LAST CHAPTER ALERT!:
I want to thank each and everyone one of you who reviewed, faved and/or subscribed for alerts. I didn't get to update as often as I wanted to, resulting in this story almost taking a year to write, so I am especially thankful for those who stuck it out to the end with me. Plus, tomorrow is my birthday so I got to complete something before I turn another year myself! I do not know if I will be writing again for this fandom, but I still love these characters so I might. For now, I have picked myself up a copy of Ms. Meyer's new book, Heartless! I hope it's just as good!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please leave a final review to tell me how you enjoyed the story overall. As usual, constructive criticism is fine! There are many things that I have learned from writing this story and would do differently, but I like the way it turned out for the most part. So without further adieu, I present to you the last chapter! Enjoy!
He thought things would come together.
They weren't.
He saw her in his dreams- could feel her weight next to him bed only to open his eyes and realize that she wasn't there.
He thought he could just go back to his life before he met her. Somehow, throwing himself into work would snap him back into his real self. He was still a handsome millionaire with incredible business savvy. He was still Carswell Thorne.
So why didn't he feel like it?
When Scarlet had left his home last week after finding him a state of drunken sorrow, he had finally stopped drinking, shaved, bought himself several new suits and plastered a dashing smile on his face. He had even hired a maid service to clean up around the house.
Everything should have been coming together by now.
He ran and ran along the sidewalk, breathing in the cold pre-sunrise air, the sound of music pumping through his wireless earbuds. He was wearing the only hoodie that was in his closet and a pair of matching gray sweatpants.
"Okay, what's on your mind," he smirked and put his chin in his palm, amused at the inquisitive look on her face after he had poured them each a glass of white wine, halfway to the brim.
She looked up at him with those big blue eyes and tilted her head to the side, reminding Thorne of a small, cute animal.
"What do you think, Captain? Are these glasses half-empty or half- full?"
He held in his laugh. "Really? An age old question, Cress?
"Well, it's relevant!"
He smiled, opting not to point out her cute pout this time around. "I don't know, sweetheart. I guess it's half-empty. What do you think?"
She concentrated on the glass for a second before answered. "I think it's half-full."
Thorne snorted. "How is it half-full when there can be more?"
She played with a hair strand and bit her lip. "Because there was nothing there before, of course."
He sat back and raised his eyebrows. He hadn't thought about it like that before.
He supposed that was the difference between them. She was optimistic about life like that and he wasn't. She had started with nothing and he had started with everything yet he still wanted more, more, more.
Thorne rubbed his eyes, trying to dismiss the memory, trying not to think what he was about to think- but it was too late.
You were empty before you met her and that's why you're empty again without her.
He slowly stopped running until he came to the front of his home. He was exhausted, ready to get back in the bed and sleep this Saturday away. He scanned his retina, opened the door into the darkness and stillness of his home, pulling off his hoodie that was soaked with sweat.
"Hello Thorne."
"WHAT-!" Thorne nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the unexpected voice. He stared into the darkness as his eyes slowly adjusted, now recognizing several figures sitting in the darkness of his living room. He clapped his hands loudly and the lights popped on, revealing Cinder, Iko, Scarlet, Wolf, Jacin, Winter and Kai sitting on his couches and chairs, some of them even sipping out of mugs as if they lived there and not him.
"Aces, you guys almost gave me a heart attack," he said. "What the hell are you doing in my house?"
"Intervention," Cinder said lowly, her brown eyes meeting his with an intensity that was reserved for him when he did something stupid.
He groaned. "Look, if this is about me drinking so much, I've already stopped."
"Well that's a good start," Scarlet replied with a nod. She stood up and patted a chair that they had placed in the center of the carpet. "Now come have a seat."
"No. Way." Thorne shook his head and turned to leave. "I'm going to hit the hay. You all can just wander on out the same way you came in and stop breaking into my- hey!"
Thorne was cut off as Wolf's giant arm wrapped around his stomach, practically picking him up and carrying him back towards the chair. He felt his face heat up as embarrassment and anger filled him simultaneously. He squirmed and tried to budge his bodyguard's iron grip off of him, his legs kicking like a child's beneath him. "Let. Me. Go!"
"Sorry, I can't. You need to hear this," Wolf responded lowly, plopping Thorne down in the chair.
Scarlet smirked, obviously pleased.
Thorne scowled at her, with half the mind to fire her.
"Now that we've got your attention, Winter will tell you what Cress told her," Scarlet said.
"This is about Cress," Thorne seethed, "It's over between us! Just let it go already!"
