Alive (Mended Hearts #1)

by Beth Maria

  “This place is beautiful, Jesse. Thank you,” Maisie says, taking my hand across the table and staring at me lovingly.

  “You’re welcome, baby. You know I’d do anything for you. This is just a tiny step in proving that to you,” I say, giving her a warm smile.

  “Thank you. You’re the best.”

  I have to kiss her now. I lean over the table, being careful of the candle, and give her a lingering kiss, savoring the feel of her soft, puckered lips pressed against mine. Mmm, heaven.

  Breaking the kiss before I get carried away, I sit back down and start looking at the menu.

  The waitress comes back over to take our order a few minutes later.

  “Are you ready to order?” the waitress asks, pen and paper ready.

  “Yes. I’ll have the spaghetti Bolognese with a water, please,” I tell her. I don’t know what half of the things on the menu are, so I’m playing it safe with the spaghetti.

  “And you, Miss?” she asks, looking toward Maisie.

  “Oh, I’ll have the beef stroganoff with a water, please.”

  “Your drinks will be with you shortly,” the waitress says, then takes the menus and leaves us alone again.

  “Very adventurous, Jesse. Spaghetti Bolognese. Seriously?” Maisie asks, laughing at my choice of food.

  “Hey, I don’t know what half of the other stuff is. Plus, this better be fucking good spaghetti for $30. Most expensive spaghetti in the world!” I tell her, feigning shock. I’ve never paid more than $10 for food. This is new for me, but like I said before, anything for my girl. $30 is a small price to pay for her.

  “I’m sure it will be fantastic. Though, I’m sure you do know what some of the other stuff is,” she says, still laughing.

  “Well, if they wrote properly, instead of using all those fancy words, people might be able to understand what they mean.” I probably do know what some of the other stuff is, but when they use all those fancy words, how is a man who’s never been to a restaurant like this, or who isn’t a chef, supposed to know what it is? I sure don’t. I probably never will.

  “We’ll do some research, so you’re not blindsided in case we ever come here again.”

  Damn, she’s already thinking about spending my money when I’ve not even paid for this meal yet. I have a feeling that I’m going to be doing a lot of extra hours at work over the next few months.

  “Are you planning on stealing my money, and then dumping me?” I ask, joking.

  Putting her hand to her chest, she says, “Me? Would I do that to you?”

  “Would you?” I ask, staring her down.

  “You won’t know until I steal your money, will you?” she laughs, tipping her head back.

  It’s good to see her so carefree. Times like this make me realize that love is a good thing. I was just making excuses and protecting myself when I was younger. I’m glad I finally let someone in for once. If it doesn’t work out between us, at least I can say I’ve had the experience of knowing what love feels like. I just hope and pray that it lasts forever.

  “Take it. Take it all,” I beg her, arms out to the side, baring myself open.

  “Maybe another day,” she winks.

  The waitress comes back with our drinks, the food following not long after.

  Tucking into my original choice of spaghetti Bolognese, I moan. God, this is the best spaghetti I’ve ever tasted. It’s definitely worth the amount of money they are asking for it.

  “I take it that you’re enjoying it by the orgasmic noises that you’re making?” Maisie asks with her fork poised in front of her mouth.

  “Definitely. Want to try a bit?” I ask, putting some onto my fork for her.

  “Sure.”

  “Do you want to do this lady and the tramp style or eat it off my fork?” I ask while wiggling my eyebrows up and down.

  Laughing, she replies, “I think I’ll just eat it off of your fork. It might be frowned upon if we do the other option.”

  “Touché, baby.” Feeding her, I watch her face as she savors the flavor.

  “Mmm,” she says, licking her lips clean.

  The sight of her licking her lips like that makes me hard. Damn it. I swear her lips have magical powers.

  I discreetly rearrange myself, trying to make myself more comfortable with the hard rod between my legs, and then try to casually carry on eating.

