball. I hear a knock at my door and ignore it.
“Jeni?” I hear Chris ask.
I instantly feel relieved that it’s not Sarah. “Come in,” I say, sitting up on my bed while he sits down on the edge.
“Jeni, I know you blame Aiden for what happened, and I certainly see where you’re coming from, but don’t you think you should talk to him? I can come with you, if you feel uncomfortable going on your own. I think he needs to see you and hear whether or not you want your relationship to be over.”
I know Chris is making sense, and his offer of going with me is tempting.
“I know, I want to see him, but I’m afraid if I do, I’ll give in and go running back into his arms.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“Yes, I’m angry at him for leaving me vulnerable. If he hadn’t have left, then I wouldn’t be here now, miserable and unhappy. I trusted him, Chris, I trusted him to keep me safe. He promised me… he promised he would keep me safe.”
“Jeni, I really think you need to talk this out with him. He deserves that much.”
“Okay,” I say hesitantly.
“Good, when do you want to go?”
My heart is saying now, right now, but my head says never.
“I’ll get dressed and we can go now. Will you come with me?” I plead.
“Of course, Jeni, I’m here for both of you,” Chris says, leaving my bedroom for me to get dressed.
I find my comfy grey sweat pants and an old pink sweater; I put on some shoes and walk to the dining room with mixed emotions. On one side I am ecstatic to be seeing Aiden again, but on the other more terrifying side I’m going back to that apartment where all this mess started. I will see Aiden, and in a way I feel like my soul has been dying without him, and maybe he can bring me back to life. I quickly squash that thought as my anger returns. I just can’t seem to get past my utter disappointment in him.
“You’re going to go like that?” Sarah asks.
I nod my head. Chris glares at her sternly, like he’s telling her to shut up. I put my hair up in a ponytail and grab my handbag. Chris walks with me to his car. We drive in silence to the apartment, rain pours heavily on the windshield; my heart is pounding in my chest, making my breathing shallow and short. I feel lightheaded. I can see out of the corner of my eye that Chris keeps peering at me while he drives. We arrive at the parking garage, Chris pulls up next to the Aston Martin and we get out of his car. He squeezes my hand and we walk to the elevator. The panic flooding my veins suddenly overwhelms me. I turn to Chris.
“I can’t do this,” I say and head back toward the car.
“Jeni, Jeni, stop.” Chris says. He takes hold of my arm at the elbow and stops me in my tracks. “Jeni, listen to me. You need to see him, to tell him how you feel, and then you can either move on or start to work things out. He deserves to know either way; it’s the right thing to do.”
I sigh and even though my heart feels ready to burst, I know that Chris is right. I gather the courage and walk back toward the elevator and pull out the key card from my bag. Chris pushes the button and the doors open. I exhale and step in with him. He lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulders, holding me tightly to him. I’m so lucky to have Chris in my life; he really is like the brother I never had. I feel so safe around him, and right now, he’s my safe place.
“Remember, I’m right here beside you.”
My brain is in overload with all of these conflicting emotions. Elation that I will see Aiden but also an undeniable anger and sense of disappointment toward him. I really hate this place and what it represents: pain, anger, hurt, betrayal, and most of all, the loss of something that was so amazing. The elevator stops and so does my heart. The doors open to a quiet dark apartment.
We walk into the living room; Chris has his arm wrapped tightly around me. The lights are off, and through the windows, I see Aiden is sitting on the balcony with his back facing us. A nearly empty whisky bottle is on the table and a small glass in his hand. He has a blanket wrapped around him. I see his hair disheveled, and not in a good way. I swallow a lump in my throat as the sight of him looking so depressed brings new nerves to the surface. Chris starts to walk toward the balcony, taking me by the arm with him.
“I can’t,” I whisper, as fear grips me, a fear of being hurt, a fear of hurting him. Either way, I am terrified of feeling any more pain than I already feel.
“Jeni, you have to,” Chris s
ays loudly, making Aiden turn his head and look straight at us.
Aiden’s eyes lock onto mine. His once beautiful sparkling blue eyes are now distant, dull, and full of anguish. He stares right at me. Aiden stands, dropping the blanket to the floor. He stumbles, trying to get inside to me, but he falls, breaking his whisky glass when he lands.
He stumbles to get back up and staggers into the apartment toward Chris and me. I can smell the whisky on his breath as he shuffles towards us. I can’t move. I am stuck in this spot as my body won’t allow me to do any different. I am so happy to see him but devastated to see him this way. He looks as broken as I feel.
“Jeni,” he whispers.
Chris makes his way to the balcony, closing the door behind him, leaving us alone.
“You’re here? God I miss you baby,” he says stumbling toward me. He looks terrible; he hasn’t shaved and is wearing the same clothes he was wearing the day I left. “I love you so much,” he stutters, choking out his words.
“Aiden… I…”
He’s looking at me intently waiting for me to finish my sentence.
“You look terrible,” I say, making him chuckle.
“Well, you look beautiful.”
I shake my head. “Aiden, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you love me.”
I close my eyes. I know he’s right—I do love him—there’s never been any doubt about that.
“Love’s never been the problem, Aiden. I’m still angry at you.”
He takes a step closer to me. “I know, baby. I’m so sorry; I’ve been kicking myself every day.”
I swallow another lump as I know what I am about to say will hurt him. “I don’t think I can forgive you.”
“Jeni, please. Please come home. I’m a mess without you,” he begs, swaying then falling to the ground in front of me.
“Aiden, get up!”
He stumbles and falls again.
“You’re so drunk that you probably won’t even remember I was here.”
He stands up wobbling and puts his hands onto my shoulders, shaking me.
