Saved (Tempted #2) (3 page)

After our epic kiss in the rain, I did what I had been doing for the last five years. I ran like hell. I ran away from everything he made me feel. But as much I as I tried I couldn’t get that kiss from last night out of my head.

Locking up Sweetie Pie’s, I walked to my jeep and got inside. I had to get back to the apartment because Emma was coming over. I was finally going to tell her and Grace everything that had happened with West. Well, maybe not everything. There was one secret that only my parents knew. It wasn’t something that I liked to talk about.

Passing by Tom’s shop, I saw West and Roman standing outside talking. He looked like he was livid about something. I had to force myself to drive by. Telling myself I could ask Emma about it, I tore my attention away from him. Because let’s be honest I was probably the last person he wanted to see.

Seeing my apartment building, I pulled into the parking lot and found a space. Parking, I got out and quickly walked to my apartment. I had to change my frosting covered shirt before Emma and Grace came here from the daycare center. Pushing the door open, I immediately ran to my bathroom and started the shower. Slipping out of my clothes, I jumped in.

The spray of the water reminded me of that kiss in the rain last night. The water was steaming but it had nothing on the heat of that embrace. His new lip ring just upped the hotness factor. I didn’t know why he didn’t get it sooner. If I gave in I could have kisses like that all of the time but what about when he changed his mind again? Would I be a secret again? I didn’t know if it was worth the risk.

Turning off the water, I got out and dried off. Exiting the bathroom, I walked to my closet and pulled out an oversize sweatshirt and my sleep shorts. Dressing myself, I opened the drawer beside my bed and slipped my fuzzy socks on. They were my favorite. Throwing my hair up in a messy bun, I made my way to the couch and waited on my friends to arrive.

Everyone always thought I was the life of the party and that was true. But I enjoyed nothing more than staying at home and watching movies. When West and I dated that was basically how we would spend our days together. Except for when he had to race. I hated those nights more than anything because I knew how much trouble he could have gotten in. And a couple weeks before we broke up my worst fear came true. They arrested West and Roman but they got out on probation.

Hearing the door open, I turned my attention to it. Seeing Emma and Grace, I smiled. Those girls were the most awesome friends a girl could ask for. Emma had been my best friend since we were in diapers. She was my soul mate, my partner in crime, and my go to girl. Grace was more of a new friend but she would proving herself to be one of the good ones. And I was so lucky to have them.

“Why do you look like a hobo?” Emma asked, falling on the couch.

“Why wouldn’t I want to look like a hobo?” I fired back.

“Hey, do we need snacks for this story? Is it going to be like a soap opera?” Grace asked, thought a mouthful of chips.

“Classy. And yeah, bring everything you can find. Also, do you have any plans? Because we’re going to be here for a while,” I told them, grabbing some peanuts from the coffee table.

“Nope, I’m all yours,” Grace said, sitting on the chair closest to me.

“Yeah, me too. Roman and Ethan are taking West out. He’s been kind of pissed off all day,”

“Why?”

“Because he thinks you picked Luca over him. Okay, you’ve kept us waiting long enough. Let’s have it,” she said, rubbing her baby bump.

That’s what I wanted him to think. I wanted to hurt him almost as much as he hurt me. I could never take away from him what he took away from me. But I would try to make him feel just a smidgen of what I felt that night. Did that make me a bad person? It might have but at the time I couldn’t force myself to care.

As much as he hurt that’s how happy he once made me. I knew going back through our history was going to sting. But I owed those girls the truth.

“Before you start I think we should all turn our phones off. That way we won’t get interrupted,” Emma said, already turning her phone off.

Grace and I did the same.

“Go ahead, I’ve got to hear this,” Grace said, putting her phone away.

