Torn (Torn Series) (30 page)

You turned it back on me

He whispered the last line and before I realized what I was doing, I was running through the crowd, pushing people as I went. I ran straight to my car and slammed the door behind me, tears running down my face in torrents. Amber was running out the front door as I sped past her and out onto the main road.

Chapter Twenty-One

Second Chances

I drove for miles and miles as I pictured the look on Drake’s face when he sang to me. I had destroyed him without even realizing what I was doing. He had finally opened up to me and I had pushed him away. I knew enough about Drake to know he didn’t do that often and I had shut him down cold, ruining him for anyone else out there. I was a horrible person and deserved to be alone for the rest of my life for everything I had put him through.

I drove for over an hour before I was forced to pull up at the gas station and fill up with gas. I had been lying on empty as I pulled in and I cringed as the machine continued to put dollar after dollar into my car. I needed to get my head together before I made myself go broke with this night time driving. A thought hit me as I replaced the nozzle and pulled away from the station. I could go back to the spot Drake had shown me. I needed the peace that place brought me right now, and surely he wouldn’t be out there this late at night, especially after everything that had happened.

I pulled my car back onto the interstate and made my way slowly back toward West Virginia. I hadn’t realized just how far into Maryland my travels had taken me. Finally, after what felt like hours I crossed the state line and started watching for my exit. I was upon it quickly and I breathed a sigh of relief as I gave my blinker. I was almost there. I pulled off the main road and onto the hidden path, driving slowly since there was so much fog tonight.

I finally pulled into the clearing and shut my car off, enjoying the total silence that came with it. I sat there for a moment before getting out and making my way down the path to the edge of the water. I sat on the same rotten tree as before, but decided against sticking my toes in the frigid water. I’d leave dying of hypothermia for another night.

I let myself drift away with the water, leaving my worries behind me. If I could stay here forever I would, there was nowhere else on Earth as special as this place. I leaned back against the trunk of the tree as I began to feel sleepy.

              Sometime later, I woke with a start as I heard footsteps approaching. I attempted to make myself as small as possible, trying to hide, as the footsteps grew louder. A figure stepped in front of me and I nearly shrieked.

“Chloe?”

I peered into the darkness, trying to make sure I had heard who I thought I had. The moon was hidden behind the clouds and made the feat nearly impossible.

“Drake?”

A flashlight clicked on and I shielded my eyes at the brightness as he pointed it in my face. “Yeah it’s me. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

I held my hand in front of my face, trying to block out the light. “Do you mind? I’m going blind here.”

The flashlight clicked off instantly and we were plunged back into darkness. “Sorry, wasn’t thinking. I’m relieved I found you, I came by here earlier but you weren’t here.”

I nodded into the blackness even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I went for a drive. Had to clear my thoughts. I didn’t realize until just a little bit ago that this was the perfect spot for it.”

I felt him sit down on the log next to me, “I know what you mean. This place seems to have some kind of magic doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

We sat in silence as I wondered why he had been searching for me. After the performance tonight, I had assumed he was done with me.

“Why are you here Drake?”

He let out a long sigh, “I talked to Amber, she told me everything you guys talked about the other day. I wish you would have come to me Chloe, instead of me having to search for you. You could have saved us both a lot of time.”

I groaned as I let my head fall into my hands, “Amber has a big mouth.” I pulled my hands away from my face as the moon moved out from behind a cloud and cast a beautiful soft light on the water and Drake. It almost looked like he was glowing.

“I’m glad she told me, I’ve been trying to stay away from you all this time. I thought you’d moved on.”

“Drake I’m never going to move on from you. Never.”

I could see his lips turn up in a smile as the moonlight reflected off his lip ring. “I’m glad to hear that because I don’t think I can move on from you either. I’ve missed you so
much, you’re all I think about.”

My heart leapt at his words but I forced my face to remain neutral. “We’re not good for each other Drake. You said it all tonight, we’re a whirlwind and we destroy everything in our path when we’re together.”

He shook his head as he wrapped his hand around mine, “You’re wrong. Everything that happened wasn’t just us. Logan was in the picture and it just screwed everything up. We both made mistakes. But I think if you gave us a chance, I think we could really make something beautiful instead of so much destruction.”

I watched as he ran his hand across my palm and up my wrist. I shivered at the sensation as I pulled away. “How can you think that? All we’ve ever caused is destruction. I can’t think of two people who could possibly be worse than us together. We bring out the worst in each other.”

He shook his head as he reached out and pulled my hand back into his, “That’s where your wrong again. You bring out the best in me. I’ve changed since I met you, all for the better. I don’t know what it is about you, but you make me want to be a better person. I haven’t felt that way since my parents died. I spent my teenage years making my uncle’s life hell when all he did was try to raise me. I didn’t care though, I refused to let him or anyone else in.”

I squeezed his hand. “Will you tell me about them? Your parents I mean.”

He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair, “What do you want to know?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know, just tell me what they were like, what they did, their favorite colors. I don’t care, just something.”

He was silent for a moment and I thought for sure he was going to tell me no. Instead, when he spoke his voice was filled with emotion. “Their names were Diane and Landon.”

My eyes went to his covered tattoo. “The initials in your tattoo, those are for them aren’t they?”

