A/N: Once more thanks for the reviews. I notice the number of reviews are diminishing from chapter to chapter. Are you guys just not interested anymore? I really hope not. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of it's characters. If I did, Peyton and Lucas would never have gotten together, much less get married.
The moment Peyton left, I practically ran out of the office. I couldn't breathe. I hurried to my car, furiously searching for my keys. I couldn't stop my hand from shaking. When I'd reached my apartment building, I didn't even realise. I bolted up my apartment stairs, not caring what the watchman or anyone else in the building thought of me. Tears streaming from my eyes and throat parched, I didn't stop until I reached the toilet where I puked intermittently for over twenty minutes. I finally settled myself on the bathroom floor, utterly exhausted. Normally I was a neat freak, I wouldn't be caught dead sitting amongst the germs that no doubt tainted my otherwise spotless marble flooring, but I didn't care. The case, the marriage, it was all taking a toll on me. I didn't expect for Nathan to have such a profound effect on me even after all these years. My throat was burning, my lips chapped, eyes red rimmed and puffy. After I left Tree Hill, I promised myself that I would never be that girl who cries because of a boy. But here I was, doing exactly what I said I wouldn't do. I felt like such a fool.
Pushing myself up with the help of the bathroom sink, I found myself staring at the mirror. My hair had grown to about three or four inches below my shoulders. I would have gotten it cut except that I couldn't take out time out of my busy schedule to call for an appointment. Sure it was blond, just like Peyton's but it didn't glisten under the morning sun like hers. My mom used to say that I'd gotten my grandmother's features, that my eyes were like the windows to my soul. All I saw in them was regret and years of denying myself of the things I really want.
I walked into the living room and picked up my cell. I immediately regretted calling, the moment I heard Brooke's voice on the other end.
"Hello"
She was laughing, probably on a shoot somewhere, she didn't know yet but Luke was going to propose to her any day now. He'd asked me to help him pick a ring the week before. This was probably one of the best periods of her life; I had no right to unload my problems on her. So what I did was I hung up on her.
I should have known that she'd call back.
Brooke was one of a kind, she would drop everything and come over to console me whenever I needed it. That kind of fierce loyalty is very difficult to come by. I was thankful to have her on my side.
"Haley bear what's wrong?" she asked softly.
I tried to get myself together, I didn't want her to worry.
"Nothing Brooke, I've just had a rough day. I'll be okay."
"Are you sure? 'Cause I can get Laura to pack up early."
"No that's not necessary, thanks anyways"
"I'll be over in twenty minutes, sit tight" she said, immediately hanging up, not giving me a chance to stop her.
20 minutes on the dot and the doorbell rang, signalling Brooke's arrival. The first thing she did upon opening the door was to give me a big bear hug.
Examining my face, the black tears, the swollen eyelids, she gasped "What happened to you"?
"Nathan's engaged", I let out barely above a whisper.
I expected to see her shocked but she wasn't. Her features just softened.
"What does Lucas know too?" I asked frustrated.
I could tell that she wasn't looking forward to the conversation we were about to have. She fiddled with her shirt sleeve, a nervous habit. She kept averting her eyes, a clear sign that I wouldn't like what she was about to say.
"Yes, Nathan had asked for his advice before taking the leap."
Great, as usual I'm always the last person to know, I thought to myself.
"The wedding is set for April, Peyton wanted a spring wedding", Brooke continued cautiously.
"I don't know why I'm so upset Brooke. I really thought I was over him so why am I feeling this way?"
Brooke took my hand in hers and gave it a tight squeeze.
"He was your first love, its natural for you to feel this way."
I never believed in fairy tales or soul mates. My theory has always been that in this world there are a select few people with whom you are compatible, if you're lucky to find one of them, then your marriage is golden and if you've haven't found one such person than you're bound to go through hardship. Nathan had come as a surprise in my life. We had almost nothing in common and yet somehow we fit, just like pieces of a puzzle. I didn't plan out my future in great detail like some girls did but I had a basic outline of what I expected from life. Up until a couple of hours ago, to some extent Nathan was a part of that plan.
"It's just that in spite of everything I always though we'd end up back together."
"We all did Haley. You guys were perfect together, nothing would make me happier than to see you two back together again. But it's been 7 years Hales, that's a long time. Do you blame him? A man has a right to move on."