“It started the summer before junior year. I was on my way home from the gym and my car broke down. Remember the one I totaled? Anyway, I had no one to call. My parents were gone on a business trip and you were gone with your mom and dad to visit your grandmother. So, I called Tom’s shop and they sent West to tow my car. I always had the biggest crush on him but I never told anyone. I didn’t think I was in anyway his type,” I started, trying to fight the smile that was forming, “On the way to the shop he started to make small talk with me and I was nervous as hell. He asked me to play twenty questions with him on the way to kill time. I didn’t know he was such a dork. But I loved it.”

“Aww, keep going. Seriously don’t ever stop,” Grace said, wiping away a fake tear.

I mean I hope it was fake. I hadn’t even gotten to the sappy parts yet. Or the heartbreaking parts either.

“Shut up, Grace. All you do is talk,” Emma snapped, rolling her eyes at Grace.

“She has a pregnancy pick on me. It’s okay, though. Please continue,” Grace said, flicking Emma off.

Laughing, I dove back into my story.

“We talked about the most random things and I remember thinking I had never laughed so much in all my life. By the time we made it to the shop I could already feel my heart trying to give itself to him. But I had only talked to him that one time. So, naturally trying to stop myself from looking like a weird clingy girl I had to reign it back in. I talked to Tom about my car and he told me that I couldn’t drive it home. And that it would be ready the next day. Roman, being the whore that he was, offered to drive me home but West told him that he would do it,” I stopped, waiting on Emma’s reaction.

“Yeah, he was like the king ho. Like seriously, if I hadn’t come along when I did people would have started paying him for it,” she said, dipping her pickle flavored chips in chocolate frosting.

Oh my word, that was nasty. But the girl had pregnancy cravings, who was I to tell her to stop making my stomach turn?

“You suck at story telling by the way. I mean you keep stopping,” Grace said, kicking off her shoes.

“Shut up and your feet stink by the way. Back to my story. When he pulled up to drop me out he asked if I wanted to go to a party with him that night. And I thought what the hell, I mean I had nothing else to do. So, I agreed to go. A huge smile took over his face and he told me he would be by at eight. And me being me, the first thing I did was run up stairs to get ready. An hour later I was sitting on my front porch waiting on the boy of my dreams to pick me up. I remember the looking at the stars and feeling like I was the luckiest girl in the world. And I remember stomach flipping at the sight of the headlights,” I told them, imagining him pulling up in that navy Camaro, “I was so nervous all I could do was nod when he said something.”

I thought about stopping right there because talking about the good times made me want jump in my jeep and drive to him. But Emma and Grace looked so invested in it and I was already half way through it so I toughed up and kept going.

“It wasn’t actually a party he took me to it was a race. I was way out of my comfort zone, I mean I had been to a million parties but never to a race. And I swear it was like he could sense that I was nervous because he grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear that I didn’t need to worry because I was with him. Something in me told me I could trust him and as soon as he laced his fingers through mine I instantly felt better. I rode shot gun while he raced and I knew right then that I belonged with him. I loved everything about that moment. The way his green eyes twinkled when he crossed the finish line, the way he kept stealing glances at me, and just the feeling of being around him. I loved watching him. It started to get really late and I was falling asleep. Don’t look at me like that, it was like two in the morning. Anyway, he asked Roman to drive his car so he could hold me in the backseat. I was so tired but the minute he pulled me into his lap I woke right up. But I laid there not moving because I had never smelled anything better than West and I had never felt as good as I did in his arms,” I said, stopping to take a breath.

“When we got to my house he carried me to the front door and asked me where the key was. I reached in my purse and handed it to him. Once we were inside he asked me he asked for directions to my room. I remember praying that he walked really slowly because I didn’t want to get out of his arms. When we got to my bedroom he laid me on my bed and without asking me he placed his mouth on mine and not to sound cheesy but it was like fireworks went off. It erased all other first kisses in the history of all first kisses. I heard him whisper how he had wanted to kiss me for years and he told me that he wanted to see me again next day. Before he left he grabbed my phone and put his number in. As tired as I was I couldn’t get to sleep after that. We saw each other every day after that,” I stopped, not wanting to go any further.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Emma asked, doing her best to hide her hurt.

