Stay With Me (A Wattpad Novel)

by Jessica Cunsolo

  “Guess we shouldn’t have done that when we don’t have an escape waiting.” Aiden laughs, his eyes light and shining as they focus on me.

  A quick glance behind us at the house makes it clear no one’s following us to yell at us. “It certainly does undercut the drama, but at least they’re too busy cleaning it up.”

  Aiden’s smile is genuine as he pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close, his chest rumbling in time with his chuckles.

  20

  We spend the next day walking down the beach and into town, shopping until we can’t shop anymore, and trying to get our minds off of what happened last night. Aiden didn’t really go into detail with our friends, but they know it didn’t go well. By the time we get back from shopping, we’re all exhausted.

  I’m in Aiden’s room lying on the bed, eating a Nutella sandwich for dinner while scrolling through my laptop and waiting for him to come back with more sandwiches.

  I’m so deep down the rabbit hole of watching random YouTube videos that I only notice that Aiden has been gone for much longer than it should take to get more sandwiches when my stomach growls.

  He better not have gotten distracted and forgotten about my Nutella.

  When I open the door to go find him, he’s standing right in front of it about to come in, one hand holding a plate of sandwiches, the other pressing his phone to his ear.

  “As always, it’s been a pleasure talking to you, Andrew. Go fuck yourself.” He hangs up the phone and I stare at him with wide eyes.

  “That was Andrew,” he says flatly, stepping around me and into the room.

  “I gathered as much.” I close the door and turn around to look at him. “What happened?”

  I sit cross-legged in front of him on the bed and take the sandwich that he holds out to me.

  “Oh, you know, just some thinly veiled threats. The usual.” He takes a bite of his own sandwich and rolls his eyes. “He was all, ‘I’m a powerful man with powerful connections, keep that in mind if you try to screw me over.’ ‘Promise to stay quiet and not cause trouble and I’ll keep everyone safe,’ blah, blah, blah.”

  Everyone safe.

  “He called you for the sole purpose of making sure you kept your mouth shut?” That must not have gone well. “What did you say?”

  His jaw clenches. “He’s pissing me off. Threatening me and my family? And have you noticed that black SUV with the blacked out windows that’s been parked across the street since last night? Surveillance? Really?”

  I feel the color drain from my face. “Someone’s been watching us? Are you sure it’s Andrew and not …?”

  He knows where my train of thought is headed and immediately comforts me.

  “It’s not Tony, I promise.” He puts his warm hand on my thigh and my heart automatically calms down. “I saw that it was Harvey when he rolled down the window to have a smoke.”

  I take a relieved breath. “Okay. What are we going to do about Andrew?”

  He lifts an amused eyebrow. “We?”

  “Of course we.” I give him a duh look. “What’s the plan?”

  Aiden finishes his sandwich and cleans his hands. “I told him I was absolutely going to give Vivienne Henfrey the inside story. She already hates him so he knows she’ll take this story and run with it.”

  “How did he react?”

  He chuckles. “Not very well. Lost his composure for a bit and taught me a few new swear combinations. Even if I don’t talk to the journalist, it was fun to see him sweat for a while.”

  Why is he playing this off like it’s no big deal? “Aren’t you worried he’ll make good on his threats?”

  Aiden’s smirk intensifies, his eyes smoldering with a combination of mischief and confidence that only he can pull off. “Are you worried about me, Thea?”

  I smack his chest. “Of course I’m worried!”

  He grabs my waist and without warning flips us over so that we’re lying down, with him on top of me. I pray my face isn’t heating up.

  “Don’t be,” he says soothingly. “You have enough to be worried about. I wouldn’t do anything that might risk Tony finding you. I just don’t want Andrew to think it’s that easy.”

  “I’m still going to worry,” I say. “The way he said Amelia totally freaked me out.”

  “He’s just being an asshole. He knows I care about you and he’s using that against me.” He pauses, then pushes my hair out of my face. “You know, I couldn’t have done any of that without you last night.” He smiles and looks deep into my eyes, a gleam in his that’s only there when he’s truly happy.

