Run Away From The Pain

I Cant Kiss The Past Goodbye, If It Keeps Coming Back.

"What.. The.." I gasped quietly, trying to hide the fact that I was probably internally hemoraging. I tried shaking off whatever this old feeling of heartbreak was, and returned to the conversation. "So what did you have planned for me today, Antonio?"

"Well, I figured I would take you shopping to start, and then I have an even bigger surprise for you."

"Oh god... okay, let me go get ready and we can head out to the market or something." I sighed with a smile, and pushed myself up from my seat.

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I let the warm water wash over me, calming the anxiety that was slowly rising in me... I mean, Samarinia's not a huge country, but it's big enough that if I didn't want to see someone... *cough cough Steven*...I could easily avoid them. I mean, of all the places Samarinia has, what are the chances we'd be in the same one?

After calming myself down, I shut the water off and wrapped a warm towel around myself.
As quickly as I could, I dried my hair, leaving it in natural waves, and did my make-up.

I rummaged through my closet only to settle on a pair of denim jeans, my cowboy boots, which still fit me, and a black rolling stones t-shirt, with a red flannel thrown on top of it.

Do I look anything like a queen? Nope.
Mission accomplished.
I grabbed my sunglasses and my brown leather jacket, since it was probably like 45 or 50 degrees out, and headed out the door of the master bedroom.

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"So where do you want to go now?" Antonio asked, intertwining my fingers with his as we strolled out of a jewelry shoppe, 1250€ poorer, and a diamond necklace richer.

My eyes laid upon the record shoppe down the road a little ways, which was always my favorite place to go.
He saw where my eyes shot to, and chuckled.
"Of course."

We made our way into the store and instantly broke apart strolling down the isles of countless records.
My eyes laid upon the newest Aerosmith record 'Done With Mirrors' and my heart skipped about 3 beats.

I flipped the cool vinyl over, reading the back of the jacket, and all the song titles on it.

"Cool band, huh?" Someone standing next to me tried bringing up conversation, though I didn't bother looking up.
Not to be snotty, but I just wasn't interested in talking to anyone else.

"Yeah, I guess..." I muttered, sighing. "I heard this album sucks, though."

"But the lead singers pretty cool." He chuckled.

"Sure..." I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Then, in a sudden moment, I remembered that voice, that laugh.

I looked up directly into the eyes of a grinning Steven Tyler.

Well fuck... my inner goddess is slamming her head against a wall as we speak.
Fuck fuck fuck... how do I get out of this... uhh... keep the sunglasses on, maybe he doesn't recognize you.

Just nod and walk away, Ace. He doesn't know who you are. Just leave.

I put the record back on the shelf, and turned slowly with a small nod of my head.
Just as I turned, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back, just like he's done all those years ago.

"Don't say you don't remember me, Ace." He sighed

Thank god Antonio has attachment issues, and feels the need to be by my side all the time, because he just saved my ass from an awkward situation... or made it 10 times worse... I have it to decide.

"Hey, baby. Did you find anything you wa-" he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Steven. "Mr. Tyler, what an honor."

The confused look on Steven's face made it clear that he didn't know anything about Antonio.

"Steven, this is my husband, King Antonio Alessandri." I sighed, introducing them.

"Husband?" The nearly inaudible whimper he choked out, shattered my heart into a million pieces. "And if he's king, than you're..."

"Queen Anastasia Cecelia Elena Dawson-Alessandri." Antonio grinned proudly, while snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me into him, making me blush slightly.

"Oh... uhh. Forgive me, your majesty." He chuckled, his voice filled with sarcasm.

"Well, since you're here, Mr. Tyler, I figure it would be a great time to tell Anastasia about her birthday surprise." My husband smiled playing with my fingers.

"Here we go..." I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Ohh, that's right, it's your birthday... congrats." Steven murmured.

"So do you wanna know?" Antonio ignored Steven and turned to me.

"Sure." I sighed.

"I got you backstage passes to the Aerosmith concert tonight!" He grinned unknowing of the absolute chaos he just caused for me.

"What...?" I gasped, as Stevens eyes lit up.

"Happy birthday, baby!" He chuckled swooping me into a big hug.

"Babe, I'm not so sure if I can go..." I lied, clutching my stomach. "I'm not feeling too well."

"Oh, don't be silly, you'll feel better when we get there. Trust me." He grinned.

"No, I don't think I will." I muttered low enough that he wouldn't hear, though I'm sure Steven did by the look he gave me.
The look he gave me also told me he really wanted to talk to me, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready for that.

"King... uhh... sir... uhh..." he stumbled on his words. "Dude, can I have a moment with Ace?"
Fuck... too late.
Antonio gave me a worrisome look, but I knew there was no getting around this so I just nodded.

"Baby, it's okay." I smiled, as he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on my lips, clearly making Steven uncomfortable. "I'll meet you outside when were done, okay?"

"Okay, love." I watched as Antonio walked out of the record shoppe leaving me to deal with my past.

