Hey guys. Here is chapter 15. I hope you like it. I feel bad for not updating when I said so here are two updates. I WILL NOT BE POSTING THE NEXT CHAPTER UNTIL I HAVE AT LEAST 25 COMMENTS AND 35 VOTES. I know, I'm a major bleeping biyatch for that but as I said before it gives me time to set a deadline for myself and also inform me on how many readers I do have. I believe most of you are silent readers which I'm thankful you read BUT I would like some feedback!. This is a longer chapter because I felt like crap for chapter 144 filter chap.
Enjoy the banner on the side made by the lovely belle-rose.
Read
COMMENT
VOTE
Enjoy
xoxo
The Serenade
Leigh didn't know how to handle the situation at hand. She admitted to understanding Jason more and being more sympathetic to his ways, but she never agreed to try and make a real relationship out of a relationship they had forged upon lies. She didn't understand why he was putting her --or himself for that matter-- through such torture.
There was no possible way that they could actually be in a real relationship and for it to last, right? Jason was a play boy, stuck in his ways and prone to lash out and do something spiteful whenever he didn't get his way. Leigh was never the one to say 'how high' when demanded to jump. Everything was bound to blow up in their faces with her stubborn, strong-willed qualities, and his spoiled, dominant demeanor. That was pure logic.
They had been driving for almost an hour and a half in awkward silence. Not even the radio or the comfortable Porsche car seats could loosen the tension. Leigh had noticed that they had long left the town, approaching what appeared to be the Dessert Mountains.
There hadn't been a building for miles, and when one finally did appear, Leigh perked up at the site of it. The sun was starting to set, creating an orange glow around the horizon. The building was box shaped, with a tall, large fence surrounding it and stretching out as far as the eye could see. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but other than that it was utterly quiet. Above the front entrance was a welcome sign along with the words Paint Cave.
Leigh was curious; she didn't know what this place was. She was sure that Jason hadn't taken her to an art exhibit, but she just couldn't place the title with the building. Jason gave her a boyish grin before parking the car, stepping out of the driver's side and going to her side to open the door. He offered his hand to her, and she took it hesitantly. Following behind him, she watched as he entered the door.
The inside of the building was dark, with long rows of class containers. The containers seemed to have weapons in them, mostly guns. Unconsciously, Leigh clung closer to Jason. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see people walking around in some sort of dark armor. They had on saggy pants with bulky shirts and what seemed to be a chest protector vests. Something of that nature.
"What is this place?" Leigh asked finally.
"A paintball shooting range," he answered. "We are going to have ourselves a paintball fight." Leigh's eyes widened as she let go of his hand and began to back away.
"No way," she said slowly. "Absolutely not." Jason gave her a teasing look.
"What's wrong?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Chicken?" Leigh scoffed, tossing her head back in a laugh as she thought on what he was insinuating.
"No," she barked back. "I just know when something is going to work out in my favor or not, and my aim isn't the best."
"That's why I'm here to teach you," Jason said with a grin. He came in close, giving her bottom a nice pat. "Now go suit up."
Leigh yelped but otherwise went in the direction he pointed her towards. As she walked into the changing room, she noticed clothes on a hanger that possessed a sign with her name scribbled on it. She figured that he had called ahead and had clothes put out for her.
She eyed the fabric with cautious eyes. The shirt was pink, white, and black. It was long sleeved and came with black pants. She quickly put them on, taking notice of a pair of black tennis shoes and long, thick socks. There were knee and elbow pads, and she put them on in a hurry. By the time she was fully dressed, her eyes went crossed at the fact that she had yet to put on the armor and chest padding.
Yet, she didn't want to walk around with red blotches on her skin, so she put on the heavy armor. She grabbed the pink helmet that covered her whole face instead of her eyes, and topped that off with a pair of protective goggles. By the time she was ready, she couldn't help but to let out a heavy sigh.
A light coat of sweat was forming on her forehead, and she couldn't help but to think how she was going to walk around, let alone run. She made her way out of the changing room and bumped into Jason. He was wearing the same attire as her, but, she knew it was him because he wasn't wearing a helmet.
A loud laugh left her mouth as she seen how ridiculous he looked. He smirked at her and turned her towards a full length mirror. Leigh's laugh died in her throat as she realized that she too looked equally ridiculous. "Not so funny now, is it?" he whispered to her before grabbing her gloved hand and taking her farther into the building.
