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A dark shadow dances across his face and Leo stalks across the deck to me. He doesn't stop until he's less than a foot away. He reaches and grabs the threshold, holding on to the doorframe as his eyes probe mine. "You drive me fucking insane, Aria. You consume my thoughts, you command my feelings. Every goddamn thought I have always circles back to you." He lets out a pained laugh. "I've tried to get rid of you and yet you're so deep under my skin, I can't get you out."
"You want more?" He pauses, his face softening. "I'll give you everything. You want the stars? I'll find a spaceship and a way to bring them down to you on Earth."
His words are everything I want to hear. The way my heart instantly swells, only to have my anxiety poke it with a pin. It deflates just as quickly as it inflated. The anxious voice in my head begins to question every word he says. He doesn't mean it. It's all a ploy. He'll only hurt me in the end.
"All we do is argue," I remind him, my voice coming out like a whisper. What the hell am I saying? My anxiety slides into the driver’s seat and I’m merely a passenger as I begin to self-destruct. "How could there really be more when we fight more than we actually get along?"
He drops his hand from the doorway and takes a step back as if I slapped him. Rejection flashes in his eyes. "And you say I'm the one who doesn't know what they want?" He throws his hands up in defeat. "You know, I never thought I deserved you… But I don’t deserve this either," he says with a shake of his head as he spins on his heel.
Leo leaves me standing in the doorway as he exits the deck, taking the steps down to the first floor. A war wages inside me. I should go after him and tell him the truth. He does deserve me. If there’s anyone who does, it’s him. I just royally fucked up and my anxiety has me running in the opposite direction of him. I rush into the house and quickly put my clothing on before I leave.
He’s nowhere to be seen.
The tears don’t fall until I’m in my car driving away.
Until his house is disappearing in my rearview mirror.
Until I’m far enough away from him so he won’t see me fracturing into a million pieces.
I never thought I would be crying over the one person I hated. Life’s funny like that, and I guess I'm the one who is really the fool for ever thinking I hated Leo Wells. We may have never gotten along in the past, but I don't truly believe I ever felt that way about him. He showed me softer sides that he never showed to anyone else, but I always felt hurt when he would flip the script and play the part of my enemy. Around other people, I never existed to him. He was always cold and indifferent. Until recently.
Leo never felt like he was deserving of me, for whatever reason, but something inside him must have changed. This entire time, I thought he was just being nicer because he felt compelled to, when in reality there was a myriad of things going on beneath the surface with him.
While he was breaking through my walls, he was letting his own guard down. He was showing me the vulnerable sides of himself, slowly letting me in. I didn't realize it until I saw the hurt written across his face.
And here I am, running away from him like a goddamn coward.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LEO
Picking up a seashell along the sand, I chuck it out into the water. There's a small splash followed by another wave rolling in. I watch as it crashes against the shore and white bubbles float across the surface of the ocean. The sun is warm on my skin and I close my eyes as I tilt my head back and relish the feeling of it.
I hear the sound of a car door shutting and I keep my eyes plastered shut. Her car starts and I listen as she quickly pulls out of my driveway and leaves.
This is all so fucked up.
I don't know how we went from last night to now. I didn't expect to hear from her after her date with Griffin. When she asked to come over, I didn't give myself the chance to even think. There wasn't a doubt or question about it. She wanted to see me and I would never turn her away.
Since we've known each other, she has always been a mindfuck for me. She was my best friend's little sister. I couldn't date her when we were younger. And then she dated my rival—which was a whole different issue. After that, she became the enemy. We were in constant competition with each other, until we were forced to compete together.
Aria was always beautiful and I've always had perfect vision. When we started crossing these damn lines together, that's when it got worse. I tried to keep her at arm’s length. I tried to keep her out. I failed—horribly on both accounts—and now I was completely fucked.
Because I want her.
I want every fucking piece of her, and I want her all for myself.
I rake a frustrated hand through my hair as I slowly turn back to face the house. I shouldn't have let her leave. I shouldn't have walked away, but I did. My mind was reeling, while still trying to process what the hell really happened.
There is a part of me that knows I don't deserve her. I never will. My first mistake today was telling her I wouldn't be mad if she left. Instead of being filled with joy because she was still here, I was questioning it. It all came out wrong. I never meant for it to get to this point after I brought it up.
I shouldn't have told her that things like this don't last, because I don't know if I fully believe that shit. That was all my own personal self-doubt and I projected it onto her, which made her question me instead. What started out as her questioning me on what I wanted, turned into her acting like she's the one who doesn't know what the hell she wants.
I know what I want, and it's her. I was an idiot for ever thinking it wouldn't be her. Hating her feels like such a distant memory.
Now that I know what it feels like to love her.
My hand curls into a fist and I press it against my lips as I stare at the back of my house. Butterflies flutter in my stomach as my heart rate quickens. Those thoughts have been drifting around in my mind, but this is the first time I've really paid them any attention.
