chalek156: Great. [: just kidding. Thank you, love!
ScissorLuv21: Ugh, gosh. If Ben really sang I would swoon and tip over. ^_^
mysterygirl97: Love you.:'D Thank you!
Catlover10808: I know it. ;D
mbj2323: Thank you! [: And I'm updating now, so I hope you're happy! :]P
Aya Ml: Oh my gosh your review was so long! I loved it! First of all, thank you for loving this story. It really means a lot. And yea-at first I was going to make Meredith really bad but then I realized it would be better if some of Chloe's and her mom's relationship from the show leaked into my story, so yea. And yes, Alek was singing to Chloe. Ain't he a sweetie pie? ;D I want Ben to sing to me.]: That would be amazing. Ahahaha. And I'm glad Alek didn't get too mad at Chloe, too. Because without Alek, Chloe practically has no one in this story! But don't worry. Amy and Paul are going to come soon.[: And about the Brian thing-you're just going to have to read and find out.[; Sorry, dearie. Gotta have the readers comin' back! Ahahah. Again, thank you for your amazingly long review. Love you!
TwilightFreak28: You're welcome! Again, you make me blush. :'D You're amazing, dearie.
anoymous: GIRL, I LOVE YOU! Unless you're a guy..then..GUY, I LOVE YOU! My next update? Is..now. [;
Blackwidow927: Thank you[:
VannaMa'Kayla: Awh, thank you! :'D I'm dying to know where I take this, too...ahaha. I really don't know. I know. That's bad. D: I don't plan my stories though. Whenever I do that they turn out bad. So I just kind of..go with the flow. Ahahah.
panaricanchick: Oh, really? Did you cry? ]: Sorry. Ahahah. Thank you so much[':
Chloe's POV
I woke up, Alek's arms wrapped around my waist. His spicy, familiar scent filled my nose as I pressed my face deeper into his chest. He shifted and kissed the top of my head and mumbled something I couldn't make out. We stayed like that for a long time. It was the most peaceful I've felt in a long time.
Suddenly, my laptop made a 'ding' noise, signaling a new email. The sudden noise surprised me, and I flinched. Alek got up and rubbed his eyes, muttering a 'good morning, love.' and walking to the bathroom. Once the door clicked closed, I lunged off of my bed and grabbed my laptop. I positioned my face towards the door, so the laptop screen was away from it.
The email was from my father. It was sent late last night. I opened it and read: I'm sorry. Goodbye, Chloe.
I blinked at the screen, sleep still fogging my vision. What? What does he mean by...?
Alek walked out of the bathroom, now with a navy blue v-neck shirt, jeans, and a black leather jacket. His hair was all messed up in the right places and his eyes were wide awake now. I quickly exited the tab and slammed the laptop shut. I looked up and let out a nervous giggle.
Wooow. Way to play it cool, Chloe.
He narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, I jumped up and ran to my closet to change. I got a flowy white long-sleeved shirt, and it hung loosely to about half my thigh. I slipped on black tights and brown combat boots. I placed three gold dangly necklaces around my neck and a two-finger ring that had a key on it. I grabbed a brown leather jacket and let my curls hang loosely down my back. I came out and grabbed a long black bag with gold zippers that I hung on my left shoulder, letting it fall to my knees.
Alek had moved my laptop onto my desk, and was listening to my iPod on the bed. The phone rang, and I heard my mom answer it.
'Oh, so she's still home?' I thought bitterly. I walked over and yanked the earphones out of Alek's ears.
"Let's go. I'm gonna be late for work."
He smirked. "I'll meet you outside." He replied, kissing me on the cheek and then slipping gracefully out the window. I took a deep breath.
Time to face the she-devil. I slowly and silently walked down the wooden stairs, the small heels on my boots making it hard to be quiet on the wooden floor. I pictured the scene in my head: My mom would turn from whatever she was doing, eyebrow cocked, hand on hip, and ask me where I'm going.
I would roll my eyes and reply snarkily, and she would give me a long lecture on respecting my elders and manners.
But the scene before me was nothing of what I expected. Nothing at all. My mother was on the kitchen floor, looking petrified. Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. The phone lay on the floor, cracked. She probably dropped it.
"Mom? What is it?" I knelt in front of her, and she did a little double-take. What was wrong with her? She didn't even know that I came downstairs? I mean, she's not a Mai, but I'm sure even she could hear my boots clacking on the wood.
She rasped out something I couldn't make out.
