It All Started With An Apple

Chapter 34

My heart thudded painfully as I spun around and rushed away from the kitchen doorway, practically running for the front door.  Those four words, those four damning words, echoed through my head, my entire being.  I couldn’t think straight.  I could barely breathe.  All I knew was that I had to get out.  I had to get out of the house.

Footsteps sounded from behind me, and I heard someone shout my name.  But I barely heard them.  Those four words took over me, blocking everything else out.  Nothing else mattered but those words and how they applied to the one that I loved.

I threw open the front door and pounded down the porch.  Tears that I hadn’t even realized were present were trickling down my cheeks, making my nose stuffed up.  But what did that matter?  A stuffy nose wasn’t going to change anything, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to make anything better.  It was pointless, only adding to the list of things that made this the shittiest day of my life.

I was nearing Dannon’s car now.  I kept moving, my eyes trained on the ground.  What was I going to do?  It wasn’t like I could hop into Dannon’s car and drive off.  But I couldn’t bear to go back inside, to pretend everything was okay when it sure as hell wasn’t.  Why?  Why would Dannon hide something like this from me?  Why didn’t he tell me from the beginning?  Didn’t he trust me at all?

Someone grabbed me from behind and slammed me into Dannon’s car.  I gasped in surprise.  Dannon’s eyes pierced mine for a short second before he crashed his lips into mine.

This wasn’t one of our usual short and sweet kisses.  This was long, passionate.  I was lost, melted in Dannon’s arms.  In the back of my mind I knew that I needed to pull away, to push him off.  We had to talk, and we had to talk now.  But, as Dannon’s lips moved against mine, I couldn’t bring myself to push him away.

Dannon’s hand caressed my cheek, the other wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling me toward him.  My hands roamed through his hair, curling it into my fits and tugging at it slightly.  I had no idea why my hands were pulling his hair, but they were.  It was like they were moving on their own.  Dannon didn’t seem to notice.  He pushed me harder into the car, holding onto me like if he let go, I would be gone forever.

“Dannon,” I breathed.  I found the strength to push him back slightly.  Not only did we have a crisis on our hands, but I was out of air.  “Dannon, we need to talk.”

Dannon pulled away, his eyes wide— like he couldn’t believe what he’d just done.  He detached himself from me and pulled open the driver’s door of his car.  His eyes refused to meet mine as he said, “Get in.”

I sniffled, rounding around the car and getting into the passenger seat.  Dannon silently started the car, and then we were off, riding down the road.

The silence was deafening.

I tried to open my mouth and speak, to say something, but nothing came out.  Tears burned in my eyes again, ready to join the already drying tears on my cheeks.  I wasn’t going to let them spill, though.  Not now.  Not when Dannon looked as though he was about to break.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered finally.        

Dannon didn’t answer at first.  He turned onto another road, his jaw working.  His face was expressionless, but I could see past it.  Turmoil swirled within those beautiful blue eyes of his.  “I couldn’t find the strength to burden you with this,” he said, barely glancing at me from the road.

Burden?  He thought that something this important was a burden?  “Dannon Barone,” I whispered fiercely, “if you ever keep something so important from me again, I will kill you.  Understand?”