Can't Help but Love Him

How they Died

     "Tell me... Tell me how they died." She murmured, looking out the window. 

     I slightly tensed, squeezing my fist. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell her; she should know. She and my mom had a close relationship, sometimes I'd find out she came over to hang out with my mom and not me. Even so, it was hard to speak about.

     "You want to sit on the patio? It will shelter the rain and we can still be outside." I didn't want a maid or something to listen in on our conversation. Outside was the safest place to talk about it.

     "You don't have to speak if you don't want to. I can't imagine how their absence has affected your life." She said once we were outside. I didn't like this, I didn't want to make her worry about me. That was partly why telling her wasn't ideal, because then she would know how much it weighed me down.

     "Well... I suppose you could say my father wasn't the nicest man." I began, feeling her curious gaze return onto me.

     "He made a lot of enemies as well as allies. He used dirty tricks to make things how he wanted, and didn't mind who else he got dirt on." I said, listening to the relaxing sound of rain get heavier.

     "It was... rare for them both to be on a business trip, too. I think it only happened once a year. That's how we know it was planned." I felt her shift in her seat, and she looked carefully at the flowers we could see from the patio. 

     "If dad hadn't treated his employees like crap, he probably would've been safe. If he had remembered the faces he worked with, he could have realized who the driver was." I squeezed my fist until my knuckles turned white, and I felt a pulsing pain in my chest. 

     Her eyes grew wide, staring back at me. "So, the chauffeur?"

     "Yeah, he used to work for our company, until my dad stole his business ideas and fired him. The real chauffeur that was supposed to drive them was found dead in a Hotel." I stated.

     "How...?" She whispered, covering her mouth.

     "He drove them into a brick wall." I could feel the light leave my eyes as I said it, and my grip loosened.

     I realized how harsh I had made it sound, and turned to check on Aurora. "Sorry, did I scare you?" 

     "N-No, I'm alright." She stammered, hugging herself. 

     It was pouring now, and I couldn't help but be happy about it. We sat in silence, listening to the sound of rain that hit the car.

     "The earth is crying for you." She murmured, lying back in her seat. I had been able to keep it together until then, I looked away as hot tears streamed down my cheeks. The feeling of me standing over their grave returned, and I was suddenly alone again. She wiping my face before the tears hit the ground. 

     Then, it hit me. This was wrong. Her touch was comforting, but it wasn't what I wanted. My eyes flashed to the clock on the dashboard, it read eight thirty. He had landed. Axel had definitely landed.

     "We should go back. They should be done talking about the plans." I admit. She looked surprised, but she didn't ask. I could only hope she understood, because I couldn't bring myself to explain it to her. 

     "Regardless, I will never regret the time I spend with you, Jason." She mumbled, standing up. 

     We talked little on the way back, and I learned about what I had missed in the years we spent apart. I really had meant what I said; she was unstoppable. I had questioned an alliance before I knew who it was, but this was Aurora. I only existed to lift her up, and there would be a time when she wouldn't need me any more.

      Her older brother, Caspian was already the CEO in training. Since she was the only girl in her family, her job was to marry. I tried to tell her how unfair it was, how she was the smartest and therefore she should run the company. She told me it was something her father had already decided, and their family was big on the "traditional roles" men and women were supposed to play. 

     It was obvious that I didn't play the traditional role of a man. I still didn't know how, or if I was going to tell her, but it made me think. What would she do if she found out about me and Axel?