"But Cress is running to Farafrah! She's going to use the money she saved up to get there and if she has to she'll sell her jewelry and clothes to find somewhere to live there," Winter said practically in one breath. "And she wants to get a job, perhaps helping in the technology field down there!"
Everyone stared at Thorne expectantly. His eyes roamed from each face, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his temple. He could hear his heartbeat thudding in his chest.
She was leaving.
And she hadn't even called to tell him.
She didn't care what he thought about it. Of course not, what did he matter? They weren't dating anymore.
"So why are you telling me," he finally said, though it felt like he wasn't even saying it. For some reason, he felt as if he were underwater. His ears were clogged up and his breathing felt a little hitched. But he had to put on a brave-face. He had to get them to leave him alone.
If Cress didn't want him, then why should he want her?
"Because you can get her to stay!" Iko said, jumping up from her seat. Her long, blue braids swung around. "S-she can't just go there all alone, right?"
"I'm guessing you know that she managed to crash her satellite all the way down to Earth and survived for months here on her own by now," Thorne drawled, "she can take care of herself.
"You're being ridiculous," Jacin stood up now too, his eyes narrowing. "With all of the money you have, you could at least help her. Make sure she's going to be safe."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Thorne stood up as well, marching towards Jacin. Now he was getting angry. "Oh, that's right. You and half of the people in here are my ex-girlfriend's friend. So why are you in my house? You think that's alright because we hung out once? I should just call the authorities on you."
The room grew quiet.
"I quit."
"Me too."
Thorne turned eyes to Scarlet and Wolf, who stood next to each other.
"Fine," Thorne said through clenched teeth.
"I quit too," Iko mumbled, "get someone else to cut your precious hair."
"Easily done," Thorne responded.
"Thorne…" Cinder said.
He flinched. Not you too, Cinder…
"I won't be repairing your hovers anymore. I'm sorry. But I can't work- no," she swallowed, clenched and unclenched her fists. "…I can't be friends with someone who can't even face his feelings. Or himself."
She turned to leave while Thorne stared at the ground. He could hear the shuffling of everyone else moving as well. He watched their feet march out of the door and heard the door slam behind them, leaving the aftermath of silence to ring in his ears.
Everyone he cared about had just walked out of his life.
He finally lifted his eyes and was surprised when a tear slid down his cheek. He wiped at it quickly with the back of his wrist. Carswell Thorne didn't cry.
"Aces," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"Are you nice to your employees?" she asked, gripping his tie and giving it one final push upwards to tighten it.
He had to admit, he did have a way with picking out maid outfits. With Cress, it was best to go with cute and slightly flirtatious, not totally sexy. He loved seeing her in it during the week, even if she blushed crimson when he mentioned it.
He grinned deviously. "Probably not as nice as I am to you."
"Well, my tip of the day is this: Remember that employees are people too."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he replied.
"Your smirk says otherwise."
"I'm not smirking!"
"Suuureee you aren't," she laughed, gave his suit one final pat, and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Have a good day at work, Captain."
"You too, Cress." With that, he was out of the door and off to work, ignoring the quickening of his heartbeat. Surely such a simple interaction couldn't have affected him. No, he probably had just had too much coffee this morning.
He needed to drown his thoughts. Excessively drinking wasn't going to do anything but give him a hangover in the morning, so he chose something different.
He walked into the club that he had not set foot into in months. The music was so loud that he could feel the bass reverberating in his chest. Save for the different colored spotlights swinging around the room, the entire place was so dark that he could barely make out faces unless he was standing close enough. Bodies gyrated against each other, creating a heat in the room that he could feel immediately upon entering.
He slipped off his jacket and swung it across his arm and proceeded to unbutton his two top buttons on his button-up shirt. He moved through the crowd, trying his best not to bump into too many people.
The place was packed.
He finally made it to the bar and took a seat on an empty stool.
"What can I get you?" the bartender flicked his blond hair out of his eyes and grinned.
"An Old Fashioned is fine," Thorne replied.
"Make that two."
Thorne raised his eyebrows and looked up to see a woman grinning down at him. Her emerald colored eyes contrasted boldly from her dark locks that fell thickly on her shoulders. The lights of the club reflected off her sparkly midnight blue mini-dress.
"This seat taken?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard properly above the music. He shook his head no, resulting in another grin from her as she slid into the stool to his right. "How's your night going?"
"Looks like it just got better," Thorne replied smoothly.
Bam. There it was. He smiled a little to himself; maybe getting back to the real him wouldn't be so hard after all. He just needed the right push…or the right woman.
