Chp22
Elena blankly stared off into the distance. AJ's property was immense. There were trees as far as the eyes can see. Behind the Olympic swimming pool, outdoor jacuzzis, and basketball courts lied a wooded area. A little further into it there was a small brook. In the silence of the night, you could even hear the soothing murmur of the running water. It seemed like the ideal place for a poet, not a world-famous, hardcore-looking, erratic singing superstar.
But not even the tranquility of nature or the warmth of the afternoon sun could set her soul at ease. A million thoughts ran through her mind.
"Can I join you?" came a voice from behind.
Elena shrugged not bothering to turn around. "Sure. It's your house."
AJ took a chair and sat right across from her. She diverted her gaze to the ground.
"You ok?"
She nodded her head still avoiding contact. She wouldn't be able to lie if she stared into those beautiful, concerned, and sincere eyes of his.
"I don't believe you."
"Then why'd you ask?" She raised her head and looked at him sadly.
"Elena, you've helped me so now I want to help you. I, of all people, know that keeping everything inside will just make it worse." He reached over to hold her hand. "Please talk to me. Let it out before it eats you up inside. Don't make the same mistakes I did."
She stared down at their joined hands and slowly turned them over. Her eyes focused on the still fairly new scars on his wrists. She gently ran her thumbs over the permanent reminders of the night an angel was almost silenced. Tears threatened to fall as she thought of how different the outcome could have been.
"He's a fuckin' dickhead and I never want to see him again, end of story," she replied without emotion.
AJ knew what she was trying to do, but he wasn't going to let her off that easily.
"What happened?"
Elena sighed and removed her hands from his grasp.
"We had a fight, as usual. But this time, he had crossed the line. He said things that I couldn't and will never forgive him for."
"What did you fight about?" He didn't have to ask to know the truth. He knew that Nathan hated him. The feeling was mutual.
"It doesn't matter. All I know is that it's over and he should rot in hell. I hate him. God, I hate him so fuckin' much!"
She felt her defenses collapse and she couldn't control the tears or the pain anymore. "I thought he loved me! But everything was a lie! Every proclamation of love, every oath of loyalty, every kiss, every touch was a lie! He had me so fooled! How could I have been so stupid!"
AJ appeared by her side and surrounded her in his comforting embrace. "You weren't stupid, Elena. He had us all fooled."
"No. I could tell no one liked him from the very beginning. But I was so blinded by the stupid idea that maybe I had finally regained a little of what I had lost, that maybe I found the special someone that I could spend eternity with, that I couldn't see the truth! Or wouldn't! It was all just a false sense of security. I was never really happy. Maybe it's my destiny to be alone forever," she sobbed, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
"That's not true."
"How do you know?"
"Because a guy would have to be either blind or stupid to not realize how special you are. You're smart, funny, caring, pretty, loyal, honest, the list goes on. Someday you will find the right person. Maybe tomorrow, maybe ten years from now, but he will be worth the wait." Elena raised her head and met his gaze as he continued. The distance between their lips was getting shorter. "Someone who will treasure you and cherish you and never ever hurt you. Someone who you can love but will love you a thousand times more." He closed his eyes. Their lips were barely a centimeter away from touching. "Someone like"
"Nathan!"
AJ's eyes flew open and he looked at her in disbelief. "What?!"
"He has the keys to my house! I have to change the locks and change my number! Will you come with me?"
The moment was so perfect. It almost happened. AJ just wanted to slap her silly. "Do you have to do that right this second?"
"The sooner the better. Come with me? Please?" AJ looked into her pleading eyes. He could never refuse her. Sighing heavily, he gave in.
"Fine."
"Thank you so much!" she replied hugging him. "You are the greatest friend in the world!"
"Yeah friend," he reiterated sadly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they arrived at her home, they found a bouquet of tulips sitting on her front step.
"Aww, how sweet. My favorite flowers," Elena remarked and then kicked them out of her way. "I ain't touching anything that came in contact with his demonic hands!" AJ snickered at the scattered leaves and petals on the ground.
"You know, they could have been from me."
Elena looked back at him with wide eyes. "Were they?!"
"Umm, no."
"Then I don't give a rat's ass."
AJ followed her into her house and into the living room. Not surprisingly, her answering machine was blinking. She had 28 messages. Two were from Staci, one from Jen, one from her mother, and 24 from you know who.
