Waking up the next morning I lay in bed. I didn’t want to move from my comfortable spot, especially not when I wasn’t ready to face anyone.
I had a lot to do today, a lot of people to talk to.
Without warning the door to my room opens and Ben bounces in.
“Ah, good, you’re awake.” He grins. “Come on, we’re going to go out for a bit.”
“I don’t know if I can.” I sigh.
“Matt and Eric already said that you could come with us.” Ben replies.
“Who’s all coming along?” I ask next.
“It’s just going to be me, Maggie, and Jayce.” Ben answers.
“Okay, I’ll go. I need to talk with Jayce anyway.” I sigh and then groan before rolling to get out of bed.
“Yeah, he was saying something about that last night before bed.” Ben states as he watches me stand to my feet.
I groan again as I amble my way over to my dresser.
Pausing I glance over to Ben. “What exactly should I wear?”
“Wear something sexy, but comfortable.” Ben smirks.
I laugh out abruptly and then grab the first thing from my open drawer to throw at him.
Unfortunately for me the drawer I had opened had been my underwear drawer and what I had ended up throwing at him was a lace bra.
Ben gasps dramatically as he catches the bra and then holds it up into the air.
My cheeks heat as I cover my face in embarrassment.
“Definitely wear this, Eve.” Ben chuckles as he tosses the bra back to me.
I snort and then point towards the door. “Go, Ben, I’ll be ready in just a few minutes.”
He nods with a smirk before thankfully leaving me in my room alone.
Shaking my head I look down to the bra in my hands before deciding to wear it anyway. I just needed to find the matching panties and I would be ready to go.
After slipping on a pair of skinny jeans and a deep purple tee shirt I sit on the edge of my bed to slip on my favorite knee high black boots.
Once they’re on I quickly brush my hair before tying it back in a high ponytail.
Approving my look in my mirror I smile and then head downstairs.
I’m greeted by Jayce at the bottom of the stairs and before I can react he pulls me into his arms before leaning his head down to plant his lips firmly against mine.
When he leans back I catch Eric glaring at me from over Jayce’s shoulder.
Grabbing Jayce’s hand I sigh. “Can I talk to you outside for a minute?”
Jayce nods and I lead him through the house and into the backyard where we could be alone while we talked this all through.
Letting his hand free I take a few steps away from him, turning my back to him.
Breathing in deeply I turn back around to face Jayce.
“Jayce…what do you want from me?” I blurt.
It wasn’t what I had initially wanted to say but it was all out there now. The ball was in his court, so to speak.
He takes a step closer to me as he gazes into my eyes. “I want to be more than just friends, Eve.”
That’s what I had figured.
“Kissing you last night was amazing. I wish it would have been under different circumstances but it made me want more.” Jayce explains.
“If we do anything we have to take it slow, okay. I still have lingering feelings for Liam.” I confess as I step closer to Jayce.
“You do?” He asks.
I nod and bow my head. “I have a history with him. It may not be much but there was something between us.”
He nods and glances away from me for a moment before turning his attention back to me. “Before we go anywhere with this you need to end things once and for all with him. I’m not going to be strung along until you figure out what, or who, you want or don’t want.”
I nod my head. “Can you tell Ben and Maggie I won’t be coming along then?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell them.” Jayce grunts before leaving me alone in the back yard.
After only a few minutes of standing outside alone, Eric joins me before wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
“What happened?” He asks gently.
“I decided that I wanted something with Jayce but then I confessed to still having feelings for Liam. Jayce left. He doesn’t want anything until I end things with Liam completely.” I answer honestly.
“So, you still do have feelings for Liam.” Eric grunts.
“I need to end them so I can move on.” I sigh. “I’m going to talk to him now, if you don’t mind that is.”
“I don’t mind, Eve, but you need to be careful around him.” Eric replies.
“I will be.” I reassure.
“How about you bring him here instead of going over to his house?” Eric suggests.
Nodding my head I sigh. “That would probably be best. I don’t think I could actually walk into his house without being overwhelmed with images of Cole.”
Patting my shoulder Eric walks back into the house.
Sighing I will my legs to begin moving. Unfortunately they decide to stay firmly planted in place. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
I was a bundle of mixed up emotions.
“Come on, Eve, you can do this. You can face him.” I coax myself.
After a few more minutes of coaching myself silently my legs finally listen to my demands and begin moving.
I walk into the house and through the front door before walking down the sidewalk and then across the street towards Liam’s house.
My hands shake the closer I get.
My nerves were getting the better of me, plus I was fighting off the memories that just walking towards this house brought.
I had spent nearly three years walking to this house just to see Cole.
He would have met me halfway on his front lawn if he was still alive.
When we had been together he would always rush from his front door to greet me with a long kiss before he would spin me around in his arms.
I missed that.
Stopping for a moment I allow the impact of that memory slam into me.
My heart thumps against my ribs as pain suddenly slices through my chest.