  “I didn’t even do anything,” I answer breathlessly.

  “You did everything,” he replies confidently and then he lowers his head and kisses me deeply, so intensely that my head feels like it’s spinning, that the world feels like it’s melted away, and all that matters is me and him and this moment.

  My hands travel up and down his back, feeling the muscles contract under my touch, secretly delighted that I can have such an effect on him. His hands tighten on my waist and he flips us over so that I’m on top of him, my body pressed tightly against his. His hands are all over me, leaving a trail of fire on my skin as he goes, and I know that I’ve never wanted anyone as much and as badly in my life as I want Aiden Parker.

  We gently pull apart and he gazes into my eyes, a lazy smile on his lips, and his thumbs gently running across my jaw. “I love you, Thea.”

  Wha—? I feel my face physically freeze in a look of shock and worry.

  He loves me?

  I suddenly and ungracefully roll off of him and sit up, not daring to look at him.

  Oh my God. I fucked up so badly.

  I feel him sit up quickly and he puts his hand on my arm. “Thea?”

  My face must be contorted in a panicked look because I feel him stiffen. “What’s wrong?”

  I say it without thinking about it, needing this emotional weight off my chest before it explodes. “I’m leaving in the new year when we get back home.”

  He freezes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that on January 3 I’m picking up my things and moving. I’ll become a Jennifer or an Erica or some other name that isn’t mine and start all over again.” I look away from him and into my lap, not wanting to see the look of betrayal in his eyes.

  “What? They can’t just force you to move for no reason! You’re safe here, and if you weren’t, I’d be the first damn person getting ready to protect you!”

  The fact that he thinks I don’t have a choice in the matter breaks my heart. Really, physically, breaks my heart. With every word he says it feels like someone is stabbing me in the chest with a knife and I can barely even look at him.

  “I think it’s a good idea to leave,” I whisper, staring at my hands in my lap.

  I feel him freeze beside me as he registers what that means. “What?” he asks in a flat, emotionless tone.

  “I have to leave, Aiden. You all mean too much to me to stay here. Where I go, people get hurt. People die. And I’m not going to be selfish and put everyone in danger without them knowing, without them even having a choice in the matter! As much as it hurts, the best thing for me to do in this situation is to just leave.”

  There’s anger in his eyes, betrayal. “Were you even planning on telling me or were you just planning to steal my heart and disappear without a second glance?”

  He stands up and runs his hands through his hair, and I scramble off of the bed to stand in front of him.

  “I—I wanted to tell you! I was going to—”

  “Yeah? When?” He turns around to face me, eyes blazing. “You were going to give me an hour’s notice before hopping in your car and waving a big fuck you to everyone?”

  The knife in my heart twists. “None of this was supposed to happen! I wasn’t supposed to make friends! I wasn’t supposed to fall in love—”

  “So you do love me?” he interrupts, his cool gray eyes set with determinatio
n, holding me prisoner.

  “How could I not?” My voice breaks at the end, and it’s taking all that I have to not completely break down.

  “Then don’t leave.” He steps closer to me but I back away, as if scared that his proximity will destroy any resolve I have.

  “I can’t.” My heart’s shattering into a million pieces.

  “Why the hell not?”

  “You know why, Aiden. I just told you. People get hurt because of me, people I care about. It’s inevitable. And I can’t afford to risk it, especially not now. My mom had decided a while ago, and now after the mayor, his threats, I have to go. I’ve been too selfish, but it’s time I put you above my own wants. You and everyone else. I can’t risk it, not this time.”

  His eyes are laser focused on me, the intensity burning a hole straight to my soul.

  “You told me that you contemplated just ending the running and hiding and just giving yourself up to Tony. But you didn’t. You said you were strong. You said that you didn’t take the easy way out. So prove it. Be strong now. Don’t take the easy way out by leaving. Stay here with us, with me.”

