Never Far
By: Sailorjj07
6. Chapter 6
A/N: It's been a while! Thanks as always for reading! This may be a bit short, but I promise the next chapter will be longer!
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
Connor tightened his grip on Aveline's arm just a bit to keep her from face-planting on the sidewalk. She giggled loudly, in a way that was entirely out of character for her. Some passersby eyed the drunken women warily, but Connor made sure she didn't accidentally run into anyone.
"Aveline, why'd you drink so much?" Connor questioned softly, escorting her to the safety of his SUV. He made sure she was securely buckled into the passenger seat before walking around the car, climbing in the driver's seat and starting the engine.
"Because…." She slurred, leaning her head back against the comfy headrest. There was a pregnant pause before she continued her sentence, "I think...I've embarrassed myself."
Connor chuckled lowly, and it was such a pleasant sound to Aveline's ears, "If this is about spilling your wine on my cousin at dinner, he'll be fine, Aveline."
Aveline shook her head, but stopped almost immediately - the world was starting to spin, "No, not that."
"Then what?" Connor had his eyes on the road, but he was listening to her words closely. He had never seen drunken Aveline before, since they hadn't been around each other when either of them reached legal drinking age.
"I should have gone to your graduations… I should have been at your 21st birthday party..." Aveline was rambling, but Connor could hear her words clearly. "I-I'm so, so stupid. I'm so sorry."
"Aveline-"
The woman beside him held up her hand, effectively cutting him off, "I'm embarrassed because I ignored you…"
Connor glanced at Aveline out of the corner of his eyes, startled by the choked up sound of her voice. He could see unshed tears glittering in her eyes. Drunk Aveline he could handle, but Drunk, Hysterical Aveline? Connor dreaded the thought.
In an instant, he pulled over, putting his car in park. He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached over, facing Aveline with an intense stare.
"Aveline, I know you had your reasons for what you did, and when you're ready to tell me, I'll listen. I don't hate you for it," Connor swallowed the lump in his throat, reaching for Aveline's hand, "I can't hate you. Ever."
Aveline nodded, pressing the back of Connor's hand against her cheek, "I know you can't."
Connor lifted an eyebrow, "You do?"
"That's why I feel so bad, you know?" Aveline lifted her head, a single tear streaming down her cheek. She took and released a deep breath, just as Connor reached forward to wipe the tear away, "T-This… would be so much easier if we hated each other."
Connor gave her a rueful smile, squeezing her hand, "Personally, I'd find it harder if we hated each other. Imagine spending the rest of your life with someone you hated. We'd probably fight more than Old Man Edward and Grandma Tessa."
Aveline finally laughed, and Connor found that her laughter made him smile all the more, "Now, I'm going to take you home, alright? Are you going to be ok?"
Aveline nodded obediently, and leaned against Connor's shoulder, while he buckled her in and re-started the car. The ride back to Aveline's place was uneventful, as Aveline dozed off at some point during the twenty minute ride.
Connor parked his car in the parking lot, and watched Aveline sleep for just a moment, reaching over to nudge her gently. When her sleepy hazel eyes peeked up at him, Connor pushed back the strong urge to kiss her senseless.
"Aveline, we're home," He told her gently, the words sounding so right in his ears. Aveline yawned softly, leaning her head back against the headrest and closing her eyes. It seemed she wasn't quite ready to wake up.
Connor came around the car, opening her door wide to place a hand on her shoulder gently, "Aveline?"
Aveline pushed out a breath, "I'm coming…" She replied, blinking her eyes open again. She grabbed her purse and moved to step out of the car, swaying on her feet a bit.
"I thought you slept it off," Connor chuckled, putting his arm around her waist tightly. Together, the two of them made the trek from the parking lot to Aveline's front door. Aveline was finally walking properly, but she looked exhausted.
Unlocking her front door, she stepped into her place, taking her shoes off right by the front door. She swayed again, and Connor was right beside her, taking hold of her arm to hold her steady. Together, they headed down the hallway towards her bedroom.
Aveline stopped at another door first though, opening her office door and peeking inside the room. She giggled to herself, "Whoops. Wrong door." She commented, shaking her head and heading directly to her bedroom instead. Connor made sure Aveline was completely tucked in to her bed, and stepped into her bathroom to grab a small trash can, just in case.
"Aveline, I'm putting this beside your bed in case you..." Connor began to explain, but Aveline had already fallen back asleep. She only gave a soft sigh in reply to his words, oblivious to the world. Connor smiled softly to himself, sitting the trash can directly beside her bed, before padding out of her bedroom quietly, so as not to disturb her.
He stretched his arms over his head, heading back down the hallway towards the door Aveline had left wide open. Connor peeked his head into the room to close the door, but a glint of something shiny in his peripheral caught his attention instead. So as not to disturb Aveline, Connor stepped into the room quietly, flipping the light switch on. The shiny glint he noticed in the dark was from a picture frame sitting on Aveline's desk.
He went directly to her desk, where there was a leather chair and a desktop computer with two screens. Connor brushed his fingers against a few of the papers on her desk, not bothering to really read them. He took a seat in her office chair, picking up the photo frame to find a picture of Aveline and her father. Connor smiled at the image of a young Aveline and her Dad. She had always loved the man.
As Connor moved to place the picture frame back where he found it, he looked up at the far wall near the door. That's when he saw it - a bulletin board on the far wall. His amber eyes grew wide as he stood up from the chair, walking over to the board. There were pictures of him covering almost the entire left side of the board; lots of them.
Actually, there was much more than just pictures. Someone had cut out articles from newspapers and magazines, detailing many moments of his life that Aveline had said herself that she missed.
There were pictures from his high school football days, an invitation to both his high school and college graduations, plus a picture from his senior prom; even his college graduation photo was there, pinned to the board next to a photo of Aveline and Connor as kids.
There were pictures of other people on the bulletin board too, like Aveline's best friend Patience, and her ex-turned-coworker, Gérald Blanc, but the pictures of Connor took up at least half of the board.
"It's really rude to go snooping in other people's offices."
Connor had been so absorbed in the huge collection of photos of himself that he hadn't heard Aveline coming, staring at him with her arms crossed. She looked angry.
"Aveline-"
"I didn't give you permission to come in here, Connor," she dead-panned, fixing him with an aggravated stare.
Connor crossed his arms, matching her stance, feeling his own temper flare, "That's what you're choosing to focus on? Really?"
"I'm pretty sure invasion of privacy is a big enough issue to-"
Connor stepped closer, amber eyes on fire, "Don't try to change the subject, Aveline."
"I'm not," She defended weakly. Connor saw right through her. He took another step closer, and Aveline stepped back, bumping into the door.
"You are, but it won't work. I know the truth now," His voice dropped to a husky pitch as he stepped into her personal space. He placed his hands against the door, effectively trapping Aveline in his unwavering gaze.
"W-What truth?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, and she cursed under her breath. Connor's presence affected her too much.
"That you love me. That you've loved me for as long as I've loved you."
Both of them held their breath, waiting for Aveline to deny his words… But she didn't. She couldn't because they both knew it was the truth.
That was all it took. Connor knew by Aveline's silence that he had hit the nail on the head. In the span of her silence, he was already leaning into her personal space, tilting her head up upwards.
He crashed his lips on hers, feeling too many emotions to name. She kissed him back greedily, and that just made the heat in his belly burn that much more.
He was finally getting through to her; finally able to tell her what he'd wanted to say for years. There was nothing she could do that would make him let her go now. He'd never let anything come between them ever again.
End Chapter 6