Leigh looked around, noticing that they were heading for the back door. There were two men at the door who handed them large paint ball guns on the way out. It was almost completely dark outside by now, but the back of the building was lit up with bright lights. Leigh realized that it was an obstacle course, with large blocks and passageways for you to hide or take refuge behind.
Jason turned to her, placing her hands properly onto the gun. "All you have to do is aim...” he stood behind her, trapping her inside of his arms as he raised her arms to aim the gun, "...and shoot." Leigh pulled the trigger and they both watched as the red paintball soared through the air and hit a block with a splat. "Only I'm your target, not the block."
"I don't think I can move in this thing," Leigh admitted. "All of the padding is really heavy." Jason raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'll give you a twenty second head start," he offered. Leigh rolled her eyes at him in an annoyed way.
"I'm not a child," she argued.
"One," Jason began to count.
"Seriously, Jason?"
"Two."
"This is so childish."
"Three--" Leigh shot off into a random direction before she could even finish hearing what number Jason was on. She was moving faster than she had originally anticipated, but it was still a slow pace. Her breathing was heavy and she made a quick left as she heard a popping sound and saw a yellow paintball flying towards her. She ducked behind a block just in time. The paintball missed her and instead, hit a part of the block that was to the right of her face. The yellow paint broke from the ball and went across her head gear.
"No fair," she screamed, her voice raspy. "That wasn't twenty seconds." She could hear Jason laughing in the distance. She pressed her lips in a thin line. This was her chance to beat Jason at something. Granted, the odds were slimly in her favor, but she had to try.
She peered out and caught a glimpse of Jason ducking off. A smirk formed her lips as she fell to her knees. She had a plan; she was going to crawl towards him when he expected her to be standing, and she was going to catch him off guard, hop up at the last minute, and send a paintball flying his way.
Leigh was breathing hard as she used her elbows to crawl towards Jason. The length separating them seemed longer than she imagined, and right when she felt like she was going to give up, she got a glimpse of a head of midnight hair she knew all too well. Staying quiet, she rose to her feet --with great struggle-- and pulled the trigger.
Her face lifted into a smile as she watched the ball fly in the air and soar right passed Jason. Her smile faltered, like the sound of broken glass, her plan was ruined. She was so busy trying to be sneaky that she had forgotten to even aim at him accurately.
Jason let out an obnoxious laugh, pulling the trigger and sending a chorus of four paintballs to Leigh's chest. Leigh faltered, stumbling back and almost falling to the ground. She glowered, her face going red as she fumed.
"That's it!" she screamed rapidly, clenching her teeth. "You're dead." Jason let out another laugh before he picked a direction and ran. Leigh took off her helmet and goggles, so that she could see properly, and chased after him.
Jason was only a couple of feet ahead of her, yet he seemed so far away. There were large tubs filled with paint along the way, and she dropped her gun, cupping her hands into the paint and slinging some towards Jason's direction. Jason was hit with the paint and he stopped, turning around and facing Leigh as if he was shocked.
"So that's the game we're playing now?" he said playfully as he walked back towards her. She smirked at him but quickly stopped once she realized what he was doing.
"Oh no you don't," she said as she cupped more paint in her hand and sent it slinging towards him. They both managed to do it at the same time, knocking each other off balance and falling to the floor. Before they knew it, they were both slinging paint at one another, laughing and having the time of their lives.
Paint flew everywhere; they were a mess. A whole barrel of paint fell over and it was then that Jason thought to end the paint fight.
"Look at the mess we've made," he said with a laugh. "I'll be surprised if they don't kick us out." Leigh laughed harder, making Jason beam at her. He had hardly seen her smile brightly or laugh so much, and it was a refreshing sight.
He stood up, extending a hand to help her up.
"We should get ready to go--" Leigh's words were cut off as a loud gunshot broke through the air. The next thing they knew, a bullet meant for Leigh was coming at her, nipping her cheek in an attempt to reach her skull.
Leigh screamed, her cry loud as she pressed a hand to the small cut on her cheek. Jason grabbed Leigh aggressively, shielding her body with his. They both dove behind a block before a machine gun went off, shooting anything it could. Leigh’s screams filled the air. Jason could tell who ever was doing the shooting was in a car. They had probably been watching them through the gates the whole time. They pulled off, pressing on the gas. They probably thought they had gotten to Leigh because of her screams.
