Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,94

what might be going through her head. But most of all, he wondered if this whole thing was finally going to make her run.

Another half hour passed, and Jace got sick of waiting for something to happen. He got in his car and went out looking for her. It was pouring rain outside, but that didn't prevent him from catching sight of her car parked on the side of the road a few blocks away from his house. He pulled up behind it and got out to check the inside, but she wasn't there. He searched around the area, but couldn't find her anywhere.

Where are you, babydoc?

Aislynn couldn't remember at what point she had started running. The rain was coming down hard, making it difficult to see where she was going. When she finally spotted the house, she pushed harder on her legs, willing them to take her where she needed to go.

But when she got within twenty feet from the deck to Jace's house, her body locked in and she couldn't move anymore. It was the most infuriating feeling to not have any voluntary control over her body. Her clothes were soaked through, her hair was dripping wet down her back, and her teeth chattered both out of fear and the cold weather that had followed the rain into the area.

She closed her eyes and tried to visualize herself in Jace's arms, the smell of coffee and sea in the air, soft hair tickling her chest, and warm lips trying to find freckles numbers fifteen and sixteen. But then a memory from the scene at his house earlier that morning flashed before her eyes, and her body instinctively turned away from the house. She must have been standing there for fifteen minutes, willing her feet to stay put and not run.

Enough running.

She then heard Jace's voice call out to her in a panic. He appeared in her line of vision a few seconds later, his white T-shirt and black pants drenched, his hands forcing his hair back and off his eyes. "Where…what…are you…" he said, raindrops running down his face and into his mouth.

She could feel Jace's eyes on her, but she couldn't bear looking up at him. The rain started letting up, and she could now hear as the drumming of her heart accelerated.

"Nothing happened with Chloe," he finally said, and Aislynn finally took in the breath she had been holding since he had found her. She felt her lungs expand back up like an old, dried up sponge falling into warm water. Her mouth, on the other hand, was sealed shut, mostly out of fear for the things she knew she needed to say once she opened it.

A thousand words of explanation. I owe him that.

"I was confused when you showed up at the house because I thought you already knew Chloe was there," he continued. "I didn't realize you had never gotten my message last night. I would've explained everything to you, but you didn't even give me a chance. What the hell was that about, Aislynn? Why did you run away like that?" he asked.

He's angry. Good.

"Are you going to say anything?" he pressed, and Aislynn's face fell. Still, she couldn't find her voice. "Is this about your ex? Is this you trying to put whatever shit he did to you onto me?"

Ouch. But, in a way, yes I am. And it's wrong. So wrong.

"And please don't pull the whole 'I don't know why he broke up with me before the wedding' bullshit. I can tell there's more to that story and that you know perfectly well what happened. I've been open and honest with you. I've given you as much space and time as I have to offer, but if this is going to keep coming between us, then I need to know. This is it, Aislynn. It's time."

You're right. It's time.

"What the hell did he do to you?" he asked once again.

Just tell him. Do it!

Aislynn covered her face with her hands and shook her head from side to side, trying to somehow shake off her inability to speak.

"Just tell me," he said, frustrated. "What? Did he get cold feet? Cheat on you? Did he fall in love with someone else?"

"Not like this, Jace. I don't want to hurt you, please," Aislynn cried.

"Tell me!"

"He died," she said and sobbed.

Jace instinctively took a step toward her and gasped, his eyes glued to her face. "Wha…what?"

"He's dead," she repeated, the acid from her stomach burning