Closing my eyes I let out a shaky breath before gaining enough strength to move on towards the front door.
Once I’m standing in front of the dark wooden door I raise my hand to ring the doorbell.
It chimes inside the house.
It takes a few minutes but the front door opens to reveal Amy wearing nothing but one of Liam’s shirts.
She instantly places her hand on her hip as she glares at me. “What are you doing here?”
I laugh abruptly and then shake my head.
I really was a fool to think that Liam would have ended what he was doing with her in order to get me back.
“I’m an idiot. I honestly…” I trail off as Liam suddenly steps up behind Amy wearing just his jeans ridding low on his hips.
“What’s going on? Why are you here, Eve?” Liam questions with a raised brow as he gently pushes his way past Amy.
I don’t say a word, my voice was long gone.
Sighing Liam turns to Amy. “Babe, can you go back upstairs. I’ll be back up in a minute.”
She nods but sends a glare my way before turning with a huff and a hair toss.
When she disappears from view Liam turns his full attention towards me as he places one of his hands on the door frame above his head.
“Why did you come over here, Eve?” He questions again, softly this time.
Bowing my head I find my voice. “I wanted to talk with you.” Raising my face I motion past him. “But it looks like you’re busy so I’ll just go.”
Without another word I turn my back to him and begin walking away.
“Come on, Eve, we can talk.” Liam calls out from his position still in his doorway.
I turn around and point to him, ready to give him a piece of my mind but I think better of it and shake my hea
d before turning back around to continue on my way back home.
As of right now I was done.
Liam was as dead to me as his brother was.
I would not, and could not, waste another breath on him.
Moving on was what I needed to do.
Just as I make it to my front door I’m swung around to face Liam.
“Talk to me, Eve.” He pleads as he pins me back against the door with his hands placed on the door on either side of me.
I was trapped for the moment.
“I’m done, Liam. I wanted to talk to you but I realized I don’t need to. Anything I felt for you left the moment she opened the door wearing your shirt.” I spit out.
It was a bit more than I had wanted to say, but it was out now.
“She means nothing to me, Eve.” Liam tries.
I shake my head and bite my bottom lip before replying to him. “That’s where you’re wrong, Liam, I’m the one who meant nothing to you. If I had then you would have gotten rid of her the second I came back.”
“I’ll get rid of her now then if that’s what you want.” Liam replies.
I shake my head again and laugh lightly. “What I want is for you to go back home and forget I even exist. Forget whatever we had between us because for me it’s completely over.”
“Give me one more chance. If I would have known you felt…” Liam begins but I cut him off with a single look.
“You should have fought a little harder for me. I had so much regret and grief on my plate after Cole died. I needed time to heal. You should have given me time.” I whisper.
“I didn’t have time. You left so quickly, before I even had time to heal.” Liam replies gently as he strokes my cheek with the back of his knuckles.
“For those first few weeks I would have given anything to be in your arms, Liam.” I confess. “The only reason I never sought you out was because I thought you hated me.”
“I didn’t hate you. I hated myself for what happened. I tried talking to Cole about what had happened between us. You have to believe me that I tried.” Liam stresses.
“You talked to him?” I ask.
He nods. “I did. He confronted me that morning after you had snuck out. “
“What did he say?” I push.
I had to know what Cole’s final thoughts had been. I needed to know if it had been entirely my fault that he had decided to take his own life.
“He knew it was going to happen, Eve. He wasn’t even mad. The only thing that he confessed was that he disappointed. He did tell me that he was going to allow us to be together if that’s what we wanted.” Liam sighs roughly as he closes his eyes. “I didn’t realize that he was planning on taking himself out of the picture completely.”
“He was depressed, Liam.” I reason.
Liam only shakes his head as he reopens his eyes. “You made him happy.”
“But I wasn’t enough. I was never enough. No matter how hard I tried nothing I did was ever enough to keep him happy.” I argue lightly.
“You’re enough to keep me happy.” Liam replies quietly.
This time I shake my head as I motion to his stay of undress. “If I had been enough then you wouldn’t be sleeping with other girls. You would have stayed by my side, held me as I cried, and you would have helped me heal. You wouldn’t have left me alone.”
He shuts his eyes again. “Please, don’t push me away.”
“We’re finished, Liam. Let me move on so I can find some happiness again.” I reply gently.
“Who are you going to find that with, Jayce? He’s as damaged as Cole was.” Liam clips out a bit harshly.
“It doesn’t matter.” I argue.
Liam nods as he clenches his jaw while glancing away from me absently.
When he turns back I see a renewed determination to make me his held deep within his eyes. I see it right before he pushes forward and brushes his lips against mine.
Instead of responding to him I rush to grab the door handle behind me before opening it so I could step back away from him.
With a look of shock Liam watches me as I slam the door in his face.
“Seriously, Eve, you’re going to shut me out?” He bellows from the other side as I lock the door.
“I already told you that I was done, Liam.” I reply before leaving him behind at the door.
