The Perfect Storm 2

Chapter 110

My eyes open up slightly and I realize I have a blanket on me.

"Where are we?" I ask, my voice sleepy and confused. I don't even remember falling asleep or getting back into the car after lunch. 

I look at the bright sky through the windshield before glancing over at the wheel, only to see that no one is behind it.

"Miles?" I question into the nothingness of the car. 

I take off the blanket and look around only to see that we're parked right outside a gas station and before I can do anything, Miles comes running back with two big slushies in his hands.

"Where were—where are we?" I ask, my eyes opening up fully to his smiling face.

"Outskirts of Ohio." He smiles and I look at him with wide eyes.

"Are we here already?" I ask, looking around me but not seeing anything familiar. 

I never traveled out of Ohio, it was always the little town where I had everything I needed, Jace, my mom, and the empty fields around us with occasional shops a little further from where we lived.

"Yup." Miles smiles. It tastes odd seeing him smile instead of a smirk, it's something I'm not used to but something I want to get used to. I want more of him, I want more of who he really is.

"How—" He stops me.

"I drove all night." He explains quickly before handing me a red slushie while he sips his blue one.

"Miles, you didn't have to—"

"I wanted to . . . I want to." He says, licking his lips slightly as his dark hazel eyes look into mine, pouring over everything in my body. 

I smile at him and he starts the car. 

I look out the window and at the beautiful empty fields surrounding us. As we get closer to Ohio my heart starts to race. 

The last time I saw Jace was at Miles's early birthday party, I saw him cry for the first time and he left without a goodbye. 

My heart flutters at Miles's touch but my stomach twists and turns at the thought of having him with me next to Jace. I watch as Miles' light and veiny hand turns the wheel as we finally enter Charm, Ohio. My heart races even more and I almost feel sick. 

At first, as we enter the town, tall trees and white fences surround the area but the further we drive all I see are empty fields and small hills that greet us. 

 I look at all kinds of houses on my right as Miles speeds through in his black Lamborghini. 

A car drives in front of us but Miles speeds through to the other lane and switches back. The knots in my stomach form tighter and by the time I spot Jace's house I feel uneasy but when Miles parks his car in front of my mothers' house, I realize that the odds of Jace being here are much higher.

"You okay?" Miles asks and I nod. I quickly get out of the car, trying to ease my nerves by making sure Jace isn't here, but before I can, I bump into the familiar head of light-brown. 

His gray eyes peered at me and I can feel them scanning every inch of my face.

"Madison—" He starts with hope in his eyes but stops as soon as he sees something behind me—someone behind me.

"You're with Miles," Jace says, his jaw hard and his eyes narrowing down onto the ground.

"Yeah, we wanted to visit, you know, for Christmas," I say as I feel Miles's hand holding the small of my back. I turn up to look at him only to see him smiling towards Jace—something he's never done before. 

He's trying, he's really trying, and yet, it feels like the most unnatural thing in the world. He gives me a small smile before walking right past me. I gulp, trying to swallow the rising tears before giving Miles a small smile and heading inside.

"Madison—"

"I'm fine," I reply before he can ask and cause the tears to rise up again. The last thing I need right now is to cry. I knock lightly on the small front door before heading inside.

"Oh Madison!" My mother exclaims as she walks toward me with open arms. Somehow her kindness only makes me feel worse about everything—about Miles and Jace—about everything. I almost wish my mother would tell me she's dissappointed at all of the decisions I've made, at least then my tears wouldn't battle to spill onto the surface.

"Miss Pierce," Miles says through his raspy tone, he almost feels like a completely new person.

"Oh please, call me Angela." My mother smiles and I look at Miles with a smile of my own. He smirks before giving her a small nod. The two acting like they are meeting for the first time again makes me sick for some reason.

"I'm so glad you decided to come for a visit." My mother looks at me with a smile.

"And you too, thank you." My mother looks at Miles. Her eyes are kind and she doesn't hesitate to smile at him.

"Jace dropped off some groceries, perfect in time for dinner." My mother says and I smile at her before giving her a quick nod.

"Miles be a dear and help us with the groceries." My mom says before handing him the clearly heavy bag.

"Of course." He smiles before grabbing the bag from her, his arms muscular as he picks up the heavy bag and places it onto the table before I help him take out the food that Jace brought. I grab a thick block of cheese and a box of eggs and try to stuff It into my mother's small kitchen as Miles grabs the rest. I give Miles a smile, thanking him for helping out and he smirks my way.

"So where are you two planning on spending Christmas?" My mom asks as she quickly washes a few large dishes in our old sink. 

The water has always left a metallic taste but oddly enough, it always reminds me of home.

"Here," Miles says and I look up at him.

"Are you sure?" I ask quietly, but loud enough for my mom to hear.

"Of course I am." He replies.

"I'll get you an extra mattress, so you can sleep next to Madison's bed." My mother says, giving Miles a small smile. I can see that it takes everything in him to smile back and as soon as she leaves I know I'm right.

"On the floor? Not with you?" He asks, his dark eyes scanning my face for some kind of explanation to what he clearly finds to be crazy.

"It's always been this way even with Jace—"

"Jace?" Miles's face turns into disgust.

"You two slept together?" He asks, his face even more crooked.

"Don't say it like that," I state, my voice small as I look at him softly.

"We sleep in the same bed . . . we used to sleep in the same bed." I correct myself. 

Being close to Jace has never been a problem but as I say it out loud, I realize just how odd it sounds coming from my tongue and I realize it must sound even worse to Miles. 

He looks at me for a split second before rolling his eyes as if that's his way of brushing the topic of Jace completely off. 

I expected Miles to at least question me about it if not tell me to stop doing it and even after I thought he was changing everything about himself, he's still hiding his emotions. 

The way he brushes off certain topics confuses me, on one hand, it feels like he truly doesn't care, but on the other, it's almost as if he's crushed inside and yet when I look into his eyes, they tell me it's neither.

"Your mom does know I've fucked you right?" he says and my expression turns sour with disgust.

"No," I admit, my voice low. This is something he knew, he knew I was saving myself. His eyes soften the longer they look into mine and he looks as if he's feeling bad.

"I, uh, I'm . . . I'll gohelp your mom." He says and I nod.