Remember Ace, you're in love with Antonio... your husband. You love him, and you'll continue to be in love with him. Steven's just a thing of the past, and that's where he'll stay.

My inner goddess just snickered and kicked her feet up on her chase lounge, as she flicked popcorn into her large gob, getting ready for the show.

I quietly ignored Steven and went back to rummaging through the vast array of records in front of me.
Another Stones record caught my eye, almost forcing me to pick it up and inspect it. 

"Ace..." he sighed, taking a step closer to me.

"Hmm?" I lightly nodded my head, acknowledging his presence.

"Ace, look at me."
I couldn't help it. I gave in, with a sigh, and looked into the eyes of the man I once loved... still love... no. No.. once loved.

"That's better." He chuckled lightly. His chocolate eyes screamed of sadness and delight all at the same time. "I've missed you..."

"And how does Cyrinda feel about that?" I sneered, letting my rage get the best of me.

He let out an exasperated sigh and placed the most defeated look in his eyes, making me melt like butter in a hot pan.
"Well, you'd think a husband and wife would get along, but hell fuckin' no." He scoffed.

"You're... married?" I choked out, almost inaudibly.

"Yep, since '78." He noticed me looking down at his left hand, and answered my silent question as to why he wasn't wearing a ring. "We fuckin' hate each other. I'm only her dealer now. Thank god she still lets me see Mia, though."

"Mia?" I felt as though I had no voice, and my heart was shattered, with the fragments only being held together by my tape and glue; Antonio.

"My daughter." He smiled proudly.

"Ohh." I smiled at the thought of a little Steven, I once wondered would be mine.

"Yeah. She's my little angel." He whipped out a small photograph of the gorgeous child, who had full lips like his, and eyes like Cyrinda's.

"She's beautiful." I muttered.

"Thanks." He sighed, leaving us in an awkward silence, only to break it a moment later. "I don't get why you left me... I know I fucked up, but I really loved you."

"Yeah, you fucked up..." I smirked a little, only to have my smile fade by the, both incredibly happy and excruciatingly painful memories of the treaty. "But I had to leave you anyway..."

"Why? I mean, I at least deserve an explanation." He crossed his arms, as pain and confusion shot through his eyes.

"Do you?" I raised my voice a little, getting very angry. "Don't I deserve an explanation for why you fuckin' cheated on me?! I mean, I gave you everything. I loved you with every part of me. I opened up to you after all the fucked up shit I've been through, and that's how you repay me?!"

"Look, like I said, I know I fucked up. I couldn't help myself. I loved you... hell, I still love you, but that doesn't mean you just walk out on me." He stepped closer, closing in any remnants of space between us, forcing me to take a step back. "Why'd you go? I deserve the truth."

"Because I had to." I blinked back the tears filling my eyes. "That's the past now, and that's all that matters. You're married and you have a kid, and I'm married and I have a country. Just let it go."

"No! Not until you tell me the truth." He stood his ground, and I know I wasn't going to win.

"Because!" I yelled, as tears poured down my face. Thank god the shoppe was empty, except for Steven and I, because this would've made a big scene.

"Because why?!" He yelled back, at the point of tears.

"Because it was apart of the treaty! But I'm GLAD that I was forced to marry Antonio! Cause if I wasn't, I would've stuck with you and been in the same damn situation that you're in with Cyrinda right now!"

The tears were pouring down my face in abundance, and I'm sure I was full on sobbing.

"I would've married you! I would've said yes, but I'm glad I fucking didn't! You slimy cheating bastard! I loved you with all my heart, and you basically tore it out of my chest! Now, I'm married to a man who loves me, and who I love! That's why I left you, you selfish asshole!"

I couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. I kept the dark glasses on over my face to hide the pain and tears in my eyes, as I stormed out of the record shoppe, leaving Steven in the past, where he belongs.
My inner goddess jumped up from her chase lounge clapping wildly and whistling at me, encouraging me to break free from the chains Steven's kept me under for so long.

To absolutely no surprise, however, I heard him calling after me as I half sprinted down the market, with Antonio in suit, confused as ever.

"Ace! Ace wait!" Steven yelled, heaving and huffing as he caught up to us. "Just wait will ya?!"

"What the fuck do you want?!" I snapped spinning around, nearly crashing into him.

"Just let me make it up to you!" He sighed. "Come to the concert tonight."

"Why wouldn't we go? I already got the tickets." Antonio questioned in his sexy Italian accent.

"It's a long story." I huffed, crossing my arms stubbornly. "I don't know, Steven. I don't think it's such a good idea that were even in the same country as each other... just... just go take care of Mia, or go see Cyrinda and work things out or something. I'm happily married, so just please leave me alone."

With that, I intertwined my fingers with Antonio's and stormed away, leaving half of my heart behind, in shattered, burning fragments.

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Authors Note;
This is dedicated to madi_Directioner, because she's just so awesome, and is definitely the number one follower of this story!
Thanks for being so interested, and thank you for all the amazing feedback!

~xoxo