Playing Hard To Get | COMPLETED ✓ 2014

Chapter 18

Dedicated to whoisyourprince

Thank you so much for everyone who has been reading. I remember when this story only had about 32k reads and I felt so happy that people were reading and loving my work. And now, it has more than 455k reads. I'm so happy that I could cry. I seriously love you all and i appreciate every comment and vote I get.  

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 Chapter 18

I stared at Matt for a long second; contemplating on if he was joking or very serious. His face showed no sign of anything being a joke so I assumed he was indeed serious. I didn't think he'd actually agree to talk to me. I thought he'd simply brush me off and turn his back like he had always done.

"Well," he pestered, gawking at me.

I felt choked up suddenly. "I thought you'd turn me down."

"To be totally honest, I was, but you're just such a pest. I knew you wouldn't stop harassing me."

"I was not harassing you, I just wanted to talk." I simply told him.

He nodded, and then leaned against the counter with his almost half eaten sandwich in hand. "What do you want to know first?" he repeated again. I didn't need a long moment to think about my questions, because I've had them jammed up in my head for a while now.

"Why were you in jail?" I asked.

He huffed. "First, I was not in jail. That's the shit they spread around just to have something to gossip about. I was situated into a detention center for the reckless and misbehaved. At least that's what the women workers there told me."

"Ok, then why were you there?" I asked. I felt as if he was dancing around my question.

"Got into trouble for doing something I shouldn't have been doing. The police caught me and threw me in there." He slurred. Hi eyes diverted mine and by that move, I knew he was hiding something that he didn't want to tell me.

"What happened to your mom?" This question was touchy. But I needed to know. The only thing my mom had told me was that she had a drug addiction, nothing more, nothing less.

He shifted uncomfortably, scratching the back of his neck while looking around the room. He puffed and ran his large fingers down his face. "My mom was just very unstable. She suffered from Parasomnias, which is a sleep disorder that causes a person to have nightmares and they began to sleep walk. It got so bad to the point where she used drugs as her way of not thinking about it or anything else for that matter." He tilt his head downwards a bit. "She scared me many times. She'd come into my room and just stand by the door and talk to herself; held a long conversation for hours. I'd listen and not go to sleep because I was afraid."

"Why were you afraid?"

He placed the rest of his sandwich down and looked at me. "My mother was not stable, she tried numerous times to kill not only herself, but me as well, when she sleepwalked." I was so shocked and appalled. But most of all. I felt bad for Matt. He had to experience all of this, all of this alone.

"Through all of this you stayed?" I asked and he nodded.

"I couldn't leave her alone. I was afraid she'd try to kill herself so during the day, I kept her entertained and happy." A small smile came to his lips as he tilted his head back and thought. "We would watch movies, cook food, and play games. During the day time I made it my duty to keep her spirits high."

"And at night?"

His smile dimmed and his face went back to emotionless. "That's when the monster came out."

"Did she hurt you in any way?"

A shy laugh escaped his lips. "She was out of her mind. When she sleep walked, I was no longer a person she knew, no longer her son." His eyes held so much sadness, so much misery.

"Matt....." I began but he cut me off.

"I remember a time when I had stepped out the shower, I was fourteen years old. I finished making dinner then finished my shower. I went to my room and changed into my pajamas then got in bed. I stayed up late, really late until I was certain she was sleeping. But that night, she didn't sleep at all. She was up until around one a.m. and then she crept into my room with a pillow in her hands."

My eyes were stuck on his gloomy face. "What was she doing with the pillow?" He look directly in my face.

"She planned on suffocating me to death."

I stared hard at him. Not knowing what to do. I could see that his eyes were getting glossy. as if he were about to cry. I felt so much emotions racing through me that i didn't really know what do to. He had a hard life. A life that would never fully be erased from his memory, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. Slowly, I advanced towards him and stood face to face with him. He sniffed and turned his head away.

"That night, I fought her."

"No..."

A single tear ran down his cheek. "I fought her with all the anger and aggression I had stored up in me."

"Matt..." I whispered as I turned his face towards me, and wiped his tear away. I stared at his enticing, dazzling, glossy eyes and I saw a boy that was just tormented and trying to cope with his past.

"Jess, I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to show her how much stress and agony she put me through." he said silently. He gazed into my eyes and ran his tongue across his bottom lip. I watched the action take place.

"You're in better hands now..." I said nervously. Our faces were so close. I could feel his breath brushing against my temple and slowly, he reached out and delicately caressed my cheeks.

"Jessie,"

I gasped at the sound of my name escaping his lips. 

"Yes," I replied.

His eyes spoke more than his lips did. I knew what was coming next. I didn't want to move, i didn't want to leave his side. So instead, I took the initiative to go in for the kill. I stepped on my tippy-toes to reach up and slowly, I pressed my lips against his and immediately my world was taken over by bliss.

*****

[ Vanessa's POV ]

Don and I were at Icy Cone for hours. We talked, we laughed and we reminisced on the past. I didn't know where any of this was going. I just wanted to stop running away from things. Carlos was just holding me back from actually being with someone who adores me and can fulfill my needs. I loved Carlos but what he did was unjustifiable. I gave him my all and eliminated anything that would interfere with our relationship. A one sided relationship, that it was.

Don made me seem whole. I didn't have to fake a few smiles and try to ignore things like abrupt phone calls. He gave me his all; his attention, his heart and his world.

As we made our way out of Icy Cone, Don grabbed my hand and squeezed it a bit, grapsing my attention.

"So, uh, I was a bit skeptical about how this would work out." He said nervously.

I smiled and said, "I agree, but it was better than i expected."

His smile grew, showing his define jawline as well as his perfect teeth. "I want to see you again, Vanessa."

"Is this your way of asking me out?" I smirked and raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled. "Well, of course. I'll be here for a while and I really want to get on better terms with you and maybe...."

"And maybe......" I repeated.

"We can establish something that we hadn't done before." He told me. "Like a relationship."

I grinned. "I'd like that." I was done with running way from my past. I was ready to move on from Carlos and just start fresh and new. I needed this change.