“I wanted to but he kept insisting that we kept it a secret and I didn’t want you to have to keep it from your parents. You want to know something? I still don’t know why he wanted to keep us a secret. I never got to ask. And I was so happy with him I went along with it. I fell in love with him and I fell fast. I didn’t want to lose that, no one ever does,” I told them, playing my with angel wing pendant.

“What happened to you guys? It sounded incredible,” Grace said, trying her best to read my face.

“I dropped Emma off at home one night and got a text from him telling me to meet at a party. I smiled like an idiot the whole way there. I mean I was going to see my boyfriend who I was crazy in love with and I thought he felt the same. But I learned that he didn’t because I found his kissing Marilyn Martin. We had a huge fight. He told me I didn’t mean anything. So, I left and that’s when I had the wreck. And he has tried every day for five years to make it right but I don’t know if I can ever trust him again.”

Their faces completely changed. They went from fluttering eyelashes to clinched fist. They looked like the co-presidents of the “I hate West club”.

Hearing a beating on the door, I jumped.

“Who is it?” Grace yelled, jumping up from the chair.

“It’s Ethan. I need to see Maddie. Open the door,” he yelled still pounding on the door.

Scrambling to the door, Grace pulled it open. And Ethan stood there completely out of breath.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing his arm and leading him inside the apartment.

“Why won’t any of you answer your phones?” Ethan asked, leaning against the wall for support.

“We turned them off to have girl time. What is it? Is Roman okay?” Emma asked as she started to pace.

“He’s fine. Maddie, West and Luca are fighting at Ruby’s. It’s like an all-out bar brawl. We need to get there now,” he said, pointing at the door.

I didn’t even ask what they were fighting about. I knew instantly what they were fighting over.

Me.

Running through the door, the stench of beer hit me in the face. Looking around the room everything was a blur and the Pearl Jam song playing in the background did nothing to drown out the sound of someone’s fist hitting flesh.

Rounding the corner, I saw West and Luca rolling on the floor. And I saw blood.

“Please, stop!” I yelled running toward them and trying my best to pull West up from the floor.

“West, get up! Roman, help me,” I said through the hot tears streaming down my face.

Roman pulled West up and held him back.

“She doesn’t belong to you,” West yelled as he tried to break free from Roman’s grip.

His lip was bleeding and I felt the need to run over to him. I hated to see him hurt.

“Funny, because the last time I checked she wasn’t yours either,” Luca said, rubbing his eye that was starting to swell.

West broke free and pummeled Luca to the ground.

“She’s always been mine and you can’t stand it,” he said, throwing one more hit before Ethan and Roman pulled him up.

“Hey, break it up or I’m going to call the cops,” the bartender yelled from behind the bar.

“Both of you stop it. This is crazy!” I pleaded with them.

He couldn’t go to jail because of me. I wouldn’t allow that to happen.

They turned their heads to me as if noticing me for the first time. West walked toward me and I felt my heart flutter. If he made feel like this just walking to me and I loved him as much as I did, why was I staying away from him? Why couldn’t I let myself have what I wanted?

“Angel, why are you out in shorts? It’s freezing,” he said, pulling me close to his chest.

Looking down, I saw that I was still in my sleep shorts. All I could think about was getting to West. He totally consumed my thoughts and I didn’t even feel the cold. I was numb.

“I didn’t have time to change, I had to get to you.”

“Say that again,” he demanded.

“I had to get to you,” I whispered against his chest.

“Tell him you’re leaving with me. I want to take you somewhere and talk, Please?”             

I looked over at Luca and saw him shake his head. And then he turned and walked out the door. He knew I was going. I didn’t even have to say word. West had this magnetic pull about him. And I was a sucker for him. Always had been.

“Yeah, let’s go,” I said, taking his hand he had extended toward me.

Walking to his car in complete silence, he opened the door and helped me inside. Slipping on my seatbelt, I watched him get inside. And in that moment I felt at home. I mean we were just sitting in a car in total silence but honestly I didn’t want to do anything else. With anyone else.