  We eat the rest of our meal while making small talk. Luckily, Maisie doesn’t notice that I have a problem downstairs, so I have time to recover.

  Feeling full, I lean back in my chair and rub my stomach.

  Maisie takes a sip of her drink, her sweet lips around the edge of her glass. Even that turns me on. She doesn’t have a clue what she does to me. I’m infatuated by her. Completely.

  The bulge in my pocket reminds me that I still haven’t given her gift to her. Fiddling around with it in my pocket, my nerves start to get the better of me. I’m not used to buying girls presents yet, though, I only plan on buying presents for Maisie. “I’ve got something for you. I was going to give it to you on Christmas, but since you’re not going to be here, I want to give it to you now.” After pulling the square box out of my pant pocket, I gently place it on the table in front of her.

  She looks down at it, a nervous smile on her face. “Just open it,” I tell her. It’s not helping that she’s taking her damn sweet time.

  She tentatively reaches her hand out, picking the box up.

  She slowly unwraps it, and I watch as she lifts the lid and her hand shoots to her open mouth. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Fuck if I know. Shit. Maybe she doesn’t like it.

  “I can take it back if you don’t like it,” I rush out.

  Frantically shaking her head no, tears form in her eyes. Why does this happen every time I get her a gift? Maybe, just maybe, one day I will be able to buy her something without starting the water works. It’s very confusing. Does she like it, or doesn’t she?

  “Are you sure? Because I still have the receipt. Just tell me if you hate it,” I ask for reassurance.

  Finally removing her hand, she cries out, “No. I won’t allow you to take it back. I love it, Jesse. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

  Thank you, God.

  “Do you need help putting it on?” I ask, reaching for the box.

  I take the bracelet out and clasp it onto her wrist, watching how beautifully it sits.

  I’m so relieved that she loves it. When I was looking for the perfect gift, I wanted something that was meaningful to her. I came across the bracelet when I went into Pandora after a whole day of shopping. I knew it was meant for Maisie the second that I set eyes on it.

  Maisie

  It’s so beautiful. I can’t take my eyes off of it. Jesse bought me a Pandora bracelet. It isn’t the bracelet that causes the tears to fall. No. It’s the charm that he chose. It holds a lot of meaning for us.

  Jesse picked out an elephant charm. To most people, it wouldn’t be anything special. To me? It’s the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me. He always seems to do that. He knows me. He knows me really well.

  On our first date, when he took me to the zoo, he bought me a stuffed elephant. I cuddle that to sleep every night that I’m not with him. He got it for me because he knew that my favorite animal is the elephant.

  And now he’s bought me the charm so that I can wear it every day as a reminder.

  He truly is the most amazing, sweetest, romantic guy I have ever met, and I love him so much.

  “Thank you, Jesse. I love it so much,” I try to tell him through my tears.

  “You’re welcome, baby. Anything for you. You mean so much to me. I wanted to get you the perfect gift, one that would hold a lot of meaning for you. When I saw this, I knew it was the perfect thing to buy you,” he says, crouching down in front of me and staring straight into my eyes.

  I stare back into his, getting lost. They are such dark orbs, sucking me in. One day, I’m going to get lost in them. I’m sure of it.


  “What did I do to find someone as perfect as you?” I ask him dreamily.

  “Baby, I think I should be asking you that question.”

  “No, seriously. I was so horrible to you when we first met. I didn’t even give you a chance,” I tell him, feeling horrible as hell. He really didn’t deserve all the shit I put him through when we first met. He never really did anything to upset me. He just tried to get to know me. I threw him away without a second glance for ages. He never gave up on me, though, and for that, I will be forever grateful.

  “Maisie, you only knew me from my reputation. Any normal girl would have done the same, and I don’t blame you. Heck, I would have done the same if I was a girl. I’m the lucky one, that you gave me a chance in the first place. I can’t promise you that we won’t argue because we will. We already have. I can only promise that I will try to be what you need. I will try to give you the world, baby. You have my promise on that. You deserve nothing but the best. You truly are so special to me.” Tears stream harder down my face. He really is unbelievable.