The bartender sat their whiskey-mixes in front of them. As the woman reached for her purse, Thorne pulled out his card from his wallet and handed it to the bartender. "I'll buy," he said, taking a sip of his drink.
She folded one of long legs over the other and turned to face him.
She was such a stark contrast to Cress that it took him aback a bit that he was attracted to her. He was glad that he could still appreciate a tall, dark and lovely beauty such as herself.
"So I already know that you're the one and only Carswell Thorne," she told him, never taking her eyes away. "But I'm sure that you don't know that I'm Melanie Ivaka."
"Melanie…stars, I'm sorry. I couldn't recognize you in this darkness," Thorne sat up a bit straighter, "plus your hair is darker now."
"You like?" her ruby-red lips parted into a knowing, teasing smile.
"Love it."
Melanie Ivaka was a quickly-rising star in the model industry. She had even just gotten her first movie role, albeit a small part, but Thorne was impressed nonetheless.
She continued to chat him up and they both went through two more orders of drinks. As her eyelids began to lower, the proximity between them began to grow smaller. He tried to remember at what point she had placed a perfectly manicured hand on his knee.
"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, causing Throne to jump back in surprise. She bounced up and grabbed his hand, pulling him from the stool for the first time since he had arrived nearly two hours ago. "I love this song. Let's dance."
He staggered onto the dance floor behind her. Cress wasn't a fan of loud dance clubs, so it had been awhile since he had pulled out his moves, but Melanie was on it. He found himself pushed against a wall, her body moving sexily against his.
When she turned and brushed her lips against his neck, he felt a jolt run through his body.
He was finally awake again.
This was who he was- Thorne, the most eligible bachelor around.
He had fun with women, with no commitment necessary. No strings attached. He was fool for trying to hold himself back then. He was a fool for pretending that he needed anything more.
He put his lips against her ear so that she could hear him easily against the music, "let's go back to my place."
She leaned back and nodded, green eyes twinkling. She turned and started sashaying towards the exit. He followed, quickly using his net-watch to signal for his ride to pull up outside. When he left the building, the cool air felt refreshing after having been amid so many bodies previously. He didn't even care as rain sprinkled down from the heavens lightly.
Melanie, on the other hand, huffed and crossed her arms over her ample bosom.
Once the hovercar arrived, they got into the back, and she wasted no time in climbing into his lap, relieving him of his jacket and kissing him.
Her long limbs seemed to envelope him.
She was tiny, but cute and sexy in a way that was different than any other.
He squeezed her waist, waiting for a cute squeak that never came.
A wave of annoyance crashed over him but he pushed it back. He couldn't expect her to react just how he wanted her to….
He couldn't expect her to be like her…
The car ride was over soon and they both tumbled out of the hovercar. She laughed and he smirked and led her to the house.
His bachelor pad.
No one would be waiting inside.
He didn't feel like offering her a drink. Besides, Melanie seemed like the type of girl who knew what she was here for and didn't mind having just that.
He led her straight to his room and she pushed him right onto the bed. She smirked and pushed the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders, slowly and seductively coming out of the dress.
He had had many pillow fights in his time, many of them ending up with him on top of a girl or vice versa. They always ended up that way.
That was nothing new.
What was new for him was the way his heart had hammered against his chest when Cress had looked down at him, her lips slightly parted, her face so close that he could see every freckle sprinkled across her cheeks, her short hair practically falling into his face.
He knew that it wasn't just that he wanted to sleep with her- of course he had had to muster up every ounce of strength in his body so that he wouldn't react…but it was something more. Even just a kiss would have sufficed.
He blinked the memory out of his mind.
Melanie kissed at his collarbone, unbuttoning his shirt slowly. When she looked up, he wished that she wouldn't. Her eyes were so intense, it was unnerving.
"You must be excited to be with a real woman again," she suddenly whispered. Thorne swore his heart stopped. Melanie ran his hands down her curves. "You must've been wishing for a body like this, right?"
Thorne immediately stood up, causing Melanie to stumble backwards and look up at him in surprise.
"Get the hell out of my house."
"W-what?" she stuttered, grabbing her discarded dress and standing at the same time.
"You think you're a real woman just because you have curves," he started, his eyes narrowing, "but that's not what makes a real woman, Melanie. You should go leave and go figure that out. Now."
"You- you pig!" Melanie shouted. "Thanks for wasting my time, jerk." Even as she slipped back into her dress and shoes, Thorne was already reaching for his phone and dialing.
