pass.
I walk towards his office and timidly knock on the door.
“Come in,” I hear as I turn the doorknob.
I walk through and close the door behind me. Jake looks up with his piercing green eyes that always somehow manages to burrow deep into my soul. He looks so beautiful, so sexy, but he’s not mine anymore. The thought tears through me stabbing at my chest. I must be strong and get through this. I can do it.
“Ana, are you ok ay? What the fuck happened? I’ve been going out of my mind with worry. I saw what you were looking at on your computer and have been trying to call you ever since. Did you go see your mom?”
He gets up to walk around to me , but I back away. “Please, Jake, you need to hear something.” He stands still for a moment and studies me.
“ Okay, what do you need to say?”
H e looks at me silently, patiently waiting for my response. “Stella is not my mother, she’s my half aunt. Also, the baby she’s carrying; it’s not yours.” He looks slightly shocked, but there was also definite evidence that this was a huge weight off his shoulders. He was obviously happy about the news, but tried to gain some sort of composure.
I proceeded to tell him bits of what was said and he listened , not once attempting to interrupt. When I finished he took a deep breath and I could see he looked like he was having a debate in his head about what to say next. After a few uncomfortable silences he spoke.
“I’m not going to see Stella out in the cold , no matter what. She is still your family, Ana and despite the fact the baby’s not mine, I still want to make sure she’s okay.”
He moves a little closer and my breath hitches up a little. He notices my body ’s blunder and smiles. He moves in that little bit more and I can’t feel my legs. Why does he have this effect on me? He grabs both my arms and holds me. I’m rooted, unable to react apart from my heart beating loudly in my ears.
“Ana, you know what this means now don’ t you? We can be together. Nobody can hold us back anymore.”
His words suddenl y force me to remember what he did, so I pull away. “How can you say that this changes anything? You ignored me, Jake. I was pleading with you to look at me and you just ignored me.”
He fli nches at my words and backs off. I see the pain in his eyes, and it makes me realize just how easy things could be if I just accepted what he had done and moved on. Let him touch me, caress me and hold me like he used to. I want so much to forgive him for what he did, and in time I will, but how can I ever forget? It was the most painful day of my life and it was all caused by Jake. I turn to leave and put my hand on the door.
“I’m so sorry I hurt you , Ana. I really am. If I could take that day back and do things differently I would, but it’s done now, so I can’t. I just hope in time you will forgive me because I love you so much. That has never changed for me.”
I grip the doorknob willing it to turn. I feel my face flush with the onset of more tears threatening to run. His words fill my head with some sort of tortured bliss. On one hand I want to run to him and tell him it’s ok ay, that I want him just as much, and that I love him, too. But the other side of me can’t get over what he did, and that is what finally gives me the strength to turn the handle on the door.
“I will never let you go , Ana. I will fight for you, I promise you that. My world is nothing without you in it, and I’m not giving up until you’re mine again. I’ve never stopped being yours and I never will. The stars are not the same since you left.”
My heart plummeted at this point. His words sent a current of emotions shooting through my veins. I remember how he used to make me feel when we made love. How I would tell him I saw the stars, because that’s how special he made me
Jessica Anthony
Sheila E.
Krystal Shannan, Camryn Rhys
Ann Somerville
J. Barton Mitchell
Shirl Henke
Sandra Hill
Natalie Young
Stephen Graham Jones
Jayne Kingston