Chapter 9:
I couldn't stand there and risk him ruining what I have here so I ran knowing he would come after me. I made it out of the house before I felt a hand grab my arm. I turned around and saw not Joe, but Nick.
"Nick?" I asked confused.
"Why do you sound surprised?" he asked letting go of my arm.
"Sorry, uh, did you need something?" I asked feeling awkward.
"Care to explain what the hell just happened in there?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I said avoiding his gaze.
"Yes you do. I tried to look past all the secrecy but now that my family is involved I can't just look the other way."
"Your family?" I asked confused.
"Yeah, Joe? He's my cousin."
"Wonderful." I said sarcastically.
"So?"
"What do you want me to say here?"
"I want to know what's going on. How do you know Joe?"
"I don't. Maybe we met once or something."
"You may be able to fool Miley, but you're not fooling me."
"I'm not trying to fool anybody."
"Then what's the point of all the lies? Huh? And keeping to yourself all the time. Miley is an amazing girl. She doesn't deserve to be treated the way you've been treating her when she's done nothing but be kind to you."
"You're right. She doesn't deserve this."
"You'd really rather walk away than say what's going on?"
"What choice do I have? I can't tell anyone anything."
"Are you in the witness protection program or something?"
"No, it's not that."
"Then-"
"Good, you're still here." Joe said interrupting Nick.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Nick said assuming he was talking to him.
"Miley's asking for you." Joe said.
"Alright."
Nick turned to give me one more disappointed look before going back into the house.
"Elizabeth? Really?"
"Don't start." I said looking down.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you leave?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you." I said walking away.
"No? Then how about Kevin? Doesn't he deserve more than just an apology? He's been so fucking worried about you!"
I stopped and turned to him. "Are you really that worried about Kevin's feelings? Or is it really about the fact that you've been worrying?"
"Of course I've been worried too! But honestly, this isn't about how I feel. I'm being honest here when I talk about Kevin. I haven't seen someone this upset since my dad when my mom left. He needs you Demi. Stop hurting him."
As the tears started rolling down my cheeks, Joe cupped my face and whipped them away with his thumbs. I wrapped my arms around his waist and cried into his chest.
After a few minutes I looked up at him and softly pressed my lips to his then pulled away.
"Come back with me." Joe whispered.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"You know why."
"Running from it won't fix it. I mean, look at what happened tonight. Nick isn't easy to fool."
"I should have guessed you two were related." I said smiling slightly.
"We both have that kind of charm don't we?" he said jokingly.
"You're both hard-headed too."
"Please come back. We can get through this."
"Joe, I can't. I don't even know why this is happening. We barely know each other."
"We can change that." He said leaning in.
I stepped back. "I can't, we can't."
"But you want to." Before I could protest he pressed his lips back to mine. I knew that it was pointless to fight it, so I didn't.
"So you guys do know each other." Nick said walking out of the shadows with Miley.
"I can explain." Joe said.
"Oh, please do." Nick said crossing his arms over his chest.
"Joe and I used to go to the same school."
"Why were you lying about knowing each other?"
Before I could say anything Nick added: "And, think about what you're about to say."
"I ran away."
They all shot me a shocked expression.
Is Demi finally starting to open up? How will Nick and Miley react?
Review! :)