Jason let out a chorus of profanities as he grabbed Leigh and carried her in his arms. Leigh was in hysterics. She was crying heavily and not due to the minor cut in her cheek. She had been so close to death, and it happened so un-expectantly.
Jason ran with her back into the building. He was being cautious, but he could tell that whoever was after him wasn't ballsy enough to show his face in public. There were a few people in the building panicking, but it was one figure that had Leigh's mouth dropping.
"Eli?" Leigh shocked as she saw the tall, lean, dark haired and eyed boy. He gave her a surprised look, but Jason wasn't going to let them have any kind of reunion. They were in danger and needed to take shelter somewhere. He brought them to his car, getting in and driving in the opposite direction.
Leigh was quiet, her vocal chords seemingly lost. Jason slammed his fist against the steering wheel. He was upset, fuming even.
"I'm tired of living like this," he said in a yell. "I'm tired of you being in danger. This just got very personal for me." He held the steering wheel tightly.
Leigh looked over at him, her mind roaring with thoughts. She found it weird that it was just now taking a situation like this for them to realize that the mob was serious and that they needed to fight back.
"Call the police," Jason said to her. "Just in case anyone was hurt back there." Leigh nodded.
With one shaky hand reaching for her phone to dial 911, and the other one tracing over the cut across her cheek, she had never felt so scared for her life until then.
They had only been driving for half an hour when Jason thought it was safe enough for them to pull over at the first motel they had seen. It was a mess of a place. The paint on the exterior was chipped and a dull tan color. There only seemed to be about six rooms, with the front office shaped like a triangle and a little detached from the other buildings. There was a huge, blue dumpster in the middle of the parking lot, with only two cars parked.
Jason gave her a firm look before coming over to her side and letting her out. Leigh could tell that he was on edge. He had an impeccable grip on her wrist and never let her walk too far ahead of him. It was almost to the point to where her back was pressed against his front. They made their way to the main office, where they found a small man perched behind a desk and reading a newspaper. He was rather old, with a head full of grey hair and wrinkles forming around his mouth and eyes.
"Do you have any vacancies, sir?" Jason asked, his voice vibrating with superiority.
The man looked from Jason to Leigh, his eyes settling on here before he asked, "What happened to her?"
Jason and Leigh were both quiet. Leigh was still shaken up and there was probably tear shapes staining her face. Her face was more than likely red with the blood from the cut on her cheek and swollen. Not to mention that the two were covered in paint.
"I..." Leigh trailed off, not knowing rather she should make up a lie or tell the man that there were people after them. "...cut myself," she finally finished after a slight pause.
“You cut yourself?” the man repeated in a questioning tone.
"By accident, of course," Jason thought he would add as he watched the man stare at Leigh in a suspicious manner. The man pursed his lips, but reached inside of a drawer and pulled out a key that had a number three on it.
"I run a smooth and clean motel service," he began.
Jason and Leigh both looked around, taking in the filth of the place. Even the office was disturbing. The tile on the floor was browning and pulled up. There were gnats flying around a coffee pot, probably due to the old coffee just sitting in the pot, and there was a fowl scent in the air that was indescribable.
"I don't want any trouble here," he continued. "How long will you be staying?"
"Just for the night," Jason said quickly. The man nodded and sucked on his bottom lip.
"That will be eighty-nine dollars," he said with his hand out. “Room three is available. Checkout is at nine o'clock sharp. I provide complimentary coffee services for you in the morning as well."
Leigh made a face as she stared back at the gnat infested coffee pot. She knew she wouldn't dare trust the coffee at the place. Jason nodded his head and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill.
"Keep the change," he said as he snatched the keys off of the desk and escorted himself and Leigh out the door. They walked down the long hallway until they reached room three. Leigh took a deep breath. She didn't know what the room would look like, but she was expecting the worse.
Jason opened the door and a stale scent hit their noses. "Well," Leigh started. "It doesn't smell as bad as the office." They stepped inside.
The room was small, with only one bed, a long couch, a small TV and an end table. There was a small separation of where the bathroom was, but that was all.
Plain and simple.
Jason insisted they take showers to try and get as much paint as possible off of their bodies and out of their hair. He also wanted to make sure the cut on Leigh’s cheek got clean. It may had been small, but being in a dirty environment could cause an infection. Leigh felt uncomfortable. Not only was she still shaken up, but she felt as if the motel conditions were horrid and she didn't even have anything to change into.