He gave me a small nod before continuing, “Yeah they are. I needed something to remind me of them. But anyways, you wanted to know about them. My dad was an accountant for a local law firm, my mother worked as a nurse at the University hospital. They were great, the best parents anyone could ask for. I can remember my dad coming home every evening after work and throwing a football around with me. My mom would always sit down with me after dinner and help me with my homework. I never wanted for anything,” he stopped and cleared his throat, trying to control his emotions, “They left me with a babysitter one night, something that was rare for them, to go out on a date together. I remember when Sheila, my babysitter, got the call about the accident. She just stared at me, unsure how to tell me. I instantly knew something was wrong and begged her to tell me. She whispered that some jackass who was drunk turned onto the exit ramp instead of the entrance and hit them head on. They were dead before the paramedics even arrived on scene. I screamed at her, called her a liar and destroyed everything I could get my hands on. CPS came and took me away a couple hours later. I was with them for a few hours until my uncle showed up to take me in. He’s the only family I had left, both sets of my grandparents had died before I was even born.”

I felt a tear slid down my cheek and hit our joined hands as he spoke. “Oh God Drake, I can’t even imagine. You were only ten weren’t you?”

He nodded. “Yeah I was ten when my entire world was ripped apart. My uncle took me in, but he was gone a lot with his job so I pretty much raised myself. He did his best to take care of me though, but I threw everything back in his face. I started doing drugs when I was thirteen, I was pretty messed up for a while. There were days, sometimes weeks at a time that I can’t remember. My uncle finally had enough when I had been arrested yet again on my sixteenth birthday, for possession this time. He put me in rehab and told me to clean up and get myself together or he’d put me in foster care. It took me a long time to get my shit together, but finally I did. I was released and found the band shortly after. I’ve never looked back since, never cared about anyone except them. I used the women to fill the void the drugs left and I gave no apologies, never questioned what I was doing.”

He was silent for a moment, “Until you came along that is. Everything changed the minute I laid eyes on you. I thought I was going crazy at first, how could one girl come into my life and make me question every single one of my beliefs?”

Tears continued to slide down my cheeks as I leaned forward and kissed him gently. “You’ve been through so much and then when you started to open up, I just tossed you aside. I’m so sorry Drake. I never meant to hurt you.”

My lips brushed his as I spoke. I felt him smile as he pulled away. “I think we both hurt each other. But I want a chance with you Chloe. I want to put everything behind us and start over. Do you think we can do that?”

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around him, “I’d like that. I’m just afraid we’ll hurt each other again.”

“We will, I have no doubt. We’ll fight and slam doors and then we’ll make up. Every couple in the world does it Chloe. I’m willing to take all that hurt to be with you if you are too.”

“I am,” I whispered as he pulled me close and kissed me gently.

“Glad to hear it. Now let’s get out of here, I’m freezing. We can talk more in my car.”

He stood and held his hand out to help me up. The moon was shining brightly as I made my way slowly up the trail with him following close behind me. I slid and nearly fell several times on the way up, but Drake was always there to catch me. We were giggling and covered in mud by the time we reached the top of the hill.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone as clumsy as you. Although, seeing as how I got an awesome view that first night, I guess I should be thankful.”

I lifted my hand to slap his chest, but he caught it and used it as leverage to push me onto the hood of his car. The engine was still warm and it helped to thaw out my legs and ass as he pushed me further up onto the hood.

Before I could ask what he was doing, he was on top of me kissing me roughly. I let myself melt into the hood as he continued to kiss me. He finally pulled back slightly and we were both gasping.

“Wha.. What was that for?”

He gave me that devilish smile of his as he leaned down to attack my mouth again. “I’ve waited long enough to do this guilt free and I’m not waiting another minute.”

I pushed him back as his words sunk in, “Wait! Wait a minute! You aren’t serious are you? We can’t do
that
on the hood of your car!” I felt myself blushing at the thought alone.

“Of course we can, no one is around us for miles. The hood of my car is a perfect spot.”

I started to argue but stopped when he cupped my sex through my jeans. I let my head fall back against the glass as he slid my workpants off and threw them to the ground. Next went my underwear, then my shirt and bra. I propped myself up on my elbows and grinned at him. “How is this fair? I’m completely naked, on top of your car just so we’re clear on that little fact, and you’re still completely dressed.”

He grinned wickedly as he pulled his jeans and boxers off, but seemed to hesitate at his T-Shirt.

“What is it? You’re not shy all of the sudden are you?”

He smirked at me, “No, definitely not shy. I’m just not sure how you’re going to take this once you see it.”

I gave him a confused look, “What are you talking about? And hurry up already, I’m freezing here!”

He hesitated a second longer before pulling his shirt off and tossing it with the rest of our clothes. My breath caught as I saw what he was talking about. Directly over his heart was the exact same tattoo that adorned my wrist.

I sat up and pulled him closer, “Drake this is beautiful.”

He gave a weak smile as I traced the outline of the tattoo. “I wanted something to remind me of you, of us, and I figured there wasn’t anything better than this. So I went back to Katelynn and she hooked me up.”

I pulled back so that I could look him in the eye. “I guess these tattoos are wrong now.”

He trailed his fingers down the side of my arm and I shivered. “Why do you say that?”

“Because they mean never loved. I think we took care of that problem for each other,” I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his middle, pulling him down on top of me, “I love you Drake Allen and I always will.”

No words were spoken after that. His lips were on mine as the world around us faded away. Every touch, every brush of his lips sent me into
an oblivion of passion and love. My head fell back against the glass with a dull thud as his lips tasted every inch of me. His tongue snaked out and rolled over my nipples, wetting them before blowing his breath over them.