My Temptation

17

J A N E

I continue to kiss Miles when I suddenly start to remember him leaving and all the pain he caused me when he did so. I then abruptly pull away and push myself off the hospital bed wiping my mouth off with the back of my hand. 

"Woah! What the hell just happened Jane?" Miles asks confused getting off the bed and facing me

"We can't do this again, you  can't just do that Miles!" I snap,  pointing my finger at him

"What do you mean?" He asks trying to come closer to me but I put my hand up to stop him. I take a step further away from him.

"You left me Miles, with no goodbye or anything! You have no idea how much pain that caused me and I thought I would never  get over it, and well looking at where I'm at now, I didn't get over it!" I say angrily 

"Where is all of this coming from? We were just fine a second ago." He says throwing his hand up in the air 

"That's my point Miles! You can't just kiss me and think that everything will be fine. You left and I spent weeks moping around and I'm in the hospital right now because I couldn't get over you! Kissing me is not going to fix this." I say sternly 

"Jane... you have no idea how much I regret leaving. Not just leaving the way I did but just leaving in general." He say sincerely and I just stare at him with tears forming in my eyes. He rushes over to me and takes my face in his hands, stroking my cheeks. 

"I'm so sorry for leaving Jane and I'm so sorry for hurting you. I will do anything to make it up to you." He says in a hushed tone and I just nod my head.

•••

I was just discharged from the hospital and after signing my release forms, Miles is driving me back home. Thankfully I had no serious injuries, just some bruises and a small concussion. My throat is still slightly sore and in pain from Mason choking me but the Doctor said that should get better in the next three days. I wanted to call the police but my father said that he has everything handled so that's one less thing I have to worry about.

The car ride with Miles so far has been so quiet and awkward, he's tried talking to me but I just can't think of anything to say to him. He hurt me bad and I have been wishing for him to come back for weeks but I can't just move on and pretend everything is okay now. He fucked up and he needs to fix things. No matter how badly I want to just forgive and forget, I can't. 

Once he pulls up in front of my house, he parks and quickly gets out, rushing over to the passenger side and opening the door for me. I grab my bag and step out of the car, giving him a small smile then walking up to my front door. Before I could even unlock the door, it swings open and my father steps out.

"Janey, I'm so glad you're back." He says pulling me into a tight hug. I hug back and let out a deep breath that I didn't even know I was holding in. I didn't realize how nervous I am to be back here so quickly after everything.

"It wasn't even a full day but me too. I don't think I could've spent another night at the hospital." I say letting out a small chuckle and he smiles, pulling me inside. Miles follows behind us and shuts the door, locking it. 

I hang my bag on the stair case railing then plop myself on the couch, letting out a deep sigh. Miles sits on the chair diagonal of me and give me a look as if he's asking me if okay and I just nod. My father comes from the kitchen with a bottle of water handing it to me.

"Thanks dad." I say and he nods. He gives Miles a look and he just nods then my father looks back at me. I give them both a weird and confused look.

"What was that look you two just gave each other?" I ask taking my shoes off then crisscrossing my legs on the couch.

"I haven't- I mean the police haven't found Mason yet and I don't think it's safe for you to stay here until they do find him. We can't risk him trying to come back here Jane." He says sitting next to me.

"So what're you saying? I have to go stay in a hotel or something?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"You have to get out of Chicago." He says and my mouth drops open in shock. 

"I have to get out of Chicago?! Hell no! This is my home and I should be able to stay here ." I say 

"Jane it's not safe. They haven't found Mason yet and he could try to come back here or get you when you're out and about. My friend has a cabin back in Michigan and he said it's okay if we stay there for as long as we need." Miles says and my head whips in his direction

"We?" I ask 

"Miles will be with you at all times. I have to stay here and work with the police to try and find that bastard." My father says and I let out a scoff, rolling my eyes.

"So you are letting Miles and I stay in a remote cabin for however long?" I ask looking at my father, raising my eyebrow.

"Miles is here to protect you, so yes. Michigan is less than five hours away so it'll be fine. It shouldn't take that long to find Mason so you will be back home sooner than you think." My father says and I sigh deeply

"When are we leaving?" I ask 

"Well I have to go back to my hometown and pack, I'll be coming back to work for you fulltime again, so I need my things for the cabin and for when we come back here. We leave tomorrow so I'm catching a flight back home today to pack then I'll drive back here again, I'll be back later tonight." Miles says and I nod, not saying anything. 

Miles stands up and walks to the bathroom, leaving my father and I alone. I look at him and shake my head.

"This is crazy dad. I can't believe this is happening." I say 

"I know sweetheart, but trust me, leaving is the safest option." He says and I look down at the floor, going silent for second before speaking up again.

"What did you mean when you said that you have to work with the police? How would you work with them?"  I ask and I notice his face drops slightly. He's nervous and I can tell.

