~Chapter 15~

"Serena, we have to talk," he said, his tone serious.

I hissed under my breath. "How in the hell do you keep finding me?"

He looked up for a moment and took a deep breath. His answer wasn't what I expected to hear. "What happened to you?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Huh?"

"You never talked like this, you never acted like this, and you used to be so fun to be around. What's happened? Why are are you acting like this?" he replied. "Was your life really that miserable?"

I gritted my teeth. I didn't know anything about my past. In fact, I didn't even want to. These crazy maniacs were obsessed with me, always clinging to me like a tick. Every time I thought I was free, they came back. They were humans, not stray cats! When did I suddenly become so important?

"I don't know what you're talking abou-" I was cut short when he grabbed my arm. I curled my hand into a fist on reflex.

He lowered his head closer to mine, obviously wanting a kiss. Why was I leaning in? Why was I letting my body take control? I should be angry or uncomfortable or something right now. I didn't mind kissing him...I guess. I don't know why I wanted him to kiss me, but I wanted him to claim me as his. That would involve getting a boyfriend...but with my job...even though he wouldn't like it...but what the hell was I thinking? I had Darien right in front of me. I had him all to myself right now. The crowd of dancing people didn't notice us. In fact, they hid us from Summer's vision. It was like we were all alone, free to do whatever we wanted to in this moment. It was our own bubble. It was a special place where my job had nothing to do with him. I really did want him to be mine...for some reason.

His lips touched mine and a giddy feeling welled up inside me. I felt like smiling but I resisted. I couldn't explain it. It was like he'd cast a spell on me. He was right to keep chasing me, to keep finding me. I kept trying to avoid him but he didn't give up. Now he was even refusing to let me go. I didn't want to go anymore, not right now at least. Instead of pushing him away, I moved my free arm slowly around his neck. I was acting on pure instinct, I was giving in to my feelings and I didn't know why. I couldn't already be falling for him, could I? No, this had to be a phase or something. Yeah, just an infatuation. It was probably something I would get over in awhile.

God, he was so amazing. There had to be some flaw in him, something I was missing. His kiss felt so familiar, and his kindness and persistence and patience...he really was different, wasn't he? Yes, he most certainly was. It was almost like he didn't care about my looks. It was like he was pushing through me to find my very soul. If you ask me, he was a wizard. Only a wizard could do this to me. He didn't want sex from me, he just wanted a kiss. No, he wanted me, but not for the reason all those other men did. He wanted to love me and hold me and stay by my side. He wanted to have me near him.

I felt his hand move down to my wrist, where he rubbed his thumb over my scars. I opened my eyes. He was still kissing me and for some reason I didn't pull away...yet. His eyes were open and he was staring at my wrist in complete loss for words. He knew my past. Why was he so shocked about these scars? He should've known they were there, right? He continued rubbing a thumb over my wrist, feeling the ridges my scars made.

I parted and pulled my hand back, successfully breaking free of his grasp.

"So it really was your blood on my door..." he breathed, so low I could barely hear him. A glint of guilt crept into his eyes. It gave me the impression that he might've had something to do with all this, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. He ran his hands through his hair, looked up, and took a deep breath.

He and the other girls knew my past, so they should've known about the scars and why they were there. However, it didn't seem to be that way now. Darien's expression told me he never knew about my scars. He had never known about me cutting myself. It would make sense that I would hide it, but if he really had been my boyfriend at some point in time then he should've caught on long before I supposedly ran away, right?

I gradually moved to the back edge of the crowd, holding my wrist to my chest. It wasn't like these scars were something to be proud of, and I didn't want them to be seen again. In fact, I could only hope Darien wouldn't run off to tell the girls about this. I had to get him out of my life. I wanted things to return to normal, permanently. To accomplish that, he and the girls needed to get out of the picture.

I cleared my throat to catch his attention. "I can't be doing this."

He looked at me. "What? Why?"

"I just can't," was all I could say.