Jason claimed he had all of that figured out, that a pair of clothes were in his initial plan for the date. After taking their showers, Leigh found herself wearing a pair of spandex shorts and a green tank top. It wasn't something she would have chosen to wear herself, but it was clean and comfortable. Jason was wearing a pair of sweatpants, his chest bare.
She came and sat by Jason on the couch. There were a lot of grocery bags around them, making her curious.
"Leigh," Jason said slowly, grabbing her hand. "I am so, so sorry. I never expected for any of this to happen. I just wanted us to have an amazing day together."
Leigh could tell that Jason was upset. He looked as if his world was about to come crashing down.
"It's fine," she said, squeezing his hand for comfort. "The paintball fight was pretty fun. What's in the bags?"
"I had raided a store earlier for junk food. I was planning a picnic and a movie for later," he responded. Leigh smiled at him and began to reach for bags. She could see chips, chocolates, candies and even drinks. With a swift hand she pulled out a wine shaped bottle of drink, and raised her eyebrow at how it was sparkling apple cider.
"Sparkling cider?" she asked with a laugh. "Where's the alcohol?" She meant it as a joke, but in reality, alcohol was just what she needed at a time like this. She was trying to convince herself and Jason that she was okay, but her emotions were everywhere.
"You are under the legal drinking age," Jason said, giving her nose a flick. "So the only thing you're going to be sipping on while around me are juices and sodas."
"Boo hoo," Leigh said, sticking out her tongue. "You're no fun." Jason laughed and watched as she reached for the plastic cups. He frowned when he realized how rapid her hand was shaking as she reached out. Clearly she was scared beyond belief, and he hated seeing her trying to be so strong just because she didn't want to seem vulnerable in front of him.
"Who was that guy you saw Leigh," Jason asked, watching her reaction. "I think you called him Eli?"
"No one," she quickly said, grabbing a bag of potato chips and opening them.
"Leigh if you know something that can come in handy with us against the mob, or something that can put you in danger then you need to tell me."
"He was no one important," Leigh hissed, dropping a chip back into the bag and tossing it to the side. "I'm sure it was just a coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidences," Jason insisted. "Not when your life is in danger. You can tell me anything Leigh. I won't judge you or anything."
Leigh bit her lip, feeling tears swell in her eyes.
There was a long pause while Jason stared at her. Jason was starting to think that she wasn’t going to say anything, until she finally spoke.
"You know, Jason," she said slowly. "My whole life I have always been the other Mercer?"
"What are you talking about?" Jason asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"I was never as outgoing and pretty as my sister Nora, or I was never as smart as my brother was when I was his age."
"Leigh--"
"My parents tried so hard to have Nora," Leigh continued, cutting him off. "They hired a surrogate mother and everything. They were happy to have her. But, shortly after my mother actually got pregnant with me, and I was the one to make their lives complicated. They didn't know how they were going to juggle two kids when all they wanted was one." Leigh was crying at this point, her face hard as the tears rolled down her eyes.
Jason reached out for her, pulling her into his embrace. He didn't know that she was walking around with such a burden, feeling as if she was unwanted. Hell, he didn’t even know what this had to do with the Eli guy, but this was the closest he had gotten to knowing more about her and he was happy that she was finally opening up to him.
"The point is," she continued as she wiped her tears, "Eli, the guy we saw, was just another person to remind me of how I paled in comparison to Nora. He was my boyfriend and someone I believed to be my first love, but, he used me. He pretended to be in love with me just to get the attention of my sister. Turns out he had a huge lifelong crush on her with a goal to be with her. I was just a pawn he used to get closer to her. He took my virginity, something I wanted to be special, and turned it into nothing but the only perk he was getting from dating the ugly Mercer sister."
Jason's heart constricted at the crack in Leigh's voice. He found himself breathing heavy. He was upset, no he was pissed the hell off. How dare someone use her like that? How dare someone make an amazing woman feel like a hurt little girl?
"What was worse," Leigh tried to continue but got stopped by her own sobs. Jason held her closer, rocking her slowly as he placed his chin on top of her head.
"Shh," he soothed, "You don't have to keep talking." Leigh shook her head rapidly. "I'm sorry I asked."
"I have to keep talking," Leigh said in-between sobs. "I have to tell someone."