“Where are we going?” I asked, turning on the heater.

“Our place.”

That was all he said because he knew I knew exactly where we were going. The old storm shelter behind his grandparent’s house. That’s where I gave West everything I had on a hot August night. It was the best night of my life.

West’s parents left him when he was five years old. They got mixed up in some pretty bad stuff and skipped town. Luckily for West, his dad’s parents raised him. His grandma was the sweetest person in the entire world. She always insisted that I called her Grandma instead of Marion.  And his grandfather was the funniest man I had ever met. Frank Stevens was a big teddy bear.

His mom’s parents died before he was born.

I knew he missed his parents and I had tried to talk to him about them in the past. But it seemed like every time I tried he shut it down immediately. So, I didn’t push the sore subject anymore.

He lived life fast and tried to cover everything up with humor. I saw right through it. He had lived a hard life but you never could have guessed it by his disposition.

“I haven’t been back since the last time we were there. It hurt too much, ya know? The thought of going back without you,” he said, putting his hand on my knee.

I didn’t feel the urge to move it, so I placed it on my hand on top of his. Maybe I could give us another shot.

“Babe, how’s your lip?” I asked without thinking.

Maybe he wouldn’t notice my slip up. But judging by his smile I knew he had.

Seeing his grandparents’ house, immersed me into memories of us. They really pulled for us and much to my surprise so did my parents. But after my wreck they lost major love for West.

“Is your grandma home?” I asked, looking at the quaint beige house.

“Yeah, you want to go see her?” he asked, parking the car.

“I’d love to. I’ve missed her so much,” I told him, getting out of the car.

“She’s missed you too. Everyone that lives in that house has. We can go in for a few minutes but we have to talk,” West said, leading me to the door.

Walking in, the aroma of homemade sugar cookies welcomed me. Marion was always baking something. It was one of the many things we had in common. And West was lucky because he had a major sweet tooth.

“Old people! We’re home,” West yelled through the house.

He always considered this my second home and so did I. I felt comfortable here.

“You’re as young as you feel, little boy,” Frank said, folding his newspaper down, “Maddie, it’s good to see that beautiful face again.”

“Your face isn’t so bad either. I’ve missed you so much,” I told him, walking over to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, you old fart don’t be stealing my kisses,” West said, pulling me away.

“Last I checked you screwed that up, boy.”

And with just one sentence I saw West’s whole face drop.

“Aww, I’m just pulling your leg. Please tell me you gave him that busted lip, Maddie,” Frank said, getting up from his recliner chair.

“No sir, it wasn’t me,” I told him, leaning over to inspect it and it looked worse than I thought.

“Maddie, it’s so good to see you,” Marion said, walking in the living room from the kitchen.

“It’s good to see you too. I’ve missed the smell of your cookies,” I told her with a small laugh.

Being back here was sort of bitter sweet. It made me miss West being mine. But most of all it made me miss being his.

“What happened to your lip?” Marion exclaimed, rushing over to his side.

“That asshole, Luca Davis, was saying some stuff I didn’t agree with.”

“Now West Anderson, I don’t care what he said. That’s no excuse to fight.”

“He was talking about Maddie and I didn’t think what he was saying was appropriate,” West said, looking at my legs, “I totally forgot about your shorts. Come on, I’ll get you some sweatpants.”

“I’ll see you later,” I told Marion as West pulled me up the stairs.

“Is there something you two want to tell us?” she said with gleaming eyes.

We both came to a complete stop.

I didn’t want to tell her no and break her heart. But I couldn’t lie to her and give her false hope. She wanted nothing more in life than for West to be happy because in his life he had seen and felt enough hurt.

“No, grams. I haven’t stopped trying but she’s resisted all of my charm,” West said, holding the frozen peas on his lip, “The girl is freezing.”

And with that we walked up the remaining stairs to get to his room.

“This is where no magic has happened,” he said, opening the white door and tossing the peas on his computer desk.