  I wrap my arms around his neck and sob into his chest, never wanting to let him go. He hugs me back just as tightly, letting me know how much I mean to him through his actions. I do the same back, not being able to find the right words to say to him right now. Nothing I could say would be as beautiful as what he just said to me, anyway.

  We stay like this for a few minutes, until people start to stare at us. Pulling away, I wipe my tears and try to make myself presentable.

  Jesse sits back down, taking a hold of my hand, not once breaking contact.

  “I have your present at your house, by the way. Your mom’s been looking after it for me,” I tell him with a wink. I knew that he would go snooping around my room, looking for it, so for safe keeping, I asked his mom to hide it. He would never have thought I’d ask her for help.

  “You sneaky woman! No wonder I couldn’t find anything. I thought you might have forgotten to get me something,” he tells me, pulling a sad face.

  I laugh. “Seriously? Why would I forget to get you anything, you silly man?”

  “Well, when I couldn’t find anything, I thought that was a possibility. Or that maybe you were really good at hiding things. I never thought you would team up with my mom,” he says, squinting at me.

  “That’s exactly why I asked her,” I tell him, a smug smile of achievement on my face.

  “Well, let’s get the check and go home, so I can open my present,” Jesse says, acting like a little kid.

  My present to him probably didn’t cost as much as the bracelet did. It probably isn’t even as thoughtful. I just hope he likes it as much as I love my present.

  After paying the check, we take my car back to his house.

  “So where is it?” Jesse asks as soon as we walk through the front door.

  “Give me a chance, will you?” I ask, chuckling at his eagerness.

  “Fine,” he huffs, crossing his arms like a four year old boy who hasn’t gotten his way.

  Upstairs, I tell Jesse to wait, and then knock on Anna’s door before walking in.

  She’s lying in bed, looking comfy and reading another book. That woman is always reading.

  “Hey, don’t mind me. I just need to know where you put my present for Jesse.” I tell her.

  “It’s on the top shelf in my closet. Has he given you your present yet?” she asks, a huge smile on her face.

  I’m guessing she knows what he bought me then.

  Not trying to hide the smile on my face, I show her my wrist. “He did.”

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? He told me why he chose an elephant. Who knew my son could be so romantic?”

  We both laugh at that.

  “Hey, I can hear you, you know!” Jesse shouts through the door.

  “Good!” Anna shouts back, giving me a wink.

  They both love winding each other up.

  After fetching the present, I turn back to Anna. “I better give this to him. He’s been acting like a kid for the last half hour,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “Yeah, he tends to get like that. Good luck.”

  Leaving the room, I ignore Jesse standing in the hallway and make my way to his room.

  “Sit down,” I tell him, pointing toward the bed.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I’ve never been so nervous to give someone a present before. Matt and I always told each other what we wanted. Jesse gave me no ideas whatsoever, even when I begged him, so I thought out of the box.

  Pacing in front of him like a caged tiger, I tell him, “It didn’t cost as much as the present you bought me, and it’s not as thoughtful. I didn’t know what to get you, but I tried my hardest. I just hope you like it. If you don’t, then I’ll take you to choose something.”

  “Calm down,” he laughs at me. “I’m sure I will love it. Now, pass me my present.” He snatches the present out of my hand and gets it unwrapped before I’ve had the chance to blink.

  Biting my nails, I watch as he inspects it. I made a collage of photos of us since we starting dating. At the time, I thought it sounded so cool, like the perfect gift. Now? I’m not so sure. It seems pathetic.

  “Do you like it?” I ask nervously when he still hasn’t spoken a few minutes later.

  “Like it?” he asks, finally looking at me. His face doesn’t give anything away. Crap… He hates it.

  Subtly nodding, he answers, “I don’t like it.” My heart feels like it’s just been crushed. “I love it, baby.”

