It's Forbidden... So Why Do I Like Him? 29

Belle

I stared out the window in pure shock. I must be seeing things, he's not here, I thought, too shocked to move.

My lips parted and I managed to whisper out. "Declan?"

He was shaking his head. Why would he do such a thing?

I suddenly realized what this looked like. By the time I looked bacl at Declan, he was gone. "No!" I whispered. I pulled out of the guy - who the hell was he again? - and ran outside, regardless of my plaid PJ bottoms and a plain white cami.

"Declan!" I yelled, following his scent. Even of he hated me now, I had to set him straight. After all he's been through, I couldn't leave him on that note. Never. "Damn it, Declan, get back here!" I yelled again, feeling like it was weird to say that to the man I loved after years of not seeing him.

I had to admit it; the man was fast. I had finally caught up with him when he stopped in the middle of the woods, taking deep breaths and so upset he was literally shaking.

My breath caught in my throat. "Declan?"

"What?" His voice was hard.

I took it like a slap in the face. "What the hell do you mean 'What?', Declan? I don't see you for five whole years, and you leave when you saw a bad moment? What the hell?" I said, feeling completely insulted.

He didn't look back at me. "I get it; you've moved on. Maybe you were never even there in the first place. Just leave me alone." Declan was gone the next second.

I followed him again, following his scent - God, I missed it so much it was almost painful having it back - and came upon him slamming a door behind himself when he ran inside a house.

He'd been this close to me the whole time?

I slowly walked up to the door and knocked lightly.

The girl who opened the door shocked me. She was tall and thin, with a pretty face and a sudden giant grin. There were tears in her brown eyes, the dark brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail.

"Belle..." she whispered.

I blinked. "My God, is that you, Desirae?"

She nodded before launching herself in a hug that almost knocked me off the doorstep. "I've missed you so much!" She started sobbing, then buried her head in my shoulder. I smiled and hugged her back tightly, feeling like a long-lost friend was back. But I needed to make things right with Declan.

I let her go and walked inside, looking around. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a woman, dressed in only a robe, with a baby on her hip, walk down the stairs. "Desirae, do you know what's wrong with Declan?" She turned and smiled at me. "Oh, hello. Who is this?"

I stood there shocked for a second, then looked at the ground and shook my head. "That ass," I murmured, then smiled at the confused woman. "I'm Belle. And I have to go."

Desirae stared at me in shock. "What? You just got here! And Declan -" Her eyes went wide as she realized what I was thinking. I brushed past her. "Wait! Belle, I swear it's not what you think -"

"That is the most bullshit cheating line I've ever heard. But, wait, I was never actually dating Declan, was I? And that is such a fucking joke that he rushed out when I was with some guy and he actually had a kid -"

Desirae grabbed my arm. "Belle, that's our cousin. Her name's Heidi, and that's her son, he's four. His name is Scott. Her husband's overseas, serving in Afghanistan. Yeah, I know, a vampire in the army, it's weird. But it's true."

I stopped and stared at my friend for a few long moments. She didn't seem to be lying. I finally sighed. "Would you get that damn idiot downstairs? I have to talk to him. He walked in on the wrong moment."

She nodded and looked at me oddly, then said, "You curse a lot now." With that she walked back inside and went to get Declan.

I blinked. I was cursing a lot today. Weird. Maybe I was just wound up more than usual.

I could hear a lot of arguing upstairs, so I sat down on a tree stump and waited impatiently.
***
I finally heard the front door open a small eternity later. I didn't look up, just continuing with picking off the small leaves of a fern tendril. A pair of battered combat boots came into my vision of the ground.

I didn't say a thing. "Are you going to ignore me or can I go back inside?" Declan said in a hurt voice.

I shrugged, not caring anymore. "Well, you've already made your opinion that I'm a slut, and your opinions are set in stone, so why the hell should I even bother?"

He sat down beside me on the stump. "Explain. Please."

I looked down at the ground. "I live with a girl named Fiona. It's her house and she likes to sleep with guys. I woke up and went to get breakfast. They like to flirt with me the next morning. Asses, all of them."

Declan was silent for a moment, then finally sighed. "Okay, I jumped to conclusions. I just got a call this morning telling me I could leave this place, and when I saw you with that guy..." He shook his head. "I got jealous, okay? Heartbroken, even. And you're nearly perfect for coming back to explain everything. The 'nearly' is because I don't believe that anybody's perfect. You're a hair away from it." He sighed again, then raised a hand to run a hand through his hair, I guess. I was barely looking at him still. "And I'll get over it, okay? I understand that you've moved on and you're just doing this so I won't commit suicide or anything because I've always been an unstable bastard."

I stared at him for a long moment, and felt like every single wall I'd built against the world for the last five years started crashing down around me. I shook my head slowly, amazed. "You are such an idiot."
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~*One more chapter left! Please comment! And I've been thinking that instead of posting an epilogue, how about I post a new series with Belle and Declan?*~