"I just meant that if they need help with anything, I would be there to help." He says and gets up, walking to the staircase. "I have to go upstairs to my office to work for a little bit. If you need anything, just holler." He says and rushes upstairs before I could respond.

That was strange. Something is going on and my father isn't telling me something but I will find out what is it, one way or another. Shaking the thoughts of out my head for now, I get up and make my way to the kitchen but as soon as I walk down the hallway to the kitchen, Miles walks out of the bathroom and bumps into me.

"Shit Jane! I'm sorry, are you okay?" He asks worried and I chuckle 

"I'm fine Miles, I'm not a piece of glass... I'm not going to break." I say and walk past him, into the kitchen. But the second I step foot into the kitchen, flashbacks of what happened with Mason race through my mind, causing me to freeze in place. I feel my heart begin to beat faster and it feels like my throat is closing. Forcing my legs to move, I abruptly turn around to leave the kitchen but I run into Miles's arms.

I breathe in and out rapidly trying to stop myself from having a full blown panic attack. Miles wraps his arms around me securely before speaking up.

"Hey hey hey, what's going on?" He asks worriedly 

"Everything happened in here and I thought I would be okay with coming back in here again so soon, but I guess not." I say letting out a shaky breath

"It's okay Jane, it's going to be okay. Come on let's get out of the kitchen." He says and quickly pulls me out of the kitchen, still keeping his arms wrapped around me.

He pulls me into the hallway and we just stand there in a comfortable silence as he continues to hold me. After a few moments, I finally catch my breath and feel myself start to calm down. I slightly pull away from his embrace, just enough for me to be able to look at him but still be in his arms. I look up at him and he's already staring down at me. 

"See? It's all better now." He says sweetly, in a hushed tone. I give a barley visible smile and nod. 

"Thank you Miles." I say, still staring at him

"It's no problem. I'm here now Jane, I am always going to be here for you now. You will not have to go through these emotions alone." He says

"Promise?" I ask

"I swear." He says moving his face closer to mine. We fall into another deep and comfortable silence.

He looks down at my lips then back up into my eyes. He starts to lean but I speak up before he could kiss me, "You can't Miles. I'm not ready to forgive you yet." I say and he sighs, nodding his head.

"I know... I'm sorry." He says and slowly pulls away. I take a step back, crossing my arms over my chest. His phone goes off and he pulls it out, looking at it. 

"My Uber is here to take me to the airport." He says showing me his phone and I just nod. I walk him to the door and open it for him, he walks out but looks back at me before leaving. "I'll be back tonight. I promise." He says then walks down to the Uber and gets in. The car drives off and I shut the door, locking it. 

I go upstairs and as soon as I get to my room, I shut the door and throw myself on the bed. Hugging my pillows tightly.  I close my eyes and before I know it, I drift off into a deep sleep.

•••

M I L E S

I get to the airport with just enough time to get through security and get to my gate. After just half and hour, we begin boarding the flight. I get on and find my seat quickly. Twenty minutes later, we are up in the air and on our way to Michigan.

Over an hour later, we arrived in Michigan and after what seemed like forever, I finally got off the plane. The moment I walk out of the airport, I spot my mom waiting for me by her car. She sees me and excitedly waves to me. I smile and walk to her, embracing her in a big hug.

"Brian told me what happened when we went to get your car from here. Is she okay?" She asks as we get in the car and she speeds off.

"She's alright, considering the circumstances. I just can't believe this happened to her." I say sighing

"I know. Some men are..." She says not continuing her statement and I nod in agreement.

"I know what you're saying. But her and I are going to stay in Brian's cabin for some time, until they find that sick asshole." I say 

"Well that's good. She'll be safe with you." She says smiling and I just shake my head.

"This wouldn't have to happen if I didn't leave her." I say and she smacks my arm

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this happening Miles St. John! This is no one's fault except for that bastard who did that to her." She says sternly 

"Mom... she broke up with him because she wasn't over me. If I didn't leave, she would have never met him." I say staring out the window. She stops at the red light, grabs my face and turns my face to look at her.

"You left because you felt like you needed to. You didn't do it to purposely push her into that man's arms." She says and lets go of my face, continuing to drive once the light turns green.

"I know." I say

"So then stop blaming yourself. Because I guarantee you that no one else is blaming you except yourself, she isn't blaming you and I highly doubt her father is blaming you." She says and I just nod, staying silent the rest of the way back to my place.

She drops me back off at my apartment and as soon as I get in, I begin packing most of my things. As I'm packing, I pull out my phone and send a text to Jane letting her know that I'm back home and reminding her to pack enough for the cold weather. It's cold in Chicago and Michigan but she has all her clothes there, so I want to make sure she stays warm here.

I love Michigan but fuck it snows a lot. The cabin Jane and I are staying at is very remote, there isn't any other cabins for miles which I love, but it is always snowing around there. The idea of staying in a remote cabin alone with Jane makes me nervous but also excites me. I'm not sure how long we will be here for but I know one thing for sure.

She will  forgive me and I will make her mine.