Falling In Love

RHEA
I paced back and forth in front of the door to Jaden's office. I'd knocked as many times as I could for the past thirty minutes. But, Jaden wouldn't open up the door. I'd made several threats in order to make him react but it felt like I was talking to a brick wall. A deaf, immobile, brick wall.
I ran my fingers through my hair, worried. Jaden had killed Trisha, it was true. But, she'd tried to kill him first. She had angered him. Even so, I knew it wasn't going to be easy for him to get over this betrayal.
He had been betrayed by his own twin brother and his Delta. He was bound to get worked up about it. I would get worked up if I were him. But, locking everyone else out wasn't going to solve the problem. The damage had been done already.
I knocked on the door, resting the side of my face on it, my whole body pressed to it.
"Come on, Jaden. Open up. I don't like the fact that you're holed up in there, blocking us out. We totally understood why you did what you did. I'm just really worried about you. Can you please let me in?" I said. There was no response. I turned to look at a pensive Dana and a worried Haru.
"He needs to at least get his wound checked. She could have poisoned the knife" Dana said.
I was even more worried at this point because I hadn't thought of that in the first place. I mean, he'd once drank poisoned juice and had participated in a tournament the day after that. He'd been perfectly fine. I had no doubt about his fast healing.
I knocked on the door again. This time I was much more persistent. I wasn't going to stop even if my knuckles ached. I was going to knock until he finally opened the door.
"Come on, Jaden! Open up! Please! We can talk about this!" I pleaded, raising my voice.
My frustration was growing and I was getting angry. My knuckles ached. They had turned red, but I didn't care. I continued to knock.
I thought about the possibility of him passing out in his office as a result of his wound getting infected. Then, I shook my head to ward off the nasty thought. I mentally reached for him. I could him feel him. He was very much conscious. It made me feel a little relieved. Sunset came and went.
Night fell. The moon wasn't visible tonight and the night sky was dotted by a few twinkling stars. There was a resounding clap of thunder that made me flinch. Dana and Haru had retreated to their rooms and I was the only one sitting in front of the door to Jaden's office.
I leaned my head against the door, taking a deep breath. There was another frightening clap of thunder which was accompanied by a crash of lightning. The dark clouds were gathering overhead. I rubbed my arms and closed my eyes.
'He's such a jerk. How can he leave us out here?' Crystal huffed in annoyance.
Absent minded, I knocked on the door again, my eyes still closed. The sound of the door creaking open made me sit up, alert. I rose to my feet and slowly pushed the door in. I looked at Jaden's table.
My brows creased up when I saw that he wasn't sitting on the chair. His once organized office was a mess. It showed that he'd taken his anger out on his poor office. The walls had long claw marks. They were definitely from Jaden's claw.
With slow, hesitant steps, I looked around the office, my gaze resting on the figure sitting on the floor in the corner of the office, his back to the wall. His eyes were closed and he was a little paler than usual. I brought a hand to his face, feeling for his temperature. He was neither burning hot nor freezing cold.
"Jaden?" I whispered.
"Hey" I said, patting his cheeks. He slowly opened his eyes, his long eyelashes fluttering. His eyes were bloodshot and emotionless. But, I could feel his pain through the bond. An overwhelming pain that was tearing him apart on the inside.
"Jaden..."
He cut me off.
"I killed her because she..." His words broke, his eyes turning glassy. His hands were trembling. I had to take hold of them and try to comfort him the best I could.
"She tried to kill me. I don't understand... What did I do wrong? Why did she feel the need to betray me? To stab me in the back. Is this how she repays me? Especially after everything I did for her?" He said, his chest was heaving. His hands still trembling. It began to rain outside. It was like the sky was weeping when Jaden couldn't. He was hurting but wasn't going to let himself cry.
"I'm sorry" I breathed. He shook his head, a heartbreaking look on his face.
"Don't apologise. I killed Trisha and I feel relieved knowing she's gone" he said, his voice a little unsteady. I knew he meant the opposite of what he'd just said.
"Let me see your back" I said and he looked away, refusing to meet my gaze.
"I'm alright. There's really no need to worry yourself about it" he said.
"Jaden, let me see your back. I want to see it" I said. He stared at me quietly for a few minutes and I held my breath. His gaze was so intense, almost scary.
He unbuttoned his shirt, his hands unsteady. After the last button came off, he slipped off his shirt and rose to his feet. Then, he turned his back to me.
I rose to my feet, the memory of Trisha throwing the knife at Jaden, replaying in my mind. The wound was half healed, it still looked terribly sore.
"How bad does it hurt?" I asked. He picked up his shirt and slipped it on, ignoring my protests.
"What the hell are you doing? Take it off!" I said but he continued to ignore me, his lips stretched into a grim line.
I grabbed him by the hand and made him face me.
"You have to sit down so that I can quicken your healing" I said and he glowered at me.
"It's already healing. I don't need your help, Rhea" he drawled, his eyes cold.
"Fine, no spells. But, please you have to stop acting like this. You're driving me crazy! I know you're feeling hurt, betrayed and everything in between, but I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere, I promise" I said, our gazes locked.
Blowing out a breath, he turned away from me.
"Jaden-"
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to himself, startling me into silence.
"You'll always stay by my side, won't you?" he whispered and I closed my eyes, leaning into his embrace.
"Always, Jared. Always" I breathed.
...
"You want to go on a date" Jaden said, a brow raised. I shrugged. We were back at his quarters two days after Trisha's death. Her body had been burned to ashes and sent to her only surviving family members living far away.
"I've always wanted to do that. I just thought...."
He placed a hand over mine and gazed deep into my eyes with expressive eyes. "Alright, Rhea. We're going on a date" he said to me and I grinned.
"For real? You're not going to stand me up?"
He snickered.
"You're making me want to consider doing that" he said with a look of distastefulness on his handsome face.
I brought his bruised knuckles to my line of vision, not liking the fact that he was hurting himself on purpose.
"These are fresh bruises and scrapes" I pointed out.
"Sometimes the pain helps me think straight" he admitted and I shook my head, slowly.
"No, Jaden. I don't want you to keep hurting yourself. Your body is mine, do you understand?" I said and a grin worked it's way onto his face, his eyes brightening up.
"Look who's getting possessive" he teased and I rolled my eyes.
"You have to stop hurting yourself, okay? Wear punching gloves if you have to take your frustration out, on a punching bag that feels like it is packed with stones" I said and he laughed. A genuine laughter that made his eyes crinkle.
I smiled, feeling satisfied. I gazed at him, admiring his raw sexiness. If anyone asked me if I was in love, I would simply reply with a 'Yes.'
If the fact that Jaden's happiness was my happiness was love, yes I was in love.
If the fact that my heart raced each time he really looked at me with those sinful eyes of his, then, yes. I was in love.
He leaned closer to me and kissed me, his hands finding home on my waist. I wove my arms around him, my heart racing for him. I swear, I was in love.
It made me realize how beautiful love was. And yes, I wanted to cherish our bond for the rest of our lives.
I wanted to walk and find him right by my side, holding my hand. I wanted to be the reason he smiled and laughed. I wanted to be the one he would fight for and I wanted to protect him just as much.