Don't Lie (Previously Bad Boys Never Change)

29. I Love You Maybe

©Copyright 2015. NO PLAGIARISM, NO COPYING NO NOTHING! COS IF YOU COPY I WILL KNOW!!!!

®All Rights go to the owner of the account NorthStar88

Holt Household

Chloe

Dinner was fun. This was not.

"So, I thought it'd only be right if I asked you in person," Theo said, standing in front of my parents like a criminal waiting for execution. "I want to take Chloe on a little weekend trip somewhere, and I wanted to ask your permission before I confirm anything."

This was such a bad idea, why was he doing this?

My mother had been sending me pointed looks the whole time, jerking her head in Theo's direction and nodding suggestively in a completely not subtle way that had me cringing whenever I heard Theo snicker softly. My father had his fingers on his chin, brows furrowed in thought as he contemplated the idea.

This wasn't going to work, what parents let their fifteen year old daughter run off for the weekend with a boy willingly?

"I don't know about this, Chloe, we don't even know the boy and—" my father began, huffing a loud sigh as he leaned back on the sofa and crossed his arms.

"Oh stop your worrying, Chloe will be fine with Theo, isn't that right?" my mother silenced him and beamed up at Theo, his blonde hair glinting in the light as he brushed it off his forehead.

My father pursed his lips and frowned even deeper. "I still don't know, you're too young and going away for the whole weekend? I don't think—"

"Dad," my sister spoke up from beside my mother, eyes soft and lips turned up in a small smile. "I think she should go."

"Alexis, I—"

"Dad, please," and that was it. That was how easily she got my ever stubborn father to agree to possibly the worst mistake he could possibly make.

~~~-*-~~~

"So what will I need to pack?" I asked Theo as we stood on my front porch. He mussed up his styled hair and smiled softly.

"Just what you need, dress warmly," he patted me awkwardly on the shoulder, knowing that my parents—and prying sister—were probably watching from the living room window. He smiled once more, and then he began to turn away. "I'll pick you up in the morning, or would you rather we meet at the train station?"

"I'll send her!" Alexis shouted from inside, proving to me that she, in fact, was listening in. I rolled my eyes and shrugged as if to say 'what can we do?'. He laughed and started to walk away, waving to me as he went.

I waved to him a few times before turning back towards the house and going back inside. Once inside, my sister grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me to my room, throwing clothes at me from my closet, running to her room and throwing clothes at me from her closet.

I lost track of how many clothes I was shoving into a bag after a while, and just lay on my bed staring at the ceiling while the soft sounds of my sister digging through my closet sang me to sleep.

~~~-*-~~~

"Oh! Look, Chloe! There he is!" Alexis squealed as she dragged me over to where Theo was sitting in the train station, plopping me down in front of him and beaming like a puppy. Theo smiled brightly, and I wasn't sure if it was my sleep-dazed eyes playing tricks on me, but I was pretty certain there seemed to be a real heavenly glow about him.

"Are you planning on selling to human traffickers today or tomorrow?" I mumbled mid-yawn, which was probably not the best of things to say. Theo laughed and my sister jabbed me in the ribs from behind.

"Not just yet, I still haven't gotten tired of you yet," he grabbed my bags and nodded at my sister, eyes saying thank you even as his mouth was still.

And then we were boarding the train and I was falling asleep on his shoulder, lulled to sleep by the slow stroking of my hair. He smelled nice, like lime and gum.

~~~-*-~~~

We've dropped our things off at the hotel already. We're walking on the pavement now, following road signs to who-knows-where. I didn't know where he was taking me, but I wasn't sure I was quite ready to ask. There was a strange sort of tightness to his face; his lips pursed and his eyes narrowed.

"Theo... Where are we going?" I muttered shyly, peeking up at him through a curtain of my hair. He didn't look at me as he spoke.

"You'll see soon enough," he said simply, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me along. His fingers intertwined with mine like they did in the movies and I tightened my grasp, not wanting to let go.

We came to a stop and I looked up, seeing the gravestones even before I saw the sign. Oh. I get it now.

We weaved through the rows of headstones like they were nothing more than a well-memorised maze, my eyes skimming over the names engraved on them. So many names, so many dead. As long as there were dead, there would always be graves. As long as there were graves, there would always be gravediggers. Everyone has a grave, so who would be the one to dig the grave for the last person alive?

"I hated him sometimes— most of the time, but I loved him too," Theo said softly, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "He was my twin, half of me, how couldn't I love him?"

We came upon a grave with the name 'Riley Tether' engraved on the stone, a bush of green leaves by its side. There we stood for a long time, Theo telling me their story and me listening.

After he was done, he turned to me and lifted one corner of his mouth in a sad sort of smile. "You know, now would be the perfect time to say I love you," he joked.

I laughed softly. "I don't know if I love you just yet, but if you do right by me I suppose I'll consider it," I wasn't lying. I didn't know if I loved him yet, it was too soon to tell, for all I knew it could just be a passing attraction, but it felt like a little more.

He guffawed loudly, the sound echoing. Somehow the sound made the gloomy graveyard sound just that much happier, and I think that whoever's buried here would appreciate that. It was always better to be happy than sad, always.

He tried to hold my hand and lead me away, but I broke away from him and headed to a nearby flower bush. I bent over and plucked the most beautiful flower in sight, heading back to Riley's grave and placing it right in front of the headstone.

SECOND LAST CHAPTER WOO! Hope you enjoyed this extremely short chapter, didn't want to have it too long, ya know. See you again next week!

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Suki Desu <3

- Northie