Chapter 1

Nothing Lasts Forever

His words echoed through my ears uncontrollably. The tears stung my eyes and blurred my vision. My heart banged against my chest and I found myself gasping for air. But the worst part was....not knowing the reason. The reason for all of this was unknown to me, but I was too pained to even think about that. All I thought about now, was how he could keep such a thing from me.

My drink containing sparkling cider slipped from my hand and fell to the ground. And just as the glass shattered, so did my heart. It was when someone shouted, "Catch her!" that I realized I was falling, but it was too late. My back touched the ground with a thud and my vision was going blurry. I started seeing tiny dots blocking out everything, and my head was becoming dizzy. The last thing I saw before blacking out was the face I dreaded to see now, the face of a betrayer.

I woke up to discover many familiar eyes staring at me, and when they noticed I was awake, they smiled. A face broke through the crowd, shoving people out of the person's way. It was my mother and her sweet, loving, tender face. Her deep, dark brown eyes stared down at me with worry as her thin lips formed a smile at the sight of me awake and well. She placed a few strands of her golden blonde hair behind her ears and laid a hand on the top of my sweaty forehead.

"Oh, thank god your alright. What happened?" she asked. That was the question I was hoping no one would ask, but of course someone would. I looked around, wondering if the face of my betrayer was staring at me, but no, that face was nowhere to be found. I cleared my throat.

"I just felt a tad faint." I told her. It wasn't exactly lying, but it wasn't telling the truth either. I moved up in a sitting position and laid my head back against the cozy cushions of the blood red couch. The crowd of people started moving off to different areas of the room and conversing with one another, leaving my mother and I alone on the couch. She patted my knee and smiled warmly. I smiled back halfheartedly. I knew he was still in the same building as I, no one ever leaves Vincent E. Lorington's parties early and gets away with it.

Vincent E. Lorington is a man of wealth, but also a man of greed. The party we were attending tonight was a celebration for my mother becoming the president of Lorington Inc. Of course the party was held at Mr. Lorington's mansion and plenty of people were coming, that was just how it was. People were usually too engrossed in their conversation or the beautiful house that they dared not to leave. Mother stood up and went to talk to a crowd of people sitting on a dark, leather couch eating hors d'oeuvres.

I got up off the couch, and started wondering around. Part of me wanted to see his face, but part of me didn't. I just wanted to know where he was. I still loved him, even after what he said, it was just something I couldn't quite get over. I walked down the grand staircase and saw a large table with many sparkling glasses on it. I knew some were filled with sparkling cider and some with champagne, but I wasn't sure which. I needed something to calm me down, so I grabbed one, not bothering to ask if it was legally drinkable.

I took a small sip, and then realized that it wasn't like the drink I knew, but the drink that someone my age should not be caught with. Champagne. I grimaced as the warm feeling ran down my throat. It might not have been what I was expecting, but the shaking in my hands slowly hindered. I took slow steps down the hall, gazing at the renaissance paintings that hung on the walls. There was a door at the end of the hallway that was slightly open. It looked suspicious enough, so I decided to check it out.

I took my time walking down, occasionally sipping the champagne in my glass. When I got to the door, my head felt a bit woozy from the alcoholic drink. I placed my hand on the knob and opened the door cautiously and quietly. I instantly regretted my curiosity because there, in front of me, was him and another girl, lips locked. I gasped and almost dropped my drink.

He pulled away from her and looked to see who had interrupted them. His eyes froze on me and then on the drink in my hand. The girl beside him narrowed her eyes on me and then looked back at him. He whispered something in her ear and soon after she left, closing the door behind her. We were left in the darkness, me and him, him and me. Our only light was the moonlight shining through from the windows. I set my drink down on a small table close by and took a step forward.

"I know apologies won't fix anything, especially after what I told you, but can't we at least forget this?" he asked. It practically killed me the way this was going. He was using his smooth, velvety voice. The way the moonlight shone on his dark brown hair made it somehow look softer. His eyes glowed their amazing silver color.

"How could you do that? Why did you even want to know me in the first place?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Did you really even love me?" My voice was filling with anger. He just looked down at the ground, not saying anything.

"Dammit Cole answer me! You can't do this to me." I told him. I felt tears of sorrow and anger lingering near my eyelids.

"I don't know if I can answer that at all. My heart says differently than my head." he stated.

"What does your head say?" He paused for a second.

"That this isn't right, that I should do what I'm told."

"And your heart?" He paused again.

"That I love you more than the own air I breathe." There was a silence after he said that, the kind where everyone is thinking about what has just been said. Why couldn't it be that simple? Just to love me rather than the other way around.

"I love you too." I whispered.

"It can't be like this. You know that if I could, this wouldn't get in the way but, I'm sorry." he told me with a pained expression on his face.

"Well like you said before, apologies won't fix anything." I said bitterly. He stepped closer and closer to me, one foot in front of the other, until he was only a few inches away. He moved my light blonde hair behind my ears and gazed into my hazel eyes. I could see his eyes watering up, which rarely happened to him. I moved my hands up to his face while he caressed my shoulder. He kissed me on the forehead and then gave me a half-smile.

"Why did you get into this mess?" I asked.

"I never meant to."

"Will you ever actually follow through with this? With, me?" I asked. He looked at me uncomfortably and then avoided my eyes.

"I don't want to. I'd rather take my own life."

"Please don't do both." I pleaded.

"I'll try my best." he said, his face inching closer to mine. His lips met mine gently and slowly.

"Annie?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that champagne?"

"Yeah."

"How much have you had?"

"Not much."

"Oh." he mumbled. He went back to kissing me. I wasn't sure if he would be okay with the bitter taste of alcohol in my mouth, but it didn't seem like he minded. Maybe it was just me, or the champagne, but the craziest thing came out of my mouth.

"I want to escape with you. Let's go somewhere, away from here." I felt him tense up. He froze in place.

"No, I can't."

"Please? I could be safer. It could just be the two of us, none of your bosses, none of...anything." I whispered. I looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"And how do you suppose we do this?" he asked.

"I don't know, we'll find a way, after all, if you're leaving so can I."

"But that was for your own good. I can't very well keep from-" he stopped, not being able to say the words that filled me with fear and dread, "killing you if you're beside me every step of the way." I felt shivers run up my spine; he held me tighter. I pushed away from him a little.

"If you really love me, you'd take me with you." I protested. I made a little pouting face for effect. He held my chin and pulled me closer. He sighed, his breathe smelling of a weird mixture of sparkling cider and mint.

"When are we leaving?" he said, even though we knew perfectly well when. I smiled at him and kissed him on the lips. He held me tight and let his fingers draw shapes on the black satin material on my back. I let my arms wrap around his neck and my feet edge up on their tip-toes so I could be a bit taller. The moment was so romantic that I hoped the feeling wouldn't end, but of course, nothing lasts forever.