Chapter 18: Unexpected Arrival

Elena’s P.O.V:
That night, I hardly got any sleep. The fact that I’ve messed up enough so my parents have to step in kept constantly haunting me. The thought that I had disappointed them enough for them to step in, it was just too stressful.
I wanted to come to LA so I could prove to them that I was a hard worker and that I could pave my own path. That I didn’t need the Macaluson and Thornton names to be famous. But I ended up making things a lot worse; and not just for myself but for my parents as well. I could only imagine the scandal we’ll all be facing once word gets out.
A sudden thought crossed my mind, a thought that I immediately dismissed, but the seeds had already been planted. What if it could actually work out? What if, if I married Knight…No!
I’d already dug my grave; I couldn’t let my child suffer too, in case things went south with Knight. Besides, how much did I even know the guy? I didn’t even know who his parents are, how his family thinks or what he does exactly. And I couldn’t spend my life with someone I didn’t love.
Love has always been one of the most important factors for me in any kind of relationship. I’d grown up in a family that was filled with love. My mom and dad had always been my ideal couple and it was clear to everyone who saw then together that they were madly in love with each other. And then there was dad and Leo, who weren’t related by blood but no one could deny that they were father and son. And then there was me. I had grown up with my with not one but two fathers, my dad and Leo who always stood on either side of me, fending off any trouble even before I’d realized it was a threat.
Frustrated and tired but not at all sleepy, I got up from my bed and went straight to my closet to change into an old pair of jeans and a shirt, both of which have been stained multiple times before. And then I headed straight for my art room.


****

I woke up with a start and looked groggily around the room, feeling tired and disoriented.
Ding Dong!
The bell rang once again and I realized that’s what had woken me up in the first place.
I looked around the room and groaned. I’d fallen asleep in my art room once again, with paint sticking to my face and hands and now they’d dried on my body, making it extremely uncomfortable.
I got up slowly and stretched, looking over at the clock on the wall. It read 7.30AM, which meant it just might be my parents. Dreaded and also a little bit excited to meet them, I got up from the spare mattress that I keep in this room, just in case I fall asleep while painting.
By the time I reached the door, the people on the other side had already rung the doorbell three more times and were probably calling LAPD for assistance. But when I finally opened the door, I came face to face with a big bouquet of pink and orange lilies.
“Knight!” I began exasperated. “This really isn’t a good time for you to show up! My parents are coming and I don’t want you messing things up before I have a chance to talk to them.”
I was so mad that I went to slam the door shut in his face, but when I heard the voice behind the lilies, I froze in shock.
“And here I thought you’d just melt at the site of the Lilies, just like you always did.”
I stood unmoving, with my mouth gaping open for a good few minutes until the man finally poked his head out from behind the flowers and gave me his famous dimpled smile I’d known growing up.
“Landon?”
“In the flesh,” he mock bowed while holding up the flowers in his hands so I could take them from him. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“I….-Of course!” Regaining my composure as fast as I could, I took the flowers from him and moved out of the way so he could enter. “Please, have a seat while I go change.”
Landon spun on his heels to catch my hand before I could slip away. He turned me to face him, his big grey eyes taking in every inch of my face, lingering on my lips a little longer than appropriate before a big smile spread on his face, turning him from handsome to devastating.
“Honey, if that were tomato sauce, I’d have licked it up right away.” He said jokingly, but it still made my heart flutter.
I had known Landon Hemmingway since I was twelve and he was fifteen. Landon had jet black hair and beautiful grey eyes and was built like an athlete. There was no denying that he was handsome and sometimes he used that charm to his full advantage. He used to be the bad boy of his high school, the same school that Leo used to teach before he became famous. Landon used to be Leo’s favorite student because despite his rash behavior, Landon was extremely skilled at designing and color selection, which is why he now worked as the head designer of Macaluson Fashions. And he’s also my first everything.
First Crush. First Love. First Kiss. First Time. First Heartbreak.
But that chapter of our lives has been over for the past three years when he became actively involved with mom’s company. I don’t know why I was overreacting about it now. Must be the pregnancy…or the fact that I still felt attracted towards him even after he cheated on me.
“What’s on your mind, Elain?” Landon stroked my cheek lightly and it brought back a rush of memories. “I can see your mind ticking, but you’ve learnt to hide your thoughts well.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head and Landon instantly let go.
“I’ll be right back, Landon. I just need to shower and change.” I told him after I’d taken a step backward. “There’s beer in the fridge, have some while I get ready.”
Landon let me walk all the way to my bedroom door before he spoke, and it made me want to run as far away from him as humanly possible, and throw a massive tantrum at the same time.
“You can’t run forever, Elain. We have unfinished business between us and I’m not going anywhere until we’ve had a thorough discussion about it.”