Mabel
"Cole?"
My eyes raised up an inch to stare widely at Cade who looked equally surprised. I gulped down, ignoring the rushed rhythm my heart had decided to pull. "Cole? Wha- How are you calling me right now? Where- where are you? I thought- I thought Laross-"
"Relax Mi joya, I'm fine. I escaped from Laross and I'm somewhere safe now."
My brows furrowed in confusion. Escape from Laross? Thats impossible.
"What do you mean escape from Laross? How did you escape? Where the hell are you?"
"Vino" he said.
Her heart dropped so low into my stomach. Vino? "Vino Cole? Out of all the places in Mexico City, Vino? That place is crawling with bad guys... Cole, you can't stay there, Laross is going to find you, you have to run-"
"Where I am is safe, trust me. Are you okay? Laross told me he paid you a visit, I was worried sick about you."
"I'm fine. But you're not, you need to leave."
"I can't leave. Listen Mi joya, now is not the time for this okay, you have to protect yourself because when Laross finds out about my escape, the next target would be you. Although I'm on the verge of taking care of everything, but I can't take any chances, you need to change location."
My eyes shifted to Cades' confused one.
I guess his head was also trying to figure out what Cole meant by being on the verge of taking care of everything.
"What do you mean by on the verge of taking care of everything?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter, just trust me, and change locations, okay?"
There was that tone in his voice that told me the conversation was over.
"I'll call to check up on you later, I've got to go."
My eyes widened as I shook my head, ignoring the fact that he couldn't even see me. "No wait!"
The line went dead.
"Damn it Cole." I hissed, throwing my phone on the couch, and pulling my hair from my face angrily.
"Well he's fine." Cade voiced out.
I shook my head, pacing back and forth. "No he's not, Cade. Vino isn't a really cool place. That city is crawling with guys like Laross and guys even worse than Laross. Nothing good can come out of him being there, and I know it deep down that he's mixed up with some other bad guys. I know Cole. I know when he's uncomfortable, or when he's in trouble. He's going to put himself in more trouble, I can't afford-"
"Hey." Cade said, his voice closer than it had been before. He placed his hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him. "Breathe."
I sighed, trying to stop over thinking things.
But who wouldn't? Vino was the epitome of bad news.
"I know you think Cole's in big trouble, and there's something you should do about it, something you should do to make it all better. Trust me, I've been there, infact, there are somethings I wish I could change from my past, somethings I know that deep down, it was all my fault. Somethings that I wish I shouldn't have done-"
"Like meeting me?" I found myself saying.
He shook his head. "No. No Mabel. Meeting you was one of the best thing that ever happened to me. And I won't change that for the world."
I don't know why that brought a smile to my face, but it did.
"You know... you and I have somethings in common. We've both done things that would forever affect us till the day we seize to breathe. Things that would forever taunt us and make us feel so horrible. Things that we wish to change, but can't." He said, sincerity dancing in his beautiful eyes. "... But we shouldn't let it change who we are, we shouldn't let it pull us down. So you might have led a harsh life where you hurt people for money, I'm not gonna say that it's fine. It's not. But it's part of you, it's not who you are, but it's part of you, and you can't change it, you can only move on. We're only human after all."
He was making so much sense that it scared me. Two years ago, Cade had been this open person, but I've never heard him speak like this.
Well, who am I kidding? I probably change his perspective about life itself when I left him standing at the alter.
I gulped. "Thank you. For everything." I said.
"Don't thank me. I'll do anything for you."
My heart skipped a beat, causing a sharp jump in my stomach.
I'll do anything for you. The weight that sentence carried was sitting heavily on my heart, making me want to just wrap my arms around him and never ever let him go. But I can't do that now, can I? After breaking his heart countless times.
He sighed, "don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to make a move on you or anything. I promised that I'd respect your wishes. We had a past, one I'm not willing to forget, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. Friends who would do anything for each other." He said, his hand moving to caress my cheek in a soothing way.
Friends? Why did that word bother me so much? It squeezed my heart and made me feel so weak.
Gazing into his beautiful eyes right now, in the middle of my tiny apartment, being this close to him, his presence having this kind of effect on my poor heart, there was no doubt in my mind, no fucking doubt...