I didn't know how to come to terms with this. I've never been good at handling emotions. If it isn't written in a book, I have a tendency to get lost.
"Is he happy?" I finally asked looking directly into her eyes. They were the deepest green, filled with so much life. I envied her. She'd always been the center of attention, so full of life, she could handle anything that life threw her way. Myself on the other hand, I've always been a coward, rather than fighting I let myself wallow in self pity.
I could tell what she was thinking, should she tell me the honest truth or say something that will make me feel better?
"Just tell me the truth, I can handle it", I finally let out.
"He's happy. Peyton loves him more than life itself."
"Good. He deserves to be happy".
For the first time since a long time I was being honest with myself. I always told myself that our marriage disintegrated because of my decision to go on tour but the truth is it was more than that. It didn't last because I was never mature enough to understand the sanctity of marriage. It meant more to Nathan than it did to me. He'd lived in broken family for as long as he could remember, this was his chance to start over. The problem was that I never really understood all of this at the time. It wasn't the tour, it was the fact that I had cheated on him. That was the fact that he couldn't get past. His rough behaviour toward me had been a sort of defensive mechanism, where as I took it as an act of selfishness. Deb had cheated on Dan, and the existence of Lucas, not to mention the pressures of basketball, when he needed someone to be there for him, I wasn't there.
"Everyone was right; it's my fault that our marriage didn't work out"
"Oh sweetie, don't say that" consoled Brooke as she pulled me into a hug.
I know she means well but I could see it in her eyes, the confusion, the guilt. She so desperately wanted to convince me that I wasn't at fault but in her heart she knew otherwise. For the first time I was realising what a selfish person I was, am. Somewhere along the way, I became self-centred I always put myself first, my grades, my music, my career, I never really considered how what I was doing would affect others around me.
"Please don't lie. I didn't realise what I had until it was gone. For years on end, I fooled myself into believing that it's because of Nathan's selfishness that our marriage didn't last. The truth is I'm the selfish one, I mean what kind of a person do I have to be to make my best friend choose between me and his brother? For years I made you guys choose between me and him. Nathan has every right to hate me, I was just too stupid to understand it until now."
"To some extent you're both responsible for what happened. I'm glad you finally see Nathan's side. But don't beat yourself about it, you'd never intentionally hurt Nathan. Maybe you guys can finally get some closure", said Brooke with sad smile.
"Closure", I repeated.
I was 25 years old, decent looking, established and so much more and yet I was still living in the past. It was time to move on and that's exactly what I set about to do. I was going to solve this case, come what may. I was going to attain closure with Nathan. And I was going to wish him the best of luck with his fiancé. I refused to be the girl who cried at night wondering what could have been and if I was ever going to become the person that I always envisioned myself as. I was determined to get a fresh start.
***
New York City
"Come in"
"Hey Mouth, how've you been?"
"Haley, it took me ages to get rid of that nickname, why must you remind me?" joked Mouth, showing his million dollar smile.
"Sorry Mouth, I mean Marvin, old habits I guess"
It was a small room, even for New York. Pretty standard, everything you'd expect to see in a psychologist's office: Certificates of academic excellence on the walls, files scattered on the desk, an inviting couch to sit on, etc. The only thing that seemed to set the room apart from those of the hundreds of other psychologist clinics in town was this floor-to-ceiling sized signed poster of Lucas and Nathan standing side by side, from the likes of it, footage from last year's NBA playoffs.
"No problem. So what's up?" he asked, ushering me to lay down on the couch.
"I blanked out again", I confessed.
"Really? I thought they stopped. It's been years hasn't it?"
"Yeah. I don't know what's causing them again."
"When did you last have them?"
"I…I don't know"
He sat beside me, took my hands in his own and looked me straight in the eye. Next to Nathan and Lucas, Mouth had the bluest eyes you'd ever see. Like Lucas, Mouth's eyes offered comfort unlike that of Nathan's which could make you feel either extremely loved our downright dirty based on his mood.
"Come on Haley, try to remember."
"I can't. All of last month is blank. There are things I remember like going out with Luke to buy Brooke's Christmas present or the details of the Wilkinson case but then there are other things that I can't distinguish".
"Like what?"
"A wedding. I was at some wedding where I was the bride's maid and I was wearing this hideous midnight blue wedding gown. The bride and groom, try as I might for the life of me I can't remember who they are. Just glimpses, kind of like these, some of them are real while other's are just a figment of my imagination. I've got so much on my plate nowadays, that I try not to think about these things but I can't help but wonder. It's like my whole life is this big mystery, I just don't know what to make of it all."