"Ugh, I'm not even in my house for five minutes and he's already making it so difficult for me!" she groaned in dismay and then ran up the stairs. A few minutes later, she returned with her arms full of photo albums and stuffed animals. She dropped them on her living room floor and then dialed her phone company. "Yes, hello. My name is Elena DiLorenzo and I would like a change of phone number please. Yes same address. Yes. What? Are you sure? Oh, alright. Yes, thanks." She hung up the phone and scowled.
"What?" AJ asked from the floor where he was going through the photo albums and threw a white stuffed bear with a heart on it that contained a picture of her and Nathan at her face. She caught it and chucked it back at him disgusted.
"They can't do anything until Thursday which means I have to put up with his shit for four more days! If he harasses me---"
"I'll kill him for you."
"No, I can't deprive the pop world of one of their princes. I'll kill him myself."
"Ok. What are you going to do with all this crap?"
She didn't answer him with words. Instead, she gathered all of it up from the floor and started walking towards her kitchen. AJ followed her into the patio and watched silently as she dropped the objects into an empty bin. She then took out a pack of matched from her back pocket and lit one.
"Eelie, what are you doing?" AJ asked with worry in his eyes. She turned back to him.
"I'm saying goodbye," she replied monotonously. She then dropped the match into the receptacle and stared at it as it burst into flames. AJ walked over to her from behind and wrapped his arms around her as she lied her head back against his shoulder. Together they watched the painful memories physically fade away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Elena made her way over to her desk, Cindy stopped her to inform her that she had a call.
"He said it was urgent that he speak with you."
"That's nice," Elena replied nonchalantly. "If Nathan calls the main phone line again, can you tell him that I've been transferred to another office or something and that you are not allowed to disclose that kind of information to outsiders?"
Cindy raised an eyebrow and reluctantly agreed. "Yeah sure."
"Thanks."
"Oh and half a dozen roses arrived for you while you were on your lunch break. They're on your desk."
"Ugh, he never gives up!" She walked down to her small office and saw the red roses situated on the corner of her escritoire. She picked them up and was about to dispose of them in her trash can.
"What are you doing?!" Cindy exclaimed as she rescued them from their horrible fate. "Are you crazy?! They are so gorgeous! I'd die if someone sent me a roses!"
"It depends who they're from. Since you like them so much, you can have them. You know I love you," Elena joked.
"Really?! Thanks!" She held them out to admire the beautiful flowers. "Wow. They'll look great on my dining room table. I can lie and say that my non-existent admirer sent them to me," she smirked.
"Do as you wish."
"You sure you don't want them?"
"Positive."
"Do you want to know what's on the card?"
"I couldn't care less."
"Can I read it anyway?"
"If you must."
Cindy cleared her throat and then began to read the card out loud. "My dearest Elena, You cannot possibly imagine all the anguish I have suffered since the dreadful day you walked out of my life. I never meant to hurt you. I just felt threatened that you would be taken away from me and I would not be able to live with that empty void in my heart. Why can't you understand that what I did, I did it for usfor youbecause I love you. You are the air I breathe, the blood that courses through my veins, the happiness that brings me laughter, and the light in my life. I cannot go on without those things as I cannot go on without you. You mean the world and so much more to me. Please come back to me and make my life complete once again. You are my queen as I am your king. It was destiny. Please accept my apology and let me find the key to your heart. The key I had once held, but foolishly lost. I do not want to go on without you and if that is the only option I have then I refuse to go on. What would be the point? You have already stolen my heart. The only cure to my deep pain, I fear is the only certain thing in this world. With a delicate blade, I shall sever the ties I have with life and---"
"Stop!" Cindy ceased abruptly startled by Elena's sudden out burst. Elena put her head in her hands and sighed loudly. "I'm sorry, Cindy, I-I just can't hear anymore." She struggled to keep her voice level and control the anger that shook her trembling body. She could not believe that Nathan would sink as low as to threaten to kill himself if she didn't take him back. First of all, nothing would ever make her run back into the arms of that asshole. She knew Nathan would never actually do it. He loved himself too much. Secondly and most importantly, he knew very well that the subject of suicide was very sensitive to her ever since what happened with AJ. His pathetic plan totally backfired. It could only make her despise him even more, if that was possible.
"Sorry, Elena. But this guy seems too good to be true. He seems way beyond head over heals in love with you."
"Don't be deceived. They're only words. Words mean nothing." She sadly looked over at the picture sitting on the corner of her desk. It was a shot of her with her boys. All five of them. "Absolutely nothing."
Chp 23
Chp 21