"What did you say?" I cocked my head.
"Your father...they found his body." She whispered.
And then time slowed down. I know, I know! 'That is so cheesy, that only happens in movies, bleh bleh bleh.' But no. It really did feel like that. I couldn't hear anything except for the blood rushing to my ears, and my fluttering heartbeat. My breathing became shallow and I clutched my bag tighter to me, needing something to hang on to.
"What? When..where?" I asked. I was too shocked to cry. Too shocked to even move from the uncomfortable position I was squatting in.
She gulped. "His body..was in the bottom of Stow Lake. (Is that the body of water under the Golden Gate Bridge? If it's not..let's just pretend it is. Eheh.) They think..they think he jumped off of the bridge. His body was still...new. His jump must have been recent."
Oh, god. The email. The goodbye. I jumped up.
"I, ah..I've got to get to work, Mom. I'll be home in a couple hours." I mumbled. And I sprinted. I sprinted out the door, leaving the jacket that was draped over my arm on the floor in front of my mom. I sprinted down my driveway and I just ran down my street. I wasn't even going in the direction of where I work. I didn't know where I was going. I just ran.
I heard Alek's footsteps behind me, and I knew he would let me run. He would let me run, but he would run with me. He would protect me. Alek would always, always be there for me.
Suddenly, I knew where I was going. I got there the second the last ambulance and news van pulled away from the scene.
I spotted the reporter in one of the vans, and I laughed bitterly.
"This makes such an interesting story, doesn't it? A story juicy enough for all of the old ladies to gossip about. A man just jumped off of the Golden Gate Bridge! Can you believe it? What a waste of a life! But those people-those news reporters and everyone else..they never think of the reason why. They never think of the family the person left behind, how much pain the person was in. They never think of how scared and alone the person must have felt to have taken their own life...and if they were just doing it to protect a loved one..'He was such a beautiful man.' they'll all say. But why don't they say it when he's alive? Why don't we tell each other we're beautiful and that we care about each other when the person's alive? Why does someone have to die for you to compliment them and tell them that their life is worth living?" I ranted, tears streaming down my face. I looked at Alek, and he was speechless, just looking at me sadly with his warm brown eyes.
I let out a sob and ran the few steps into his arms, not wanting to think of what just happened.
"I don't know, Chloe. I don't know why it takes a tragedy to bring out the best in people." I could hear Alek struggling for words. I could barely hear him, though. I was crying so loud people from the street were looking over.
We sank to the floor, and I laid on my back, trying to calm my breathing.
"Why do you think he did it?" I sniffled.
"I-" Alek stuttered. "I'm not sure, love. I really don't know."
The next few weeks were confusing. Amy and Paul found out about what happened, and they apologized immensely for ignoring me for the past couple months. We were three peas in a pod again, and Paul was playfully annoying Alek with more Mai questions. My mom told me why she was so harsh all the time, and she made a deal with her boss about going on less business trips. Brian kept sending me creepy and threatening texts, most of which I tried to ignore, and hide from Alek.
Today was the day. Today was my father's funeral. I dressed in a black dress. It had spaghetti straps and synching under my chest. It fell to around my knees. I had a long coat on over it, one that didn't zip up or button. It was thick and heavy, and it hung on my shoulders like a weight. My hair was up in an intricate braided crown, and weaved into the braids were black ribbons. I weaved the ribbons in so that they looked like a part of my hair, and you could only catch glimpses of them. They didn't hang around my neck or anything like that. I had on black bracelets and heels.
"Ready to go?" Alek was in a suit, and he smiled sadly. I smiled sadly back.
"No, but let's go anyways."
We got to the church, and the feeling in the air made me want to run away. But Alek gripped my hand, and we walked through the doors. Everyone was making their rounds to the coffin, and when it was my turn, I gripped Alek's hand hard.
I'll admit it.
I was afraid. I was afraid of what I would see. But it just looked like he was sleeping. They dressed his body up in a suit, and I looked at him. At his short hair, his tan skin...there was one thing though. The watch he always wore on his right wrist wasn't there.
It must have fallen off when he...jumped. I still desperately wanted to know why, and I knew that I would do everything in my power to figure out the reason. The sleeve of his suit was pulled up a little, and while I was staring at his empty wrist, something bluish-black stood out to me.
Curious, I looked closer.
There, tattooed on his wrist, was a thing that made me gasp and step back, eyes wide.
It was the symbol of the Order.
