Krista's Prompts - 1. Prompt 348

Prompt 348: A Scene involving characters I once wrote about. Be warned, you’ll likely want more of a resolution, but if I gave it to you now, then I likely won’t ever revisit these characters. So this is more or less a slice of life piece… a scene that may or may not happen at all between the characters involved...

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“Can you give me one reason why I should believe you?” Jacy asked her face flushed, she tried to hold Aidan’s attention. When his eyes drifted from her face to his lap, she sighed. Aidan felt her leave the bed, with her back turned he snuck a quick glance. He wished she would leave, give him time to think. Though that is what he wanted, he knew if he let her walk out on him, she wouldn’t come back.

“Now wait a minute,” Aiden said forcing some strength into his voice despite his tense stomach.

“No,” Jacy hissed glaring over her shoulder at him as she pulled on her jeans. Her bra, those fucking things are a trick to get off on the best days. Knowing that Jacy was acting strangely, knowing that she knew more than she was letting on. He figured he could distract her like he used to. When the bra didn’t come unfastened under his fingers, she took that as indecision. A momentary lack of conviction. Something she desperately needed from him right now.

“Don’t leave,” Aiden pleaded sliding to the edge of the bed. He reached for her hand, hoping to grab her shirt before she pulled it over her head, but caught her wrist. She didn’t rip her wrist from his grasp though. Instead he saw tears and he hated the sight of her. It almost made him want to break the contact and let her leave. The tears meant more to her than they did to him, he knew he had caused them. That wasn’t difficult to understand, but he didn’t deserve them. The tears meant she cared, that she loved, and felt things for him. Tears to him, just meant that she wouldn’t be so easily convinced to stay. Not this time and he needed her to stay just for a while longer, then he could set her free where she could recover from what he has done.

“Nothing you can say will change my mind, Aiden,” she countered the tears falling freely down her face now.

“I can explain, if you let me,” he said, “just calm down and listen.”

“I’ve been listening,” Jacy said, “and you’ve not denied it yet. I’m waiting to hear it.”

“Would you believe it if I did?” Aiden asked and he knew from her wince that it was the wrong thing to say. That his hopes of swaying the argument to a more comfortable place wasn’t going to happen. Maybe part of him was tired of living like this. He cursed and screamed at himself enough for it, maybe he was finally starting to listen.

“No,” she said, her voice a whisper. “You must think I’m stupid, everyone else does.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Aiden countered pushing off the bed with his other hand. He still had hold of her, he could feel her building up to a bolt.

“Yeah?” She said turning around to face him. “Then why did you pick me?”

“Pick you for what?” Aiden asked, already knowing what she meant.

“For your lying,” she answered as she tried to pull her hand away. “For your lying and your fucking cover up. Why me? I thought I meant more to you than all this.”

“I don’t know where this is coming from,” Aiden said hoping this practiced tactic would throw her. His heart was beginning to race and he knew, that this was likely the end. That he wouldn’t be able to convince her to stay. All of their arguments up until now had been small. He convinced her of his love. Chalking it up to being stressed or shy. Looking back they were such hollow excuses, anyone should have seen through them. He knew Jacy wasn’t stupid though, she was just in love. She had been forever, before he decided to turn his world upside down and be with her. Only her. That was the sacrifice. If he couldn’t see him, be with him, he would be with her. He knew what that made him.

“Everyone knows apparently,” Jacy whispered, “I guess the jokes on me.”

“Knows what?” He asked feeling the grip on her arm loosening. She was getting up the nerve to say what she didn’t want to say.

“I wish you’d fucking deny it!” She yelled suddenly the fight coming back to her. She pulled her arm out of his hand and pulled her shirt back over her head.

“If you would just tell me,” he pleaded following her from the bedroom into the living room. He was thankful that his parents weren’t home.

“That you love him, deny that you love him,” she said as she looked up at the ceiling before turning back to him. “That you always have.”

“Who?” Aiden asked his mouth drying out. He swallowed his heart pounding in his ears.

“Mitch,” she said no venom in her voice. She adored Mitch, thought of him as a friend. She had no hatred for him, he didn’t do this to her. They both knew that he was innocent. Aiden had decided to break off their friendship before they started dating. It concerned Jacy, but since neither of them would talk or say why, she didn’t know the reason. Then when Mitch distanced himself from her as well, she was hurt, but she still had her other best friend Aiden and when they had started dating, he had been nice. She had fallen in love so quickly.

“Mitch?” Aiden asked and he blinked a few times as the name hit him squarely in the chest. “Mitch and… you know we haven’t even talked.”

“From before that,” she said. “Was that the reason you two stopped being friends?”

“He’s not gay,” Aiden blurted, remembering the senior trip where he finally did free himself enough to tell Mitch how he felt. It ended so badly that he never would again.

“But you are?” She asked her eyes narrowing.

“No,” he answered and she shot him a glare.

“I don’t believe you,” she said, “when you can tell me the truth, you know where I’ll be.”

“Jacy don’t go,” Aiden pleaded his own voice quivering. “I need you.”

“But I love you, Aiden,” she said walking to the front door, turning the knob. She let it glide open before she turned around. Aiden had to blink a few times at the sudden brightness of the sun outside. “That’s why I have to go.”

After she closed the door and left him in the dimly lit living room, his heart still pounding. He took a few steadying breaths and was surprised to feel the despair fading. What he felt next was something different, something he hadn’t felt since the night he walked away from Mitch after years of being his best friend. He felt relieved, but like last time he knew it wasn’t going to last.