It was like I was fifteen again and walking into his bedroom for the first time. It looked completely different but felt the same. And I guess that was because it still belonged to the same broken boy.

Just like my heart.

“I’m not sure I believe that,” I told him sitting on the bed and watching him rummage through his drawers.

“I’m for real,” he said, tossing me the grey sweatpants.

Slipping them on, I stole glances as him and fiddled with my necklace.

I messed with more around him.

“Maddie, don’t be scared to look at me. I like it when you do because you’re the only one who sees the real me,” he told me, taking my hand, “Come on, let’s go to our spot.”

We walked out of the back door and made our way to the old storm shelter.

The house came with it and no one knew why. Down south we rarely ever had big storms. I didn’t why it was there when it served no purpose but I was glad it was there.

It held so many memories for us.

He was right, I did see the real him. I saw beyond the tattoos and the piercings. And I saw way beyond the humor and all of the joke. I saw what was behind those gorgeous green eyes. I knew the boy who couldn’t express what he was feeling because he was afraid if he did people would leave.

Pulling the door open, he helped me inside. The small bed in the corner of the room was the first thing that caught my attention. It brought me back me back to the night I lost my virginity long after I lost my heart.

“It looks the same as the last night we were in here,” I told him, looking around.

“That’s because no one has been in here since,” he said, pulling a blanket from one of the cabinets, “Come sit with me.”

He took a seat on the bed and wrapped the blanket around himself. Watching him hold it open for me, I walked over and took my place next to him.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, pretending like I didn’t know.

“I wanted to talk about the night of your wreck. You never gave me a chance to explain why I did what I did.”

He had tried to explain but I didn’t want to relive that night. But I decided to suck it up. It was time to talk about it.

“Okay, I’m listening,” I told him, tracing my pendant with my finger.

“The day of the party Roman told me that it was getting too serious. He said that I would never be good enough for you. He wasn’t doing it to sabotage our relationship. He was trying to keep me from getting hurt when it was time for you to move on to the life you were supposed to do. So, I texted you to meet at the party and I had everything sat up so you would catch me with her. Everything I said to you nearly killed me. What we had was real and I did love you, I still do.”

Everything I wanted to tell him was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn’t get it out. I should have told him what happened, what we lost. But I couldn’t.

Not yet.

“I immediately regretted it and tried to call you but you didn’t answer. A few hours later I heard about your wreck. I came to see you but your dad wouldn’t let me. He told me that you didn’t need me in your life and that I had caused you enough hurt. I knew he was right but I couldn’t stay away from you. I came to the hospital every day you were there,” he said, pulling me in closer to him.

I didn’t know he came to see me. My parents never told me, I mean not that I blame them for not letting him in. But they could have let me know. I went all these years thinking he never even tried to see me while I was in the hospital. And I always thought it was Emma calling me that night. I had no idea it was really West.

“I thought I meant nothing to you. That’s why I’ve ran all these years,” I told him, looking down at my feet.

“Hey, look at me,” he said, “You mean everything to me and that’s why I’ve chased you for all these years. We can do this again, I have faith in us.”             

I didn’t know how my parents would take it. I didn’t know if I could let go of all the pain inside of me. But I did know that I wanted him and that I loved him more than life itself.

“What are we going to tell my parents? You’re not exactly their favorite person right now,” I asked, waiting to see if he caught that was going to give us a second chance.

“Please tell me that I heard you right. Are we back together?” he asked, jumping up from the bed.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I said,” I told him, smiling from ear to ear at his reaction.

“Well, what are you doing?”

“Sitting.”

“I can see that, smartass. Get over here and kiss your man.”

Laughing, I did just that. He pulled me up as I wrapped my legs around his waist. The cool metal of his lip ring brushed against my lips. Feeling his tongue press against my lips begging for entrance, I opened them. His tongue danced with mine. The need was evident.

“West?” I asked, pulling away from the kiss.

“Yeah, Angel?”

“Make me feel alive. I want you, now.”