҉       A ƤriƝɕҽsslɣ CoƝƝҽCƬioƝ        ҉

ChaPtEr THIRTEEN       _________________________

Hope…

He caressed my thigh as his grey eyes bored into mine. My skin was searing. My heart was going wild. His hand reached up as his other hand cupped my chin. My lips parted as he leaned closer. My breathing hitched as his lips were about to touch mine…

The most disturbing and irritating song started to play. Groaning, I reached for my phone and switched the damn thing off. Stupid thing. I tossed it away and grabbed the pillow to place it over my head but then the annoying thing crashed on the floor. Wide-eyed, I jumped out of bed searching for it frenetically. It was after all, the only device I had to communicate with the outside world. Plus, my parents would kill me for breaking it in less than a week. Thankfully, the thing didn’t have a scratch on it. Placing it on my chest, I dropped on the bed again.

Damn.

My crush was so getting out of control…

I hadn’t slept much. I could only think of his piercing eyes on me…and I replayed over and over on my mind how I’d felt when he touched me…

I know. Totally pathetic.

When I finally found sleep…I dreamt about him. And what a dream it had started out to be…Bloody hell I wanted to keep dreaming! I raised the phone and glared at it with all the hatred on the world. On cue, the thing started to ring. Mom was calling me.

Sighing, I answered the call. “Hi Mom!”

A dark tone answered, making me seat up completely surprised. “Hello Marianne, did I wake you up?”

Dad? I hadn’t talked to him since the morning they drove me to the airport. “No, I was awake. Thanks. How are you?”

Dad sighed. “Not great, honey…” my heart clenched for him. We’d always gotten along pretty well. It was after him that I’d started to major on Astronomy. We’d spent many times watching the stars together. They were my most cherished memories. “I’ve been wanting to call you since you left,” I could imagine him running a hand through his hair. He always did when stressed out. “I’m really sorry for overreacting and making you leave like that. It was completely immature on my part and I wanted to apologize.”

Smiling soflty, I laid in bed once again, “it’s ok, Dad.”

“No, it’s not. Your mother has been kindly reminding me how immature I was…” My smile widened. Mom was probably calling him a douchebag or something. She always did when he acted out. “So, I wanted to let you know that we have arranged everything so you can come back as soon as possible.”

No! No! Please don't!

My voice trembled as I asked, “why?” My whole body tensed.

“I don’t care if you’ve already fulfilled the compensation fee or not. We should have never sent you off, so I’m-“

“But I don’t want to come back!” I exclaimed alarmed in one breath.

“You don’t?” Dad asked completely surprised.

Hesitantly, I added softly, “So far, this has been the best summer ever, Dad…and if that’s alright with you guys, I’d like to stay…”

Dad stayed quiet for a moment. Bemused, he murmured “It’s your choice, honey.”

My shoulders sagged relieved, “I want to stay here.”

He cleared his throat, “Ok. I just want to let you know that my grandmother hasn’t been feeling good lately. That’s the main reason I’d been stressing out lately. It seems like I’m taking her place soon. Sooner than I’d expected.” Oh fuck. My heart clenched. “And I realize that there will be a heavier burden for your sister and you,” he sounded strained. I understood perfectly why he’d been snapping at everyone lately.

I closed my eyes. A soft murmur left my mouth, “I’m sorry Dad…do you want me to come back?”

“No. Have fun. If anything else happens, we’ll let you know, ok?”

I swallowed hard, “ok.”

“We’ll talk soon, alright?” Dad sounded sad and completely stressed out.

“Yeah…I love you Daddy…” a sad smile crossed my face. I used to call him Daddy all the time when I was a child.

“Me too, Marianne.”

The call ended. I placed the phone on my bed stand with a heavy heart. Poor Dad. He sort of hoped that my grandpa would be king sometime…but I guessed grandpa had declined or something. Dad had this ambiguous relationship with the crown. He liked that he could make a difference and whatnot but he hated the fact that we didn’t have much privacy at all. I’d always felt the same. It sucked not to know if people really liked you or not. If your friends were there for you or for the things you represented.

My stomach clenched. That was the exact reason I hadn’t had a boyfriend in a while. And why I was probably going to die a spinster.

If Dad was going to be King…that would mean that one day…I’d be Queen…

Bloody hell.

There goes everything.

I got ready for the day with a heavy heart. A complete turnaround from when I’d woke up. As I walked to the kitchen for breakfast, I thought about Jason. I was making him stay here just because I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

How selfish was I? The guy hadn’t seen his sister in a year and he had to stay here just because I wanted to ogle at him.

Because that was it.

There would never be anything more.

First, he had a girlfriend. A fucked-up one, but there she was. And secondly…why would anyone want to be with me if I’d had to carry such a heavy baggage on my shoulders? It wasn’t just me. It never had been. However, things were going to be harder now.

