Aileen
He started driving, and the car's tension grew heavy with each passing minute.
I was sweating profusely, worrying about the consequences I might face. My heart was beating rapidly as well.
I gulped mustering up my courage to speak up. "Um, I can explain–"
"Wait till I find a place to park my car," he interrupted, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Uh…alright…"
I try to look outside to calm myself down, but it's not helping. Why the heck did you have to hang out with me today, Skylar?
It's your fault Dave is angry.
5 minutes later, the car comes to a halt. We were at the side of the road. There were only a few cars running at that time.
He took off his seatbelt in a cool manner and turned to face me with a pissed-off look.
Here it comes.
"Why was that boy standing so close to you? And why did you allow him to hold you like that? What does he mean to you? Are you friends?" he bombed me with questions one after another.
"Uh…. he…. I…"
"Why aren't you speaking? Did you get admitted so that you could flirt around with boys?"
"What? No!"
"Then, why were you standing so close?" he growled in anger. "Just imagining it makes my blood boil. How can he touch you so freely? Did you give him the permission?"
"No, I didn't. He was–"Wait what did he say? Seeing us together makes his blood boil.
But, why? All this while he was ignoring me because of Mom. Then, why would he be angry to see me with Skylar? Is he…. perhaps jealous? Is it jealousy?
"Were you upset to see me with him?" I couldn't help but ask without thinking.
"Of course I was!" he yelled. "Isn't it obvious for me to be upset? I literally wanted to kill him or skin him alive."
"But, why? Why was it hard for you to see me with another guy?"
"Cause you are my mate and I fucking love you! I can't stand to see you with another guy!" he stated with a frown.
He said what just now? He…he loves me? I didn't hear it wrong, right? He said he loved me. Omg! I can't believe it!
I'm the luckiest girl alive right now. I feel like I'm dreaming! Dave…. he loves me! Not Mom!
"What are you smiling for?" he asked, "You didn't answer my question yet. Who the heck is that boy? Why was he acting so chummy with you? What is your relationship?"
I took a deep breath and calmed my mind before answering his questions. Wait, if I tell him everything straight away it would ruin all the fun.
I need to tease him a bit more. I want to hear how he feels about me today from his own mouth.
"Well, Skylar is my classmate," I replied a bit playfully. "But, he's been hitting on me from day one and would like me to be his girlfriend. He was telling me that as well. Do you think I should accept his proposal finally? I mean, I feel pity to keep him hanging for a reply. If I say yes we can be together. Sounds great right?"
"What?" he was panic-stricken to hear that. "Did you seriously just say all that?"
"Hm…yeah. Why? Didn't I sound serious? I wasn't joking though."
"Aileen!" he bellowed, veins popping up on his neck. "How can you say something like this in front of your mate? Don't you have any respect or feelings for me? I didn't expect this from you at all!"
I'm pushing the right buttons here. It's so fun to play with him.
"Don't you think you are reacting a bit? This isn't as serious as you make it sound like," I implored. "Skylar and I are good friends. What's the harm if I become his girlfriend? I've broken up with Jack a long time ago. I finally want to be in a relationship."
"You want to be in a relationship with him? Are you on your right mind?" he punched hard on the car seat as he grunted.
"Yes, I am. That's why I'm letting you know about it first, so you can give me insights further."
I feel bad lying to him, but what's the harm? As long as I achieve my objective.
I'll go all out today.
His jaws clenched and his eyes narrowed at me. It was a dangerous icy gaze. I felt like I was in danger but this bunny knows how to play.
"Dave? What's wrong? Are you not happy to hear this? You don't want me to be in a relationship? Believe me! Skylar is a very good guy. He's going to treasure me and he's very affectionate. He's also popular in our college. Everybody wants to–"
"You can't," he stated bitterly.
"Huh? I can't what?"
"There's no way you can date him," he replied, reaching out his hands toward me and wrapping them around the back of my neck.
I was puzzled by his actions.
"I won't let you do that," he whispered before our lips crashed together into a forceful passionate kiss.
I got lost in the kiss and fully allowed him to take over and wrapped my arms around his neck giving him further access to my mouth.
God, It's been so long since we kissed. I was missing his touch so much. How did I punish myself by staying angry at him? I knew I couldn't resist him, still tried.
I'm so stupid.
His tongue played with mine, and enjoyed the sensation of him devouring me completely. I was under his spell, unable to move.
When he broke the kiss, it was to catch his breath. And I was panting hard as well, resting my back against the car door.
I looked into his eyes, and he stroked my face, caressing slowly.
"Aileen, you are mine, 'Only' mine. And I can't and won't let you be someone else's even in my dreams. So, forget about dating that player. I'm the only man you should ever lay your eyes on. The only one you should think about. Never think about any other guy in front of me, alright?" His voice was on the verge of breaking up when he spoke. Pain could be felt through each word.
I gave a nod after a moment of pause, recording everything that he said just now into my memory.
I'll never be able to forget these words, even if I tried to.
"Lastly, can I ask you something in return?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure. Anything."
"What do I mean to you? Like, where do I stand in your life? Why do you not want to share me with anyone? Only because of the mate bond?"
He shook his head, "No. Not because of the mate bond."
"Then?"
"Because you are precious to me. I love you. Not because you ended up being my mate. I had taken a liking to you, ever since I saw you with your mother. As you were still a minor back then I tried to suppress my feelings as there was a huge age gap between us back then. Still," he stared at me with eyes full of adoration.
"Something inside me was telling me, that I need to protect you, like a guardian. So, when I saw your mom struggling to live by while also raising you by herself I wanted to help her out by giving her the peace of mind and the support that she needed. That's how I became your stepfather."
What? He only got married to her because of me? Because he wanted to watch over me?
I was the one who dug my own grave by bringing them together under the shackles of marriage?
I'm so bad! And all this while I blamed my fate for everything without knowing about the truth? I'm so stupid!
But…. if he didn't know me and Mom then I probably wouldn't have taken a liking to him. Because we spent many of our time together I realized that I love him. Which is the reason I refused to live with them during my high school days.
So, I could avoid the reality that my mom stole the love of my life away from me. Deep within me, I was so angry. I hated Mom and Dave altogether for marrying against my wish.
But, when I came here I almost started to feel bad for holding my grudge in the first place. I was happy, to see my mom happy with him. She was shining, her happiness was radiating off her skin.
And it's all thanks to him. He brought back the smile that was often buried under the debris of depression, stress, and anxiety, the invisible burden that was chaining her down. He was the savior, for both of us. Gave me so much love that I almost forgot about my original father in the first place.
He took his place and became my dad. Even more better than my real dad who made all our lives unfortunate just by existing.
"Thank you, for all your efforts," I said, holding his face in my both hands. "Thank you for accepting us and making us feel like your real family. No one has ever made us feel that before. Thank you for giving us a warm place to call home. I'll always be grateful to you for that."
He was taken aback by my words. But then, breaks into a smile the next second.
"What are you saying? You two are my home. Home is not a place, made with bricks and walls. Home are the people who make it feel like home in the first place, our loved ones. Everywhere they'll be, it'll be home." He said with assurance.