Come Break Me Down

Chapter 23

"How long have you been sitting there?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and trying to adjust to the sunlight pouring through the room. The way the bright light hit his blue eyes when he leaned forward in the chair, still took my breath away. Even with the neon green hair and partially missing eyebrows, he was still the most attractive man that I had ever laid eyes on. After just a few days, his chin was covered with stubble, just the way I like it. When we were all alone, he was totally different than the rock star persona everyone else knew and right now, he was worried. We were both worried about the future of this relationship.

"Just a few minutes." He looked down like he was bracing himself for what I was going to say to him. I quickly looked away, knowing that time was growing short and I had to give him an answer.

"I'll be right back." I got up and walked to the bathroom, leaving him sitting all alone. I used the bathroom and brushed my teeth before stepping back into my bedroom, taking my time to debate what I should do. Part of me knew deep down that he was telling the truth, but this other part still had questions. I walked back to the bedroom and closed the door behind me.

"Have you made a decision?" He stood from the chair and took a few steps toward me. Staring into my eyes as if he were trying to judge what my response would be before I even spoke, I knew he was growing impatient.

I stared back at him, realizing that he was ready to leave, with or without me. He was already dressed and ready to walk out the door. "I'm not sure what to do. I'm sorry." My heart was saying yes, but my head wasn't completely clear.

"Then don't do anything Ava. Stay here with Sierra." The anger and hurt in his voice when he spoke, was evident. "I've got to go home and take care of a few things only to fly right back out for filming tomorrow." He sat back down, rubbing his eyes in frustration. "It just hurts to know that you don't trust me." He let his head drop back against the chair. "So, that's it?" He looked at me.

"I'm sorry." I couldn't stop the tears. "I need some time to figure out what I should do."

"I wasn't expecting this." He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, just holding me against him. I slid my arms around his waist, under his leather jacket. Despite the heaviness in my stomach, my heart still fluttered when he was holding me. After a final squeeze, he let go and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I felt numb as I sat there on the bed, too stubborn and hard headed to just go home with him. I knew that I was making a huge mistake, but I couldn't help thinking there was more to the story that he wasn't telling me. I was so confused about my feelings. I was all over the place, one minute wanting to be with him and the next wanting to be as far away as I could get.

Sierra knocked on the door before opening it. "Seriously? You're not going home?" She sat on the end of the bed glaring at me. "This is wrong. I really think that you're going to regret this."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Pacing outside. I told him that I'd take him to the airport...." She let out a deep breath. "You know that I love having you stay here with me, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, as much as I love it, I think you should go home with Jared. You belong with him, not here with me. I say this only because I can see how much you guys love each other." She got up and walked to the door, stopping to turn around before she opened it. "Last chance. We're about to leave."

I looked away and Sierra knew that I wasn't going. I looked out the window and watched him as she came outside shaking her head no. I couldn't erase that look of disappointment on his face from my mind, no matter what I did. I had to find out some things on my own and it wouldn't be easy from this far away.