Because of You

One Step Forward

This is actually reminiscent of a modern Pride and Prejudice. Bellamy even has a little sister, Clarke started to dislike him based off his bad manners and countenance. His pride, her prejudice. I hope everything is okay in this chapter; it's not edited because I just wanted it finished today. Please review!

Heat flooded my cheeks and some foreign sensation danced up my nerves from where our legs touched, setting my skin on fire.

I blanched, as my mind flashed back to that conversation I'd had with Thalia, a lifetime ago, Finn at my side drinking Cherry Coke from a carton intended for milk. A talk of sparks and heat and melted sundaes.

No.

My brain was in overdrive and a feeling of unease had already started in my chest and was now seeping into the rest of me.

I kept my eyes on Bellamy, daring that feeling to continue. Daring my internal organs to betray me and continue their acrobatics.

They did.

So I left.

I quietly removed myself from the couch, careful not to jostle him. When I actually broke my gaze from his profile, my heart calmed enough that I could almost convince myself I'd imagined it, but I was so unsettled I wasn't comfortable with staying.

I pulled out a loose leaf of paper I found along with a pen and jotted down a note for him to find: Didn't want to wake you again. Thank you for last night. Wish me luck.

The words resonated a sense of bravery, but it was artificial. In reality, I was a coward.

I eased the door shut. Only when it was closed did I pick up my pace and practically run from the apartment. I nearly tripped on the stairs. I actually did trip on the threshold I crossed over. Goosebumps coated my arms, but the heat simmering in my stomach kept me a few degrees warmer.

I shook my head vigorously when I was seated behind the wheel of my car, staring out at the frozen dew clinging to the windshield like crystallized sugar.

My knuckles were white from the pressure I held the wheel with and I rested my head against it, wary not to set off the horn.

"You're just tired," I told myself in the solitude of my car. Right. That's what it had been. Just exhaustion. I was so overwhelmed, especially after the thing with my mom, that my neurons had started misfiring, creating—

Stop.

Like a switch, I shut off that way of thinking, chalking it up to exhaustion and nothing more. I had been in his place. Eating his dinner. Speaking to him about personal things. And then I'd woken up to find him right there, and it had taken me off guard.

That's all it was. That's all it could be.

It didn't console me, however, as I drove back the way I'd come. It just felt as if someone had just given me another problem to solve when I already had one at home, waiting for me. Maybe it was impossible to ever be problem-free, but that didn't stop me from wishing I could be. Just for a little while.

There were a few things I expected to find when I pulled up to the house. Ludicrous things. I pictured Marcus's car in the driveway, even though I didn't know what kind of car he owned. I pictured a black Sedan, and professional like him.

I imagined a pair of discarded shoes by the front door, because Marcus Kane was so clearly not the type to walk in with them on. The welcome sign seemed to glare back at me.

Mom was waiting for me inside.

The moment I opened the door and turned, I heard her on the stairs, pace synchronized. Very doctor.