Come Back To Me (chapters 1-9) by Paige569 (top 100 books of all time checklist .txt) 📖

don't see what the problem is?"

Persistence was definitely his forte.

"Other than the fact that I don't want you along," I said angrily.

"Kate," he said my name carefully and with a lot of thought, "I just think you could use a friend right now, even if you don't." he said quietly.

"What I need is to be alone and I can't do that if you come with me now can I."

He shrugged his shoulders and maybe it was just my imagination, but for the tiniest second I thought I saw something close to hurt behind his eyes.

"I'm going to go pay the bill and wash up," he said standing up and walking towards the back of the diner.

I watched as he made his way behind the bathroom door and quickly grabbed my purse and threw a ten dollar bill on the table. As far as I was concerned I didn't owe Jared anything other than my share of the bill.

I got up to leave when I noticed the gleam of my shiny metal compact beneath the table. I looked back towards the bathroom. The coast was still clear with no sign of Jared, but I didn't have much time if I was going to sneak away without him noticing. I almost said forget it, but the casing of the antique had belonged to my grandma and I couldn't just leave it on the old, once white tiled floor of Pete's diner. With a groan I got on all fours and crawled my way to the back corner of the booth to fetch the compact. I slid it into my pocket when the door chimed and the titter tatter of heels and shuffling feet echoed against the floor.

"Dylan, how've yeah been and who is this lovely lady?" asked Pete a raspy joyous voice.

The shock hit me so hard I went to sit up and banged my head against the table top. Shit, it hurt and my head began to throb. I quickly scooted backwards to get out from under the table before someone noticed me. I was still crawling out when my legs came into contact with something hard and the next thing I felt was cold sticky syrup and the clatter of dishes crashing down all around me as the waitress tumbled to the ground.

Oh my god.

I pinched myself.

This couldn't really be happening. This only happened in really bad movies, not in real life and especially not to me.

A bus boy rushed to the fallen waitress's side. I couldn't ignore their glares as he helped her to her feet.

"I'm so sorry," I said trying to pick up the broken glass and scrape the mess into a pile. I didn't know what else to do and that's when I remembered Dylan was here.

"Kate?" it was Vanessa.

Shit, shit, shit!

My eyes met the tips of her shiny black pumps and roamed up her ridiculously long lengthy legs. She was wearing a violet cardigan with a white flower embroidered on the right breast pocket and was tucked into her knee length high wasted charcoaled colored skirt. Her long blond hair was swept up into a long pony that cascaded down her shoulders in a sea of swirling soft wavy curls. She was beautiful. I hated her.

"Oh hello Vanessa," I muttered looking at the ground I was still leaning on. I began to stand up and slipped on the syrup. The bus boy didn't rush to my side as he did the waitress.

"Oh dear let me help you," she exclaimed reaching out a hand to mine.

Yes, definitely hated her.

I didn't take her hand, I couldn't. I stared at her, still unable to bring myself to touch the one thing that stood in my way from everything I wanted. She must think I was crazy. Every time she had attempted at talking to me I stared at her with the same blank expression.

"I got it."

The sound of his voice made me week and I felt like I suddenly was made of jelly instead of sturdy bones.

I hadn't even noticed him standing there. He had finally changed out of his suit and was wearing khaki shorts and his old ratted zeppelin t-shirt he used to always wear when we were teenagers. He looked tired and light dark circles hung under his eyes.

He held his hand out and lifted me up off the ground. I didn't want to let go, but with Vanessa standing right there I don't think I had much of a choice and reluctantly pulled my hand away. It burned as it fell to my side and I clutched a hand across my stomach. I felt sick like at any second I might throw up or pass out.

"I thought you left," his voice was low and hoarse.

I met his eyes and I thought maybe he was glad I was still here.

I was about to say something...what, I wasn't sure.

Right when I opened my mouth Vanessa came and put her arm through Dylan's and leaned against his side. The only sound that came out was choked and more close to a silent whimper then any real words.

"Yes Kate," she said sweetly," we thought you had skipped out on us," she ran her hand up and down Dylan's forearm. I sucked in a much needed breathe.

"This is the only time Dilly here will have to spend with his little friends before the wedding and it would be a shame if you missed out on that," she said kissing Dylan on the cheek.

Dilly?

Little friends?

