Better Believe It

Part 5

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that," I felt sympathy for her, even though I knew she was just in my head.

"It's okay," she smiled brightly, and I was in awe of her mesmerising beauty. "I knew that one day; I would get my fair share of happiness. I went to that ball, ended up dancing with the Prince, and then got locked in my own room for being disobedient. But fate was on my side, as I was able to try on the glass slipper which was mine to begin with. And then I married the Prince, and now we're living happily ever after."

"That happily ever after crap doesn't exist in the real world. There's only pain and suffering, and in the end, love gets you either heartbroken or lost."

"But that's only if you let it destroy you," said Cinderella. "Love holds a lot of power. If you know how to wield it, then you'd be in for a surprise. Try and not push away those that love you now, like Chase."

"Don't tell me we're back to him again," I sighed, trying to dodge the topic.

"Don't let yourself be your own victim. You deserve every happiness in the world, but you won't be able to get it if you box yourself away. I know that everything you've been through in your life has put a dent in your heart, but you have to give someone a chance to mend it for you. Give them a chance to show their true feelings to you, give Chase a chance to show you how much you truly mean to him."

Her words did sink in, but it was too late now. I had pushed him away like I did to everyone that tried to get close to me, and now there was no turning back. There was no reverse button in life.

"It's too late for that now," I said a little tiredly. "Chase doesn't want anything to do with me. I made it clear to him that I didn't believe in love and that I never will."

"It's never too late my dear," Cinderella said backing up towards the staircase. "Go apologise to him, open up to him, and let him inside your soul. Then see the power of love work in your favour."

She started walking up the stairs, but then stopped and turned around to look at me.

"Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you one very important thing," she said, with seriousness etched in her voice. "Never stop believing. Believe in yourself and in Chase."

And with that a blinding white light overtook my vision. When my eyes adjusted to normality, I found myself standing in front of door number 18. It was the same number as mine but the hallway was completely different, leading me to believe that it wasn't my room. I heard muffled voices coming from the inside and my eyes widened in realisation. I couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, but I most definitely knew who it was.

I was about to turn around and walk away, but then I heard Cinderella's voice ringing in my ears, "Go apologise to him, open up to him..."

So I mustered all my courage and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door still hadn't opened which got me to think I shouldn't have knocked in the first place. I took a step back, fully ready to walk away, but then it suddenly burst open. There he was, standing in his usual stance. His face didn't seem happy to see me, but his beautiful blue eyes told me something else.

"What are you doing here?" Chase asked coldly, turning his gaze away from mine.

I opened my mouth to say something but my tongue had other plans. It had completely sealed off my ability to speak, so I just stood there staring at him. He looked at me again and this time, his eyes were quite fierce as well.

"Look, I'm done with you," he said and my heart fell. "I won't bother you from now on. You've made it quite clear that you don't want me around and I get it now. So have a good life. Bye."

All I could do was stare at him. I could feel tears building up, but I didn't know why. He had every right to be angry with me and say all that he had said, but then why did I want to cry? Because it hurt. It hurt that I made him think that I didn't have any feelings when in truth, I had been keeping them bottled inside all my life. It hurt that he had been nothing but nice to me and I had been an idiot to take it as if he was playing me. It hurt that I misjudged him and now I was going to lose him. I had probably already lost him, seeing as the way he was looking at me right now with such detestation.

He turned back around and was about to close the door, when gears started working in my brain. It's now or never America, I told myself. I could either completely lose him for good, or I could explain myself to him and hope he could at least forgive me.

"I'm sorry," I finally spoke up, but was horrified at how my voice cracked.

I had never let anyone see my vulnerable side, let alone hear it. But I guess it shocked Chase too, as he froze at my words. Slowly, he turned around to face me again, and my blurry vision made it really hard for me to see the distressing look on his face. But I saw it nonetheless.

"What?" He seemed confused and a little worried.

"I'm sorry," I repeated again. "I was mean to you when you were nothing but nice. You didn't deserve my bitterness and yet I still displayed it to you. I thought you were playing around and were going to hurt me in the end so I never wanted to give you a chance. I understand if you don't want to talk to me or see me ever again. I hurt you and I'm really sorr-"

I couldn't even complete my sentence. Chase pulled me into his chest surprising the life out of me. I slowly realised that he was hugging me and I let myself be wrapped in his warm embrace. He was rubbing my back in soothing circles trying to calm my breathing, and I couldn't hold it in any longer. Something about him made me want to pour out my whole life story. And that's exactly what I did. I gave him every last detail of what had happened with my parents and then Tony, and also how I made sure to stay away from everyone after that. I even told him how Cinderella gave me advice and led me to him.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked me in the sweetest way possible, and my heart swelled at his words.

All I could do was nod my head as confirmation. We were now inside his room, sitting on his bed. He wiped off any remaining tears from my face and then pulled me in for another hug.

"It'll all be better now," he said kissing the top of my head. "I promise."

And I knew in that moment, he was right. It would all be better from now on.

"Oh and by the way," he said pulling slightly away so he could see me. "Cinderella came to me as well."

"What?" I asked slightly confused. "She did? When? Why?"

"When I said the awful thing about you not having feelings and walked away," he said shamefully. "She also came to give me advice."

"What did she say?" I was actually curious as to what she told him, because he didn't do anything wrong as far as I was concerned.

"She told me not to give up on you," he stated with a breathtaking smile showing off his dimple. "And I never will."

That last part he said it as a whisper as he inched his face closer to mine. As he stared deeply into my eyes, I saw the one question his mesmerizingly beautiful blue eyes were asking: May I kiss you? I closed in the gap and brushed my lips against his as my way of answering his unasked question. And that was it for him. He rammed his lips onto mine, and pulled me onto his lap, kissing me like I was the oxygen he needed to be able to breathe. I let my hands roam through his hair; his incredibly soft hair, and by the moan he let out, I guess he liked it a lot. He had my heart racing when he sucked on my bottom lip, but it completely went overboard when he trailed kisses down my neck. He came back up and placed little kisses all over my face, making me giggle like a girl.

"Did you just giggle?" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"It's your fault," I replied happily, and I smiled. A proper, real smile, one that I thought I wasn't capable of.

"You have a beautiful smile," he said, pure admiration laced in his voice. "I think I'm in love with you."

"Well I guess your fairytale is coming true after all, because," I paused for special effect, "I think I'm in love with you too."