  I force myself to hold it together, at least until I’m no longer in his presence, even though there’s a hole in my chest where my heart should be and it feels like someone is squeezing my throat.

  “I can’t, Aiden. I just can’t. If your dad knows who I am—if it’s that easy to find out, then Tony’ll be a step behind. I can’t risk it. I can’t.”

  I turn my back on him and quickly leave the room before the single tear that escaped during my reply turns into full blown sobbing.

  21

  Tuesday, December 30, is not New Year’s Eve, but that doesn’t stop Erin from throwing a New Year’s Eve party at her house that night. She texted Mason and invited us to her Pre-NYE party, because, according to Erin, “There’s always a reason to get wasted if you look hard enough.” She even gave us the number for a local babysitter to watch Jason and Jackson, because apparently her Pre-NYE party is “fun as fuck” and she forbade us from missing it. Before we even agreed to go, we asked if Vee was going to be there, and Erin told us that Vee had a family event and wouldn’t be able to come.

  After thinking about it, we decided it would be cool to go to a party that wouldn’t be crashed by Silvers starting fights, and that Vee wouldn’t be at either. Aiden didn’t want to leave his brothers but the guys convinced him that out of all of us, he needs to have some fun. Plus, it’s not like he’s leaving them on New Year’s Eve, and the babysitter had great references and was apparently a pro at Return of the Zombie Aliens Part Three and a Half, which earned her bonus points with Jason and Jackson.

  So that’s where we currently are, at Erin’s massive house right on the beach, with what appears to be her whole school and the entire town’s supply of booze.

  “That group of guys has been staring at us for the last twenty minutes. Do you think they’ll come talk to us?” Charlotte asks with a tilt of her head in their direction.

  I casually look in the direction she hinted, and there’s a group of four guys staring at us. I guess a couple of them are conventionally good looking, but none of them are Aiden.

  “Do you want them to?” I ask.

  Charlotte shrugs and looks at her beer. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  I’m not having the greatest time at this party. With everything still unresolved with Aiden and still not having told Mason about our parents, it’s too hard to have fun, and I don’t think Charlotte or Annalisa are either. Charlotte’s still stressed about Chase and Noah, since they’re still not friends, and Annalisa’s conflicted about her brother.

  “They better not. Aiden would bite their heads off if they tried getting with you,” Annalisa says to me.

  I look down at my drink, my already sad mood worsening.

  “Doubt it,” I murmur, but I don’t think either girl hears me over the loud music.

  Things are tense between Aiden and me, and the whole house knows it. I get that he’s upset, I really do. It breaks my heart to think about how betrayed he must feel, but I have to stand my ground. He has to see why I really have no choice in the matter, and that I think it’s best to leave rather than stay and put everyone I love in danger—including him, especially him.

  “How awesome are Erin’s friends?” Mason stumbles over, already one too many beers in.

  He slings his arm around my shoulder. “How great is it to go to a party and not worry about seeing Dave’s ugly fat face.”

  I shiver, recalling the first time I met Dave at a party, when he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’m definitely glad he’s not here.

  “You look like you’re having fun,” Annalisa tells him, dodging the splash of beer from his cup when he turns to face her.

  “Yeah, but you guys don’t. Why are you all such Debbie Downers over here?”

  Annalisa glares at him but doesn’t answer, and I shrug off his arm since it’s starting to get kind of heavy.

  “We’re not Debbie Downers.” I defend us, secretly glad that maybe old Mason is back, and that the regular tension present whenever Mason and I are around each other is finally starting to lessen.

  “You so are! Come on, k-bear! You used to be fun! But then you get in a secret fight with Aiden that no one will talk about and you become a downer. Let’s go get in on the beer pong action in the kitchen!”

  Before I can even process what he said, he’s pulling me along with him and I have no choice but to comply. As we’re walking to the kitchen, we pass the living room, where I easily spot Aiden. He’s with Julian talking to some of Erin’s friends, and my heart squeezes with longing and hurt.