"The wedding really happened Hales", he said after a moment's thought.
"It did?"
"Yeah, my cousin was getting married and we went together, as friends of course"
"Really? So how did I end up becoming a bride's maid?"
"One of the bride's maids' flight got cancelled due to bad weather and since Shelly didn't know anyone else in this town, she asked you to fill in.", he supplied.
"Okay that makes sense I guess. But what about Christmas? I've been going around asking everyone related to Nathan's case their whereabouts on Christmas Eve, when I myself can't remember where I was. I've been meaning to ask someone but I just haven't gotten the chance to get in touch with anyone. Nathan's case has been really stressful".
A recurring event, but every time I talked about Nathan to someone close to him or me, there's always a drastic change in person's demeanour and Mouth was no exception. Up until mere seconds ago he'd been so warm and understanding, and the moment I brought up the case, he began to grow distant.
He moved back to his desk and busied himself with some papers. He wore the same expression that everyone else had when I questioned them, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost think that they were all afraid of something.
Not willing to give up on this topic, I walked over and plopped myself on his desk.
"Are you even listening to me?" I asked exasperated.
"Yeah, of course I am. Christmas eve" he sighed
"You were with us, Brooke, Lucas, Skills, and me. Everyone who's anyone was going to Dan's party, so we decided to have our own little shin dig if you can call it that." he replied, now back to normal.
"Oh I see"
I didn't want to let suspicion get the best of me but I was beginning to feel like Dan's murder wasn't something done in the heat of the moment. I had yet to visit the apartment or what's left of it but I had this nagging feeling that there was more to the case than what meets the eye. It was almost as if everyone around me was part of this big cover up and somehow Nathan seemed to be at the centre of it all. Something just didn't make sense and I was determined to figure out why.
"Tell me Haley, is it possible that these lapses have a connection to your parents' death anniversary. If memory serves right, wasn't it around this time that the accident happened?"
He was right. Memories of that day are hazy at best. From what everyone said, I'd been in the car when it happened. It was late at night, we were coming home from Karen's and out of the blue oncoming car approached, my dad swerved, and the car ended up crashing into wooded area just a couple miles away from the Tree Hill docks. My parents were found dead on the spot, how I survived is still a mystery. I don't remember anything from that day or the days after. After weeks of treatment, I came to live with Karen and Lucas, the closest thing I had to a family.
The doctors said it would get better. That it was just a common symptom for trauma, it was natural for me to not remember the horrific incident. But is it normal for me to continue to have these lapses years after? That's a question that has yet to be answered.
"You're right. December 18th, that's about the time that these events started reoccurring. I have this feeling at the pit of my stomach that something is really wrong. We never did find out what happened. Both parties involved in the crash were well below the alcohol limit, no one was speeding, what could possibly have caused this to happen?"
"Is it possible that you uncovered some new information that could have triggered these lapses?"
"I … I don't know"
***
It was time to do some investigation. You know the usual, check the victim's whereabouts in the days before the incident; verify the suspect's alibis, etc. I know my job is to find proof of Nathan's innocence but seeing how this case was so close to me, I just had to find the real killer. I mean what better way to prove Nathan's innocence right? Dan and I were never on good terms, even before Nathan and I started dating, but I just felt like it was my duty to get to the bottom of it.
"Luke, you busy?", I asked, juggling the phone and driving simultaneously.
"Just training for the next game, why?"
Did I mention that Lucas was also a basketball superstar? Two time MVP New York Nicks starter Lucas Scott was the hero of every young boy, not to mention their fathers as well. I'd always known that Luke would end up doing something great one day but what I most admire about him is the fact that he never let the glitz and glamour get to his head, unlike Nathan of course who seemed to practically live for it. Luke was still Luke, the boy I'd grown up with, the one I could talk to about almost anything in the world.
"I just thought we could hang out for sometime".
"Sure no prob, how 'bout I come pick you up? Say around 6? Dinner and a movie?"
"That would be great, I'm staying at the Waldorf=Astoria, room 3225"
"Wow! Nathan must be paying you a lot", chuckled Lucas
"Hey, if I'm going to have to put up with his snide remarks on a daily basis, I'm going to have to get something out of it", I retorted.
