"Here's to the ones who love you
the way you truly deserve to be loved."

One More Mistake
Chapter thirty-five

❱ Rory was wearing black baggy sweats and a plain black shirt. He looked rough, his hair was messy and his eyes held a tiredness that made me wonder what was he doing that got him like this. I soon realized that it was midnight and I was standing in front of his house with my pajamas. Though I was surprised that he was awake at this time but then again it had seemed like he couldn't sleep.

I fought the urge to ask him if he was okay. Instead I focused on how he looked at me, it was hate and nothing else.

"What do you want?" His cold question made me snap out of my thoughts. He looked bothered by my presence and pushed back all my feelings. I didn't let that affect me.

I looked to my side and noticed Kace standing a few feet away from me but making sure to stay hidden. I couldn't figure out what he was thinking but by the way he clenched his jaw, I knew it wasn't good.

"I came here to ask you a favor and before you shut the door in front of my face hear me out." I say slowly making sure to sound gentle so he can give me a chance. Surprisingly, he didn't shut the door in my face but his cold eyes didn't waver.

Rory could be the coldest person on the earth, yet I'll still think he had such beautiful eyes. No matter how long I stared at them, I'll never truly understand what goes on in his head. Makes me curious about what goes on in there most of the time... and what he might be thinking right now.

I ignore my thoughts, hating myself for ever wondering what he might think of me.

"I need your help" I say after a while of silence and steady long gazes.

"What makes you think I'm going to help you?" He asks and I regret the choice of coming here. What did I expect from him, honestly?

"Well, I don't know, maybe after everything you did to me I thought you would be open to helping me." I said back, my temper running low. He was going to act like he didn't just tell the whole school that Caine was sick. Something that I told him not to share, but he didn't listen to me and I was about to lose Caine because of Rory. I know it wasn't Rory's fault but he seemed like the right person to blame in this situation. I know it wasn't right but it gave me an excuse to treat him like he was a horrible person.

"Everything I've done to you? Have you ever thought about all the things you've done to me?" He asked me in disbelief. "You kissed me only to provoke my friends. You didn't even think of the consequences" He said, finally moving and standing right in front of me. His eyes became darker, looking closely at me.

"But that's not a surprise. You're Thea Nightingale and you don't think, you don't care about anyone, and you certainly don't feel for anyone at all." When he spit those words out I didn't expect them to hurt me as much but they did.

It hurt me so much.

"Thea." A loud yet calm voice called over to me but I didn't turn to look who it was. I know it was Kace and he was standing next to me while grabbing my arm, trying to pull me away from Rory. I didn't realize until now that Rory was really close to me and his eyes were wild like he was blinded by anger. Suddenly I knew that it wasn't just the kiss that angered him, there was more to it than that simple kiss.

I felt the urge to run away and hide. The words hurt but they weren't lies and having Kace hear them made me sick to my stomach.

Rory's cold eyes soon left mine and locked them with Kace who was standing next to me. Rory glared at him though Kace wasn't looking at him, he was looking at me but I couldn't even bear to face him.

"We should leave," Kace said and I nodded, not having the guts to speak. Rory and I locked eyes again. I noticed something about his look that made my lungs rattle.

We had our eyes locked on each other for a while before I swiftly turned around and walked away. I soon heard Kace following me but I didn't wait for him. When I finally made my way out of the gate, I looked over my shoulder. I noticed the light from the porch was still on and Rory was still there. He was standing outside in the cold night while his hands were stuffed in his pockets.

I noticed his eyes staring at me and as we both stared at each other, I felt this anger towards him and it was slowly building up.

I turned away and soon made my way out of there. I didn't wait for Kace to catch up to me and got in the car. From the window I've seen him hurriedly make his way towards the car then finally opening the door and sitting next to me. He didn't turn on the engine nor did he speak. We both sat quietly in the car but I knew he wanted to ask me questions.

"I'm sorry" I said, at the same time Kace spoke.

"It's not true" I look over at him, he looks over at me with a frown on his face.

"Why are you sorry?" He asks, seeming bothered by what I just said.

I breathed in.

"I'm sorry you had to be there and hear us arguing like that" I said, trying to explain myself even though that was a lie. I was sorry because he has to deal with me all the time, and just like Rory said I don't feel anything at all, nor do I care about anyone.

Kace looked at me attentively, his eyes narrowing.

"What?" I ask quietly when he doesn't respond. Kace finally looks away from me and shakes his head as if he couldn't get it through his brain.

"What he said wasn't true. You're not the person he said you were." I look away from him and look outside the window but don't say anything.

"You're a beautiful person and if only he knew that about you, his opinion about you would change but he just wasn't lucky enough." He says lowly and then suddenly I feel a warm hand covering mine. My head snapped up at him and when I met his dark eyes, my cold look disappeared.

His hands felt soft against mine and as we both stared at each other I felt safe but that feeling didn't last long.

Soon enough I moved my hand away and looked back outside.

"Take me back home" I said coldly but before I turned away from him, I could've sworn I've seen hurt flash his eyes.

"Okay" he said back after a while and soon I heard the engine start.

It didn't take long before we got to the house. I opened the car door and got out but soon stopped. I looked back inside the car and realized that he still did have a place to stay.

"You can stay here for the night, and I doubt Bruce would even notice. We've only got a couple of hours before the sun rises." He had a blank look on but soon he forced himself to shoot me a small smile.

"Thank you." he turns off the car and gets out. I walk ahead of him but wait for him when I get to the door.

"I hope he doesn't hear us" I say before I open the door slowly. I get in and wait for Kace to get inside too. I shut the door as quietly as I can and soon make my way upstairs. 

I hear Kace follow behind me.

Once we make it to my bedroom, I close the door and make sure to lock it. I stand behind the door and glance at Kace.

"You can sleep there" I say as I point at the loveseat which is in the corner of my room and near my balcony door. He doesn't say anything but he makes his way towards it. He throws himself on it before he sighs.

"I don't mind" he says back and just like that it gets quiet. I make my way towards my bed and lay down. Though I don't close my eyes, and just lay there thinking about what happened just in a few hours. I roll over to my side and see Kace laying on the couch. His arm was on top of his forehead and from his soft breathing I knew he was already sleeping.

"What am I going to do with you?" I whisper quietly before rolling over to my stomach and fall into a deep sleep.