  Almost as if he senses me, he turns his head and his intense gray eyes narrow in on me, and it’s suddenly like the world has converted into slow motion. His eyes are unreadable as they study my face, but then lock on my hand in Mason’s as he leads me past the room. His eyes stay locked there until we pass the living room, and suddenly the world speeds up again to regular time, and I feel like I can release the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

  “Hey, Trey!” Mason calls to some guy in the kitchen. “Me and my girl wanna take you up on that beer pong challenge!”

  I do a double take. My girl? He better mean “my girl” in the way I call Annalisa my girl, and not in the way Aiden calls me his girl.

  Or I guess called me. Past tense.

  We end up losing beer pong, badly. Apparently, drunk Mason has zero aim, and I’m useless once I feel Aiden burning a hole in the back of my head after he comes into the room. He’s making me nervous. All I can think about is him. He’s in the corner talking to some guys, but I feel his eyes on me, his face as stoic and unreadable as the day I met him.

  I can’t take this anymore. I can’t bear the thought of him treating me like he did when he first met me, even if I deserve it.

  I’m walking through the crowd of people to go talk to him when I see him put his phone to his ear, and a flash of annoyance and anger crosses his face before it’s neutral again. He leaves the room, still talking on the phone, and I stop trying to get to him, feeling my whole body deflate.

  I don’t think he even noticed me.

  “Hey, k-bear! Where ya goin’?” Mason steps in front of me, blocking my last remaining glimpse of Aiden. “I just challenged Trey and his girlfriend to a rematch!”

  “I’m not really feeling it right now, Mason. But I’m sure Chase would love to take my spot.”

  I need to know where Aiden went. It’s killing me to not know how he’s doing. I know I have no right and I should probably leave it before I make things worse, but feelings don’t just go away because your brain tells them to.

  I try to step around Mason but he takes a step to block my path. “You’re not still thinkin’ ’bout Aiden, are you?” he asks with a frown. “’Cause he’s not thinkin’ about you.”

  I blink at him, taken off guard. “What?”

  “Listen, k-bear. I don’t know what happened
between the two of you, but you know Aiden. Once he’s done with a girl, he’s done. Remember Kaitlyn?”

  Mason is standing there completely harmless, but he might as well have just stabbed me in the chest, twisted the knife, pulled it out, and then stabbed me again.

  “What Aiden and I have is different than anything he might’ve had with Kaitlyn,” I say, knowing in my heart that it’s true, even if Mason’s words planted a tiny seed of doubt in my mind.

  “Maybe,” he says, “but I’m pretty sure he was flirting with a bunch of girls earlier, and if not tonight, then it’s only a matter of time till he does.”

  That’s good. He’s moving on. Once I leave it’ll be like I was never here. That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. Maybe if I keep saying it over and over I’ll actually start believing it instead of feeling like turning into a sobbing mess.

  Even drunk, Mason notices my I’m trying really hard not to cry right now face, because he says, “Oh, but don’t worry, k-bear. You’ll always be my number one.”

  “That’s very reassuring, Mason. Thank you,” I say just to be polite, but it comes out flat and deflated.

  Mason is either too drunk to notice or doesn’t care, because he beams his perfectly straight, white teeth at me. “Anytime! Now how ’bout that beer pong rematch?”

  I manage to slip out of playing beer pong by switching out with some random girl, and go sit out on the beach to watch the calming waves. A body sits down next to me, but I instinctively know it’s not Aiden, even though I wish it was.

  “This party would’ve been a lot more fun if we all weren’t bummed out,” Annalisa says, resting her palms on the sand behind her and leaning back.

  I laugh humorlessly. “I guess this whole thing was a dumb idea, huh? All coming here accomplished was starting fights and causing tension between people who were the best of friends.”

  “It’s not your fault. Clearly we just can’t handle being together for long stretches of time without drama finding us,” Annalisa says matter-of-factly. “Honestly, all of this would’ve happened whether or not we were together anyway. It was only a matter of time.”