***
"Dude you have to be kidding me Spiderman kicks ass how can you even compare him to Superman" "? I asked repulsed by the thought of it even.
"Oh please Hales, Superman is invincible what's spidey going to do? Make his cape sticky? Superman could tear him to shreds in a matter of seconds".
"Oh please …"
We'd just watched the latest superman movie, apparently the last one with Brandon Routh at least. It was an ongoing battle of ours since childhood. In my opinion, Peter Parker beats Kent any day maybe not with his powers but with his charms for sure.
"Hey Luke can I ask you a question?"
"Sure what?"
"Were you invited to Dan's Christmas party?"
"Way to kill the mood Hales", clearly annoyed. First the Spiderman thing now Dan, sore topics one after another.
"Sorry, it's just that something feels a little off. He's been his absolute worst for years, what would make a guy like him change his mind?"
"I don't know. Maybe the guilt finally caught up with him", he replied thoughtfully. "When I got that letter, I thought it was a joke. Second chance? A guy like him, after what he did to me? My mom? You? What right does he have to ask for forgiveness?"
"Nathan went, so did your mom, why didn't you go?"
"To be honest, I thought about it. I was about to get ready, when you called and I got to my senses."
When I didn't respond, he looked at me questioningly.
"You don't remember do you?"
How could a person read me so well? He just knew everything without me having to say a word. Brooke was lucky to have someone like this in her life.
"Remember what?", I asked hoping to god he wouldn't notice the beads of sweat that had formed at the mention of my frequent blackouts.
"Christmas Eve Haley, you were distracted throughout the evening, we all saw it but didn't say anything".
"Was Nathan there?" I know I was changing the topic out of the blue but I had to focus on one thing at a time. There were things that didn't make sense in my life, important things, but now was not the time to venture into the unknown. I had yet to put together a credible case when it comes to Nathan's trial, and time was running out.
Sensing my discomfort, he went along with it:" No, he wasn't. You said it yourself, he was at Dan's party"
"So he didn't call you at any point?"
"No"
He was lying, and this time I didn't even have to rely on intuition. I'd checked Nathan's phone records; there had been an outgoing call to Lucas's home number sometime around 2 in the morning. Lucas was the most honest person I know, what could compel him to do this?
"God what is up with you?" I asked frustrated, not meaning for it to come out aloud.
"What do you mean?", he asked, so innocently that if it hadn't been for the records, I would have a hard time believing that my best friend was indeed lying.
I decided to call him on his bullshit: "You're lying Luke. There were two calls between 2 and 3 AM from Nathan's cell to your home phone. God! Why is everyone making this so difficult for me. I'm not stupid you know. For years on end, I've seen the stares, the looks of disapproval, and guilt when it came to my marriage. At first it bothered me a lot, but you know what? I never let it get the best of me. But now that I'm actually trying to do something about it, mend ties, not to mention save him from being charged with first degree murder, you're all still against me. Do you really think lying for him will save him? If I can tell your crap don't you think the prosecution will too? They'll tear him to shreds, his alibi won't hold up and if you guys aren't careful, you might even get held as an accessory to the crime. Now that would be fun right? Rotting in jail, losing your career, not to mention your best friend and girlfriend"?
How we reached the hotel so fast in the midst of New York traffic, I'll never know.
Giving me the same expressionless look that Nathan used to have plastered on when he didn't like the topic we were discussing, he took my hand and lead me toward the elevators: "Don't make a scene, I'll answer all your questions once we get to your room".
The trip up the elevator was eerily quiet. Lucas rested his head against the wall and stared intently through the glass window. You could see the entire city from up there, it was breathtaking really. But somehow I had a feeling that the New York City skyline was the last thing on Lucas's mind. If it weren't for that random guy standing between us, I'd have pushed him for more info.
After what seemed like forever, the faint ping of the elevator signalled our arrival into the appropriate floor.
I walked past the stunning décor, and celebrity guests without a blink of an eye and Lucas silently followed. Briefly glancing in his direction, I could tell that Lucas was battling with himself.
I wanted to tell him that it was okay. That he could tell me the truth and I wouldn't think any less of him but I couldn't utter a single word. Aside from the days shortly after leaving Tree Hill, Lucas and I seldom got into fights. So this awkwardness when it comes to him was practically foreign to me.
