Chapter 19: Why Can't We Be Together?

The wipers went across the windshield in a rhythmic motion. Ali and Reggie silently sat in the car. Ali sat with her arms crossed over her chest as her hair dripped from all the rain and her shirt clung to her skin underneath her leather jacket. Reggie's hair rested against his forehead as he used his one hand to drive and the other on the gear shift.

"You shouldn't have come." Reggie broke the silence.

"Fine then, I won't care next time." Ali snapped back. Silence fell on the two again.

"Well you don't act like you care most of the time." Reggie sulked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that moving to a new country, having to make new friends, deal with new culture and have to worry about a murderer wasn't enough for you to realize that my emotions are a little out of whack right now." Ali groaned at the end of her rant.

"You can talk to me about this, Ali. I've said that." Reggie's grip on the steering wheel tightened as tried not to yell at the girl beside him.

"We barely know each other." Ali said.

"We've known each other for over a month. I've met your mother. I drive you twice a day every day. We have chemistry class together. You can't say that we don't know each other." Reggie defended himself.

"You don't get it." Ali groaned.

"Then explain it to me. Talk to me, Ali." Reggie's voice carried frustration and Ali could hear it loud and clear. She kept her mouth shut as she stared out the window. "I don't know what you want me to do. I get that you don't want to be in a relationship, but you can't just shut me out and then say that I don't know you."

"It's for your own good." Ali muttered.

"How?" Reggie turned onto Ali's street and made his way to her house.

"It just is." Ali softly said. Reggie parked his car and turned in his seat, so he could look at the girl beside him. Even with her arms crossed against her chest and her face stern, her eyes were lowered and they were filled with sadness.

"I'm a big boy, Ali. I can make my own decisions." Reggie explained. Ali refused to look at the boy beside her. Reggie placed his hand on hers and pulled her arms apart – forcing her to look at him. "Please, Ali."

"No. You'll just end up looking at me differently." Ali plainly said. She knew that if Reggie knew about her past then he would treat her just like he does the Serpents or even worse. She didn't want that.

"I promise you, I won't." Reggie pleaded.

"You can't say that." Ali looked away from Reggie and towards her feet.

"We come from two different worlds." Reggie was confused by Ali's words.

"What?" Ali shook her head and pulled her hands away from Reggie.

"Thank you, for everything." Ali opened the car door and stepped outside – allowing the rain to drench her as she began to walk to her house, but she stopped when she felt someone grab her wrist and spin her around. Her face was pushed into a broad chest while arms wrapped around her.

"I don't know what you're running from, but you can trust me." Reggie said in her ear. Ali looked up at him and saw his softened features through the rain. Ali didn't have any words to say at that moment, so Reggie did the only thing he thought he could. He leaned down and placed his lips on hers in a soft kiss. This kiss wasn't like Reggie's usual kisses because it was soft and meaningful to him. He was worried that he was going to break the girl that was in his arms. However, when Ali pulled away, Reggie felt a pang of hurt run through him.

"I don't think you should drive me anymore." Ali said before wiggling out of his arms. She began to walk away from Reggie even when he called after her,

"I'm sorry, Ali!" Ali walked to her front door and placed the keys in the lock, so she could walk inside and shut the door on Reggie. With a heave heart – the two teenagers parted, one going into their car and the other going upstairs to shower.

When Reggie got into his car he slammed his fist against his steering wheel and cursed. He believed that kissing Ali in that moment was the best option. He had always seen it in movies and girls always said that being kissed in the rain was romantic, but Ali didn't feel the same.

Ali went upstairs and stripped herself of her clothes. Her parents were already asleep in their bed as Ali jumped into her shower and put the water on boiling hot. She allowed the hot water hit her skin. She was angry and frustrated and the only way she ever seemed to deal with it was to shower in boiling water. It was her way to remember that she felt something – anything.

When Reggie got home he went upstairs and threw his clothes in his laundry hamper. While he stood in his shower he slammed his fast against the tile. Even with the water hitting his skin – his muscles were tensed with regret as the kiss continued to play in his head. After showering, Reggie wrapped a towel about his hips and walked back into his room. He sat on his bed and pulled out his phone. He looked at Ali's text conversation. There weren't many texts exchanged between the two. Reggie could scroll up to the beginning of their texting with just a few swipes.

Ali stood in her room and looked at herself in her full length mirror. With her underwear on, she turned around and looked over her shoulder. The black lines were intricately placed around and through her scars. Her hands travelled on her shoulders and her lower back as she traced the scars underneath her tattoos. Any onlooker would just see one tattoo that covered Ali's back completely. They would see that it was made up of lines, words, swirls, symbolism and more. However, those close to Ali knew that this was a piece of art that took several months to complete after her back was healed enough for the tattoo to take place.

Reggie lied in his bed while he stared at the ceiling. All of Ali's words floated through his head. The blue moon of a smile of hers was plastered behind his eyelids. The soft sound of her laugh rang in his ears. Reggie never settled in his bed that night, he just twisted and turned as he realized that he had truly lost all trust between Ali and him.

Ali's eyes were closed as she finally allowed sleep to engulf her. Her breathing was calm and her body finally relaxed under her bed sheets, but when her began to get too hot her body began to move. Ali felt the familiar feeling of heat on her back. She felt it spread across her skin as she continued to toss and turn in her head. While she slept her voice screeched,

"No!"

"No!"

"Stop!"

"No!"

"HELP!" Ali was jolted awake by strong hands on her shoulders as they shook her awake. A gasp escaped her lips, filling her lungs with air she didn't know she needed. Her body bolted upright as sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Ali! Ali!" Her eyes searched around her until they finally landed on her parents concerned faces. Theo and Cecile's breaths were caught in their throats as they looked at their daughter. The fear that covered her face shocked them. Theo wrapped his daughter in his arms as Cecile wrapped her arms around the two. "Je suis là."

Je suis là = I am here

Oh no...what's happening with Reggie and Ali? Is this the end of the road? What's going on with Ali? Do you have any ideas?