Undeniable {a.m.+j.b.} [2]

Chapter 15

I'm terribly late. I apologize.
You guys might come across flashbacks which aren't mentioned in the first book yet. Never fear- as I said, it is a part of the reconstruction process. Please bare with me. Love ya xx

Also. This chapter is very short, I know. I'm sorry about that, too. But I really wanted to get this up. The next chapter will be up sooner.

"Give me love,

Like her.

'Cause lately I've been waking up alone.

All I want,

Is the taste that your lips allow."

-Give Me Love, Ed Sheeran

Justin Bieber

Well, now, don't they look loved up?

I swerved leftward, into the kitchen, before either of the two could catch sight of me. Wordlessly I yanked open the door to the fridge and swooped down to grab a tall bottle of water. I'd been in my room upstairs, going over the song I'd composed that day, and ensuring everything was perfect; I wouldn't be able to sleep until I'd wrapped that one up. That's when I'd heard a shout from downstairs, and Austin had sounded pretty upset. I couldn't make out his muffled words, since the door was shut, but he'd been very, very loud, and it was very sudden. I'd jumped to my feet immediately, and started out the door. What if he screamed at Alex? I was in no place to come between them, but if the chance arose, I'd definitely have come to her aid.

I had slowly descended the staircase, my hand gliding across the railing. Their stifled voices continued, but even as I reached the bottom, I couldn't understand a thing other than that she was speaking, now. I got off the last step, and consciously ensured my footsteps were silent. I strained my ears, but was still unable to hear them. Damn. Continuing in silence, I finally reached the end of the dark hallway to the living room. The voices weren't understandable, even now, but it was better than earlier; from where I stood, I could see them. That's when I'd ducked into the kitchen, pulse thumping.

She'd been straddling his lap, their torsos almost pressed together, with his head rested on her elevated shoulder, face pressed into the fabric of her shirt. He was evidently distraught, while she was muttering into his ear as she ran her fingers through his hair with one hand, and rubbed his back with her palm with the other. His arms wrapped around her waist tightly as he snuggled deeper into her, and I felt my heart pang with desire. I gulped down half the bottle of water, and leaned back against the refrigerator, away from the wide window which would allow either one of them sight of me. My head rolled back, and my eyes pressed shut. I briefly wondered whether he was concerned about the two of us being at home alone all day, and had questioned her about it, which led her to reassure him that he could trust her, and hence their situation. The tiny glimmer of hope was pushed away, though, the moment I recollected a certain memory.

"It never stops hurting, you know," I recalled him telling me bitterly. "Giving someone the best of you and watching them choose someone else."

It had been two years since that one fight that changed it all, and only now was I realizing the full implication of the simple statement. Now, in that moment, my heart hurt more than it ever had. Sure, I'd seen them together before, both in person, and in pictures. But neither had ever been this way; I'd never seen Alex in intimacy. The furthest we'd ever gone physically was making out on the couch in her Texas home, when I'd visited her that one time and we were alone downstairs. But we'd never been face-to-face, skin against skin, just to talk. The only time any of us had consoled the other had been the first time I'd gone to her house, and stayed the night talking to her because I was too distressed by the accident back in Canada to sleep. And, even then, she'd hugged me once, but for the most part, we'd sat on opposite corners of the sofa, her hand over mine while I silently willed myself not to cry in her presence. A mere week later, I asked her out, and after that, all we seemed to ever do was flirt, or kiss. She'd been the first girl I was serious about, even if it was the slightest bit. My naivete kept me from acting any bit mature, though, and I never found it in myself to actually talk to her about how I felt. And then there was the album release and the arrangement with Selena. The sudden stardom got to my head, and I became an egotistical bastard. The miles of distance hadn't helped either. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a bouquet in water on the table; it hadn't been there earlier. I scoffed at myself. You never bought her flowers...

I heard shuffling from outside when I'd finally got myself to head back up, and stopped in my tracks. I glanced at the pair to see Alex in his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms secured at his nape. Austin had risen to his feet, and held her up with one arm around her waist and the other below her, simultaneously having clasped a CD in a transparent case, and a white envelope. She was giggling about something, her face an inch from his, and a few moments after he started walking towards upstairs, she moved to kiss him. I looked away, and instead walked to the other side of the room, where I'd be out of both of their lines of sight from the hallway. I heard him stumble into the corridor, and then the rustle of her back hitting the wall. Austin murmured something so softly, and I was relieved I couldn't hear it; keeping the situation in mind, the lesser I knew, the less my heart would ache. I kept to the shadows until I was sure I could hear them trudge up the stairs. The door to their room opened, making a faint sound, and I let out the breath I had held. Still clutching the water bottle, I sulked out of the kitchen and made my way up the stairs.

This was ridiculous. I couldn't spend a month here like this, hiding from the two whenever they were together, acting composed with Austin and beating around the bushes around Alex. If this was all I'd be doing here, my stay was pointless.

An image of her in his lap flashed in my mind; I winced.

That's it, I promised myself. No more cowering. In the time I stay with her, the least I will do is regain Alex in my life- and if I'm lucky, I'll get the chance to tell her how I've always felt about her.

My gaze stuck to the carpeted floor all the while I climbed up the stairs, but my ears were more than attentive- which sucked, because I could clearly hear giggles, soft moans and mumbles getting louder and louder with every step I took upwards. At the top of the flight, I extended my arm and clasped the doorknob of my room. Don't do it, Justin, keep it together, my mind urged. I fought it, and turned my head over my left shoulder for a brief second, only to catch sight of what I dreaded to, even though I knew exactly what I'd see if I looked. My fist clenched around the knob, and my blood raced through me. I pushed the door open, almost violently, and slammed it shut. The noise resonated in my mind, accompanied by the sight of the two in their room, her lying on the bed and him, his shirt gone, over her.

"Holy fucking shit," I grumbled, grabbing my headphones and forcing them over my ears. I picked up my notebook lying on the bed, open to one of my old songs, and flipped open to a new page. Within seconds I was scrawling verses on the pristine sheet, filling up the lines with angst-filled writing.

Tonight was going to be a long, sleepless night. I could just sense it.