Wow, I'm overwhelmed by the quick response I had on the last chapter. I'm glad that y'all liked it. I hope that you like this chapter as well. Let me know what you think. I look forward to the reviews I get and I am thankful for all my loyal readers!!
Derek turned back to look at her.
Suddenly she had that funny adolescent nervous feeling. She almost laughed at her nervousness. She really did want to say nothing but she knew that the "you jump, I jump" was pumping through her veins and she knew she had to talk to him.
He came over to her, clearly telling that she was distraught.
She stopped fiddling with her hands to look him in the eyes.
"Derek, why did we never fix it?"
He looked at her carefully.
"How come?" she asked quietly.
He exhaled a deep breath. "Casey, are you sure you want to get into this right here?"
She felt a tear trickle down her cheek.
"Hey," he whispered as he wiped the tear away. "What's with the tears? You know I can't handle tears very well."
When she looked up at him she felt like a dam broke and she burst into tears.
He pulled her into his arms and tried to soothe her. She sobbed for a few minutes and he just held her close to him.
Finally she calmed down to some hiccups as she felt soothed by the sound of his heart beat.
He rubbed her back, saying nothing.
Finally she stood tall, pulling herself from his arms.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
She shrugged. "I guess."
Again, he knew she was lying.
"So, let's get into this, why didn't we ever fix it Derek?"
He arched a brow.
"Really Derek, I need to know."
He sighed. "Casey, is it necessary to torture me with the questions about the whys and how comes. I torture myself with them enough."
"Derek, are you going to let me walk down that aisle tomorrow not letting me know why we didn't fix it if there had been a chance?"
He shook his head. "Case, I never had the chance to fix it."
She frowned.
"I was stupid and together we were so stubborn to admit that it was a stupid night that should never have happened. We let it get out of control and when I finally woke up to realize that—it was too late."
"Is it?"
He looked at her, a frown etched on his face.
"Derek, I think I'm making a mistake."
With those words uttered aloud, she felt immediate relief. She also knew it was the truth and she really wanted Derek to be her knight in shining armor again.
She was about to open her mouth to say something but was cut off by Derek.
He grabbed her and kissed her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, running a hand through his hair.
In that kiss she realized how much she missed him and that she knew that she would never stop loving him and she couldn't believe that she had let three years slide between them. It was a scary thought—soon she let all thoughts slide away and she absorbed by the kiss.
Then reality sunk in and she pulled away. They were not in the place to be doing this. Max and some of his family were ten feet away.
She was trying to catch her breath when she finally looked at him.
"Casey, are you going to go through with it?"
She didn't answer him.
"You can't possibly go through with it. You would be stupid to go through with it…
She glared at him.
"I don't mean that you are stupid, I mean if you can kiss me like that, there is no way you can go through with it. I mean can you really walk away from a kiss like that and say that you feel the same passion for him? There's no way you kiss me like that if you loved him and really wanted to marry him."
She rubbed at her temples.
She knew she couldn't go through with it. But she knew now that she wasn't just kidding herself by saying that she was still in love with Derek.
She just had to determine what to do. It wouldn't be easy, that was sure.
"Casey," he said, lifting her chin to make her look him in the eyes. "Casey, why is it a mistake to marry Max? "
She felt him probe her soul again with his eyes. She felt bare before him. Her weak soul was laid out before him and she could feel deep in her heart that she would never be able to shake him from her—ever!
"I can't marry him Derek," she said quietly.
"Why?" he asked her.
"I just can't."
"Casey, you're not really answering the question."
"I know."
"Well answer it."
"I can't."
"Can't or wont?"
She felt tears prickling her eyes, threatening to make an appearance.
"I'm scared to say it aloud."
He gave her a tight hug. It was a hug of deep comfort while it tried to show her that she could always rely on him. He would never judge her.
She let him hold her and she felt relief. She felt her soul being warmed and she almost felt whole again.
"Derek, I'm not sure we should be doing this here."
He nodded. "Probably not."
She sighed as she stepped out of his arms.
She started to walk back to the table. She was almost down the hall when she turned her head to look over her shoulder. "I'm still in love with you," she whispered.
After she uttered those words she walked on and went back to the table.
He stood there stock still. He wanted to run after her but knew this was a delicate situation and he couldn't expose her feelings to everyone.
She loved him; that was all that mattered. He had hated that they had been so young and stupid and tossed away the best thing that had ever happened to them.
But he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life if he let her go through with this sham of a wedding. He would never know the life he could have if he let her go and live a half life with a guy that she didn't really love.
He had never ever stopped loving her. He had spent the last three years mourning the loss of her from his life always wishing he could think of a way to get her back.
He had felt like his heart would shatter when he had heard that she had gotten together with Max. His heart had shattered when he heard that she was going to get married to him.
Casey was supposed to marry him. They had said they would both get the things they wanted in life, reach their goals, get married and work together on sharing their lives together.
He leaned against the wall. Casey was still burning on his lips.
"Hey Derek," Lizzie said.
"Hey Lizard," he smiled.
She gave him a careful look.
"Are you alright Derek?"
He shrugged.
"I know this must be hard for you to have to watch her marry someone else."
"I only care that she's happy."
Lizzie gave a smile. "Then make sure she's happy."
She left him by entering the washroom.
Derek frowned. Edwin really rubbed off on her. She and Edwin always seemed to know too much. He would blame it on their spying. They liked to know what was going on.
He took a deep breath and went back to the table. Most of the people had headed out, leaving only the wedding party, and George and Nora.
When he sat down, he was careful not to look at Casey with the burning passion that he felt. But after looking at her as she sat beside Max he knew that she was not happy. She looked like she was in agony.
She looked up at him, her eyes open to him. She needed him and was begging him to rescue her. He could hear in his memories "You jump, I jump". She had just jumped and now he had to follow. She had told him that she was making a mistake and still loved him. He of course still loved her, he had never ever stopped loving her. He didn't think he could ever stop loving her. She was his soul mate.
He sighed as he sat down. This was going to be one hell of an interesting wedding. Make that a non-wedding, because there was no way in hell he was going to let her go through with it.
I know, I'm so cruel. I keep leaving you hanging. I cant help it!! Really, I cant… maybe I should start ducking again, lol… So five reviews and the next chapter is yours