I had feelings for Cade Chesterfield.
My stupid pride had blinded me from that fact. Two years ago, I thought it was just the mere guilt.
But... Standing right here, thinking of that moment two years ago at the airport, how my fingers shook when I collected my brief case after it had been checked, how my knees felt so weak due to the hurt slicing my heart piece by piece, how I felt tears build in my eyes when I strapped into my seat on the plane, how my heart seemed to curse me for being so cruel, how I broke down like I'd lost the most important thing in my life.
My stupid pride had made me think I was only going through a harsh phase of guilt.
But... Standing right here, thinking of those sleepless night, unable to sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about him, unable to sleep because when ever I closed my eyes, I'd see his face, I'd crave his warmth, I'd go back to those times when I felt safe, when I felt like a better version of myself.
Two years ago, telling him I loved him came so easy... At first I felt like I didn't deserve to say those words, just like I'd felt with my other victims. But then I grew to get attached to that word, anytime I said it, I'd feel it. Anytime he said it back, my heart would go ballistic.
My stupid pride made me so oblivious to that fact. I thought it was just some normal thing, I thought it didn't mean anything. I thought when it was time to leave him, it'd be so easy like the others. My stupid pride made me think I wasn't attached to him in any sort of way.
But... Standing right here, I knew... I knew Cade Chesterfield had created a space in my heart... He had done that two years ago, he had pulled out a side to me that I never knew was there in the first place. His kind heart, his innocent soul, his beautiful eyes, his cute perspective, his beautiful smile.
My stupid pride had made me think I was too strong to fall into my own trap, it had fooled me into thinking I'd never grow attached to any of my victims.
So I let it. I let it fool me.
Now that I have none of it left, my heart began to acknowledge the only person who had managed to maneuver his way into my heart, filling up that space he once created, bringing up emotions that I had buried deep inside me.
Feelings? What feelings? Bullshit!
I had been in love with Cade Chesterfield, two years ago, but I had refused to accept it. Did I even know what it meant to fall in love? I was stupid, careless and naive.
I don't just have feelings for Cade Chesterfield, I am in love with him, he has my heart in his hands and he doesn't even know it... I myself didn't know until now. Until this very moment... After years of adamant denial.
"So... We can be that, right? Friends?" He asked, when I'd gone mute for a while.
My heart didn't react well to that word, and it screamed at my mind, knowing fully well that it was going to say something that'd ruin my chances of ever getting to the point it wanted to go with Cade.
But my mind knew better, it knew that someone like me didn't deserve someone like Cade, it knew Cade deserved someone better, someone who wouldn't hurt him like I've done, someone who would put him first over her pride, someone who wasn't scared of what everyone thought of her. Someone who wasn't so ashamed of herself. Someone who wasn't scared of crossing that bridge.
So, I managed a weak smile and said. "Yeah, we can be that."
His eyes said it all, he wasn't pleased with my answer. If anything, he looked so hurt at my reply, but he smiled at me. "That's what I thought." He said with a sad smile.
My heart broke. "I'm sorry, Cade-"
"I'm fine. I really am." His smile widened as he moved back, creating more distance between us. "Um-" he cleared his throat. "When are you gonna start packing?"
I bit my lower lip, looking around my apartment, as my worries flooded back to me. "I don't have anywhere else to go Cade. I would have stayed at an hotel but I don't have that kind of money, so I'll just-"
"Start packing." He said.
I furrowed my brows, didn't he hear what I just said. "Cade-"
"We can't waste anymore time with you wanting to ask another dumb question."
"I was not going to ask you another dumb question. I don't have anywhere to go. I can't just pack my things... After packing them, then what? I'll go sleep under a bridge?"
"See, a dumb question." He stated.
"Cade-"
"After packing your things," he started, cutting me off. "... you're gonna come stay with me."
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Thanks once again for your patience... I'm trying to get myself back on track with this story, and I just don't want to rush it. No one likes a rushed story...
So, please, I'd love to know what you think of this chapter, don't shy away from the comment section.
Till next update!
Bye Beauties!