When Tomorrow Never Comes (6 page)

“Do you really want to do this right before your adoption? I can tell you now that they will frown upon this and Matt will lose you.” Ben states sternly.

“I just want him back.” I whisper. “I didn’t want him to die, I never wanted that. All I ever wanted was to be enough for him to want to live.”

“He’s not coming back no matter what you do.” Jayce replies gently as he reaches for the keys, shutting the jeep off.

Closing my mouth I go quiet again.

Ben sighs roughly. “I’m going to call Dad and tell him where we’ll be. I promised Matt that we’d watch her until he came home.”

“I’ll drive this home then.” Jayce grunts.

Beside me Ben wraps his arms under me and then lifts me into his arms.

Just as he rounds the jeep to put me into the passenger side Liam rushes out to join us.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He growls out at Jayce and Ben.

“We’re saving her life.” Ben clips out as he places me into my seat before reaching for the seatbelt to buckle me up.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean, she’s fine without you guys.” Liam snarls as he storms over to my side of the jeep.

I stare straight ahead.

I didn’t even want to acknowledge his existence.

“Eve, look at me. Are you seriously going to let these two strangers take you away?” Liam spits out.

I still don’t look at him.

“Damn it, Eve. I didn’t mean what I said. I’m sorry.” He tries a different angle.

“Dude, just give it up. She isn’t going to listen to you and I don’t blame her one bit. What you said back there was beyond harsh.” Jayce barks out.

Liam doesn’t give up though.

Instead he grabs hold of my chin turning my face to look at him. “Please, don’t leave with them. I’m sorry, Eve. I’ll end things with Amy, just say the word. Just tell me that we still have something.”

Looking into his eyes I answer him. “There’s nothing between us, Liam. We had one night that meant nothing other than pleasure for me.”

It was all a lie but I felt the need to hurt him somehow.

I wanted him to feel as empty as I did.

“I don’t believe a word you’re saying.” Liam replies confidently and then pauses for a minute as he turns away from me.

When he turns his attention back to me his eyes soften. “I love you, damn it.” He states hoarsely.

“Go to hell, Liam.” I spit out and then turn my attention towards Jayce who was thankfully already sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Take me home.” I command him.

He nods once before turning the jeep on.

Ben grabs a hold of Liam and pulls him back while talking quickly.

Closing my eyes I lean my head back against the seat as Jayce pulls away from the school and then onto the road towards home.

Dear Diary,

It hurts. It hurts so badly. What do I do to make the pain stop? Your brother’s confession is breaking me in two. What do I do, Cole...I need you.

Carrying me into my house Jayce holds me close as Ben leads the way.

“Where’s your room at?” Ben questions as we stop just inside the front door.

I point up the stairs and Jayce carries me up and then waits for me to point towards my door before taking me directly into my room.

He places me down on my bed before sitting down on the edge.

“Are you going to be alright, Eve?” He asks quietly.

I shake my head. “I don’t have a single clue.”

He nods. “Will you be okay if I leave you alone for just a minute to talk with Ben?”

I shrug. “We’ll see.”

“That’s not the answer I was wanting.” Jayce snorts as he shakes his head.

“Then stay.” I reply as I grab his arm and tug him towards me.

His brow furrows for a moment as he looks down at me. “You don’t even know me.” He whispers.

“I don’t care.” I reply as I pull him down on top of me. “I just want to feel anything other than pain right now.”

He nods and searches my eyes with his. “If we do this it means nothing, okay.”

I nod and then pull his face down to mine.

I was finished talking with him. I only wanted actions, touches, now.

His hands begin to slide under my shirt just before the door to my room swings open and Ben curses as he covers his eyes.

“Seriously, Jayce, you’re doing this now?” He clips out.

Jayce curses as he pushes himself off of me to sit on the edge of the bed.

“At least get to know the girl first.” Ben huffs out.

“Shut it, Ben. You have no idea what was going on here.” Jayce replies as he stands to his feet.

“I know well enough.” Ben bites out. “You do this every time you need to forget your crappy past and every time you do it only makes things worse.”

“What do you think it’s going to do to her? She’s going to regret it in five minutes, I guarantee it.” Ben adds.

Before Jayce can say a word I jump up to my feet and move right in front of Ben. “He didn’t do anything that I didn’t ask for. All I wanted was a moment to forget my pain, one moment to forget what Liam said to me.”

“You don’t know a thing about me or how I would feel.” I add.

Ben’s jaw ticks for a moment before he waves his hands absently in the air. “Then by all means go back to what you were doing and forget I even interrupted. Don’t come crawling to me when things get messed up even worse.”

With that Ben walks out of my room slamming the door behind him.

Turning back around, I look to Jayce as he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

The moment between us had been ruined.

He motions past me. “I should go and talk to him.”

I nod. “Yeah, you should.”

“Will you be alright?” He then questions as he takes a step closer.

I nod my head again even though I glance away from him. “I think so.”

Not accepting my answer he moves closer and takes my chin in his hand, forcing me to look up at him. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

I smirk. “I can’t promise that.”

He snorts and shakes his head. “Just promise me that you’ll at least try and not get yourself into trouble until I return.”

Laughing softly I shake my head. “I can’t promise you that either. I always seem to find myself in some sort of trouble.”

Grinning Jayce tilts his head. “You might just be my type of girl.”

