Chapter 54 Golden Gates

Chapter 54 Golden Gates
Rachel Jennings,

The persistent calls were in vain, so when I realized it, I was in front of that huge golden gate. I had promised myself I would never return to this house again. The fact that Jayden was making me break that promise was irritating. It's strange, but even knowing that he missed the test because of me, I keep looking for reasons to be annoyed with him.

I pressed the button on that fancy intercom several times and got no response. I tried calling Jayden one more time, but his phone seemed to be off. I started to wonder if the gate was tall enough or if I could jump over it. If someone had told me a month ago that today I would be considering jumping a wall to avoid seeing Jayden fail, I would have said that person was crazy, yet here I am wondering what else can change between us.

I heard the sound of an engine, and a black limousine approached the gate, leaving me intrigued. When I saw who was inside the vehicle, I rolled my eyes and realized he had the same air of superiority as Jayden,

"What are you doing standing outside my house, miss?" Jayden's father asked, and I sighed heavily because the last time we saw each other, I yelled at him in front of everyone.

"I need to talk to Jayden, it's urgent!" I affirmed, and he stared at me as if analyzing me.

"Get in the car!" he ordered, and I shrunk.

I almost insisted that he just open the damn gate, but I just sighed and got into the limousine, which smelled pleasant. The gate opened, and the car began to move through the property.

"I thought you wouldn't come back here, Miss. If I remember correctly, last time you called me brainless, a jerk, and said I'm a terrible example to my son." Jayden's father recalled, and I sighed.

"I actually just responded in kind to your insults," I retorted, and he nodded, agreeing.

"You don't seem like the type to give in, young lady. It must be really important for you to have come here even after everything that happened. By any chance, have you and Jayden broken up?" he asked, not taking his eyes off his state-of-the-art cellphone, but he seemed worried, and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

I didn't know how to answer. After all, Jayden and I never had anything, but I just sighed and shook my head.

"You know, I had an interesting conversation with Rosita yesterday. I thought your relationship wasn't serious and that he would soon cause the same problems as always," he sighed and put the cellphone in his pocket, staring at me as the car parked in the huge garage where several vehicles were parked.

"Well, I don't know what you talked about, but I don't think Jayden will make the same mistakes again, whether he's with me or not," I affirmed, raising an eyebrow in a tone almost as snobbish as his.

"It seems you're not very confident in your relationship." He teased me, and I sighed.

"I don't think our relationship, whatever it is, is any of your concern," I replied in the same formal tone he was using, and I thought he would get angry, but he just nodded.

We got out of the car, and soon we were in the living room.

"Jayden's room is upstairs, the last door at the end of the hallway," he explained, and seemed unconcerned, a completely different posture from the first time we met.

"Thank you. I promise not to take long," I informed him, and left feeling somewhat embarrassed.

The hallway had several doors, and although Jayden's father said his room was at the end, he didn't say which side, and there were two doors. I knocked on both doors, and when I got no response, I opened one of them. Even though I had never been in Jayden's room, I knew that it wasn't his. There were some trophies, medals, and photos of his brother there.

The room was untouched, as if they were still waiting for him to come back, and it was heartbreaking. In the photos, Jayden seemed so happy with her brother. There were pictures of them swimming, fishing, and even one where Jayden is playing the piano while his brother sings, and before I knew it, I was smiling.

"Rachel?" Jayden called out, suddenly, and I flinched in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he asked, clearly surprised by my presence. "How did you get in here?" he insisted, looking confused.

"I jumped the wall!" I joked, adjusting my glasses on my face, but when I noticed his widened eyes, I explained. "Your father let me in," I said, feeling my hands sweat.

The truth is, I knew I owed Jayden an apology, and I wasn't sure how to do it exactly. I'm not the type of person who easily admits fault, and this is the first time I've felt guilty enough to reach this point.

"That sounds even more unlikely," he affirmed and leaned against the doorframe, looking at me curiously. His hair was messy, and his slightly reddened eyes told me he had cried much more than he allowed me to see. Thinking about it broke my heart into a thousand pieces, and that was ironic because sometimes I wanted to do that to him.

"I didn't think you'd come here. Usually, when people don't answer the phone, it's because they don't want to be found," he gave a slight hopeful smile, and I lowered my head.

"I talked to Professor Ridley and got a second chance to do the review, but you need to do it today. We'll have to organize a charity ball in two weeks in return, but at least he'll give you most of the complementary hours you need," I explained, hoping that would serve as an apology, but he seemed disappointed as he nodded.

"Alright, I'll just change, and then we'll go. You can wait downstairs if you want," he said and left, leaving me static.

He should be happy for another chance, but it seemed like he was expecting something else, and I didn't know what it was. He had never been so formal with me before. I watched him leave for a few seconds and did as he asked. I waited for him in the living room, and then we went to the university. A melancholic silence lingered throughout the journey, and every time I thought of something to say, when I turned around and saw his face focused on the road, I gave up.

Outside the room where he took the review, I paced back and forth. Anxious like a father in a maternity ward waiting for the birth of his first child. For some reason, I needed Jayden to pass this test. I don't know at what point I started to worry so much about him, but I needed to prove to his father that he was wrong.

After fifty agonizing minutes, Jayden came out of the room with the test in hand. He looked visibly tired, but gave a small smile when he looked at me, and I could relax. I ran to him as if he had just won a world championship and hugged him, even though I didn't understand why. He didn't push me away, but he didn't envelop me with his arms either, and I shrank. There haven't been many moments in the last few days when I'm not in his arms, and I didn't think I would miss it when I wasn't.

"Did everything go well?" I asked, not letting go of him, my face pressed against his shoulder.

He just nodded his head, and that coldness seemed to freeze my soul. I sighed deeply and moved my face away, looking at him. I thought of a speech and a thousand ways to apologize, but when I opened my mouth, he stopped me.

"I appreciate you talking to the professor, but that doesn't change what happened earlier," he said and sighed.

"I know, and I want to apologize," I begged, my voice faltering, and he looked at me as if analyzing me before shaking his head.

"I can't, Rachel. I can't just pretend that nothing happened. I can't do this anymore, and that's why I think we should end it here," he affirmed, and my heart seemed to stop beating for a moment.

"What? What do you mean, Jayden?" I asked, confused.

"I'm saying that our fake relationship ends here."