Opening the door to my mini suite, I felt Lucas breeze past me and settle himself on the couch once again facing his attention on the window. When I'd taken the case, I'd done so as way of making amends though I hadn't realised it at the time, but now I realise that there's more to it than just that. Bit by bit, it was tearing apart my family, which primarily consists of my closest friends such as Lucas.
I sat beside him, turned his face around and forced him to look at me. This case was affecting me a lot. I just really needed my best friend now. Without even thinking, I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as I could.
I never cried, never. And yet I'd broken down twice, this week alone.
"Shh … Haley don't cry, it'll be okay" soothed Lucas.
I was trying really hard to stop but the tears just kept coming. I was the rock that people held onto for support, when did I become the porcelain doll that required constant nurturing?
"Just tell me Luke … did Nathan do it?" I asked point blank. I was through beating around the bush.
Taking my hand in his and using the other to wipe away a lone tear that had escaped, he said barely above a whisper, what would haunt me for nights after, "I don't know".
"But the phone calls?"
"In the middle of the night I got this phone call from Nathan. You know how I deeply I sleep right? So the call went to the answering machine. I can show it to you if you like."
Finally we were getting somewhere. I just wasn't sure whether what I was going to find out was going to strengthen or weaken my case.
"Show it to me"
He took out his phone, dialled the number and handed it to me.
At first I couldn't hear anything; reception must have been low from where Nathan had called.
"Lucas? Lucas you there?" Nathan asked frantically.
I'd have to let my experts look at it to be sure but from the likes of it, Nathan must have been close to the fire when he'd made the call. There were loud noises, sirens of an ambulance, or fire truck perhaps.
"Lucas it's me Nathan. Something's happened call me back as soon as possible. Bye", continued Nathan. There were other voices in the message, familiar ones but I couldn't quite decipher who they belonged to.
Lucas looked at me expectantly, as if I could magically find answers to the questions he no doubt had.
"Did you ask him about this?" I asked, trying to read his every move.
"No. This is my private cell phone line, No one except mom, Keith, Nathan, Brooke and you know about it. You remember how I lost my phone in Tree Hill?"
"Yeah, I remember. I had to wait hours on end to reach you on your work phone; your line was always busy."
"Right. So I didn't get back this phone back until yesterday. Mom mailed it to me."
"And in this time, Nathan never mentioned the call?"
"Not a word. What do you think of it?" he asked.
I really didn't have much of an answer for him.
"I don't know. All I know is that this information better not find its way into Rachel Gatina's hands."
***
I had to do some investigation of my own. The police report gave much insight but it wasn't enough. By going there, I was hoping to find something that the police might have overlooked, some sign that all that happened wasn't Nathan's fault.
I was just going to go home for quick change of shoes (high heels and snooping don't mesh well). What I found would knock the wind right out of me.
Like any other day, I was coming home late at night, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Seeing as how it was past 11 at night, the corridor lights were dimmed and everything was quiet. The first thing I noticed upon reaching my apartment was the flashes of blue light peeking out from beneath the front door. Being a staunch believer in energy conservation, the possibility of my having left a light on before going out is almost an impossibility. I fished into my purse for the keys, finding it, I began twisting the lock praying to god that the rather noisy clicking sound wouldn't alert the intruder of my presence. I walked into the corridor, carefully closing the door, and tiptoed into the living room.
I walked in and got the surprise of my life. There sitting on my couch, eating my popcorn was none other than Nathan Scott himself. For days on end I'd been trying to get a hold of him but his phone always goes to bloody voice mail. And right now he was here, in my apartment acting as if he practically lived here. The nerve!
If he'd noticed my entrance, he sure didn't seem to let it show. He just sat there, feet on the glass table, greasy hands on my cushion, staring at the television, deeply engrossed in what looked to be the latest basketball game, the game that I had tickets to and had to give up because I was too busy building Nathan's case.
"How the hell did you get in here?" I asked furious, resting my hands on either side of my hips.
For a second he looked at me like I was crazy. Then it finally dawned on him as to who I was.
"Hey" he replied and then turned back to the game.
Who did he think he was barging in like this?
I dropped my keys on the table, grabbed the remote and turned the damn thing off.
"Hey I was watching that", he protested.
"Yeah, too bad. In case you haven't noticed, this is my apartment and what I say goes around here"
"Fine, be that way", he said slightly amused, getting up from the couch and moseying his way into the kitchen probably to get himself more food, which incidentally I had paid for.