  I check to see if he really means it, or if he’s just saying that to spare my feelings. He’s smiling at me. It’s a proper smile, too. My mood lifts, happy that he actually likes what I got him.

  “I thought you hated it. You didn’t speak for ages.”

  “I was looking at all of the photos, remembering the memories that go with them. That’s why. Why would I hate it?” he asks, genuinely looking confused.

  “I already told you that it didn’t cost nearly as much as what you got me, and it’s not even nearly as thoughtful.”

  Jesse taps the space next to him, telling me to sit, so I do.

  “I don’t care how much it cost, babe. This is special to me. There are so many memories wrapped into one present. If anything, this is more thoughtful than what I got you. It doesn’t matter about price, as long as we both love what we got. You love your gift, right?”

  “Of course I do,” I tell him, holding my charm in my hand.

  “And I love what you got me. That’s all that matters.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Now, come here and give me a hug and remove that frown from your face. Your face is too beautiful to look like that.” He sets his present on the bed and opens his arms wide for me to enter.

  Wrapped in his embrace, I exhale, feeling like the happiest girl. My charm glints off the light from the room. I really do have the best boyfriend. He gets me more than anybody ever has. I never want to lose him.

  “Let’s get an early night. You have a long drive tomorrow,” Jesse, says, reminding me that I’m leaving him. Again.

  I begrudgingly agree with him, so we get changed and get into bed.

  We recap memories from the photo frame that I got him until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. Arms wrapped around Jesse, my head on his chest, the sound of his breathing is a lullaby, sending to me sleep.

  Chapter 22

  Jesse

  Waiting to see Maisie again after the Christmas break was the longest week of my life. It’s also the longest we’ve been away from each other.

  We talked on the phone every day, and texted when we weren’t on the phone, but it still didn’t help me to not miss her.

  I spent my days at work, football practice, and seeing Brandon. I’m not going to lie; I got drunk a couple of times, resulting in drunken calls to Maisie. Some of the stuff that she told me I’d said was embarrassing. I can’t even repeat it.

  Christmas day was the same as always. Mom and
I opened presents in the morning. I helped prepare lunch, and then we sat down and ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. We spent the rest of the day watching crummy Christmas TV.

  That was two weeks ago.

  Everything has been going smoothly since then. Maisie and I are going strong. Mom and I are getting along well, and she seems to be getting better. I just have this terrible feeling that everything is about to turn to shit. Call it a bad omen. Things in my life can’t be good for long. Two weeks is too long in my life. I’m just patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it will. I can feel it in my bones. It’s just a matter of time.

  I finish classes early today, so I’m heading home to wait for Maisie, who is coming over when her classes are done in an hour.

  As I pull into my drive, something feels off.

  Inspecting the area, my eyes land on the front door, which is standing wide open. It shouldn’t be open… Mom always makes sure that the door is locked after I leave, and she hardly ever leaves the house, unless it’s shopping day or she has work. She has neither of those today.

  Cautiously walking to the front door, and trying not to make my presence known, I listen for any sounds.

  Nothing.

  Shit. I need a weapon. Choosing the nearest thing that could possibly do damage, I pick up one of Mom’s umbrellas. It will have to do.

  “Mom?” I whisper, thinking she might hear me if she’s hiding.

  When I step into the living room, the umbrella falls to my side.

  I don’t have to look any further for my mom. She’s in the corner of the room, unconscious and covered in blood. The man accountable for it is sitting on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, looking relaxed.

  “Good afternoon, Jesse,” he slurs.

  I’m going to fucking kill him. I rush over to my mom and check to see if she’s got a pulse. I feel a faint one. Thank you, God. I can’t lose my mom.

  “What the fuck have you done to her, you piece of shit?” I growl, my voice sounding deadly even to my own ears.

  “Oh, nothing that silly cunt didn’t deserve,” he says, dismissing my mom like a piece of trash.