She slammed the door behind her, but Thorne barely registered it.
"Answer, answer…" he mumbled to himself. When she didn't, he tried again. When she didn't answer again, he called Scarlet.
"Thorne?
"Red, where is she?"
"Cress?"
"Aces, of course Cress!"
There was a sound of shuffling. Voices.
"I TOLD YOU HE'D CALL!"
Thorne narrowed his eyes. He suddenly felt a headache coming on. "Is that…Iko, I hear?"
"Thorne, we're all here with her, having a small going-away party at the hotel she's staying at before she leaves for Farafrah tomorrow."
"Ping me the address and don't let her leave, Scarlet. Or you're seriously fired this time."
"Thorne-"
He hung up.
He had to get there.
Because it wasn't about sex.
It wasn't about money.
It wasn't about being the most eligible bachelor.
He couldn't function without her. He couldn't imagine a life without her. He couldn't just give up because she was Lunar and he was in the public eye.
He couldn't just let her go without a fight.
Cress was shaking so badly that she couldn't even hold the glass of water that Cinder offered her. When Scarlet had picked up the phone and said Thorne's name it was as if her entire world started to move in slow motion.
She thought she had steeled her heart against any residual feelings for Thorne. She was ready to go start her new life far, far away from him.
At least, she kept telling herself that she was.
She didn't want him to come here and crumble the wall she had carefully constructed in the couple of weeks since they had broken up. There was no use now. He had been right about one thing: she couldn't stay here. It was too dangerous.
"I have to get out of here," she said more to herself than anyone else in the room. All eyes were on her as she stood to her feet and started towards her suitcase.
"Woah, woah, woah," Kai held up his hands in front of Cress, effectively blocking her from making a beeline out of there. "You have to at least listen to what he has to say."
She shook her head back and forth slowly. Clutching her arm, she explained, "it's no use, Kai. Whatever he has to say isn't worth it. I'm doing what he wanted…I'm leaving."
"I thought you didn't want to leave on bad terms," Winter pointed out.
Cress hesitated, frowning. She didn't want to leave on bad terms. One of the last things she could remember saying to him was, "I thought I knew you…I thought you were a good person" when she knew good and well that he was a good person, even though he had initially freaked out about her being Lunar.
"I've been his friend for a while now," Cinder spoke up, "and I know you and I don't know each other very well, Cress, but trust me…that idiot wouldn't be coming all the way here for nothing."
Cress bit her lip and shook her head back and forth.
"I don't think I can," she whispered, her throat tightening and her eyes filling with tears.
Thorne had never felt this rushed to get somewhere in his entire life- not even when he was late to his photoshoot as Man of the Year in Stars Above Magazine.
He crashed through the front lobby, demanding that the android before him tell him what room Cress was in immediately, before he remembered that Scarlet had already sent him the information and made a mad dash to the elevator before the android even had the chance to answer.
As the elevator moved upwards, the numbered buttons going up by with each floor he passed, he tried to rehearse in his mind what he would say, but everything he thought of sounded cheesy or dramatic.
Not that he ever cared about being dramatic, but this had to go perfectly if he wanted her to answer affirmatively.
As he stepped out of the elevator and walked to room 416A, he sucked in a steadying breath. He lifted a hand to the door and knocked three times, his heart seeming to pump a bit harder with each knock.
The door opened to show Iko grinning at him like the Chesire cat. He immediately peered behind her, taking in everyone except Cress.
He swallowed thickly.
Where was she? Had she run away from him? Why wasn't anyone saying anything?
"Where is she?" he asked, eyes on Cinder since he deemed her to be possibly the sanest person in the entire room. When everyone remained quiet, he pleaded, "Cinder."
"What would you say if she were here, Thorne?" Cinder replied. "Just…just look at me and tell me."
Thorne clenched his hands together and turned away towards the door, "I'm not going to waste my time here. I'll find her myself."
As soon as he took a step, Wolf stepped into his path, green eyes narrowed. "She's gone. So just say it. It'll make you feel better."
Thorne resisted the urge to punch Wolf in the face. No matter how angry he was getting, he didn't want to fight the guy he had hired to be his bodyguard.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, turning back to Cinder with a defeated expression. "I'd tell her that I love her…and that I was wrong for sending her away…that I should've found a way to work things out. But now that opportunity is over…" he cringed, "is she already on a flight? Why didn't any of you take her there?"
"Because I'm still here."
Thorne's eyes flew to the other side of the room, where Cress stood in the now open doorway of the bathroom. Her blue eyes were misted with tears, but there was something strong and solid there too.
