Three Thousand Miles (16 page)

“I do understand
and
I know how you feel about Michael
,
I
wouldn’t want to come between you two.” I insist.

“That’s the problem; I know you don’t want that, but no matter how much Michael says he doesn’t love you, I know that he always will. Having you around him makes it impossib
le for me to trust him.” I sigh.

“He may not be completely over me, however he now realises that nothing will ever happen between us. I have told him several times and I feel that he understands my feelings more now. Adrian is not here but I still love him and I will not give up on him.” I protest in my most sincere voice.

“Are you sure that’s how Michael feels?” Katharine questions as she runs her fingers through her hair.

“Yes, he told me.” She looks surprised by my confession.

“I know that asking you to stay away from him was out of order, but I hope t
hat you see my point of view?” S
he says awkwardly. I run my fingers along my neck and I feel the diamond chain, I twist the black diamond pendant that Adrian gave me. Ever since I have been apart from him, the necklace gives me comfort. It takes me back to happier time and I long for that fe
el
ing again. I again twine the pendant in my fingers nervously and I gaze at Katharine. I feel that she was very out order in asking me to stay away from Michael. However, things are slowly resolving and I do not want to anger that. I also feel that, any
feelings I have towards Katharine should be put to her and we ought to at least try to accept the bad feelings along with the good.

“I do see your point of view; however you were out of order. Michael had just stepped in front of a bullet for me and you wanted me to ignore him.” Katharine sighs and I notice the distress on her beautiful face.

“I feel awful. Looking back on it now, I realise it was a selfish, jealous thing to ask. I know that you and Michael have some type of connection that I will never fully understand. I also believe you when you say that friends, is all you two are.” I smile at her for what seems like the first time ever. She slides over her hand and grabs mine. Katharine looks up at me, her face is different, and her clothes are different but her eyes remain the same, soft kindness as before.

“I am sorry for everything, can you forgive me?” I proudly flash her, a smile.

“Yes, of course I can and I am also sorry.” She smiles and I say,

“I know that my friendship with Michael is a sensitive issue and from now on I will be considerate to your feelings. I hated being apart from you. My drama has opened my eyes to see what is most important in life.” Katharine
’s face swirls full of emotion and
I gaze and wonder why?

“Have you heard from, Adrian?” S
he says sympathetically. I again hold onto the black diamond necklace as I fill Katharine in on my recent telephone call with Adrian.

“That is, bullshit! He clearly loved you.” Katharine says very firmly. I feel uneasy and my heart begins to ache as I remember his words.

“I don’t know
anymore and
I am beginning to think that it was all a lie. I have amazing memories of our time together; I don’t want them to fade because I fear that they might be all
that
I have left of him.” Katharine wrinkles her forehead head and she looks irritated. I push back my hair from my face and I hold in a tear. Katharine notices my despair and she quickly tries to comfort me.

“I wouldn’t worry about him, he will be back. No matter what he says, he loves you. I know that it is hard and I can tell that you are hurting. However, you have so many people around you, everyone is routing for you. Alanna Hart, you are a strong
,
independent, confident
,
young woman. You are destined to have your dreams fulfilled.”

The next morning I wake early and head out for my long day of classes. I walk briskly down the hallway and I stumble into the class. My face flushes hot and I quickly march up the back and take a seat. I take out my books and I hear a buzzing sound from my phone. I take out my white Blackberry and I am stunned to see that I have an email from Adrian. My heart races and I cannot wait to read his words. I slide the phone open and I click onto the email app.

“Excuse me, Miss Hart no phones in class.” I turn around and I see Mrs Malcolm staring at me. I force out a smile and I quickly put my phone back into my bag. I lean back in my chair and try to focus on the lecture. However, my mind is taken over by the looming email. I wonder what he wants. Has he decided to change his mind and come back to me? Alternatively, is he simply just emailing to let me know that he has moved on? There are many possibilities and I have no idea which one I am concluded on. My writing and concentration is deeply flawed as I wait for class to finish. My foot is taping loudly against the leg of the chair and I am aware that the sound is irritating some of the other students. I turn around and I see a guy make a disapproving look towards me, I automatically stop the irritating action and briefly flash the guy an apologetic
smile. He rolls his eyes at me -
which I find rather rude. I again focus on my paper with not much will power. When the bell rings to signal the end of class, I am the first student out the room. I rush down the hallway and I head back to my room. I open the door and I am astonished when I see, Adrian. My heart skips a beat, as I stare at him. I take in his looks, which I have missed so much. His light chocolate hair is tousled and I find it odd that he is not wearing a suit. Instead, he has on, dark blue jeans and a dark grey coat with black glossy buttons, the collar is turned up, and it gently caresses his neck. Underneath he has on a black shirt, his gorgeous face is
me
s
mo
rising
and I cannot stop gaping
at him. His glowing green eyes astound me and I cannot say word. He stands motionless as he sees me walk in and I
manage to close the door behind me. I still do not have the breath to speak, he looks at me and I melt. I gently slip my bag onto the floor, Adrian takes two massive strides, and he is now right in front of me. I tilt my head back so that I look up at him. He does not say a word and he does not have to, because I know exactly what he is thinking. With one swift move he pulls me towards him, his hands are on my face and now his lips are on mine. His kiss is captivating and I missed it so much. He slides his hand down my back and then he moves it into my hair. He slips off my hair tie, my blonde curls fall loosely down my back, and I am frozen by his touch. He pulls back from me and I cannot open my eyes, I fear that this may all be just a dream. However, I feel his hand again on my face and I am forced to open my eyes. Adrian is gazing down at me with one hand on my face and the other is intertwined in my shaky hand. He smirks at me, I dumfounded by his presence, he leans in again, and his kiss is softer than before. I wait for him to pull back but he does not. I love this feeling and I do not want it to end. However, I need to know why he is here. I have so many questions
that
I need to ask him and I am a little mad that he said he never loved me. I take my hand from his and I place it on his chest, I push him away gently and he quickly pulls back. He looks stunned
by
my action and I can see that he is not happy.