Today was not the day to get on my nerves. I wasn't about to put up with this nonsense, not from Nathan at least.
I breezed past him and blocked the entrance to kitchen. I was through letting him push me around.
"No can do buddy, you're through eating my food"
I grabbed his arm and led him back to the couch. I had to show him that I was in control, even though the fact was that it was far from the truth.
His cologne was intoxicating and his messy hair was extremely distracting. He was still the most handsome man I'd come across in my lifetime. All kinds of thoughts, things that I shouldn't be thinking about were coming to mind. He belonged to someone else now, I kept telling myself but my heart refused to believe it.
"How'd you get in here?" I asked once more.
Finishing off the last of my popcorn, and evidently having thoroughly enjoyed it, he replied: "The safety keys behind the fire extinguisher. That's where you used to keep our apartment key didn't you?"
Damn myself and my tendency of being so incredibly predictable.
"I heard about Lucas", he continued more seriously.
Perhaps there was some good that would come about from this untimely encounter.
I settled myself on the couch beside him, making sure to keep just enough distance. He seemed to notice my discomfort but did nothing to ease the situation.
"Were you ever going to tell me that you were there when the fire was started?" I asked.
"That's because I wasn't"
"Nathan, I'm done playing games. Just tell me what happened."
He picked up one of the photos from the side table and looked at it with great interest. It was a photo from our high school graduation. Lucas and I stood side by side grinning from ear to ear, elated by the fact that we no longer had to endure the nightmare that was high school. For the first time since I'd seen the picture, I noticed that Nathan was a part of it too. You had to look carefully but deep amongst the mob of excited teenagers, there he was. He looked lost, almost regretful even. But that didn't really matter now.
"I was the one who made the call to the fire department" he finally said.
As if he could read my mind, he continued "No, I didn't start the fire. Dan and I, we had our problems but I wouldn't go so far as to kill the man. After Peyton dropped me off to the beach house, I realised I'd left my keys back at the party. So I took a cab and made it back to the apartment. When I got there, there was smoke everywhere. I couldn't even get out of the elevator, that's how far the fire had spread. So I did what I had to, I called the fire department and got out of there as fast as I could. I had no idea he was still in there".
"Why were you the first to notice the fire? There are other people living in that building. If the fire had spread as far as you say, wouldn't they have known?"
"No. You know Dan, he liked to have his privacy. His apartment takes up the entire floor and has a private elevator into the building. You can't access the elevator unless you have a special card that authorises you to enter."
"You didn't have the keys to your house and I'm supposed to believe you carried the card to your father's apartment?"
"Normally I wouldn't but the invitation letter, it included a card that would temporarily give you access to the building's top floor. I still had that in my pocket."
I wasn't sure what to think. His story, it was feasible, but there were still far too many holes.
"Why didn't you tell all this to the police?
"Because I got scared. Everyone knew of my strained relationship with Dan. God knows the media manages to print something on it practically every other day. When push comes to shove, I would be the first they'd point their fingers to when it comes to his death."
He looked past me and onto the floor. Where the contents of my purse now lay in plain view. He walked across the room and picked up a tiny envelope that had fallen out.
"You're planning to go back in there aren't you?" he asked.
If it weren't for the jerky side that I'd grown accustomed to in the last few days, I'd almost think that he looked genuinely worried.
"What if I am?" I asked indignantly.
"Then I'm going with you" he replied, picking up his leather jacket.
I was taken aback by his forcefulness. The look on his face, it was almost scary. I'd seen many of his expressions, most of them in fact, but this look of protectiveness, this was a first.
"Nathan this is a criminal investigation. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't take you with me."
I was about to leave when he took hold of my arm. He pulled at it so forcefully that I ended up losing my balance, having to steady myself by pulling on his shirt.
He placed his arm on the small of my back and pulled me forward so much so that his face was a mere inches from mine. His face softened and his eyes filled with emotion. "I'm not letting you go alone", he said softly.
Such a simple sentence, and yet almost deathly. In that instant, he broke down all the lies that I'd fed myself, all the walls that I'd built around me. He pretty much just shattered me. I was falling in love with him all over again and for the life of me I couldn't make it stop.
His touch was cold to my skin and his gaze far too disconcerting. My eyes filled tears but I quickly wiped them away praying to god he hadn't seen them.
I walked out of his arms and out to the entrance, not wanting for him to follow but almost positive that he was.