Sighing I motion towards the door. “Go talk to him. I promise I won’t do anything stupid until you get back.”

Shaking his head with a smirk Jayce barks out in laughter. “I’m going to have to keep my eyes on you.”

I grin and he nods once more before leaving my room.

Alone I sigh roughly and then move over to my bed to sit on the edge.

I still felt empty inside.

Liam’s words continued to play in my head over and over again.

I couldn’t believe he had actually said them out loud like that. Could he really be in love with me? It was possible.

He had a funny way of showing it though considering the things he had said previous to his sudden confession.

Laying back I cover my eyes with the back of my arm as I breathe out.

Right now I honestly didn’t know what to do with his confession. He was still with Amy which meant that I didn’t really mean much to him.

At least that’s how I saw it.

Someone who loved you didn’t make you feel the way that Liam had done to me.

But then again what did I know about love. I had cheated on the one person that I had claimed to love.

Maybe I didn’t know what love really was.

Coming to a conclusion I decide to stop whatever it was between Liam and I. I was no longer going to allow those feelings in and I was going to forget the one night we had spent together.

I was going to move on, from here on out I was going to leave the past behind where it belonged.

What I needed was a fresh start without all of the baggage of my past.

Getting up off of my bed with a renewed energy I walk over to my closet and pull out one of my folded up boxes.

I refold the box before moving over to my shelves.

Taking one of the frames into my hands I stare down at the picture of Cole until I gain enough strength to toss it into the box.

With each one I place into the box it becomes easier.

And to be honest I felt lighter, like a heavy weight was being lifted off of my shoulders.

As I place another frame into my box both Jayce and Ben walk into my room wearing questioning looks as they glance between me and the box.

“I’m starting over.” I state simply.

Both of them nod their heads.

Moving around the room I grab another picture and then motion towards the others sitting around the room. “You can help me if you want to.”

Again, they nod and go in separate directions, picking up frames before placing them gently into my box in the middle of the floor.

As I place the last frame into the box I sigh and then kneel down as I run my fingers over the others while closing my eyes.

This was harder now that they were all in the box.

“What happened to him?” Ben asks gently as he kneels down next to me.

Glancing over to him I sigh and pick up the frame on the top, my favorite picture of us.

“He killed himself.” I answer as I run my finger over the photo. “He was depressed and decided to end things. He gave up. I tried my hardest to make things better but it wasn’t enough.”

Ben glances away from me towards Jayce. “That sounds a lot like what happened with Alyssa.”

Jayce nods once before walking away, leaving Ben and me in my room alone.

Sighing Ben bows his head. “I don’t think he will ever get over her.”

There were so many questions I wanted to ask him in that moment but it wasn’t right. If I wanted to ask I would ask Jayce. It was his story to tell.

Standing up I lean over and place the photo in my hands back into the box before closing the top.

Wordlessly Ben picks the box up and I direct him over to my closet before opening the door.

Placing the box down gently he backs out of the closet and I shut the door with a soft click.

Rubbing the back of his neck Ben looks to me shyly. “I’m sorry about what happened earlier and what I said.”

“It’s alright. You stopped me from doing something I was probably going to regret.” I reply gently.

“I’m not the type of girl to just do that with someone I don’t know.” I add.

He grins and shakes his head. “I didn’t figure you were but just be careful with Jayce. He’s still going through some stuff.”

I nod my head in understanding. “I’ll keep my distance.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not what I meant. He does like you. All I’m saying is not to break his heart. Get to know him first if that’s what you want.”

I got his point loud and clear.

I sigh and nod. “I understand.”

“So, do you think we can be friends?” I add with a grin.

He nods and holds out his hand to me. “Friends sound pretty good. You can never have too many friends.”

Nodding in agreement I shake his hand before breaking away from him as Jayce walks back into the room with a glare in Ben’s direction.

“Your dads are home.” He announces while still staring in Ben’s direction.

“Thanks.” I reply softly.

Sighing softly Ben glances between me and Jayce before motioning at the door absently. “I’m going to go talk to them while you two talk.”

I nod gratefully to him before he leaves.

Once he’s gone I move over to the side of my bed and sit down on the edge before looking up to Jayce.

“So, you and my brother…” He trails off.

“…are just going to be friends.” I fill in for him with a smile. “What did you think that was?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Are you alright now?” I ask gently.

He nods again before bowing his head to look at me through his lashes. “I’m fine but I do want to talk about what about what almost happened between us. I need to know what you want from me.”

“We forget that ever happened.” I answer simply.

His face falls as he closes his eyes as if he had been struck.

“From here we become friends and then see what happens. I’m in no position to jump into anything right now and from what Ben said I doubt you are ready for anything serious either.” I add.

With my words Jayce looks back up at me with hope filling his eyes.

It was an odd look considering the circumstances. “I can do that.”

Standing up I move directly in front of Jayce. “Can you do me one favor though?”

He nods as he gazes down at me. “Whatever you want, Sweetheart, just ask.”

“Can you help me keep Liam away? If he’s around I’ll lose this battle, I’ll give into his demands sooner or later.” I request.

Nodding Jayce grins. “I can do that for you.”

“Good, now we better get out of my room before Matt or Eric decides to come up here after us.” I laugh lightly as I grab his hand to lead him out of the room.