“Adrian, where have you been? I have been lost without you, I need an explanation.” I whisper to him. He looks at me with those green eyes,

“Baby, I have been here, i
n New York, I never left you.” M
y eyes bolt at his confession. Was he really in New York all this time? My mind swirls and I quickly respond.

“You did leave me, I was alone in that hospital, I needed you and you weren’t there.” He does look remorseful, but at the same, I feel that he sticks by what he did.

“I am sorry; I felt it was for the best. Now I realise that it is not. I
missed you, and I… love you.” H
is British accent is deafening when I hear his words. I try to hold back my smile without much success.

“Adrian, I love you too, but there is a lot of stuff that we need to sort out. You weren’t around for over a month, I had to move on.” He looks irritated by my
confession. He steps back from me and begins to pace around the room. He runs his long thin fingers through his hair and he looks again at me.

“What do mean by, you had to move on? Is there someone else?” He insists. I quickly walk over to him and take his hand in my mine.

“No, but I had to accept that you weren’t coming back. You told me that you never loved me. I always feared that you didn’t and hearing you confirm it, paralyzed me.” I say in a soothing tone. Adrian exhales and again he runs his fingers through his tousled hair. He takes my hand and places it on
to
his chest,

“T
his, my hear
t, will always belong to you,” h
e says confidently. I smile at him and I cannot resist his full lips, I lunge forward and into his arms. The kiss lasts forever, and Adrian finally pulls back. He gazes into my eyes,

“Baby
,” he says as he gently puts his hand on my stomach. He ligh
tly feels my wound and he sighs.

“Alanna, I cannot tell you how sorry I am for everything. Can you ever forgive me?” I pl
ace my hand on his jaw and I reassure him
.

“I love you, and the second I saw you, I forgave you.” He has
a
wicked smirk on his face, he pulls me back towards him, and he kisses me again.

Six

I lay on my bed with Adrian next to me. I am huddled into his chest as I gaze at him. I still am very shocked that he is here
as
I was sure he and I were over. My eyes will not tear away from him and it is as if I am seeing him for the first time. I have realised how plain and ordinary my life would be without him, he is what I want and I am ecstatic that he has come back to me. 

“Are you in pain?” He says soothingly. I do feel a little twinge of pain however; I do not want to alert Adrian.

“No, I am fine.” He does not look impressed by my words and I know that he can see right through me.

“The guilt I have is unbearable.” He says in an apologetic tone and I feel sorry for him. His eyes look sad and I know that he is hurting. I want him
to know that I am fine and
all
that
I need is him.

“Adrian, I want this to be a fresh start. You do not need to feel guilty about what happened. It is over now and I am fine and I am ready for our life to start.” I say firmly. Adrian sits up on the bed and I automatically adjust to his new position. He considers his words and I await his response.

“Okay, this is a new start for us and I will try not to let my guilt override our… relationship.” I pause and I cannot believe that he is agreeing to this so easily. I turn fully around and I am now facing him.

“We need to let everything, be in the past.” He smiles at me as he drapes his arm around my shoulder. I lean into his chest and Adrian gives me a soft kiss on my forehead. I lay in his grasp staring into his green eyes. I want to know what he has been doing, I was surprised to hear that he was in New York and I wonder about his time in the city. However, this moment with him, is too precious and I do not want to hinder it in anyway. I am still awaiting him, to bring up Michael. Adrian has not mentioned him and I fear what might happen when the two of them come face to face. Michael has not had a good word to say about Adrian in the weeks that have gone by. I also worry about what Adrian thinks of Michael. It mu
st be hard for him, Michael ste
p
p
ed in front of a bullet for me and Adrian was not there. I could never blame Adrian for what
happened but I will always owe everything to Michael. I want to discuss everything with Adrian but I do not feel that I have the courage.

  “How are classes?” He says taking an interest in my college work. I pull back from him and
I
lean against the wall. I huddle my legs into my chest, however Adrian notices that I am uncomfortable, therefore he gently lifts my feet and pulls my legs out, until they are stretched out across h
is body. I smile at his actions.

“I started again yesterday, and I sat in class, not knowing a thing. I was so sure that I was going to fail. However, I had a brief talk with the teacher and I was surprised when he told me that my essay was great. So I guess classes are going fine.” I say proudly.

“I am glad to hear that, I worried that you would lose focus on your college work, after everything that happened.” He says as he strokes my
brow
with his fingers. I look at him and I still cannot take this in.

“S
urprisingly I never once lost focus of college. I know in my heart that I want to help people.” I say as I begin to tie back my hair.

“Baby, please do not tie your hair back.” He says gently. I gaze at him wondering why that would bother him. My mind flashes back to when he kissed me, my hair was tied up in a lose ponytail and Adrian pulled off my hair tie.