"Well, now I know not to trust anyone in this room," he half-joked.
Cress gave him a watery smile that almost crushed his heart into pieces all over again. He reached out a hand for her and she hesitated, but slowly made her way towards him. The rest of the people in the room started to shuffle behind him, whispering excitedly.
She slipped her hand into his and he pulled her close immediately, wrapping one arm around her small body and used his right hand to cup the back of her head. "I missed you," he spoke quietly but truthfully. It felt as if his body had suddenly turned into gelatin. He had to hold himself back from kissing her, or he'd never say what he had to say. "And I'm sorry, Cress. I shouldn't have reacted that way."
She nodded into his shirt and he was suddenly aware of the wet patch growing where her face was.
When she finally pulled away, her small round face was streaked with tears as she looked up at him. "I- I forgive you…b-but it doesn't change anything. I still have to leave."
"No way!" Iko suddenly shouted. "Thorne will totally let you stay with him. Right, Thorne? Right?"
Everyone else seemed just as eager for his answer as they stared at him with big, expectant eyes.
Thorne answered, "No. She can't stay with me."
"Whaaaattt?" Iko screeched.
"So Cress-friend really does have to go?" Winter asked, frowning and gripping Jacin's hand.
"I didn't say that," Thorne allowed himself a smirk, then turned back to Cress. "But I do have another proposition for you."
"What is it?" Cress looked nonplussed, but willing to hear him out nonetheless.
Now was the time. His heart hammered in his chest hard- something that only seemed to happen when he was around Cress. Surely this girl would be the death of him one day. But for now, he wanted to live by her side.
"Cress, all of my life I've been hiding behind the fact that my riches were based on illegitimate means. So when I met you, I thought it was natural for me to continue the legacy and do whatever I had to do to get more money. But money isn't everything…this is. But you aren't accepted in this society and that is something that must be dealt with. I have to do something good in my life. If you let me, I want to redeem myself in your eyes and get you citizenship at the same time."
"How?" Cress' voice was just above a whisper, so transfixed was she on what he was saying.
"We have to save the world."
"Thorne, be serious!" The magical spell broken, Cress threw his hands down and huffed. "That isn't funny!"
"I am being serious," Thorne replied, "I know it sounds crazy, but what we need right now is crazy. Look, you're a Lunar who was on a satellite hacking and doing all types of crazy stuff for the queen right?"
"Right," Cress looked as if she was about to roll her eyes, but Thorne ignored it.
"Right. That means you have all types of information the government could use. We'll just go over and parlay for you. They'll protect you, and if they don't, we'll get out of there together."
"Together?
"Together. I'm not letting you out of my sight again."
Her smile was enough to let him know that she agreed, or at least that she was thinking about it.
But the kiss that she suddenly initiated dispelled any doubts from his mind immediately.
Even with their ragtag group of friends in the background clapping and cheering in the background, Thorne felt as if they were the only two people in the room.
He couldn't believe that once upon a time he had found a girl hacking into his technology systems in one of his computer labs.
She had broken down all of his walls- tore through them effortlessly with her intelligence, quiet beauty, strength and kindness.
He smiled against her lips.
She certainly was not just a maid anymore.
Cress could feel him smiling against her lips. Her heart fluttered in response.
Once upon a time, she had thought that happiest moment in her life was when Thorne had welcomed her into his home as a maid. She had done all she could to learn to clean his house to perfection.
Somewhere along the line she had found herself falling for him…and hard.
She had wanted nothing more than to be by his side as something more. And now she was.
Days later, after all of their friends had gone to their respective dwellings and she went home with Thorne, they were boarding the Rampion, which was apparently Thorne's most prized possession.
She sat beside him as he flicked switches and turned knobs. "Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?" she asked.
"Oh, come on sweetheart, I didn't have you call me captain when we first met for nothing."
"Oh? I thought it was for your ever-inflating ego," she teased.
"Ha ha," he fake-laughed.
He turned and squeezed her hand. "You sure you're ready for this? We don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can just move to Africa. I'm sure I could be a sexy millionaire entrepreneur and model there too."
Cress shook her head, "no…I want to do this…let's do something…good. For once in my life, I want to be useful to the good guys."
"Me too," Thorne agreed, flicked one last switch. Cress braced herself as she suddenly felt the Rampion roar to life. "Let's go on an adventure, sweetheart."
Cress couldn't help but grin as they lifted into the air.
After all, with Thorne by her side, she was ready for anything.