I walk past Eric and Matt as they peek out from the kitchen.
They give me questioning looks, but I wasn’t ready to say another word.
Moving up to my room I hurry to lock my windows so that Liam had no other way to get inside. I don’t know why I hadn’t locked all of them before to keep him out but right now I was done.
I had to keep him from trying to sway my decision.
I was moving on.
Chapter 15
Dear Diary,
I really hope I did the right thing. Moving on is the only way I’ll be able to get past him. I need to search for my happiness again. I lost it somewhere along the way…
“That boy just won’t take no for an answer.” Eric grunts as he walks into my bedroom and sits on the edge of my bed.
Placing my arm over my head I sigh. “Can’t we do something to make him stop?”
“Princess, I don’t think there is. I even hit him with the hose and it did nothing.” Eric snorts. “You’d think since he’s half dressed it would be too cold to continue standing out there.”
I laugh out loudly. “You didn’t.”
“Oh, I did. It wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be though.” Eric replies.
Just as our laughter dies down a sudden knock at the window has us both jumping in surprise.
“You’re going to have to figure out some way to get rid of him, Princess.” Eric sighs as he stands to his feet and points towards Liam on the other side of the window before motioning for him to leave.
When Liam doesn’t move Eric shakes his head and then glances towards me before leaving me behind in my room to deal with it myself.
I groan as I roll over and bury my head into my pillow.
“Please, talk to me some more, Eve?” Liam pleads from the other side of the window.
I groan again and glance in his direction. “We have nothing more to talk about. I said what I needed to say.”
He doesn’t say another word as the door to my room opens.
I look over to see Jayce.
I rush to sit up in my bed.
“What’s going on?” He questions as he motions towards Liam on the other side of the window and then towards me.
“I ended things but he doesn’t seem to want to get the hint.” I state as I direct the last part towards Liam.
Jayce snorts in response and then remains quiet for a brief moment.
“So, does that mean…” He trails off.
“I want to be more with you than just friends.” I fill in for him as I stand to my feet and make my way over towards him.
Stopping just in front of him I look up. “Do you still want to be more than friends?”
Glancing over my shoulder Jayce grins. “I want you, Eve.”
A moment later he strokes his knuckles over my cheek tenderly before leaning in for a kiss.
Our lips meet with a slight shock before his hands grip my hips, pulling me in for a deeper more passionate kiss.
I couldn’t help but melt in his embrace.
But at the same time everything just felt…wrong.
Ignoring that wrongness I close my eyes and wrap my arms around his neck as he lifts me up, placing my legs around his waist before carrying me back over to my bed.
As he lays me down he gazes into my eyes as if I was the only girl in the world.
I felt as if his soul was speaking directly to mine.
“Tell me when you want to stop.” Jayce whispers a second before his lips descend on the sensitive skin just under my ear.
I can’t help the soft moan that falls from my lips as his warm body presses into mine.
For some reason I give into the urge to look towards my window.
Liam was watching us with hatred, it wasn’t hatred directed towards me though. His eyes were fully glued onto Jayce above me.
When his eyes do meet mine they soften and then fill with determination.
He mouths two words to me ‘you’re mine’, it was a promise of sorts, or a threat.
Either way, I didn’t want to admit that it had made my heart soar.
I had to shove those emotions to the back of my mind before they could ruin what I was trying to find, before they ruined my chance at a new start.
After a long stare between Liam, and I, he finally makes his move to leave my window.
As soon as he’s gone from sight Jayce pulls back with a sigh. “That took a lot longer than I thought it would. Your dad was right, that boy is determined.”
I laugh out softly as I press my hands to his chest. “He’s relentless.”
“Well, hopefully he won’t be a problem now.” Jayce grunts as he begins to push himself off of me.
Instead of letting him go I grab onto his shirt and tug him back down. “I never told you to stop.” I whisper.
He grins before pressing his lips down against mine once again.
“I’m going to have to go, Sweetheart. I was only supposed to stay long enough to help you get rid of Liam.” Jayce sighs as he rolls onto his back beside me on the bed.
“Did Eric invite you over?” I question curiously as I prop myself up on my elbow so I could look down at him.
Jayce nods and then laughs lightly. “He did, but don’t be mad at him. I completely understood his frustrations with the guy. I highly doubted that he wanted to invite me over to stay locked up in his daughter’s room though. Don’t get me wrong I could stay in here all day and kiss you.”
I nod my head in agreement and smile widely. “I didn’t mind it so much.”
“I know you didn’t, Sweetheart, but if we want this to work out we need to slow down a little bit so we can get to know each other first.” Jayce insists.
I nod again and then sigh as I place my other hand onto Jayce’s chest. “We can talk tonight, how about that. We can watch a movie together or something.”
Jayce nods his head but sighs. “I already promised Ben and Maggie that I would hang out with them since I bailed on them earlier to help you out.”
When Tomorrow Never Comes Page 10