"Okay then," Jason said slowly. "You can continue whenever you're ready." Leigh inhaled deeply, licking her lips.
"The worst part was that Nora always felt entitled to whatever that was mine. I had grown to be okay with how she is and accept it, but that day when I walked in on the two of them finishing from having sex, I swear I wanted to kill her." Jason gasped. He didn't even realized how drawn he was to her story until that turn of events had him utterly shocked.
"How can you even look her in the face?" Jason asked after a while.
"With great practice," Leigh said, laughing slightly at how pathetic she was. "I was fueled by anger, Jason, but then something occurred to me. There was no point in hating my sister because she stole a guy away from me who didn't even want me in the first place. It was all my fault. He would only want to hang out when she was around, and most of that time he would be talking to her. The signs were all there, I just simply ignored them. And, for that, I can't be truly upset with anyone but myself."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Leigh," Jason said as he kissed her forehead.
"You know, sometimes I feel bad," Leigh said.
"Why?"
"Because I know how bad Nora wanted this, how bad she wanted to be with a McFarroll. I find myself loving the irony of the situation. I love the fact that she came in first place all the time, but when it finally counts most --in her head anyway-- she came out in second. Does that make me a bad person?"
Jason shook his head. "Absolutely not," he began. "I don't know your sister that well to pass judgment on her, but I know you and you're amazing. You're tough competition, so naturally your sister is going to feel threatened by you."
"Do you really think that?"
"I know it." Jason assured her. Jason eyed the girl in his arms. He had thought that she was always so distant towards him because she was stubborn, and although that might be true, she was broken. She was afraid to open her heart out to someone again; she was afraid of Jason being an Eli situation all over again. She didn’t want to get hurt and Jason respected that for he too acted a certain to stop himself from getting hurt.
Leigh smiled and shrugged, feeling herself go numb. She didn't want to talk about Nora and Eli anymore. She just wanted to forget about the situation like she had been training her body to do.
"What's on TV?" she asked, changing the subject. Jason picked up on her change of tone and let go of her, flipping on the television. He surfed the channels until he landed on a movie neither him nor Leigh had ever seen before. Turning down the volume, he had an idea.
"Let's play a game," he said, smiling at her.
"Okay?" Leigh asked, interested at what game they could possibly play in a motel room.
"We have to watch the movie with the volume down and try to guess what the actors are saying," Jason explained.
"That's hardly a game," Leigh argued. Jason raised an eyebrow before turning his body towards the television. He watched the image on the screen and smirked.
"I'll go first," he said. "See here in this scene, he clearly doesn't want anything to do with her and she's just plain desperate." Leigh scoffed, her mouth hanging open in surprise. It was as if they were watching two different movies.
"Are you blind?" she asked, grabbing her long abandoned bag of chips. "Clearly she just wanted to go to a bar for drinks and he keeps hitting on her. She's clearly annoyed by his presence."
"Or she’s annoyed because he's not giving her the time of day," Jason said, laughing. Leigh rolled her eyes, throwing a handful of chips at him.
"You're impossible," she said, popping a chip into her mouth.
"And you're right," Jason added. She cut her eyes at him, not expecting him to actually take her side on things. "Not about me being impossible though."
"Then about what?"
"When you told me that you needed a proper ring seeing as we're engaged." Jason reached inside of his coat pocket that was hanging on the seat and pulled out a dark velvet ring case. "After all, I can't have my fiancé angry with me."
Leigh eyed the ring case with huge eyes. She was only fooling around when she said she wanted a ring. She didn't expect him to actually get her one. He lifted the lid and a gasp left Leigh's mouth. It was the exact same ring Leigh was looking at, the eighty carat platinum diamond ring that cost more than three houses put together.
"Jason," she exclaimed. "I can't take this. It's too much."
"Nonsense," Jason said, grabbing her hand and sliding the ring onto her ring finger. "I want you to have it and I'm not taking no for an answer." He settled back onto the couch, kissing her forehead and wrapping his arm around her shoulders and bringing her to cuddle against his side.
Leigh looked at the ring, her heart feeling heavy inside of her chest as the diamond sparkled even in the dullest of light. This thing that she had going on with Jason was get much more serious --much more dangerous--, and she didn't know if she was ready for the commitment.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Okay guys so this was a pretty long chapter! But what do you think? Remember to comment and vote!