My eyes were teary by now. I stood outside the kitchen’s door. Sol and Pablo were already chatting away with Maria. This had been a total dream.

“Hey, you ok?” Jason asked completely concerned as he leaned closer to me.

Staring at those beautiful grey eyes and knowing that I would probably never see them again made me burst into tears.

Apprehension crossed his eyes as his strong hands grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me to him. Which only made it worse. His sexy sent filled my nostrils. I closed my eyes as I held on tighter to him.

I didn’t want this to end. I wanted him. I needed him.

Fuck.

I’m undeniable and hopelessly in love with him…

Jason pulled me even closer to him. Gently, he moved us away from the door. The tears wouldn’t stop rolling down for a while. My heart was completely crushed.

“How can I help you?” he murmured on my hair as my stomach clenched.

Rubbing my eyes, I pulled away from him. He was still holding me as I murmured sadly looking everywhere but him, “I think it’s time to get back to England…”

His hand cupped my chin making me look at him. His thumb caressed a tear that was rolling down my cheek. My lips parted as his grey eyes bored into mine. “Do you really want to go back?”

My heart was beating like crazy as I stared back at him. His thumb was still stroking my cheek softly, gently. Of course I didn’t. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to do everything with him. Which made me such an awful person. Biting my lip, I softly shook my head.

His eyes roamed all over my face for the longest of moment. Quietly, he murmured, “me neither…” My stomach filled with butterflies. A pathetic ray of hope filled my heart. “So why don’t we stay here for a couple of weeks and-“he bit his tongue trying to keep quiet.

“You want that?” I heard myself ask as my breathing hitched.

His voice tone was completely determined, “yes.”

Words failed me. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to think anymore. I placed my hand over the palm that was still cupping my chin. He swallowed hard. His eyes were darker than ever. My whole body tingled everywhere. We were completely close and still felt like it wasn’t enough.

Someone cleared their throat behind us. Startled, we pulled apart as my aunt crossed her arms on her chest. Her almost black hair was loose and soft waves framed her stern face. “I was wondering where you were…” her eyes looked from Jason to me. They softened when they landed on me.

“Is everything alright?” she asked warily still looking at me.

Placing my hands on the pocket of my jeans I shyly nodded. “My father called me and I kind of…got home sick…” I trailed hesitantly.

Aunt Patricia looked at me like she already knew what we’d talked about, but didn’t say anything else. “I wanted to ask you to run some errands,” she glanced at Jason who agreed, “This is the list,” she handed me a large piece of paper with several names scribbled on it, “you have to go to the market. I thought it would be nice to get breakfast there. We don’t need anything soon, so you can shop without worrying about the time.” She handed Jason her car keys and an envelope with what I assumed was money.

“Yes, ma’am.” He glanced briefly at me before walking towards the parking lot.

Aunt Patricia sighed, “For goodness sake, are you really ok, Marianne?”

Rubbing a palm on my eyes, I took a deep breath, “to be honest, I’m not sure…Did you talk to Mom?”

She nodded, “yeah…”

I pressed my lips together as she reached out for me, “just remember that things happen for a reason, ok?” she pulled away as she glanced towards the path Jason had taken. “In the meantime, have fun and you know…be careful…” she looked a bit flustered as she handed me a small package.

My eyes widened as I stared at the thing she gave me. Condoms. She was giving me condoms. “What’s this for?” I was blushing hard.

She shrugged and raised an eyebrow, “just in case you need them…”

Swallowing hard, I shook my head, “I don’t-“

She stared at me sternly as she held my hand and closed it. “Well, if you had just witnessed the last scene like me, you wouldn’t think the same.” She raised an eyebrow, “just keep them, ok?” Flustered, I stared at the package for a moment. “You’re welcome,” she added.

Still dumbfounded, I mumbled, “Thank you?”

She smiled at me. “Good girl, now go put them away,” she frowned, “or take them, whatever…” she trailed nervously averting her eyes.

“I’ll just-“ I gestured to my room, “keep them there.”

“Ok,” she nodded blushing as well, “I just don’t want to be the cause of an unplanned pregnancy here…”

Oh my God…

“And you know, have fun…or not…whatever…just take your time,” she added flustered.

I looked at her in horror for a moment before rushing to my room. Not knowing where to put them, I placed them under my pillow and ran back outside after locking my door.

Geesh…

My feelings where all over the place after everything. To top it all, my aunt weirded me out even more...

Was there hope? Did he actually like me?

I reached the parking lot and saw Jason drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

I was pretty much in love with him…and I would probably get hurt in the end…

But if there was something there…

I wanted to find out.

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:) I'll try to update tonight :)

Oh. Couldn't think of a song for this chapter...any suggestions???