Lies for Truth

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Ariana knew they couldn’t have a conversation with her standing at the door ready to run. She sucked it up and took a few steps forward avoiding all eye contact as possible. “How’d it go with Charlie?” she asked softly.

“We talked and I explained to him everything he needed to know. He took it better than I expected. How are you doing with it?” He sounded unsure and trying to gage her reaction. 

Ariana sighed and glanced at him. “I have a lot of questions and anger. You shouldn’t have lied to me.” it wasn’t everyday a girl found out her boyfriend was a supernatural creature but she was sure she could’ve handled it much better if she had known from the start, if the weight of all the lies wasn’t killing her.

“I know and I didn’t want to but it was safer that way and I know deep down you would’ve down the same thing.”

“No, I begged you for the truth more than once and every time you lied and made me feel wrong for doubting you. But I knew, somehow I knew things weren’t right.” She blamed herself for not being stronger to walk away from him when that doubt was in her system. She had been too quick to believe his lies and now look at the mess they created.   

Jax stood from his spot on the bed and grabbed her in his arms. “I love you and I know you love me.”

It was that easy, to say those words, for all the emotion she was trying to choke down to spring to life bringing tears to her eyes. “And, what does it matter now?” she asked harshly, her heart tightened and protested against her words. It mattered a lot to hear those words from him. “We should’ve never let things get this far.”

“No.” He groaned, shaking his head. “I can never regret what’s between us. You can’t either.” His hands tightened around her as his eyes expressed the turmoil he was in. With that look of begging across his face she didn’t doubt for a second he meant everything he was saying.

Seeing his heart break mirroring her own brought a wave of tears to her eyes. “I should go.” Ariana had really thought she could do this, talk to him and not be affected by his words or her own heart.

She tried to step back and pull away but he refused to let go. “No. I’m not going to do this dance again where we stay away from each other when it’s the last thing either of us wants.”

“Everything is stacked against us.” Ariana whispered. A part of her wanted to run and forget every moment they had shared. The other part of her loved the fact even though the odds were against them Jax still wanted her.

“I don’t care.” He cupped his hands around her face. “But I know you do. Tell me what I have to do.”

“It’s not that easy. Even if we go back to how it was yesterday we’d still be hiding and lying to our parents.”

Jax let out a sigh and left his hands on her. “My father knows.” He had anticipated her reaction to be strong, she tried to pull away and again he wouldn’t let her. “He figured it out that night we were together in the shower.”

“He heard?” she was mortified.

“No, he smelled you on me.”

Her hazel eyes moved back and forth in thought. “Your dad is one too?” for all her thinking and anger she hadn’t factored in Mitch or Julie. “Julie?”

With his hands on her wrists, Jax walked over to the bed and they sat. “I was born like this, so was my mom and dad. It goes back generations in both their families. Julie doesn’t know any of it, when my mom was killed we decided not to tell her the truth until we had to.”

Together they sat and Jax told her everything, about how his mother died, both ways to become a werewolf and how it all came to be for Charlie. He told her about his talk with his father and where his own head was at. He refused to hold back and he told her everything, including how much he loved her and how he refused to live without her. “I’ll tell everyone, no more hiding.” He promised.

“I’m scared.” Ariana confessed. After all the honesty he gave she felt it was only fair if she did the same.

“About telling your mom or me?”

“Everything. I’m human and you’re not. Your dad is right, we’re doomed together.” It hurt her to say those words, to acknowledge they were true. In a perfect world she wished she and Jax could make it but this was a far from perfect world. His lies still bothered her, his lack of trust still stung. She couldn’t forget the fact he was telling her everything now because he had to, because she saw what was happening with Charlie. If that hadn’t happened she’d still be the dark.

Jax shook his head. “That can’t be what breaks us up. In the long run it’s not that important.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because it can be changed, you can be changed.” He was dead serious.

Arian’s eyes went wide and her heart stopped. “Jax no, you’re not thinking this out correctly or rationally---”

He kissed her and unlike other times it wasn’t a kiss laced with lustful emotions, this kiss was rough and carried all the intensity of the moment. He didn’t want to let her go, he refused to accept this could be the end.

Jax knew without a doubt he couldn’t live in this house with her as if these last few weeks hadn’t happened, as if he wasn’t madly in love with her. He knew she loved him, or else why would she be here trying to figure it all out. She was scared, he understood all that, but her fear couldn’t be the end of them.

Ariana kissed him back as she realized what he already knew; not everything was black and white. They were in a situation filled with grey.