Veiled

Part 8

Chapter 8

With a sigh, Cece placed the phone into its cradle before dropping her face into her hands.  Abby was right; Cece was being a coward.  Her friend may not have said those exact words, but Cece could hear them in Abby’s tone.  All that Abby had told her was not to make the same mistakes she almost made.  If Paul was the one for Cece, she shouldn’t let him go, not like Abby had almost done to Lance.

Could Paul be the one though?  Would he stay around when he found out how dysfunctional she was?  Would he run for the hills once he learned she came from virtually no family, and those who were still alive no longer spoke to her?  The way he was around his sister showed Cece that he was a family oriented person.  Would he be able to understand how she could stay away from her own family?

Abby was right though.  Cece wasn’t a liar.  She had been lied to enough in her life that she tried to keep herself from doing the same to others.  She had broken her own little promise to herself earlier when Paul had asked if she was dating anyone.  Right then, she should have told him the truth.  She hadn’t dated anyone in months, not after she found out that the last guy was married.  She just couldn’t take it any longer. 

She was tired of men who would leave her as soon as the opportunity arrived.  She was tired of dealing with men who didn’t have a single honest bone in their body.  There was only one problem.  Paul was not one of those men.  From the short period of time they knew one another, it was easy to see that he would only leave when pushed to do so, and she doubted he would lie to her for any reason. 

So, why had she pushed him away?  It was because she was afraid.  She was afraid that he would be like all the other people in her life.  Once it got a little hard, they ran from her.  Why wouldn’t Paul be the same?  He’s a good guy, she told herself.  Letting out a sigh, she glanced down at the number Abby had provided her with.  All it would take was a quick dial, and she would be able to speak to him.

Would he answer though?  After the way she treated him, after what she told him, she doubted he would give a second thought to pushing the ignore button.  Biting her lip, she reached for her phone anyway.  Even if the man ignored her phone call, she could say that she at least tried. 

Dialing the number, she held her breath until his voice flowed over the phone.  She opened her mouth to reply before realizing that it was his voicemail.  Setting the phone in the cradle, she stared at it.  She had never expected him actually to ignore her call.  She thought maybe he would answer and then hang up after a quick talk, but she never thought he would ignore her.

Or was he ignoring her?  Worse things could have happened.  He could have been driving angry, ran off the road and into a river.  She paused; there weren’t any rivers near, but something else could have happened to him.  Biting her lip, she grabbed her keys from the counter before running towards her door.  She’d just drive along the road and make sure that he wasn’t hurt somewhere.  Then, she would go home, sleep, and attempt to call him in the morning.  With a nod, she pulled open her door.  The rain dropped around her, but where it was nice earlier, it had started pouring down.  Taking a deep breath, she ran towards her car.  Rain pounded at her back, made her hair flatten to her face, and drenched her clothing.  It was worth it though.  So was getting her cloth seats soaked. 

Now in the shelter of her vehicle, she swiped at her eyes, attempting to get the rain off her face.  It was no use.  When she wiped at her face, more drops of rain would flow onto it from her hair.  Plus, she didn’t have time to worry about her appearance, not with Paul out there somewhere.  She turned the key, waiting for the sound of her engine to start, but nothing happened.  No sounds echoed through the car, no lights turned on.  Her car was dead.

Letting out a small, frustrated yell, she banged her palm against the steering wheel.  It looked like she was staying home.  There was no other choice.  She couldn’t call a cab, not this late at night.  With frustration in every move, she threw the door open.  The only problem was that the door hit something, making it slam back into place.  Leaning up, she glanced out her window, afraid of what she would see on the other side.

A man lay on the ground.  Cece looked closer and noticed the color of the jacket he wore.  Letting out a gasp, she threw her door open again before slamming it behind her.  “Paul!  Are you okay?”

He leaned his head up.  “Yeah,” he mumbled.  “I’m just wondering if you’ll hurt me again when I try to get your attention.”

Her face flushed red, something that never happened to her.  “I’m sorry,” she said in a humbled tone, but when she saw the smile on his face, she shook her head at him.  “Are you really hurt?”

“Not really,” he replied. 

Walking towards him, she glanced down at his body.  “Then why are you lying there?”

He shrugged from his spot on the ground.  “Mud,” he said while pointing towards her car.  “I slipped in the mud.”

Laughter escaped her mouth before she could keep it back, but when she heard his answering laughter, she did nothing to hide the fact that she found this entire situation hilarious.  “What are you doing here, Paul?” she asked between breaths.  When he didn’t say anything, her laughter completely died down. 

He stared at her as if contemplating before shrugging.  “I’m willing to wait,” he said.

“Wait for what?” she asked with a frown.

“For you to stop dating.  I’m willing to wait however long it takes you to be single, because I have this feeling that without you, my life just wouldn’t be right.  So, until then, I’ll be your best friend.”

She dropped down beside him, ignoring the wetness that now seeped through the bottom of her pants.  “You mean that?”

Pushing himself up to where he sat next to her, he nodded.  “My stepfather is an amazing man.  When he first met my mom, she lied to him, told him she didn’t have any children.  She was afraid that once he found out she had Penelope and I that he would leave.  One day, he showed up at her apartment unannounced, and guess who opened the door?”

“You?”

“Yep, I answered the door looking a mess, and when he saw me he just stood there a second before walking off.  When I told my mom, she broke down crying, thinking that he left because he didn’t want to deal with the fact that she had children.”

She leaned towards him, a frown on her face.  “What happened next?”

With a small chuckle, Paul shook his head as if remembering a fond memory.  “He showed up again an hour later, handed her a key, and told her that if she ever lied to him again that he’d give her the silent treatment.”

Cece frowned at him when he didn’t say another word.  “Well, what was the key to?”

“The house they live in now.  It has this large back yard, a swing set in the back, and its ten minutes away from the best school offered in that area.”

Her eyes watered, but luckily, the rain kept him from noticing.  “He really loves her, huh?  Even though she lied to him, he stuck with her.”

“Exactly,” Paul said with a straight face.

“Paul,” she groaned, having a feeling that he already knew what she was about to say.  “I lied, okay?  I’m not dating anyone; I haven’t been dating anyone since about a month ago.  I just pushed you away because I was afraid.”

He leaned towards her and pushed a piece of wet hair away from her face.  “You weren’t afraid,” he whispered, leaning closer.  “You were testing me, seeing if I would run.  Tell me, did I pass your test?”

It was her turn to lean closer.  She let their lips brush, before pulling back.  “What do you think?”

Letting out a chuckle, he pulled her towards him.  She went willingly, making them both fall onto the wet, cold ground.  As soon as his lips touched hers, all thoughts of it being cold flew from her mind.  How could she know Paul was the one?  She smiled to herself.  With the way she felt at that exact moment, it was ridiculous even to think the question.