One Day

Part 22 - Knots

I try to act as normal as possible on the drive back home but I'm a mess. My mind is replaying our brief conversation and I can't hold my thoughts in one place. I'm anxious to get back home and nervous about what the evening will hold.

It's nearing 10:00 and I still haven't heard from him. The girls have taken their normal lounging spots in my living room and are flipping through the channels when I hear my phone receive a text.

Jace: "Can you come get me? I'm at my house."

My stomach turns. That's not really what I had expected but I don't really care. All I care about is that he wants to see me.

Me: "On my way."

I'm off the couch and heading towards my bedroom when I hear Elena yell after me, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Jace just texted me and asked if I could come get him," I say as I change out of my pajamas. "I don't know what it means or why he can't just drive over here, but I'll be back in a little bit, I guess."

"I'm staying the night," yells Kate.

I wouldn't have expected any different. Although she stays the night on a regular basis, I know she is staying around tonight to make sure that I'm going to be okay.

I grab my keys and head out the door.

The five minute drive to his house passes quickly as my mind is distracted by what may be waiting on me once I get there. My stomach is in knots as I pull into the driveway and take a deep breath before I head inside.

I walk in the door that leads into the kitchen and he's leaning against the counter not looking at anything in particular. He glances up as I walk towards him.

"Hey," I say and smile, not wanting him to know that I'm about to jump out of my skin. "Everything okay?"

He smiles at me and wraps his arms around me. "Yeah, everything is fine," he says as he pulls me towards him and kisses my forehead. "It's over between me and January. Can we just go home and talk about it later? It's been a long day and I'm just ready to go to bed."

All I really want right now is some answers but curling up in bed with him and not thinking about today sounds even better.

"Of course. Kate and Elena are at the house," I say. "I don't think they wanted me to be alone tonight."

He smiles and grabs my hand as we walk towards the door. "They don't have to worry about that anymore," he says with a wink.

We lock up his house and head to my car. He drives and asks about my day as we make our way back to my house. I know he is trying to redirect any conversations away from his day so I oblige and tell him about our girls' day. We quickly make it to my house and walk hand-in-hand inside and to the living room where the girls are still lounging. We barely have time to sit down before Kate starts.

"Spill it. What happened? You have to tell us," Kate demands as she sits up on the couch. "We've been stuck with little Miss Pouty Pants over there all day and it's only fair that you tell us what happened."

He sighs then looks at me with an apology in his eyes. He knows that Kate isn't going to let him off the hook as easily as I did, "It's really not important."

"Yes it is!" she says. "We've been dying to know all day."

"There's not much to tell," he says. Kate eyes him from across the room. No one speaks and we are all just staring at Jace. He sighs, "I picked her up and things started out well enough. Actually, it was like we picked up right where we left off."

I cringe. That's not really how I had hoped the date had went. He looks my way and must notice my expression.

"Don't worry, babe. Things started falling apart as the night went on. She started talking about things that we have always argued about and I couldn't take it," he says as he shrugged his shoulders. "My Jeep overheated on our way to my house – which is why I had you come get me, I need to look at that tomorrow."

I'm not sure what they had argued about but I'm not about to interrupt him to find out. My stomach is in knots as he continues.

"When we got back to my house we talked for a really long time. There were times where I thought we had everything figured out but then one of us would say something and it would piss the other one off and we were back to square one. And the whole time I couldn't stop thinking about you and about us and how everything seems right when we are together. I just couldn't do it anymore."

He looks at me. "So, she left and I called you and now we are here."

"Good. So all this means that you are done with her," Kate snaps.

I look at her with shock hoping that he doesn't get mad.

"I don't think its just bam it's all over, Kate. She's been a major part of my life for three years. It's going to take some time for me to get over that," he replies.

"Well, just don't break her heart in the process," she says nodding at me.

"I'll try not to," he says as he stands up and walks over to me. "You ready for bed?"

My head is in a fog and the knot in my stomach hasn't gone away. I'm not sure what he means by "try."

"Yeah," I manage to say as we walk to the bedroom. He's here with me, I think to myself, just focus on that.

Thanks for reading One Day! Don't forget to vote and comment :)