Was that all I was now, a past remembrance of his childhood? Would the only time I ever heard from Dylan be in the family Christmas card they sent out each year? I looked at Vanessa. She looked like the kind of girl who had already picked out the matching snow flake sweaters and family dog.

"Of course... I..." god I was losing it. I couldn't even complete a sentence. If heart break is this devastating then I wondered what it would have been like if Vanessa never showed up and Dylan had decided he loved me back.

Would I have rocketed up into the sky and tiny sparks of pixie dust rained down from the heavens causing flowers to grow every place they landed?

Because heart ache was like being tossed into a never ending pit and you're just falling. You can feel nothing but the bottom of your stomach smacking against your throat and all the while you feel as if you're on fire; burning from the inside out. There's no way to put out a fire no one can see and you're suffering a silent invisible pain; death seemed more pleasant.

This pain was exactly what I was trying to avoid by leaving, but it seemed fate wanted me to suffer a little while longer. I felt my chest rising and falling beneath my blouse and the syrup becoming stickier as it dried into my hair.

I must look like crazy and a mess all wound together into a frantic bundle.

"There you are."

It was Jared. A small laugh escaped his mouth as he took in my appearance, but his expression changed when he glanced at Dylan standing across from me with Vanessa. He didn't say anything; he only took hold of my hand and pulled me against him.

What was he doing?

"Jared?"

He didn't answer, instead he leaned down and my whole body froze when Jared's lips softly came onto contact with mine. Slowly I felt myself sink away and for the tiniest second I kissed him back forgetting every trouble or worry and only about these new strange lips that were working against my own.

Just as fast as I had drifted into this unexpected kiss I found myself snapping back into reality and pulled away; shocked, stunned and angry.

I looked at Jared with a sideways glare.

"What's going on?" It was Dylan and he was staring back and forth between me and Jared.

"Me and Kate were just on our way out of town, weren't we Kate?" Jared said smiling at me with a crooked smirk.

That son of a bitch, I would kill him the second we stepped foot out of this diner.

"You didn't tell me Jared was going with you," he said looking at me in a way that almost made me feel guilty which was ridiculous, he was the one getting married, "are you two... are you two seeing each other?" Dylan sounded like my protective older brother as he glared at Jared.

Jared scowled back at Dylan, "Well you didn't think I would let her go by herself..."something clicked in Jared's eyes and he seemed a little angry, "even if that was what you were going to do," he said rubbing my shoulder.

Vanessa looked confused and Dylan's jaw tensed.

I stepped away from Jared, "It was nice seeing you two again, but I really have to get going," I narrowed my eyes at Jared and spoke sweetly, "come on dear," I said tugging on his arm and leaving a confusingly disgruntled Dylan staring after us.

As soon as the morning air hit my face I felt like I could breathe for the first time in the past fifteen minutes.

"Look Kate, don't be mad I was only trying to help... I mean sure it wasn't exactly torture what I did, but... wait what's the matter with you?"

I was leaning on the side of a telephone pole and clutching my stomach.

"Are you actually laughing?" he asked wearily, he probably thought I had finally lost it.

I nodded at him with a grim smile.

For the first time out of this whole mess I couldn't continue to think about how horrible everything had went. The look on Dylan's face when Jared had kissed me- which I was mad about, and me covered in some body's breakfast was priceless and the only real sad thing was that I couldn't sit here and laugh about it with my best friend.

Jared stood there with his arms folded across his chest and a funny smile touched his lips, "Your cars ready," he offered.

"Thanks," I mumbled my laughing turning into a low chuckle.

I sighed," So I decided maybe it would be alright if you came with me after all... for the ride that is."

"Really?" he sounded surprised.

A car rolled by filled with a happy family. The little girl smashed her face against the window and waved at us. I smiled.

"Yes, but if you ever try and kiss me again, I will seriously be kicking your ass." I warned.

He chuckled lightly beneath his breath, "Fair enough."

As we walked past the window to the diner I saw Dylan staring at me through the thin transparent glass. I felt like a stranger looking in at a couple I didn't know.

Good bye Dylan I thought turning to look at Jared. He was smiling and squinting from the sun shining in his eyes as he waved to a passing car. Maybe I could use a friend after all.


chapter 8


"Come on Katie!"

I've been sitting on the edge of my bed for the