He put a hand on my shoulder, quietly begging me not to leave, but I brushed it off. I needed to find a place of refuge, one where he couldn't follow me. Through the enormous throng of moving people, though, it was hard to see anything. But fortune smiled down upon me today and allowed me to spot a girl's bathroom on the other side of the crowd. I ran, slipping through the crowd, looking back only once to make sure I was elusive enough to get away from Darien's sight. I have to say, it wasn't easy getting through the tightly-packed crowd, but once I reached the bathroom and hurried to get in it, it was worth it. Not even Darien would follow me into a ladies' bathroom.

And I turned out to be right. The probability of Darien having already found out my "hiding" place was unusually high. He was likely right outside the door, waiting for me to come out. Why did he keep this up? He knew I didn't want a boyfriend so why did he keep chasing me? I sighed. He was different, but so very strange. I just couldn't figure him out. Maybe waiting in here was the best thing to do right now.

After several minutes, I heard voices mumbling outside. I couldn't make out who it was, but chances were it was Darien and one of the girls. The door opened. I was wrong, it was just Summer. Well, it was thankfully Summer. She held something behind her back.

"Hey, Serena," she said, closing the door.

I waved a hand. "Hey."

"Heard about what happened."

My head shot up and I tensed. "What?"

She chuckled lightheartedly. "Darien said he didn't get you, said he wasn't used to the new you. He told me you ran away from him and hid in here."

"And...is that all?"

She nodded. "Pretty much. But it doesn't take a genius to know something bigger happened. I would believe you know why he said that."

Groaning, I could only look at her. Her eyes said she was concerned. I already knew she didn't fully trust Darien, but that was pretty normal considering men in this town tended to deceive girls and tricked them into sleeping with them. I couldn't even bring myself to fully trust him yet. He seemed sincere, and every time I was around him, thoughts of a happily ever after started to shove their way into my mind. It was like he consumed me. I didn't like it.

"Serena, what exactly happened between you and Darien?" she asked, frowning at the fact that she didn't know.

"Don't even ask..." I murmured. Then, speaking up, I continued. "I hate him."

She smiled. "Well, quit moping. You were the one who roped me into going to this place, remember?" She pulled out a beer can from behind her back. "Just one."

I took it and popped it open, gladly draining the can. No surprise that it was empty within a minute.

"Feeling any better?" she asked.

I nodded my head as she grabbed my wrist. If only I had a dime for every time someone grabbed me...

"Kent and Betch are waiting for us at the entrance," she stated, pulling me out of the bathroom.

I laughed and didn't even look at Darien when I passed him.

That night was full of fun, even in spite of Darien's showing up. Betch came and she wasn't wearing her stripper clothes. Kent came and I could so easily swear something sparked in Summer. She liked Kent, I just knew it. I couldn't tell if Betch had caught on yet, but they were definitely going to hook up. The only thing that worried me was the unfortunate combination of Kent's shyness and Summer's unwillingness to make the first move. I wondered if it would even work out that way. Summer even told me up front one time that she wanted a guy who would make the first move on her. Kent...well...he was extremely timid about relationships for some reason. His reaction toward them led me to believe something traumatic happened in a past relationship that he had a hard time getting over. Betch, on the other hand, had like a hundred boyfriends. Only a handful had broken up with her; she dumped the rest of them. It wasn't exactly shocking, being as she worked at a strip club. Point is, she wasn't shy in the least. And me? I didn't want a boyfriend, and even if I did, my job wouldn't allow it. Darien, though...now he was a major problem. I knew that eventually I would care more about him than anything else. I simply couldn't have that.

I woke up in the middle of the night. It had been several weeks since that rave I went to. That rave was the last time I saw Darien. He hadn't shown up again since then. I was glad. My life might finally return to normal. I would only be a prostitute temporarily, just until those drinking contests started back up. Maybe then Darien and I would have a chance. Note the key word "maybe". I didn't want a boyfriend but perhaps Darien could change that. I mean, look at all that he's done to me so far! He was mentally ill and yet here I was, always seeming to have him on my mind. I just had to get him out, that's all. Once I got him out of my head, he could stop poisoning my thoughts.

The bed shook a little as the man next to me awakened. He ran his hand across my bare belly.

I sighed, knowing there would be a round two tonight.