The Forbidden and The Reckless - Chapter One
Chapter One
“I want more.”
Those three words had Haley James frozen to the spot. Tilting her head back slightly and then opening her eyes, she met a pair of cerulean eyes that were looking at her so intensely she felt shivers running up and down her spine. Her arms which were currently wrapped around his neck slid down until her hands were on each of his shoulders ready to push him away from her but he anticipated her move and pressed his weight against her so she was sandwiched even more tightly between him and the wall she was leaning her back on.
“No,” she replied simply shaking her head.
“Yes. I can’t keep doing this, Haley. I want… no, I need more.”
“Then you know what you have to do.”
“Haley, please… I—”
“No!” she said more forcefully. “You knew the deal from the start so it’s not my fault that you’ve suddenly changed your mind.”
“And you haven’t?” he challenged. “I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I haven’t noticed you’re there and even more telling is that I can feel when you’re doing it.”
“Big deal!” With a push, she managed to get him away from her and she made to leave but he was too quick for her. He managed to slide an arm around her waist and pull her to him so her back was to his chest, his face lowering so his chin rested in the nook between her neck and shoulder.
“It is a big deal dammit! I want more from you and I know you want it, too… you’re just scared to admit it.”
Haley sighed and for a brief moment savoured the feeling of being in his arms, knowing that what she was about to do was going to hurt them both. “I’m not scared of anything. You think you know me so well, don’t you? Just because we’ve been screwing these past few months doesn’t mean a thing. It’s been fun but as you’re so obviously looking for more than I’m prepared to give, it’s time to call it quits.”
“What? No! You can’t do that.”
“I can and I am.”
Swinging her around so she was facing him, he again managed to have her pressed up against the wall, his hands holding her wrists above her head. “I won’t let you do this.”
“Oh really? And what are you going to do?”
He thought quickly for a moment before saying, “I’ll tell the others but more importantly, I’ll tell him.”
Her face froze at hearing his words. “Y-You wouldn’t. We… we had a deal.”
“I know and you’re breaking it.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked into his face. “I have to… It’s better we stop things now b-before they go too far…”
“They’ve already gone too far.” He paused for a long moment before saying the words he’d been desperately wanting to say for several weeks now. “I love you, Haley, and I want to be with you.”
The tears that had been threatening to spill finally did so and she blinked several times to try and clear her vision. Her throat felt dry as she forced herself to say the words she had prayed she would never have to utter to him. “I’m sorry but I-I don’t.”
Her words felt like a someone had taken a sledgehammer to his heart and he released her wrists as if her skin was suddenly burning his hands. It had been a long time since he’d ever felt like crying but he felt tears spring to his eyes and he quickly turned his back on her as he tried to get himself under control.
“I-I’m sorry.” He heard her mutter and he could tell from her sniffling that she had started to cry. Instead of letting it get to him he felt his heart harden and he forced a cold, hard look on his face.
“Get out!”
Haley felt the air in the room suddenly grow even colder and she shivered but it didn’t feel like the shivers she experienced just a few long minutes ago. “Nathan… I—”
“I said get out!” He didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t need to. The venomous tone contained within it was enough.
Slowly coming to stand in front of him, she met his gaze and saw it was devoid of any emotion and she felt her heart sink. He had come such a long way in a relatively short period of time and now everything had come undone. “I knew this would happen,” she said in a low whisper.
“What do you want, a fucking medal because you had the foresight to see this coming?” His voice had started to grow louder and she was glad once again that his parents were away for the weekend, although now it was for different reasons.
“I just meant…”
“I don’t care what you meant. I want you to leave… now. If I never saw you again it’d be too soon but I’m not that lucky, am I? No, I’ll be seeing you at school but you can forget tutoring. You can find me someone else and you can be the one to make up an excuse. I don’t want anything to do with you… ever again. Got it?”
She couldn’t speak and she stood there frozen to the spot for a moment before quickly nodding and running out of his bedroom and out of his house. Most significantly though, out of his life.