I groaned and rubbed my face against the soft material of my blanket.
"Wake up sweetie." I groaned loudly and sat up. I sleepily rubbed at my eyes and silently pleaded for them to open. My throat felt tender and my lips were dry from all the crying my body suffered the previous night.
I felt my bed dip beside me but I had yet to open my eyes. "I love your expressions when you first wake up. Your mouth pulls into a pout and you get this cute dopey look that makes you look twelve."
"Thanks dad, I've always wanted to hear how at seventeen I look twelve." I mumbled and forced my eyes open to stare at my father. He was dressed in his usual grey suit and dark buttoned shirt. His greying hair was combed over to hide his reseeding hairline. His brown eyes shone with amusement as he ruffled my already untidy hair.
"I heard you had a rough night." My dad commented.
I frowned at the memory. "Yes. I can't believe things turned out that way."
"I'm sorry you had to go through the pain again baby girl. I wish everyday that I could have taken your place." My father's eyes grew distant and I watched as anger and sadness flashed across his face.
I reached out and hugged my father's plump body. His arms looped around my waist and I let him pull me on his lap. I curled into the loving arms of my father as I did when I was a child.
"I don't want you angry, daddy." I whispered.
My father kissed my head and rested his chin on my head. "I know baby girl but, I'm supposed to protect you and I failed. I can never forgive myself for that. He stole your childhood and faith in humans. It's because of him that you have spent six years sheltered from society. I can't express how happy I was to see a boy in your room. I know that any other father would be furious but for me it made me feel as though you were finally living and maybe, just maybe, I was finally doing something right."
I cried into my daddy's arms and felt as he breathed in harshly in an attempt to stop his own tears. "I never wanted you to feel guilt daddy. I can't change anything but I'm finally realising that I can change how it affects me. He got what he deserves but if I continue to live in the shadows and afraid of those around me, then he still wins. He stole my life but if I let him keep it, then he gets what he wants but, if I live then he loses his control and power."
I looked up to see my father staring down at me with a grin as wide as the Pacific ocean. "When did my baby girl grow up?" He asked.
I playfully hit his shoulder and giggled. "I had a little help," I replied.
"From that boy?" He asked awkwardly.
I laughed, "partly. I'll admit that he opened my eyes a little last night but, all credit goes to you daddy."
My father's smile grew until it consumed his face. He hugged me tighter against his body. I moved my head to the side for oxygen when suddenly my eyes caught sight of my bedside clock. It read eight in the morning. I gasped and jumped from my father's lap.
"I'm late! Why didn't you wake me earlier! I still have school." I screamed to no one in particular.
On my bed my father chuckled lightly and soon I felt his arms touch mine gently. "After everything you went through last night, your mother and I thought you needed a day off. You're not going to school, I've already called in for you."
I stared in amazement. "Why? You've always been strict when it came to school."
"I know and perhaps we've been too strict. We thought that since you retreated away from any social surrounding, school was the best thing for you. We push you to excel so that one day you may live the life we know you are capable and deserving of."
"I love you daddy." I said and hugged him once again. My father told me he loved me and then left for work. The house was silent and deserted. I was home alone and decided to embrace it. I pulled my script out from my school bag and ran through my lines.
I read through the entire play and found myself crying at the end. The love so evident between Jane and Garth made my chest clench with envy and compassion. They were meant to be. Their love was powerful and filled with heavy clouds of lust and understanding. Their love was difficult but no matter the hardships, through honesty and faith, their love prevailed.
I could only dream of a love so powerful to consume me, to possess me.
Later that afternoon I was disrupted by the ringing of my doorbell. I walked to the door half expecting Tony but pleading for Austen.
My pleas were answered.
"Hey Fiona. I missed you today." Austen grinned before walking into my house.
"Hi. What are you doing here?" I asked as I followed him to the living room.
"Tony told me that you were sick today. I guessed it had to do with last night and since Tony doesn't know about it, I wanted to come make sure you were okay. That we were okay." Austen whispered the last part and I felt my smile spread.
"I'm alright. As hard as last night was, I needed it. I've been hiding from my demons for far too long now, I needed to face them if I ever want to overcome them."
Austen made his way towards me and cupped my face. He rested his forhead against mine and whispered against my lips, "you are the most extraordinary person I have ever met."
I blushed and ducked my head. Austen chuckled and released my face. "What have you been doing all day Miss lazybones," he teased.
"I've been running through my lines." I replied.
"Want to work together?" He asked. "We can go through the scene we're rehearsing on Friday between you and Henry."
My heartbeat sped up when I heard his name. A familiar wave of anxiety swept through my body but my anxiety was partnered with unease for the first time.
I ignored the feelings and nodded in agreement to Austen. I watched transfixed as he dug in his bag and pulled his copy out. He flipped through the pages until he found scene seven.
He cleared his throat and began reading out aloud. I knew the scene well but I was pleasantly surprised when his voice echoed through the room as he shouted in frustration.
"He is playing you Jane. He is using you to get to me."
It was easy to transform into Jane. I was ao familiar with her character that I felt as though she was a part of me now. I closed my eyes and put Fiona in the background and let Jane take over.
"This has nothing to do with you Garth. Believe it or not, but not everything is about you."
"I'm not saying everything is. He knows how I feel and he is using that against me."
"Wait... what do you mean how you feel?"
"He knows." Austen hung his head as though the words defeated him.
"He knows what?" I asked and made my way towards him.
"He knows how I feel about you dammit!" Austen's words were strained and suddenly the atmosphere shifted from make believe to a strong sense of realism. His words no longer sounded foreign, instead they sounded as though they were his own.
"He knows I love you." Austen grabbed my shoulders and I instantly felt Jane fall away and Fiona jump into the light. "I love you so much that my body hurts. I love everything about you and it kills me not being able to act on my feelings. Knowing you are so close yet so far from me is the worst feeling of all."
I gulped but before I had a moment to breathe, Austen's lips descended on mine. His kiss was different from the others. His lips were hard and urgent and bursting with need.
My body tingled with the contact and my hands clutched his shirt eagerly sending us both into a fit of uphoria. We moaned in unison when our chests collided and Austen looped his arms possesively around my waist bringing our bodies even closer together.
His tongue pushed through my lips and the feel of his tongue colliding with my own sent my body up in flames.
"Someone has a lot of explaining to do!"
I jumped away from Austen and looked behind me only to see Tony and Marcus grinning in my direction.
"Great timing," grunted Austen under his breath. He was stil behind me and rather close but, I couldn't find it in me to move.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR LOVIES!!!!!!!!! TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO 2014 AND HELLO TO 2015!! I wish you all the best for the new year. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT and I look forward to seeing you all in the new year!
Keep voting and keep commenting.
Since it is a special time of year I am dedicating this chapter to three new followers as a way to say thank you.
alirae412, 3girlsandfood and justinbieberimag.
BE SAFE AND WELCOME THE NEW YEAR WITH OPEN ARMS!